For the first time I've listen those old jazz and funk instrumentals from the work/Studio nights. The jazz instrumentals seem alot more impressive and better put together than the madhouse stuff and the last two instrumental albums under Prince's name: N.E.W.S. and Xpectation. Am I the only one who feels like this?

i wouldn't say better than madhouse
but i would say they are indeed impressive
especially considering how old they all were
prince, andre, bobby, et al

also shows prince's dad's influence from the beginning

I also prefer a lot of the old stuff over NEWS any day.

I always wondered if all instruments were performed by Prince or if other guys like Cymone and Bobby Z were involved somehow
Does somebody have the full credits?

GustavoRibas said:

I believe The Vault mentions the Sound 80 jam sessions as being comprised of Prince, Andre, and Bobby. Not sure if others contributed and/or which song was whose, etc.

??

^Yeah. My understanding is that it's Prince on keys, André on bass and Bobby Z on drums. They certainly are impressive, but they don't really compare with Madhouse/Xpectation/NEWS etc. They're pretty straight forward modal workouts that most amatuer jazz muso could pick up no worries. I prefer the slightly more obscure stuff on Madhouse/Xpectation, and the depth and scope of NEWS.