Has prince achieved everything in music?

Prince the brilliant singer songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, multi instrumentalist, amazing performer, brilliant vocalist, transformed music, innovator,addictive drum programmer, influenced artists of different genre,
created his own genre, inspirational, LIVE! nobody can touch him,
studio nobody can touch him, his own fashion looks, have worldwide hits & b underground artist as well etc.

Which leads 2 the question, Has prince achieved everything in music?
If he hasn't what can he do now or where can he go musically from now on?

Handcuffs said:

Now he could go where Bill Laswell went: modern electronica, world-music, ambiant, free-jazz, dub, contemporary, experimental stuff...

The War, and later NEWS and Xpectation seemed to open new doors in Prince's music, and were major records in his discography, but for some reason he came back to "what he does". Kamasutra also seemed to open a door, but with an obvious ignorance of what had been achieved before in the field of contemporary/neo-classical music.

No one artist will ever achieve everything in music.

johnart said:

Exactly.

databank said:[quote]

Handcuffs said:

Now he could go where Bill Laswell went: modern electronica, world-music, ambiant, free-jazz, dub, contemporary, experimental stuff... The War, and later NEWS and Xpectation seemed to open new doors in Prince's music, and were major records in his discography, but for some reason he came back to "what he does". Maybe he went back to making mainstream music because he knew stuff like XPECTATION and NEWS wouldnt sale well and the public wouldnt buy it. i dont even know how many Prince fans like jazz but i like it when Prince does but I wouldnt buy a instrumental jazz album. NEWS was difficult to listen to.

johnart said:

Well said. To take this a step further, no one has achieved everything in ANYTHING.

Music is not a sport. There is no such as "everything"...

johnart said:

I do agree here, on the other hand, what more can be expected out of one performer.

Prince is in the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame...Has been around the world...Has won awards...Is considered a Legend...And Prince has a following.(US) In a way Prince has it all.

Once he's picked up True Love...that will be the last Jack before the ball...and His official "Goodnight Sweetheart."

johnart said:

Compared 2 otrhers he has but he is always learning & may he continue.

dance4me3121 said:[quote]

databank said:

Well, obviously albums such as "Kamasutra", "The War", "Xpectation" or "N.E.W.S." would never sell as well as mainstream pop albums, and one part of Prince's fanbase wouldn't follow. Now Prince could also gain new fans who aren't into his pop/funk/rock stuff. And besides, "Crystal Ball" (the song) was totally weird and it became a fan favorite so you never know... Bill Laswell released around 200 albums, most of them instrumental and experimental, and obviously there are people to buy them or he wouldn't keep releasing them. There is actually a HUGE experimental scene comprising MANY musicians who manage to make a living out of their work, from free-jazz to contemporary music, from ambiant to electro-world, etc. People such as Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Rafael Toral, Graham Haynes, Nils Petter Molvaer, Gavin Bryars, Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tetsu Inoue, Atom Heart, Talvin Singh and countless others manage to sell records and have a comfortable living despite composing music that isn't pop neither mainstream.

N.E.W.S. was difficult to listen to for uneducated ears (no offense meant), it's actually quite mainstream and very accessible compared to some stuff i mentioned above. But i remember that when i heard the 1st minutes of "East", i really felt like "Woooow! That's what i was hoping Prince would do for years!!! At last he's going in unexplored territories like he used to!". Now Prince could keep releasing the same kind of pop music forever, i would always follow because he does it so well and obviously i'm totally in love with Prince's "touch". But when you read people saying that Prince has tried every kind of music that's totally wrong. Prince has tried every kind of North-American music (except maybe for country), but there are many things he never tried.

The problem is that Prince says himself that he quit listening to new music: therefore he only hears what every one hears: mainstream, Top-40, radio music, and of course such music is no challenge to him. But probably there are many musical styles that can offer a challenge to Prince in the sense of exploring new grounds.

I'm not saying Prince hasn't achieved a LOT. He is and he will remain one of our time's greatest musical talents. But he definitely has a lot more to achieve when it comes to diversity. Now if Prince lives 30 or 40 more years, i doubt that he will keep releasing dozens of additionnal "Musicology", "3121" or "Lotusflow3r": he will most likely get bored with it and want to try something else.

And when i was, earlier, talking about "educated ears", that's anothe whole story: radio and major record stores are just trying to kill whatever doesn't sound like a 3-minutes-long pop song. Music can have many shapes, not just this one. And believe me i LOVE a good pop-song, but i wish people would be more open to other genres.

Oh yeah. He was so right when he said that his only competition was himself.

He has done it all, and done it all better than anyone else ever has, IMHO.

Now his biggest challenge is, can he invent new things that no one else has ever done?

RodeoSchro said:

databank said:

I guess the definition of "music" is up for grabs. I'm looking at it as "music business" because to ask if someone has mastered every form of music is not reasonable.

I can't think of anything Prince hasn't done. He's:

1. Had the highest-selling album ever at his label (at the time)
2. Had the highest-grossing music movie ever (again, at the time)
3. Won every award there is to win
4. Staged every kind of concert tour there is to stage, and set attendance records almost everywhere he's played
5. Distributed albums in more ways than any artist
6. Had (not has, unfortunately) ground-breaking Internet sites
7. Performed on the biggest stage in the world (the Super Bowl)

The list of accomplishments is almost infinite. I honestly can't think of anything he hasn't done, and done better than just about anyone else.

prince is not even close to achieving everything ... when prince did prince he was the best ... he went in other directions made a valient effort but failed miserably ... especially campared to those who are masters of those genres ... be it electronica, jazz, ahem RAP, clasical, musicals, concept albums, religeous albums or even at this point PRINCE, prince hasnt done prince very well in a long time ... and the fact is others have done prince as good as prince over the years and of course those who are masters of said genres have outdone prince .. i am sure noone wants to admit that but where can prince go ... he can take those interests and do them better or even do them good and if he gets that far he can try to blow our minds again .. but come on the rapping on dnp kamasutra news the lite jazz the human body ... compared to the tops in those fields prince has a long way to go ... so yes he can take his experiments to the next level for sure and actually if the 2009 shows are any indication i think he may just be ready to do just that. i consider many of the last few decades to be experiments by prince perhaps more ego than talent and a sort of practice or work towards mastering those genres or at least trying them out. no he doesnt measure up but i think he may be getting closer and also realizing where his true talent lies in being himself, not in trying to pretend he is good at every other genre on the planet.

i'm still waiting for the album of Black Sabbath covers...

Gospel album let him get it all out.

Prince WAS. Thats the key here.

He won't go farther because he's got issues with many things that hold him back creatively. Its done. Enjoy the classic work.

mrsquirrel said:

And a duets album with Philip Anselmo.

He still hasn't teamed up with David Bowie on a project...which he needs to do...

databank said:

very well said.
we seem to be very like minded concerning princes output.

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[Edited 12/21/09 8:12am]

He has yet to make a GREAT album since becoming an 'Elderly Statesmen of Pop'.


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[Edited 12/7/09 8:29am]

RodeoSchro said:

Yeah, like getting a hit song...aint gonna happen.

ernestsewell said:

Yep... but Prince has done a better job than most.....and we still only get half the good stuff.....who's got the keys to the that vault ....

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[Edited 12/21/09 8:12am]

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[Edited 12/21/09 8:12am]

Yeah. I think he's at the end of his musical rope. He's been in a rut for the last decade and a half.
The man should just tour the world and remind us all of better days...
Ain't nothin' goin' on there.

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[Edited 12/21/09 8:12am]

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[Edited 12/21/09 8:54am]

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[Edited 12/21/09 8:11am]