ernestsewell said:

ernestsewell said:

Luv these teenage spats on the org;;;;YOU GO GIRLS!!!!!

ernestsewell said:

The chord changes in something like Crazy You (despite the deceptively simple nature of its riff) are a better clue to a special talent than either of those songs imho.

"For You" might not have been terribly innovative, but the songwriting is amazingly sophisticated for a young guy (how old was he, 18?), and far from cliched as far as the musicianship is concerned. New beats and soundscapes aren't the only forms of originality.
[Edited 5/27/10 13:59pm]
[Edited 5/27/10 14:00pm]

I think sometimes folks confuse hearing a good "pop song" for having an awakening that a musical genius is in the midsts. Think about how many great one hit wonder songs that we all liked, and the artists of those songs later did major belly flops / cannon balls in the water. I think that's why Ernestsewell's point drives home so well.

It kinda takes more than one song in my opinion, it takes kinda like a "sampling" of songs. Would we had really thought that Michael Jackson was a musical genius just by hearing the title cut to "Off the Wall", no. But when you take the combination of the album Off the Wall, and Thriller, then thats when folks say "ut ohh, we have a musical genius here". The same holds true for Prince in my opinion.
[Edited 5/27/10 14:40pm]

Reel said:

BINGO.

eireboy34 said:

No fighting here.

@Greycap
[Edited 5/27/10 19:21pm]

When I heard the Gold Experience for the first time and realized it was the same guy that made Sexy Dancer that I used to dance to with my momz when I was growing up. Not only did I have that album on heavy rotation when I first heard it but, then I realized that he's had an album almost every year since 1978, I was like if that's NOT genius, I don't know what it is. I've been a hardcore fam/fan ever since.

Reel said:

From the ATWID 12 inch singles to UTCM. The exclamation point was 87' to 89'

Rico said:

me too, for different reasons than musical ability. imo, 'genius' is also in the over-all effect of a song, the feeling of a song, and the feelings it envokes in you. this one took us to the sky.

Cause and Effect really did it for me.


....

PurpleColossus said:

Seems that some folks are just s l o w on the draw.

yeah mountains was pretty eye opening and then diggin up cherry moon movie and diggin on the extendo for the first time same with the extendo crazy in purple rain ... totally made me think how fuckin awesome prince is ... i cant even listen to the original anymore and fuck those shorties live i need the full mix

then watching purple rain and cherry and hearing love or $ or god long love or alexa de paris ... just blew my mind the first time i realized all that stuff i had missed when i was younger and not aware of how massive his out put is

I'd figured and suspected it from the very first time I heard, "It's Gonna Be Lonely" back in '78, '79.

I continued feeling that way ALL through the LP's "Dirty Mind" "Controversy" AND "1999" but the moment for ME when he just left absolutely no doubt it, in MY mind was when I saw "Purple Rain" for the very first time and not 5 minutes into the movie, I saw Prince playing that killer part of "Let's Go Crazy" on the piano, with the heel of his motherfucking boot!

By the end of the movie, I was positively CONVINCED!

From that very moment UNTIL I heard "The Rainbow Children", there was not ANOTHER living soul on this Earth nor ANY amount of MONEY, that could have made ME think otherwise!!

.
[Edited 5/27/10 19:40pm]

TrevorAyer said:

i like ur roll i can do it too a roll for me and a roll for you just a lil bit this way and a little bit that baby not too thin and not too fat said i like ur roll i can do it too so keep it goin the whole day thru

funksterr said:

Before I made this thread I reminded myself:"There are lot of buttholes in this forum that dont respect opinions and love to start shit" So everything you are saying was totally expected...I dont understand why people here cant just disagree without insults....
But back to topic, no artist (on black radio) at the time of Doves Cry was doing those type of fast metal riffs on their tracks like Prince was, dude was fearless and that put him at another level imo. I dontthink that opinion makes me ignorant.
[Edited 5/27/10 22:31pm]

It's not something that I "realized". I just kinda grew up with people saying he's a genius.

As much as I love his music, as a kid, you don't really think of it as "genius". I just thought he was cool. I thought it was cool that he played different instruments. I thought it was cool that he had written all these songs.

So, my entire life, I had heard about how big a deal it was for him not have a bassline in When Doves Cry. I would think, "So, what. The song doesn't have a bassline, big deal".

I guess I took it for granted, because it was always around.

Once I got older around 17, 18 and started going back in his catalog. That's when it hit me.

That's when I'd listen to When Doves Cry with my headphones on and go "OOOOOHHHHH!!!! NOW, I GET IT"!!!

Gangstaglam said:

I mean no offense but your knowlege of "black music" must be a bit limited. I chose not to respond to that part of your thread, and I only focused on what I thought was your "intention". But it did actually bug me a bit. There are many black guitarists that came along before Prince, and are peers of Prince who play that sort of guitar. Perhaps listen to Jimmy Hendrix. Your original post did not quantify "fast metal riffs on their tracks". What you said was "Up til then I never heard a guitar solo of that magnitude on black radio before".

Gangstaglam said:

More ignorance. Pull your head out of Princey's lap and go out and explore the musical landscape. It sounds like you've missed out on a lot.

ernestsewell said:

Pffff..i suppose u forgot the album in between Prince and Controversy..Dirty Mind..hello!! that was when Prince genius really came out....everyone knows that..

Those moonie faces. Only deep people make those kind of faces.

Everyone considered him a genius when PR came to fame of course, and I thought it was a great album, not as strong as 1999, which was a massive party album that did not need a movie as a catalyst and the success there of had to be the push for PR....

then came ATWIAD and I thought, wow, that's different... but not genius.

then came UTCM, and definately not genius, and alright.

Then... SOTT, and I said genius.

And even though I feel that SOTT is his pinnacle, I feel that genius I percieve is on culminated on that one album, but without the path of 1999 to SOTT, I would never have seen the genius.

make sense?
[Edited 5/28/10 8:34am]

Reel said:

I said "on black radio" Jimi was never played on black radio... so how can you criticize without even playing attention to the whole damn sentence?

when doves cry

funksterr said:

I listen to everything from The Smiths to Fishbone to Radiohead. The problem is, you didnt understand the point I was making, I know about Eddie Hazel, Ernie Isley and many other great guitarist....BUT AT THE TIME of Doves Cry there were no heavy guitars being heard ON BLACK RADIO ...I was referring to a specific time period on a specific radio format. I know, you still dont get it..you still I think I mean I never heard a guitar being played till I heard Prince...

ernestsewell said:

Perhaps it wasn't a matter of "hearing" something groundbreaking as much as it was realizing that it all was coming from one kid. I mean, is there a 20 year old around now that is doing something comparable? In 1978 the only other reference point was Stevie Wonder...hence the genius talk beginning....

"Bob George" really elevated my opinion of his creative powers.

Gangstaglam said:

Oh really Jimmy was never played on "black radio" huh? Lemme ask you, what state or country are you from, and what radio stations did you listen to?? Just curious. There was once upon a time that "black radio" incorporated many types of musical genres, and even incorporated "white artists". So I'm now figuring that even your "black radio listening" was kinda limited. And AGAIN there are even OTHERS besides Jimmy Hendrix. Instead of being offended, just go do some more research! Then you'll really know and then you don't have to make blanket "ignorant sounding" potentially offensive statements.

When I first heard the guitar solos on Computer Blue, Lets Go Crazy, Purple Rain and Just my Imagination.

I've had many of these moments, but the first was probably The Beautiful Ones or Starfish and Coffee....or If I Was Ur Girlfriend.