we all know about his guitar work and his best drumming is on tamborine, crystal ball and lady cab driver. but what songs are the best examples of his piano playing?

The piano rehearsals from 82 and 83 without a doubt.

The rest of my life.

But honestly, there isn't a song where Prince plays the piano when it's not full of soul or playful spice.

" A Case of U", "Have A Heart", and "Objects In The Mirror" on the One Night Alone CD are impressive.

The Dance 3121 version, love that piano work!

vitriol said:

The piano rehearsals from 82 and 83 without a doubt.

I was just listening to these again last night, nice things. I like how he begins to sing the lyrics near the end of Purple Music.

Was it Quincy Jones who said Prince was a pretty basic pianist?

I saw his interview with Oprah on youtube and he played a little bit of purple rain and Forever in My Life. It was soo beautiful!

muirdo said:

Was it Quincy Jones who said Prince was a pretty basic pianist?

I've never heard that but it might be true. I don't think he's an impressive piano player.

That's why the piano rehearsals surprised me a lot back in the day: I think no other recording features him playing piano better than that.

To prove my point, we have the so-called 'Solo piano and voice by Prince' (<blatant lie) album 'One Nite Alone' where his piano playing isn't absolutely nothing to write home about, compared or uncompared to those rehearsals.

his piano work on An Honest Man from Under The Cherry Moon is playfull, creative, sophisticated, sexual, innocent... sounds alot better than the piano works of all the piano players he's invited to play in NPG.

^Ever listened to Renato Neto?

vitriol said:

^Ever listened to Renato Neto?

Thank You!

'dre

Father´s Song (assumed it be played by Prince)

I really enjoy Prince's soft, soulful piano playing, regardless of whether or not they'd be classed as his 'best' examples.

Anything from One Nite Alone, Condition of the Heart, I Love U but I Don't Trust U Anymore, most of the UTCM piano work (eg. Venus De Milo), certain live versions of Sometimes It Snows In April (Aladdin DVD I think?) and Somewhere Here On Earth with him playing piano, etc...

The rehearsals are excellent - makes me wonder why he doesn't do more piano work. It is obviously an important part of his musical life. We may not have the best evidence of his piano playing (yet), but I'm sure there's more like this locked away in the vault (and some, like Broken, that have escaped).

None of that of course takes away from players like Renato Neto, who I also love listening to.

Without doubt, Renato really is something special on the keys, but, for whatever reason, I just love the way Prince's playing makes me feel.

I think Prince is very impressive piano player.

I say this not because i'm a fan.

his piano style is similar to Ray Charles

and i find it strange nobody mentions Ray as a big influence on Prince.

Prince maybe have bigger harmonic vocabular on Piano then on guitar

but in his heart he is a guitar player.

He can go on tour just him and Piano and the sound will sound full and great.

[Edited 3/26/11 23:47pm]

thebanishedone said:

Prince maybe habe bigger harmonic vocabular on Piano then on guitar

but in his heart he is a guitar player.

Wholeheartedly agree to that!

The demo version of Something In The Water and the opening credits of UTCM(forgot the instrumental's title).

Yeah, I don't think he's technically a piano wizard, but on an emotional scale, I'll give him a perfect 10.

muirdo said:

Was it Quincy Jones who said Prince was a pretty basic pianist?

it was Miles who said that he played the piano just like Duke Ellington....

no ,no Miles said that Prince plays piano like 60's jazz pianists

101 said:

muirdo said:

Was it Quincy Jones who said Prince was a pretty basic pianist?

it was Miles who said that he played the piano just like Duke Ellington....

No he didn't. He said he could be the new Duke Ellington if he keeps it up(his music).

Another one for the OP; Condition of The Heart. Forgot to mention it the first time around, his playing is very moving.

Also try to track down the Intimate Moments set from 82, its def worth it if you like his piano work.

DreZone said:

vitriol said:

^Ever listened to Renato Neto?

Thank You!

'dre

He is indeed an impressive piano player, but personally he sounds like a jazz lounge artists all the time, and his "perfect" digital sounds is not really making it for me. He's soft and smooth to the ears. Prince is literally talking with the piano. I'm not talking technical skills as to how great the timing etc is. But the timing of art is more important than the timing of an athlete. Many artists are great athletes when it comes to technical skill etc. Prince does both have the needed technical skill and an enormously great feel when it comes to speaking with an instrument.

I'm probably not the one to say anything about this, since I'm not a great piano player that can notice if one thing is technically harder to play than the other. But when it comes to communicating through the piano, he is a really great one. One of the reasons is probably because Prince also is a great composer and producer. He knows how to make an instrument fit the other sounds.

Renato Neto = technique

Lisa Coleman = art

Prince = technique and art

He really is great on the keys. Anyone watched him on live shows of Love Sexy? Prince synth work on albums like 1999, piano work on Purple Rain, ATWIAD and Parade are some of the most sophisticated I've heard.

^Let me rephrase your equations:

-Neto = Art and technique in the jazz realm

-Coleman = Art and technique mainly in the classical realm

-Nelson = Less art and technique than any of the above (but mainly because he is not 'a pianist': he plays the piano as well as he plays guitar, drums, bass, writes, composes, arranges, sings, dances, sues, does not pay his debts, etc...).

I have no idea what level a piano player his is.

But, I do love some of the moments where he plays piano. I LOVED his piano moments on Curious Child.

i love prince the most when he is simply singing and playing piano. far more than guitar even. his keyboard moments at the o2 gave me shivers. whoever said his playing to be reminiscent of ray charles was bang on. there is nothing i wouldn't do for just five minutes of prince singing and playing piano for me, beautiful. prince's voice was made for piano. <3

..and lovesexy live. wow.

[Edited 3/29/11 7:40am]

vitriol said:

^Let me rephrase your equations:

-Neto = Art and technique in the jazz realm

-Coleman = Art and technique mainly in the classical realm

-Nelson = Less art and technique than any of the above (but mainly because he is not 'a pianist': he plays the piano as well as he plays guitar, drums, bass, writes, composes, arranges, sings, dances, sues, does not pay his debts, etc...).

Let me explaing why I prefer Prince...

Neto piano playing: sounds like he is cooking up a real good romantic dinner and teasing a lady with the perfect smells from the kitchen. Oven hot and getting a woman ready. Romantic foreplay.

Prince does the romantic foreplay, teases the girl, makes her think she lost him, then getting him. He lets her know that he is the only one, that he demands the girl. He teases her, even fully penetrate with great dynamic changes in attitude like an animal, then flirting softly in the end as if he is keeping her warm, or the other way doing the vulnurable part. THis dude can do it all with the piano. Reason why I prefer 80s Prince on piano, is that he didn't have a thing blocking him from doing whatever he felt like. That shit is PURE ART.

g3121 said:

i love prince the most when he is simply singing and playing piano. far more than guitar even. his keyboard moments at the o2 gave me shivers. whoever said his playing to be reminiscent of ray charles was bang on. there is nothing i wouldn't do for just five minutes of prince singing and playing piano for me, beautiful. prince's voice was made for piano. <3

..and lovesexy live. wow.

[Edited 3/29/11 7:40am]

i said

vitriol said:

^Let me rephrase your equations:

-Neto = Art and technique in the jazz realm

-Coleman = Art and technique mainly in the classical realm

-Nelson = Less art and technique than any of the above (but mainly because he is not 'a pianist': he plays the piano as well as he plays guitar, drums, bass, writes, composes, arranges, sings, dances, sues, does not pay his debts, etc...).

To each their own, however, I am STRONGLY in this realm of agreement.

'dre

SagsWay2low said:

I have no idea what level a piano player his is.

But, I do love some of the moments where he plays piano. I LOVED his piano moments on Curious Child.

Agree with this 100%.

Harlepolis said:

101 said:

it was Miles who said that he played the piano just like Duke Ellington....

No he didn't. He said he could be the new Duke Ellington if he keeps it up(his music).

Another one for the OP; Condition of The Heart. Forgot to mention it the first time around, his playing is very moving.

Also try to track down the Intimate Moments set from 82, its def worth it if you like his piano work.

maybe miles talked 2 times about Prince and related it to Duke..because i definitely know that he said what i said that he said...Miles that is...should i look it up where i read/heard about it...or do you believe me just like this?

Totally agree Curious Child is a work of art. The piano is waay cool, but I've often wondered is that the harpsichord or piano Prince plays on that tune?