He drums like he's drumming with his foot. His one flaw, his shitty drumming. Why do you think he rarely does drum solos.

adorable2 said:

For me Prince's drumming on the song Crystal Ball is exceptional. The rhythmic imagination which goes into some of those drum breakdown sections pretty much blows my mind. Similar in a way to some of the crazy stuff on Irrestistable Bitch.

In the days before digital when you used to record to tape, you were usually required to play the whole part in a take [as opposed to the digital format where instruments can be 'dropped in' or moved around much more easily]. To be able to play the drums on an 11 minute song like Cystal Ball straight through without missing a beat AND coming up with those fills shows Prince's phenomenal skill on the drums.

I hate him.

Sheila did the drums on Crystal Ball, not Prince.

2freaky4church1 said:

sounds like Prince's typical style of drumming not Sheila E. I think he was solo on that one (like When Doves Cry) apart from female vocal backing and Clare Fischer's orchestra.

Kind of like Alexa De Paris' drumming... what do the credits run on that one?

Miles Davis thought drums were Prince's best instrument. To quote Miles, "he plays the shit out of drums." I would think Miles would know good musicianship.

Miles and two engineers say Prince is BEST on drums even if he gives no public signs of it....

Who's on the drums on 777-9311? I don't know if it's considered top notch drumming, but I love it.

Accujack said:

isn't that a drum machine? I can't remember.

ufoclub said:

Y'know that there's a thread for older Prince fans, don't you?

BananaCologne said:

I don't really understand waht you mean here. What do you mean by sequencing? (it can have different connotations....e.g. programming the beat into a sequencer, or how the songs are ordered on album)

Illustrator said:

are you talkin about my memory?

2freaky4church1 said:

Interesting then that the liner notes in the Crystal Ball booklet read: 'Sussanah Melvoin lent her voice 2 the track and Claire Fisher arranged and conducted the orchestra. All other noizes are made by Prince.'

And, as ufoclub points out, 'sounds like Prince's typical style of drumming not Sheila E'.

It is important I think to distinguish between Sheila and Prince's drumming, and give them credit where credit is due. In this case it is Prince's drumming that desrves credit.On Sexual Suicide you could argue that that's Sheila's beat that Prince stole and played himself, I suppose. And Sheila's trigger drumming on Dance On is of course pretty insane.

But I would agree with UFO that Prince has a definite style of drumming all of his own. Kind of a thin, dirty sound, a light touch, but funky as hell.

fishwillbite said:

Well, whoever did lay down the drum part for that kudos to them - cuz it's sick!

Has everyone over looked the CD "For You"?
Two words "I'm Yours".

777-9311 is a drum machine.

Hand it up anyway, Prince often managed to add personality to programmed parts.

big shout for that cut is the Bass Line. ooomph16th's.

foal30 said:

Not to mention that it's probably the only song in popular music that has the groove start NOT on the 1, but on the "and" of 1.....(i.e. the 1st bass drum note is not at the first beat of the measure) How Jellybean plays it live is amazing!

Parade

All you have to do is listen to the Madhouse 8 album...The first track alone let's you hear what the man can do with the sticks...

murph said:

that's true

fishwillbite said:

I say again - technically it's not amazing, but the imagination and the way he couches the drum track in the rest of the record means the end result is superb. One of my favourite tracks.

ufoclub said:

Nah, that's definitely Prince on CB - apart from the fact it says in the credits, it's also his style.

Alexa de Paris sounds very much like Sheila to me, though - and though I'm not a massive Sheila E fan, I really like her work on that one.

BananaCologne said:

Yeah I was gonna mention that Sheila showed him the beat but P took the sticks and put that down what u hear! That is some nasty drumming!

In my opinion, Prince's drum playing stands a bit apart from his playing on other instruments. His guitar, bass and piano playing are always tight and very precise, sometimes a bit machine like. His drum playing is very loose, that's why I like it so much. Good examples are 'God' and 'Alexa'. It has a free almost jazz feel. His fills are sometimes sounding un-drummerish. and his style is very different from that of his 'real' drummers like Sheila E and John B., and therefore you can easily tell that it's Prince. In a way, his drumming reminds me of that of Stevie Wonder.

jazzz

It's very strange that there's (here's) a thread here about the drumming skills of Prince and a few days later he plays the drums big time in the aftershow (Santana, Wonder medley).
What a reply by P. (I know it could be mere coincidence (and most probably is)). Just wish we could watch or at least listen to this.

ufoclub said:

Thats Bobby Z! theres some great drumming on that track-kinda the highlight of bobbys career

It'd have to BS that Prince is better on drums than guitar. There is just no way.

DarlingDiana said:

from three professional sources that didn't overlap and have hung out with him for days in the studio? Sources that hear what he really does, not what he puts out as "prince" the pop star celebrity? Micheal Koppelman has said (and he is not one to blindly worship Prince if you listen to his interviews) that Prince's most amazing stuff musically is not heard by the public.

but it could all be bull.

he is on par with bobby z at best

ufoclub said:[quote]

DarlingDiana said:

sure. just like he has 1000 songs in the vault...