I must say that i'm fan of both Prince and Queen

but i can listen to Prince all the time which i can't say

about Freddy Mercury.

if somebody ask you who is a better songwritter in your opinion what would you say

Prince or Freddie?

While this is Prince org and most replies

will be Prince ,think about it,

both artist are so different yet both have very diverse material.

But just look at the song structures only.

In my opinion in terms of composition he went places Prince never dared or didn't have a knowladge to go.

I love Prince much more but Freddie is/was a much better songwritter.

[Edited 7/22/10 18:48pm]

Freddie Mercury was a beast, his voice no doubt was one of the most awesome of all times, just listen to Dont Stop Me Now. However, on his solo album his music context wasnt too different between the songs. Prince has more diversity and spiritual messages.

thebanishedone said:

I must say that i'm fan of both Prince and Queen

but i can listen to Prince all the time which i can't say

about Freddy Mercury.

if somebody ask you who is a better songwritter in your opinion what would you say

Prince or Freddie?

While this is Prince org and most replies

will be Prince ,think about it,

both artist are so different yet both have very diverse material.

But just look at the song structures only.

In my opinion in terms of composition he went places Prince never dared or didn't have a knowladge to go.

I love Prince much more but Freddie is/was a much better songwritter.

[Edited 7/22/10 18:48pm]

Don't forget, Brian May made a bit of a comparison of Prince and Freddie after attending one of the Arena shows in '07...i think P looks like Freddie in some pics...like in the yellow suit..and a few others.

I think they're too different from each other. Love Freddie's (and Queen's) compositions.

Freddie is definately hands down the better singer. He could do metal, prog, opera, piano ballads, you name it. His pipes were just ferocious, but also otherworldly soothing. Songwriter? No. Queen was a four-part collective creative concious. Without Brian, Roger, and John, he was incredibly talented, but wasn't quite as good as Prince, a lone musical genius. Had you said Queen vs. Prince, you'd have a pretty difficult question.

robinhood said:

Hey my friend

John Deacon wrote this song

Timmy84 said:

I think they're too different from each other. Love Freddie's (and Queen's) compositions.

I love both of these cats but they are way too different genre-wise to compare

I'd be more than happy to compare them, as I was a Queen fan long before I was a Prince fan. Well, at least in my teenage years it seemed like a long time. The songs Prince wrote from 1981 to 1987, including unreleased ones, are better than anything Queen could have possibly written. If this was Prince vs Queen, Aerosmith, Genesis, The Police, U2, Earth Wind & Fire, and Cameo all combined, then it would be close, but Prince would still come out on top. Of course, this is all opinion. Since the question just said Freddie alone, it is not even close. Freddie's solo work makes New Power Soul look like some kind of masterpiece. Freddie did some awesome songwriting with Queen, but I can take 50 songs from 1981-1987 that can top damn near anything.

I'm sure the "Hard-Rock~Freestyle," could settle the argument.

Line up the bands...and let's see...

LayzieKiddZ said:

Freddie Mercury was a beast, his voice no doubt was one of the most awesome of all times, just listen to Dont Stop Me Now. However, on his solo album his music context wasnt too different between the songs. Prince has more diversity and spiritual messages.

Prince's 'spiritual message' does not matter to people who are not christians. And certainly I'm not going to judge the quality of someone's songwriting based on their religion.

no comparison there!! Queen and Freddie Mercury all the way!! One of the GREATEST of all time.

dandeeland said:

no comparison there!! Queen and Freddie Mercury all the way!! One of the GREATEST of all time.

Queen could never make anything like SOTT.

JudasLChrist said:

LayzieKiddZ said:

Freddie Mercury was a beast, his voice no doubt was one of the most awesome of all times, just listen to Dont Stop Me Now. However, on his solo album his music context wasnt too different between the songs. Prince has more diversity and spiritual messages.

Prince's 'spiritual message' does not matter to people who are not christians. And certainly I'm not going to judge the quality of someone's songwriting based on their religion.

It matters to the bigger picture of life. Beyond the confines of music/jobs/money/the world, theres afterworld- & how rejoiced am I to know Prince GETS this. When one's last breath is taken- or when one stands in front of God on judgement day, what will their music matter? What matters is the message. For not only is there a world where you can see the sun day or night, there's very well one featuring a lake of fire and gnashing of teeth.

