who else would agree his songs and music sound better when he performs live? since seeing him in concert at the o2, and listening to the "one night alone...live" cd i feel his voice is not given justice unless u hear him live, whats ur thoughts?

Dan26 said:

Good points but it's hard for me to compare Live vs. Studio for several reasons...

On "RECORD" Prince's songs have a different vibe. It's studio wizardry, arrangement...it's an art and his production to me is flawless.

"LIVE", Prince has an energy and style that has become a signature that is known world wide in music.

I really enjoy and appreciate both.

Prince fams are kind of spoiled...

It does now. It remains a mystery as to how he simply kills it live, yet that energy is not transfered in the studio. Case in Point...Fury. Personally, The songs from the last 3 albums sound much better live than they do on CD.

This wasn't always the case. The music IMO was always full of energy and wonderment that one couldn't wiat to see how it was interpreted live.

Yep I know what you mean after the amazing 'Beautiful Ones' on Sept 6th which blew me away!

The crappy songs are particularly better. I first noticed it during the JOTY & triple threat tours.

Jam of the Year, One of Us, Mad Sex, Push It Up, Freaks on This Side, and later Life o the Party are great live. Partly because the live energy lends itself to the material. When you're dancing & watching Prince & his band they could ALMOST be playing anything and it would be great.

Yes, but seeing him perform a song in person is much better than listenenig to a recording.

Not all the time. I'd say sometimes. And it depends on the song. Also to add on the Hit N Run tour Prince adlibed too much on some songs, and I was like "Damn just sing the fuckin' song". So I'd say sometimes.

Rinluv said:

Not to mention all the crazy medleys where you get a snippet of a song.

Dan26 said:

It depends on the songs for me. But as for his voice - I don't think so. His falsetto on record gives me chills, whereas on large parts of One Nite Alone I thought it was pretty weak.

I do however wish he used the deep yelling voice evident on All Along The Watchtower '07, The Cross '88, on record. His vocals on Planet Earth are quite annoying at times.

Musically though, you might have a case - especially as he never gets heavy enough on the guitar in the studio.

A question that is difficult to answer.

I mean, some of his 'lesser' songs, at least on record,sometimes sound a lot better when performed live, especially because of new, more vivid arrangements (life of the party, for example).

But in case of some of his greatest songs (When doves cry, Kiss, Sign of the Times) it seems like he has found the perfect format for these songs on record, and when he tries to recreates these songs live (with a full band, and other arrangements) they often don't match up with the studio versions.

Next to that, his solo / acoustic performances of well-known songs (Cream, Raspberry Beret, I could never take the place the man) can sometimes be quite revealing, because it shows he is not only a visionary musical pioneer, but that he can also be a splendid songwriter.
On the other hand, when he performs those song in a medleyform, it can get a bit irritating sometimes. Like he is just showing off. Give me the full versions any day.
[Edited 10/19/07 13:16pm]

A thing i would like to ad:

Personally i think Prince has improved a lot as a live-singer in the last 6-7 years.

In the past he sometimes had the tendency to force his vocal delivery, or he was so busy with his choreography and stage-act that the quality of his vocal delivery suffered from it.

I sometimes suspect him to have followed singing-lessons in the late nineties, or the early years of this century, because the difference is quite obvious.
Or maybe it 'just' has to do with him not doing all the dancing anymore.

Depends on the song.

I can agree I'd rather Prince and the band be in my house, than just the Stereo system.

In response to the original question - That never used to be the case... It's just we get so much shite past off in the studio releases now, we have to turn to the live shows for the real Prince to turn up.

"past off"? I teach this stuff! passed off, is what I meant to type.

Ive always loved "black sweat",and then i heard it live....wow, as for older tunes i don't think ive heard a decent live version of when doves cry, sign o' the times
can sound great live (IE the dvd) but is probably best suited to an album,plus in favor of recorded songs "7" just is too big a production to be performed live, at the o2 the vocal parts where samples so it lacked a bit of the live feel