In the newest (February 2010) Recording magazine, there's an article on vocal recording. The writer, Rick Barrio Dill, talks about Prince's layering of vocals... One of my favorite subjects, and least discussed aspects of Prince's genius.

Here's the pertinent excerpt:



He then writes further about what he tried, how it didn't work, and how unexpected changes in mic placement, vocal phrasing, etc, began to give the sound he wanted. He also mentions that part of the key is in the singer's ability to change tonal character, based on register and harmony range.

I read these type of articles frequently, just to see various engineers opinions on recording, and I was pleasantly surprised to find this, needless to say!

~G

Thanks for that article!

I would love to read more about how Prince stacks vocals. I knew there was a method to doing it and would like to know what it is.

Pure Genious

Prince's vocal arrangements are incredible. Emancipation is a clinic for studying his voice.

Thanks for posting this.

I think a key to Prince's background vocals is actually the influence of Larry Graham. No, I don't mean the modern spiritual influence, but that low end that Larry pulls off so effortlessly in his old recordings.

Listen to "An Honest Man", it sounds like Larry.
[Edited 2/1/10 16:35pm]

I agree that this aspect of his talent is overlooked. Because of this technique Prince rarely uses backing singers in the studio. With his vocal range he can sound male & female. This layering of vocals was inspired by Chaka Khan.

I have a theory that "When Doves Cry" was pivotal in Prince's use of layers of his own vocals. Granted, the 1st album has the song "For You", which is nothing but Prince's voice, but "When Doves Cry" really seemed to kick off this signature sound of his.

We hear the same arrangement in "It" from Sign O'the Times, but not necessarily throughout that double album. In "Batman", that multi-Prince choir plays a huge role. By the time the '90s rolled in, it started becoming more and more evident, with a song like "Thunder" starting the album Diamonds & Pearls". After "0)+>", maybe Prince was doing this a little too much in my taste, but I got used to it.

It always bothered me, how they did this in the shows... having all those Prince voices come in strongly during the choruses. I guess they used samplers, but were they programmed? Or would Morris Hayes hit the right keys with the right samples every time?

Regardless, he's the funkiest man in the land.

now this is my kind of reading material

From the moment I heard For You, I have been in utter awe at Prince's ability to layer and blend voices. It is one of the things that keeps me listening to him.

Thanks for sharing this.

Genesia said:

I agree with your post and your sig, Genesia.

Not many can sing in different octaves and make the layers work...They even have effects that give the same results..but none sound like Prince

jdcxc said:

I agree. There's so much versatility in his art and the way he uses his voice...Emancipation is a good example. Some of his most beautiful vocal stylings.

One of the reasons I don't favor Prince having input from flavor of the month producers is because I love the little idiosyncratic Princey touches he puts in his work.

I love those precious Princey moments.

His vocals are what made him stand out in the first place!
[Edited 2/1/10 20:43pm]

Xtraordinary said:

I would love to know also! Tried looking for scans but couldn't find any

TheScouser said:

Part of the answer is there... where this engineer talks about a singer's ability 2 alter his/her tonal character... register, etc.

Also with Prince, he chooses such "unexpected" harmonies, which are at once radically different from each other, but all working together perfectly. It's talent and a musically bold ear.

Also, Prince's mic placement, proximity, etc, likely vary quite a bit within the different vocal takes, which would create a wider sonic range.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he doesn't always listen 2 all of the previous vocals when laying each individual track down, giving each vocal more "independence" musically speaking.

Giovanni777 said:

Good point about mic placement....

SavonOsco said:

Right on.

Giovanni777 said:

Of all the things discussed, reported, etc., about his studio prowess, Prince's vocal layering is the one thing i would like to read about in detail. This is probably the aspect of his music that I've always just been blown away by.

Thanks G for posting - this is truly an area of his genius that is hardly discussed so its very cool to see this from Recording magazine.

It's an element of his music I've always referred to that many don't completly understand. One example is Sheila Es Glamorous life with P riding underneath her vocals for the entire song that most people just don't pick up on.

Nice article. Prince's Voice is Beautiful.

2020 said:

It is also one of my favourite subjects, and largely unnoticed by most.

Once, I was playing a Prince song 2 a couple of "qualified" friends in D.C. ... one an engineer, and the other, a major keyboard player. I was pointing out the background vocals, and the engineer said something like, "Yeah, well anyone can do that with an Eventide (harmonizer)." I explained that Prince tracks all of those vocals, and the keyboard player knew it, of course, and backed me up... Then I made him listen again... and again.

.
[Edited 2/2/10 9:51am]

^^^ what song?

1999 is when I believe he mastered layering and I wish he'd revisit that style