JesusFreak said:

It matters to the bigger picture of life. Beyond the confines of music/jobs/money/the world, theres afterworld- & how rejoiced am I to know Prince GETS this. When one's last breath is taken- or when one stands in front of God on judgement day, what will their music matter? What matters is the message. For not only is there a world where you can see the sun day or night, there's very well one featuring a lake of fire and gnashing of teeth.

in my opinion, what matters is not what a man says, but what he does.

the old saying "actions speak louder than words" rings true.

you can tell a man's thoughts by his actions, more than his words.

if a man can't 'repent' and own up to his own transgressions, then nothing he says will make a difference on Judgment Day.

Prince has given a lot to the world through his music, but God knows the Truth of his motivations.

its easy for someone to sing about the glories of love, for example, then cheat with other women.

likewise, its easy to sing about the glories of God, then act as if God isnt watching.

i'm in no position to judge Prince, but i'm old enough to separate the message from the messenger.

JesusFreak said:

JudasLChrist said:

Prince's 'spiritual message' does not matter to people who are not christians. And certainly I'm not going to judge the quality of someone's songwriting based on their religion.

It matters to the bigger picture of life. Beyond the confines of music/jobs/money/the world, theres afterworld- & how rejoiced am I to know Prince GETS this. When one's last breath is taken- or when one stands in front of God on judgement day, what will their music matter? What matters is the message. For not only is there a world where you can see the sun day or night, there's very well one featuring a lake of fire and gnashing of teeth.

None of that is relevant to persons that are not christians.

To me Prince he has a broader range of styles in his writting.

This is actually an intriguing subject for a change. A sharp contrast to the guy that a couple of years ago claimed that there was a "funk community", and it was "their" opinion couldn't compose true funk music (bunch of shit).

There have been a lot of discussions that have branched out from this core question that I would like to address.

Song WRITER - Farrokh had the advantage (yes even in Zanzibar) of a more formal, more classical education. He had a superior vocabulary and a superior economy and flow with that vocabulary. He was articulate and a genuine renaissance poet. However, just because he could compose a sonnet doesn't mean ALL that. A funky rhyme born from northside Minne can tickle the soul as well as any well conceived pentametric verse.

It's a wash.

Composer (by instrument) -

Piano - I have to give the nod to the Brit. I can hear the screams now, "What? That's Prince's first instrument!" Yes it is, and relatively speaking (through no fault of his own) he picked it up late. Farrokh was again classically trained from an early age. So we have natural talent that is more or less on par with Prince, but harnessed, nurtured, and molded to be more than just a simple "ivory tickler". You can hear it when he plays, or even see it in his technique, Freddie could do what he wanted to on a piano, and go places that Prince (perhaps deliberately) would never go. He was capable of more formal phrasings and smoother transitions. I'm aware of what Prince did with “The Truth” and “Rainbow Children”, and we'll get to that in the next section.

Guitar – Busara had Brian May. Prince doesn't need Brian May. Am I saying that Prince's skills on six string are more or less equal to Brian May? Damn right. Distinct advantage, Prince.

Arranger -

Prince, Prince, Prince, Prince. Clear enough?

Prince throughout his career spent a great deal more time meshing different sounds and arrangements from a broader range of instruments and trying things that Mercury never tried in or out of Queen. Perhaps at times Freddie suffered from the Mariah Carey syndrome. A syndrome that has its' victims believing that their voice is THE instrument as opposed to AN instrument. So more time may have been spent arranging vocals rather than expanding the range of instruments used. Bottom-line is Prince while maybe not quite (by a narrow margin) the superior pianist, is the superior musician.

Performer -

Yes, Mercury had the costumes and the flare. Yes his performances (like Live Aid) are regarded as classics. So what. Prince's performances were always tighter and more eye-popping than any Rock and Roll act (Kiss cheats with make-up and pyro). Prince never needed anything more than motion and attitude. Think he didn't? Place two screens side-by-side. Prince “Sign O' The Times” movie on one side and any Queen concert you want on the other. Mute the sound on both, and tell me which one catches your eye more.

There. That should straighten some things out.

Impossible. Both were an incredible genius. Wrote beautiful songs, both.

Very different from each other. Freddie more a "traditional" rock star, Prince more known for pop and funk.

Sad Freddie should die only at age 45.

thebanishedone said:

I must say that i'm fan of both Prince and Queen

but i can listen to Prince all the time which i can't say

about Freddy Mercury.

if somebody ask you who is a better songwritter in your opinion what would you say

Prince or Freddie?

While this is Prince org and most replies

will be Prince ,think about it,

both artist are so different yet both have very diverse material.

