EmbattledWarrior said:

Where can I hear some of your stuff??

EmbattledWarrior said:

Geez...you don't think much of yourself, do you?

Two of my favourite 'clean' guitar solos by Prince are from 'Thieves in the Temple (extended)' and especially'There is Lonely' - beautiful. Also, in a number of aftershows he has displayed his great improvisational skills while lying on his back! Like Hendrix, the instrument seems to be an extension of his mind and soul and he appears completely natural. Solos by some others I have seen live and at close range (Satriani, Vai and David Gilmour - all great btw) sometimes seem to come across as too premeditated and a bit forced. Prince does understand the need for the contrast between bombastics, silence and tonal variations better than quite a lot of so-called 'masters' I have seen live.

At the end of the day, there are many guitarists who play the instrument to a very high standard and it's a case of apples and pears as to which one you think is better. It's not like a car test where you can prove technical superiority in key areas. It would be interesting to get a load of these guitar gods on stage (including our man), give them a rhythm track and see how they each improvise over it. I think Prince would do us all proud. Plus, he'd jump on the bass, drums, keyboards etc and fill out the rhythm section with his voice creating the horn section!!!

When the dust settles, I can picture Prince blowing his mic like a smoking gun, grinning his sly grin, and strutting off the stage while the others suck their thumbs!

heres the crazy thing, when he's booked on TV live theres an expectation that he'll play killer guitar. he has since 2004 reshaped himself as a guitar god for TV purposes, he can give you the hits, the funk, the charisma but ultimately people are just now being introduced to his guitar chops. i cant tell you how many people ( after the super bowl) who thought he was some dancing "funk guy" called me and said "dude i didnt know he could play like that".

This whole thread is quite unnecessary...

What's a "killer solo", a "great guitarist" etc. is purely a subjective matter. Whether you're a musician yourself or not doesn't change that either.

There are no right answers, only opinions. The discussion is a waste of time.

thebanishedone said:

I didnt want 2 go there...so Thank You !

EmbattledWarrior said:[quote]

dag said:

Wow, someone's sure modest

I don't see a big difference in Prince's playing from "For You" 'till now. A lot of the same things that he did in say, like "I'm Yours", he does today. And I say this from experience, 'cause I learned that stuff note for freakin' note. Prince's guitar playing may seem more experimental because of the context of the music, i.e. the news album, but he's using the same techniques and runs he's been using since he burst on the scene. It was cool then and I still dig it now.

thebanishedone said:

Actually, Prince's stuff, from a technical standpoint, isn't impossible to play, but that's not the point here. So, why even try to come up with that infantile response?

bigbrother said:

Actually, some musicians have more technique than others. There is a standard of technical proficiency in music, just as there is a standard of proficiency in most professions. To enter college as a music major on guitar, there are tests and auditions to measure technical proficiency. So, you can't ignore technique and say that it can't be proven. More importantly, though, it's what one does with the technique that counts. Miles Davis wasn't known for having the best technique, but he did his thing.

Steve Vai actually said this in an interview - it went something along the lines of, every musician has a different point where they've mastered their instrument as it pertains to his respective experience. For Keith Richards, it was the Chuck Berry style of playing that he revered. For Vai himself, it was a technical mastery of the instrument. Each musician has different goals. So, my interpretation of mastery is different than say, EmbattledWarrior, who by his posts, has mastered the guitar to the point where he's ready to cut heads with Vai himself

RealMusician said:

Then why are you here and why did you post?

thebanishedone said:

I think you got it right!

Prince makes incredible solos that "are" emotional in tone, sound and feeling. His work on "I hate U", "Dolphin", "The Question of U", "Shhh" even simplistic playing on "Wherever U Go Whatever U Do", "So Far So Pleased" and soooo many more are ALL killer.

To me, I find it facinating that Prince "does not" have to record/compose a song that shows off guitar solos. In fact what's wonderful and fantastic about his music is that it's all about "everything"...the drums, the keys, the beat, the horns, the guitar...it's about painting a picture.

This is just ONE reason why I love his music, old and new...It's always a little different, a little something more whether it's simple or complex.

Let's face it, PRINCE can tear it up well on the guitar, go to a live show if you haven't already. He plays it all pretty darn well.

JesseDezz said:

Exactly
I started out worshiping Prince as a Guitar God, But when i brushed up, and saw Other Cats like Vai, Halen, Slash, Page, Satriani, My playing mimicked their style more than Prince's. Alot of arpeggios, Alternate picking/Economy Picking, String Skipping etc... Each of that gives you more melodic tones.
Prince usually focused more on tone and harmonics rather than actual playin, when it comes to lead. His playing SOUNDS good, but isn't technically complicated and can be replicated pretty easily.

I think Prince's Rhythm guitar is more masterful than his lead, simply because he focused more on it.

JesseDezz said:

Just trying to wake some people up - but I guess it's no use...

RealMusician said:

Hey, I feel that way sometimes too, but I've come to the conclusion that some Prince guitar talk is better than none at all - I just dig the fact that we take his playing seriously enough to have debates/discussions about it. I've gone to some other sites (and talked with other musicians) where that's just not possible. He kind of elicits a love him or hate him response from people for the most part.

