It always amazes me when I see these lists for greatest guitarist or best guitar solos ever like the one below, where prince never even gets mentioned. I mean is the guitar solo in something by the george harrison really better than purple rain???. I love rock n roll music more than anything and I also love prince and his music but the amount of friends I have who are into rock and roll and cant stand prince and dont even class him as a guitarist is unbelievable. I just hope someday prince will release a guitar driven rock n roll album that will leave alot of rock fans jaws on the floor.
[Edited 2/20/08 15:26pm]

because he doesnt believe in himself

it's because his oversexuality and pop star success have overshadowed everything else. he's good at too many things. the majority of great guitarists are just that, great guitarists.
[Edited 2/20/08 17:44pm]

Prince is only underrated by people that don't know all of His music. Those of us that really listen, know He's fantastic.

Cuz.

TheMightyCelestial said:

Oh wow thanks for that insight.

rolling said:

You answered your own question. Prince has never released anything but a handful of guitar driven tracks, let alone a full rock album. It's arguable if he even has the capacity to do such. Listen to the disaster that is Fury. Compare Play In The Sunshine and I Could Never... from the Sign o The Times to their live incarnations. There's some kind of disconnect when he gets into the studio and he fails miserably. Instead of a thick rock groove he usually adds a synth line or water drops or floss being twanged, etc.

And considering he's entering his elder years, I don't see him ever putting out anything fresh and exciting in the rock vein. Those days are over. Although it's certainly nothing new, even Dirty Mind, as great a record as it is, could have been more than a supposed classic if he'd had the sense to put some driving guitar into the tracks. He should release a live show from the era, but that of course, is impossible with his current religious beliefs.

ARJUN said:

This just about sums it up as far as I'm concerned.

http://www.housequake.com...adid=97546

Whitnail said:

Wall said:

I agree completely. Based on his studio recordings, which is generally how these things are considered, he hasn't really played very much guitar. I also agree that many of Prince's "rock" songs sound somewhat sterile. I don't know if it's too late for him to record a great rock album or not but if he wanted to he should probably hook up with some different musicians. Nothing against any of the folks who have played with him in the past but I think if he were to get with some rock musicians and forget about keyboards he could record an authentic sounding rock album.

these polls r a load of old bolloks anyway.
i don't supose p loses any sleep over his non-rating..
at this stage in his career he doesn't need
reminding how sexciting & sick he is with his horny honerrr
this is what p thinks of them...

ARJUN said:

I agree 100%

ARJUN said:

First I was gonna say that it's because he's black, then I was gonna say that because music critics still slobber over Eddie Van Halen and Slash. But those aren't really good enough answers. So I'm just gonna agree with Arjun here.

The same reason Jordan is underated 4 his defense. The man has 2 many skills 2 focus on just one.

ARJUN said:

You hit the nail on the head.Prince is a great guitarist,but there are many other things that get in the way.His ego,his pop success,his persona,his overt sexuality,etc.This stuff overshadows his guitar playing.

rolling said:

in this day and age, music is commercialized it's all about money and not talent i thought i was the only person who noticed he was underrated too the music industry has gone down i read that last year rap sells have been the lowest in years why? it's all commercialized the true artists that use to rock back in the day can't get a chance at a comeback because all people like to hear now is that lame ass shit like soulja boy it is sad but one day kids will have to go to a musuem to hear what real music is like.

luckily, most of my friends, even though not fans, know he is a good guitarist. if ever people need to be informed of his prowess, just slam trojan horse aftershow on.

zsasz said:

ARJUN said:

Yes, I agree with that! Add to that, that most magazines (their writers) who come up with lists like thess, don't even listen to other kind of music to know that Prince is a great guitarist! They listen to rock and hard rock and dismiss Pop or Soul or RnB as something not listenworthy... some of these people are very narrow minded in what is acceptable to them of listening too!
[Edited 2/23/08 8:41am]

It's a conspiracy, I blame the CIA

PatrickS77 said:

yes, this is very true.

never heard so much shit in ma life

Prince receives more props than ever for his guitar work, especially from his peers...Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton plus others have had overwhelmingly gracious things to say about him in that respect...I think thats more important than any critics ranking...it's bullshit, however, to discount the works of other guitarists because our boy isn't held in the same regard...Prince is one of the all time great musicians but not one of the all time great guitarists...while he can certainly hold his own, innovative guitar work has never been his thing.......

His look makes most people cover their ears.

Because they haven't heard Alexa de Paris or Computer Blue????