prince was always great guitar player,but judging by the recent

recordings from london 02 arena and indigo show
i have found his licks to be much more adventuristic and complex.

i think that prince's main focus these days is guitar,listen to the way prince phrases on guitar these days.
also he always had fast parts in his solos but he's playing faster and cleaner then ever before.
does anyone agree and what do you think of his playing in recent times?

I adore his guitar playing and loved it on the 21st (in particular the aftershow). Its a pity that alot of people dont recognise him as a brilliant guitar player ....

IRISHFAN said:

I think he will get more recognition if he continues to play cleanly. The biggest knock on him was that he often played sloppily. We know he can turn it out when he wants to, but often times in the past he played like accuracy really didn't matter that much. But I agree with the topic of this thread that Prince's playing today is better that ever.

Oh yeah,he's constantly improving.

thebanishedone said:

How the hell should I know? He only takes down "EVERY" documentation of a live performance he's ever had. I'm in the mood for videos. Screw audio! Freakin' purple, ditzy jackass.....
[Edited 9/27/07 9:17am]

FarrahMoan said:

Jesus, you again, go and have a wank!

funkyhead said:

I am not Jesus, you assclown! I am Peter and Prince is Jacob The Liar. Welcome to Hell on Earth, imbecile.....

FarrahMoan said:

... and he has every right to do so. Just like you have the right to charge people for your work. It's not like you go to work every day for free, right? Music is Prince's work, and he wants to get paid, so let him.
We should be happy for all the stuff he has already released, and he has released A LOT. Sucks being a MJ fan when you get a new album every six years or something. Prince puts out new music constantly. Be grateful.

I think he's improved tremendously.

As much as I love him as a performer, his musicianship, especially on the guitar, has only grown, now that he's now longer jumping off of pianos and grinding the floor, taking bubblebaths, and masturbating his tele.

He not only has gotten better, but he makes it look easier than ever.

Da bastid...so much talent...

Yes!

Eye don't know...

Has anyone listened to The Undertaker lately?

He doesn't try to play both rhythm and lead guitar anymore.. Of course I'm biased and want him to be more like jimi.

93-95 was one of my favorite guitar times for Prince as he was part of the new power trio!

Mabey he needs a rhythm guitarist again... I find him a little to Jazzy these days (IMHO).

r/f

based on hearing his recent O2 and aftershow performances it seems to my ears that he's really ratched up his musicianship recently. It sounds to me like he's truly interested in 'saying something', making a musical statement, with each solo these days...rather than simply providing a sinctillating flashy run along with his impeccable showmanship, which IMO has been his main MO much of the past 15 yrs (!) or so...

I really had started to wonder if P was ever gonna really get back into the musicianship aspect of what he does...to be honest although I've always respected it, I really hadn't enjoyed his guitar playing much, reasonably skilled though its always been, since he put down the blue angel in 89 or thereabouts (oh! the peach cloud/blue angel period = purely sublime guitar tone/playing!) ...I just thought that he had such a wicked, distinctive tone and style back then! It seemed to me like in the 90s he lost touch with his melodicism and his relationship with tone and texture. I've always imagined that he probably just got bored with how he sounded and went exploring in different directions, as seems to be his nature with all aspects of his music...and I respected him for it...But now it seems like its all starting to come together for him: a killer, sweet tone, substantive melodic lines, unbridled emotion, tasteful (if a bit excessive IMO) use of tremolo bar and feedback, more chording, a return to his previously spot on rhythm playing...its all working: effortless expression at his fingertips...Prince may never break new ground as a guitarist ala hendrix, montgomery, holdsworth, et al, but he's proven to my ears that he's once again one of the most outstanding players alive today...

I understand that those strats he plays now are maple with emg humbuckers ala the vintage clouds, so its like he's updating and refining his classic tones...also, to me it sounds like he's playing with heavier strings again...the hohner sounds positively 81-84ish to me (just like a good tele oughta)...even that guitar had sounded for me like it had been wired and strung much differently up through the 90s into around 2004 or so...

i'm digging that Prince is focusing less on showmanship
and more on musicianship
or at least a mixture of the two

FarrahMoan said:

O.K. you are scary!.