RealMusician said:

I've actually enjoyed reading this whole thread. Both sides make good points and it's nice to see a thread like this as opposed to the usual threads about "Prince has lost it" or "What do you think of Prince's hair" or "Do you want to be Prince's Baby Mama." This thread is actually very interesting and I see both sides of the discussion. I love Prince's guitar playing and the reason I love it is because it seems to me that whenever he solos, there is so much feeling in each solo, regardless of whether it's technically challenging or not. However I enjoy reading the point of view from the people focusing on the "technical" side of thing. Regardless of which side you are on there is no right or wrong answer, just different points of view, but I personally wish there were MORE discussions like this on this forum.

A few years back, I taped a Prince performance on Jay Leno that I bought with me to watch at the geetar store I worked at. Our main guitar teacher saw it and was sorta impressed, 'cause according to him, every time he saw Prince play lead, it was always "diddly-diddly-diddly up the neck".

Then again, this same teacher thought that Ernie Isley's solo on "Summer Breeze" "sounded horrible" - he hated the effects Ernie was using - and thought John Mayer (Mayer's "Body Is a Wonderland" type stuff, not the more guitar-oriented songs) was "freakin' awesome"...

To each his own, I guess.

JesseDezz said:

That man needs to be shot...
you're body is a wonderland
LMFAO

JesseDezz said:

ugh. that sounds like it's basically vai saying "playing chuck berry stuff is fine for lowly human beings like keith richards, but i'm so much more than that, i'm steve vai, aka superman". what a patronising, egotistical asshole

technical ability is a tool. anyone can play as technically well as anyone if they practice enough. but music comes from the soul, and the mind, which is something you can't learn no matter how hard you try. you just have it...or you dont. thats the difference between this: http://uk.youtube.com/wat...Ny5ajCn0xw , and this - http://uk.youtube.com/wat...C60XNiS-MQ
[Edited 7/26/07 17:44pm]

theghostoftonym said:

Dude i don't know what you're deal is,
But all musicians play from the soul, (cept pop producers)
An instrument is an extention of you're soul
Vai, mastered one facet of the instrument, and profited from it
what is wrong with you?
he's not discrediting chuck berry, he's merely stating a fact of styles
you need give the dog thats biting your ass a bone, lie in a tub of ice and just chill.

I agree that some guitarist who are too technically advance need to go to "Note Rehab" as Miles Davis said,
cause than its just a way of saying, look how many notes i can play yay!!! i am awesome...
Thats noot what this thread is about. this thread is the opposite of that
Its prince, Putting a whole bunch of feeling and minimal skill
, the levels should be equal.
the 70's were filled with guitarist who felt it and were skill full
Even Chuck Berry , was and is extremely skillful
but he feels it as well

theghostoftonym said:

You're searching for an argument where there is none. He actually made a lot of sense. Like I stated earlier, everyone has their own interpretation of mastery. And all this music comes from the soul versus technical ability is just ignorant and shortsighted. You can list all the examples you want to back up your "argument" but you're still grasping at straws...

EmbattledWarrior said:

u should be---Prince is one of the Most Loved, Successful,Popular, Musicians ever! Thats more than enough proof that he knows what he is doing and that he is a Genius. He has recorded plenty of Solos and he plays them to Loving Perfection. Regina Carma
[Edited 7/26/07 19:17pm]

I hate to bust your bubble but Prince has said that he doesn't think he's the best guitarist.

This has to be one of the worst and most tired subjects ever to be beaten into a dead, rotting horse.

Why do people find it necessary to incessantly compare Prince's play style to others and criticize his abilities? He is an amazing guitarist - There is audible record of that fact and it spans decades now. Is he the most amazing guitarist ever in the existence of mammalian species? Maybe not. I don't care, though, because I don't listen to Prince's music because I tell myself he is the best guitarist ever in the world, etc etc. I listen to his music because it speaks to me and I love the STYLE of art he creates. Sorry, but you can't measure that.

Saying one guitarist is better than the other is one of the most pointless and retarded discussions. It's guitar playing. It's an art form. Not a fucking math test.

Spinlight said:

Well, why did you post? If this subject means nothing to you, DON'T FUCKING POST!!! It's as simple as that. It's just a discussion. This is a discussion board. If you don't like the subject, go to another thread. Take that condescending attitude elsewhere.
[Edited 7/26/07 20:11pm]

It amazes me how some folks get all defensive and disgusted when any aspect of Prince's musicianship gets discussed yet they post anyway. Stay out of the threads then!!!

prince's solos can be easy to play(i could never take the place,america)
but usualy his solos are not easy to reproduce
if you want to play it correctly/
i dare everyone who says its better then prince,to reproduce guitar solo from song interactive and posty it on youtube.
i highly doubt somebody on org can do it.

thebanishedone said:

lol we should have an org contest. we all decide on one prince song, then make videos of us covering it and put them on youtube, and then start a thread in this forum and hav the orgers take a poll

thebanishedone said:

You really are retarded

emilio319 said:

JesseDezz said:

Listen, I enjoy discussing the technical aspects of music more than most people in here. But even those issues - for some reason especially the guitar-related ones - tend to evolve into "Prince is better than Hendrix", "Prince is better than Steve Vai", "Prince is the greatest guitarist in the world", "No he's not, that's Jimmy Page" etc.

That, to me, is pretty meaningless. And that's the way I was feeling about this thread, especially at the beginning. There has been some good and informative posts since, but the question that started this thread (why Prince hasn't played a "killer" guitar solo on record) is much too subjective for me to start a serious discussion...sorry!

Spinlight said:

I don't know about your choice of words...but basically I agree with what you're saying.