But just look at the song structures only.

In my opinion in terms of composition he went places Prince never dared or didn't have a knowladge to go.

I love Prince much more but Freddie is/was a much better songwritter.

[Edited 7/22/10 18:48pm]

UM... PRINCE! HANDS DOWN!

People i'm suprised how little you know about Freddie.

Yes he recorded some mediocrite solo albums but that was in the 80's(like p in the 90's)

He was part of the band for the larger part of his life.

Freddie Mercury wrote Bohemian Rhapsody.

he played it on piano with every part to his amazed friends and he said at the end:well this is the part opera voices come in.

Yes Freddie had Brian May ,but did you know that lot of Brian's solo's were written by Freddie Mercury???

Bohemian Rhapsody guitar solo is composed by Freddie Mercury

at the Early days of Queen Freddie didn't have piano,he had only acoustic guitar at home,his idol was Jimi Hendrix and while Freddie didn't vecome great guitar player ,he knew how to play rhythm and chords on guitar.

Acoustic guitar in a song Crazy Little Thing called Love was played by Freddie.

First Speed metal song ever Stoner called Crazy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9PJ2uxiUGc

is composed by Freddie on his guitar

also first tresh metal song Ogre Battle http://www.youtube.com/wa...-SMOsXCc0c

is composed by Freddie on guitar.

thebanishedone said:

People i'm suprised how little you know about Freddie. Already shown I likely know more than you do.

Yes he recorded some mediocrite solo albums but that was in the 80's(like p in the 90's) So "Days of Wild", "Call the Law", "Dolphin", or even "The Voice" are mediocre tracks. Interesting analysis.

He was part of the band for the larger part of his life.

Freddie Mercury wrote Bohemian Rhapsody. I know, so what.

he played it on piano with every part to his amazed friends and he said at the end:well this is the part opera voices come in. Again, so what.

Yes Freddie had Brian May ,but did you know that lot of Brian's solo's were written by Freddie Mercury??? Third time, so what, even if this is true (which I am doubting) all that tells me is that he lacked the dexterity and skill to do it himself.

Bohemian Rhapsody guitar solo is composed by Freddie Mercury Same song, same verse, so what. It's one song that you have mentioned three times.

at the Early days of Queen Freddie didn't have piano,he had only acoustic guitar at home,his idol was Jimi Hendrix and while Freddie didn't vecome great guitar player ,he knew how to play rhythm and chords on guitar. Right, just basic scales. Hardly a Brian May skillset.

Acoustic guitar in a song Crazy Little Thing called Love was played by Freddie.

First Speed metal song ever Stoner called Crazy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9PJ2uxiUGc

is composed by Freddie on his guitar

also first tresh metal song Ogre Battle http://www.youtube.com/wa...-SMOsXCc0c

is composed by Freddie on guitar.

How relevant are most of these points? Since you seem to be a member of the Busara family, what GREAT INSIGHT did you provide?

Why all the "Prince versus" questions?. They are all unique musicians and contributed to music in different ways. Sure there are similarities, but to say one is better than the other is crazy.

[Edited 7/23/10 19:51pm]

Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the most complex songs in popular music.

Almost everybody can write song in

standard blues 12 progresssion

but how many people can compose a piece like that?

Wheater you doubt or not every note you hear in that

song is composed

by Freddie including guitar solos.

Prince 90's material have some strong efforts but can't hold a handle to Prince's

1982-1986 time period.

This is not a subject about who is better,it's about who do you think is better songwritter just in terms of actual songwritting.

Hihihihi. It´s me again.

How many times did i tell you already - music is NOT olympics.

Music is about expressing feelings, it´s about turning our inside out.

Ultimatly it´s about if you can relate to somebody`s emotion or not.

Queen/Freddie Mercury - c`mon give me break. One of the best bands, best singers best songs of all time. No doubt about that.

Prince? Are you kidding me? My world is better, because i listen to him play music.

Have fun.

Prince's musical palette dwarfs Freddie's in every way possible. Whether his compositions were as complex or not, I couldn't say. But I could never picture Freddie undertaking anything like SOTT or WTWIAD or PARADE and then giving us the Symbol Album or The Truth.

In every way I can imagine, as much as I like Freddie, Prince simply has the upper hand in song writing.

But, Prince wrote "Purple and Gold"

Freddie wins. Mods, lock this bitch up.

Both very different. Both possessed of a certain genius.

TheVoid said: