It's easy for me to show non-fans, who aren't already in the know, Prince's amazing guitar skills. There is plenty of evidence of this in song and even more on video. The same can even be said for his piano/keyboard playing.

What I would like to know is how would you rate Prince as a drummer? I only know of two video examples of him on the drums. The end of America and It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night. Since I'm not a musician, and I'm not always certain on which tracks he's on drums I'm not sure which songs best show his drum skills.

What would be some of the best examples of his drumming ability?

My two favorite examples of Prince's drumming are Irresistible Bitch and Tamborine. I've read some debate as to if it's Prince on Irresistible, especially because Morris played on Cloreen Baconskin, which is the predecessor.

Didn't Prince play the drums on Madhouse 8 too? The drumming on that is really nice.

I play drums and I can say the best thing about Prince's drumming is his "pocket", which is how he locks into a groove.

NightGod said:

Thanks for the response. It doesn't seem like people are as interested in talking about "musical" topics as much as topics about Prince's clothes, hair style or his "plastic surgeries".

NightGod said:

Have you seen the America video where he does a little solo? What do you think about that? I don't know anything about drumming but it was great to see him hit the drums.

Could Prince even come close to pulling off a solo like the Sheila solo on the Lovesexy concert video or SOTT? Always wondered.

Accujack said:

I seriously doubt it. Prince is good, and a funky and solid drummer, but Sheila is world class. Percussion is her focus and she's one of the best.

When Prince was recording the Parade album he apparently started the project in earnest by laying all the drum tracks down in one sitting - everything straight from his head. So what you hear on the album is pretty much exactly as he played it live in the studio.

Which makes that album even more remarkable in my eyes. As good as SOTT is, it's a shame Parade constantly gets overshadowed by it. Personally, (as much as I love SOTT) I'd take Parade over it anyday given the choice between the two.

BananaCologne said:

Me too! I swear, you and I were twins separated at birth!

Two words.....
"I'm Yours"

NightGod said:

Prince is very good, but Sheila E is unbelievable. Heard them both drum live about 87 or so. There is no comparison.

Guitar is probably Prince's best instrument, closely followed by drums and percussion.

Tamborine is absolutely ill. Best I've ever heard him done.

not that great

BananaCologne said:

The story is true but what you hear has electronic drums layered on top....so it's not exacltly like he played it live.

You guys are bringing back some memories with the America video! Best one I've ever seen. What happend to that song and why does he never perform it? What happend to that video also?

Tambourine is probably tops but I got to hand it up for his part on "Musicology".
if i hadn't of heard this I wouldn't have got the Rainbow Children and life as I know it would be the worse.

I like the live part on "Beautiful Night" too. It looks cool too, very important.

Accujack said:

We love to talk about his underwear, too. or lack thereof, which led us to talk about his balls. Hmmm, it's all very though provoking!

GaryMF said:

And I believe it was only the first our or five tracks.

Very surprising, I know but Michael Bland has said that it is Prince who plays the drums on the studio version of Shhh !!!! Michael B was amazed as he had managed to copy his own style.

AvramsDad said:

Yep.

AvramsDad said:

But many of the electronic drum sounds were triggered, so they too were played.

Think of the drumming on the early instrumental demos and on the 1st two albums. Then think of his drumming on the 1999 album... "Lady Cab Driver" anyone?

Shall I go on?

Peace.

Two of prince's recording engineers at different times (Femi Jeyi and Michael Koppelman if I remember right) have said that Prince is actually better on the drums then guitar or piano. I trust them! They also say that he does not really ever release or record all the musical exercises he does 'round the clock in the studio. Some say that his most musically amazing stuff is not heard because he wants to maintain the "Prince" pop image.

sarkozyiszeman said:

I don't believe that for a second!

Giovanni777 said:

Although LCB is a monster jam, he's really only playing the snare on that song. The rest is programmed. Not played with triggers, programmed.

Thing is, Prince isn't technically an amazing drummer, nor is he technically an amazing guitarist or keyboard player. However, what he's really good at (or at least was good at in terms of his guitar playing) is using his own unique style of playing in a way where the end product just sounds fantastic.

Tambourine's a great example, I think. Otherwise, if you look at his drumming on Prince and Dirty Mind, he's no John Blackwell but my God it works and it sounds fantastic.

NightGod said:

I've never thought of Sheila as a great drummer - absolutely fantastic percussionist, though.

Another video example of Prince playing drums (not a full kit or anything) is on the Rave video. Is it during the blues medley. Not sure

GaryMF said:

I was talking about the sequencing more than what we actually got to hear - hence why I put 'pretty much' sorry for not being clearer on this.

peterfalconer said:

Two engineers have said he is technically amzing, but does not make that part of his Prince image.

Ceaser said: