ok...i would just like to clear this one one up once and for all....this... '' but prince keeps playing the hits '' crap that that we are constantly hearing....

.

now...say you bought a ticket to someone you like...whoever it was..you maybe had a few albums but not all the artists stuff...a fan but not hardcore...lets take david bowie as an example here...

.

so david bowie is playing a few big outdoor concerts and a few festivals...30 to 50 thousand people.......

.

here is the setlist :

.

the wedding

you've been around

outside

hallo spaceboy

we prick you

little wonder

dead man walking

thursdays child

the dreamers

slip away

cactus

new killer star

lets dance

.

.

ziggy stardust

.

.

how would you feel going to see david bowie and him playing that setlist in front of 30000 fans who mainly know the hits and thats all ??

.

it would go down like a lead ballon...i consider myself a big bowie fan but i wouldnt recognise half the songs here...i would leave being annoyed that he didnt play at least half the set with big hits...

.

if any big artist is playing a big concert...they have to play mainly hits because thats what people there want to hear...and that applys to prince as well...this goes for big arena shows as well..

.

if you want to hear prince playing more album tracks, obsure numbers, extended versions or whatever he fancies...you need to try and see him at a small show like the 'one nite alone' tour he did a few years ago ..or an aftershow....that is the show for the hardcore fan who doesnt want to hear the hits again...

.

.

.

me...yes i would rather see a small intimate show and hear him play the less well known songs but ..for godness sake...can we please stop moaning about prince playing the hits...his concerts are always worth seeing regardless and just be thankful he has soo many hits rather than most other bands playing the same ten hit songs for the rest of their lives...

.

.

i think the problem here is that prince HAD hits and not only that but they were NOT his best songs .. i really don't need to hear the short version of lets go crazy ever again .. i definately dont want to hear crap like guitar .. prince live career and live band have 2 selling points .. the hits and the diverse surpise songs and jams

bands like the greatful dead and phish both made a very successful career playing non hits and changing the setlist dramatically everynight

prince band blows at playing the hits .. they sound like shit compared to the original recorded songs .. they sound better doing rare songs and changing them up a bit to suit the band instead of trying to get the band to imitate the great musicians prince used to work with

at this point with prince refusal to hire a good band that can handle his past work, he should focus more on the improv element and let his hardcore following grow, and ditch the losers that only wanna hear the hits .. if u haven't seen prince play the hits by now i hate to tell you they are only gonna sound worse and worse as the years go by .. pertty soon its gonna prince at las vegas with a kareoke machine and a 2 hour medley spliced of 30 second clips of about 70 different songs .. and yes 50 of those songs will be pulled from his post wb decades ..

a band like phish can play for 4 hours with no hits and draw hundreds of thousands to their shows no problem .. prince as a hit maker is over .. he needs to accept it and change up his target audience before he further becomes a nostalgia act .. this refocus will also give new life to the good recent ideas he has that are undermined by his lazy production and corny lyrics

in other words prince career now is too reliant on past prince to allow prince to remain a credible current artist .. his entire career is behind him .. he is not relevant anymore as a writer of new music or a performer .. its just a pale rehash of past relevance .. a nosalgia act

Until Prince starts to really lose money on a show, he's not going to change the approach! It's financing his constant recording and filming habit and all those custom clothes.

About that Bowie show, I know I'm in the minority, but I would love to see a really good intense Bowie show of songs I'd never heard of. I like the drama of paying attention and watching a new song unfold live.

It's like hearing a new album to me. But live.

ufoclub said:

Until Prince starts to really lose money on a show, he's not going to change the approach! It's financing his constant recording and filming habit and all those custom clothes.

About that Bowie show, I know I'm in the minority, but I would love to see a really good intense Bowie show of songs I'd never heard of. I like the drama of paying attention and watching a new song unfold live.

It's like hearing a new album to me. But live.

.

.

big crowds = the hits.....as long as prince is playing 20000 plus arena shows and stadiums and huge outdoor festivals...its gonna be the hits....

.

i hope he does another '' one nite alone '' type tour...i thought it was brilliant....the soundchecks and the whole experience...

.

.

- If prince is not relevant anymore, than Lotus3flowr would not have been #2 WITHOUT major label support. And if he is a "nostalgia act", than so are most artists his age. When was the last time Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell etc even released an album? Why does he get so much criticism, simply because he continues to make music while other artists his age rarely do or don't release any music alltogethar?

- I agree Prince can vary his set lists more, and play a rare song from his back catalogue every once in a while (for eg crucial, dance electric, dolphin etc). But the hits are here to stay. He has to make a living and he needs the big crowds. What he can do is vary his hits setlist a bit more- for example play 7, TMBGITW, etc a bit more and change some of the arrangements (although he has already done so)

- Prince could simply release a dvd of a great aftershow or something like that- play rare songs from his catalogue, sell it on the internet (without any website fees, just sell the thing for say $12 for whoever wants to buy it). Unfortunately he has never been good at promotion or releasing high quality dvd's.

[Edited 6/4/11 7:03am]

blackbob said:

ufoclub said:

Until Prince starts to really lose money on a show, he's not going to change the approach! It's financing his constant recording and filming habit and all those custom clothes.

About that Bowie show, I know I'm in the minority, but I would love to see a really good intense Bowie show of songs I'd never heard of. I like the drama of paying attention and watching a new song unfold live.

It's like hearing a new album to me. But live.

.

.

big crowds = the hits.....as long as prince is playing 20000 plus arena shows and stadiums and huge outdoor festivals...its gonna be the hits....

.

i hope he does another '' one nite alone '' type tour...i thought it was brilliant....the soundchecks and the whole experience...

.

.

Yep, a tour/style built around a concept setlist supporting a new album would be great.

Hold the phone... Bowie is playing live again? Like, currently?

TrevorAyer said:

i think the problem here is that prince HAD hits and not only that but they were NOT his best songs .. i really don't need to hear the short version of lets go crazy ever again .. i definately dont want to hear crap like guitar .. prince live career and live band have 2 selling points .. the hits and the diverse surpise songs and jams

bands like the greatful dead and phish both made a very successful career playing non hits and changing the setlist dramatically everynight

prince band blows at playing the hits .. they sound like shit compared to the original recorded songs .. they sound better doing rare songs and changing them up a bit to suit the band instead of trying to get the band to imitate the great musicians prince used to work with

at this point with prince refusal to hire a good band that can handle his past work, he should focus more on the improv element and let his hardcore following grow, and ditch the losers that only wanna hear the hits .. if u haven't seen prince play the hits by now i hate to tell you they are only gonna sound worse and worse as the years go by .. pertty soon its gonna prince at las vegas with a kareoke machine and a 2 hour medley spliced of 30 second clips of about 70 different songs .. and yes 50 of those songs will be pulled from his post wb decades ..

a band like phish can play for 4 hours with no hits and draw hundreds of thousands to their shows no problem .. prince as a hit maker is over .. he needs to accept it and change up his target audience before he further becomes a nostalgia act .. this refocus will also give new life to the good recent ideas he has that are undermined by his lazy production and corny lyrics

in other words prince career now is too reliant on past prince to allow prince to remain a credible current artist .. his entire career is behind him .. he is not relevant anymore as a writer of new music or a performer .. its just a pale rehash of past relevance .. a nosalgia act

Oh....you mean like the LOVESEXY TOUR? Sorry, I had to say it.

[Edited 6/4/11 13:40pm]

People are never satisfied.

Timmy84 said:

People are never satisfied.

Exactly.

I have no interest to hear prince sing his hits. Last year he comes to italy and I did not go to listen it, 'cause I have no interest in the setlist he was playing. I'm not 30,000 fans, I'm only one.

[Edited 6/4/11 15:31pm]

hhhhdmt said:

- If prince is not relevant anymore, than Lotus3flowr would not have been #2 WITHOUT major label support. And if he is a "nostalgia act", than so are most artists his age. When was the last time Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell etc even released an album? Why does he get so much criticism, simply because he continues to make music while other artists his age rarely do or don't release any music alltogethar?

- I agree Prince can vary his set lists more, and play a rare song from his back catalogue every once in a while (for eg crucial, dance electric, dolphin etc). But the hits are here to stay. He has to make a living and he needs the big crowds. What he can do is vary his hits setlist a bit more- for example play 7, TMBGITW, etc a bit more and change some of the arrangements (although he has already done so)

- Prince could simply release a dvd of a great aftershow or something like that- play rare songs from his catalogue, sell it on the internet (without any website fees, just sell the thing for say $12 for whoever wants to buy it). Unfortunately he has never been good at promotion or releasing high quality dvd's.

[Edited 6/4/11 7:03am]

Um, he is indeed a nostalgia act. Don't fool yourself into believing otherwise. Hell, he said it himself that he doesn't focus on releasing new material that much anymore because it's only for the "hardcores". His selling point to everyone is "come hear me play all of your favorite songs from yesteryear." If that's not a nostalgia act, I don't know what is.

alexnvrmnd777 said:

hhhhdmt said:

- If prince is not relevant anymore, than Lotus3flowr would not have been #2 WITHOUT major label support. And if he is a "nostalgia act", than so are most artists his age. When was the last time Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell etc even released an album? Why does he get so much criticism, simply because he continues to make music while other artists his age rarely do or don't release any music alltogethar?

- I agree Prince can vary his set lists more, and play a rare song from his back catalogue every once in a while (for eg crucial, dance electric, dolphin etc). But the hits are here to stay. He has to make a living and he needs the big crowds. What he can do is vary his hits setlist a bit more- for example play 7, TMBGITW, etc a bit more and change some of the arrangements (although he has already done so)

- Prince could simply release a dvd of a great aftershow or something like that- play rare songs from his catalogue, sell it on the internet (without any website fees, just sell the thing for say $12 for whoever wants to buy it). Unfortunately he has never been good at promotion or releasing high quality dvd's.

[Edited 6/4/11 7:03am]

Um, he is indeed a nostalgia act. Don't fool yourself into believing otherwise. Hell, he said it himself that he doesn't focus on releasing new material that much anymore because it's only for the "hardcores". His selling point to everyone is "come hear me play all of your favorite songs from yesteryear." If that's not a nostalgia act, I don't know what is.

.

.

and whats wrong with that ?...i am sure that prince will do another tour similar to the one nite alone tour when he will play lesser known stuff but thats not what he is doing just now...

.

.

lets get one thing clear here....everyone has their time...prince's ' hot' period was between 1980 and 1988...the time, his age, the music, the moons lined up and he could do no wrong (under the cherry moon apart )...

.

.

prince could release the greatest album of his career this year or next year...critics falling over themselves to gush about it but he would never have the impact or sales of what his albums in the 80s did because his time has past...it happens to everyone....

.

he is still a great artist and still makes good music and he is still brilliant live...nostalgia...call it what you want...but he is still...for me...the most interesting figure in popular music...

.

.

I love prince in 85-88 era and in 96-03 era. The last prince album is n.e.w.s., after that album he stopped to make "new" music, imho.

The david bowie setlist you quote is nice, I know all the recent song. I love to see mr. Bowie is singing songs he believe in.

If mr. Prince believe in his music, if he thinks that his recent album are gonna tell something important, I assume he's gonna sing his recent songs, not a fan's karaoke of songs he composed when he was a boy. Sorry for the english.

blackbob said:

ok...i would just like to clear this one one up once and for all....this... '' but prince keeps playing the hits '' crap that that we are constantly hearing....

.

now...say you bought a ticket to someone you like...whoever it was..you maybe had a few albums but not all the artists stuff...a fan but not hardcore...lets take david bowie as an example here...

.

so david bowie is playing a few big outdoor concerts and a few festivals...30 to 50 thousand people.......

.

here is the setlist :

.

the wedding

you've been around

outside

hallo spaceboy

we prick you

little wonder

dead man walking

thursdays child

the dreamers

slip away

cactus

new killer star

lets dance

.

.

ziggy stardust

.

.

how would you feel going to see david bowie and him playing that setlist in front of 30000 fans who mainly know the hits and thats all ??

.

it would go down like a lead ballon...i consider myself a big bowie fan but i wouldnt recognise half the songs here...i would leave being annoyed that he didnt play at least half the set with big hits...

.

if any big artist is playing a big concert...they have to play mainly hits because thats what people there want to hear...and that applys to prince as well...this goes for big arena shows as well..

.

if you want to hear prince playing more album tracks, obsure numbers, extended versions or whatever he fancies...you need to try and see him at a small show like the 'one nite alone' tour he did a few years ago ..or an aftershow....that is the show for the hardcore fan who doesnt want to hear the hits again...

.

.

.

me...yes i would rather see a small intimate show and hear him play the less well known songs but ..for godness sake...can we please stop moaning about prince playing the hits...his concerts are always worth seeing regardless and just be thankful he has soo many hits rather than most other bands playing the same ten hit songs for the rest of their lives...

.

.

I don't care what they play, as long as it's good music.

MarquessMarq said:

Timmy84 said:

People are never satisfied.

Exactly.

Exactly ...

And his set list doesn`t tell that you much you about the whole thing...

For instance the Montreux version of LRC etc....completely different thing...

It is not about the song, it also the spontanity in the jams....

TrevorAyer said:

i think the problem here is that prince HAD hits and not only that but they were NOT his best songs .. i really don't need to hear the short version of lets go crazy ever again .. i definately dont want to hear crap like guitar .. prince live career and live band have 2 selling points .. the hits and the diverse surpise songs and jams

bands like the greatful dead and phish both made a very successful career playing non hits and changing the setlist dramatically everynight

prince band blows at playing the hits .. they sound like shit compared to the original recorded songs .. they sound better doing rare songs and changing them up a bit to suit the band instead of trying to get the band to imitate the great musicians prince used to work with

at this point with prince refusal to hire a good band that can handle his past work, he should focus more on the improv element and let his hardcore following grow, and ditch the losers that only wanna hear the hits .. if u haven't seen prince play the hits by now i hate to tell you they are only gonna sound worse and worse as the years go by .. pertty soon its gonna prince at las vegas with a kareoke machine and a 2 hour medley spliced of 30 second clips of about 70 different songs .. and yes 50 of those songs will be pulled from his post wb decades ..

a band like phish can play for 4 hours with no hits and draw hundreds of thousands to their shows no problem .. prince as a hit maker is over .. he needs to accept it and change up his target audience before he further becomes a nostalgia act .. this refocus will also give new life to the good recent ideas he has that are undermined by his lazy production and corny lyrics

in other words prince career now is too reliant on past prince to allow prince to remain a credible current artist .. his entire career is behind him .. he is not relevant anymore as a writer of new music or a performer .. its just a pale rehash of past relevance .. a nosalgia act

Funny, Bowie is always the example I use to make the same exact point.

I would feel the same way seeing Bowie. Prince is the only artist I would want to see a show of unheard/rarely played songs from.

if you consider prince a "nostalgia" act, then what is the point of coming on this site and whining? Best to find some other artists to listen to instead of complaining about Prince.

hhhhdmt said:

if you consider prince a "nostalgia" act, then what is the point of coming on this site and whining? Best to find some other artists to listen to instead of complaining about Prince.

But...but...it's so hard to find a new hobby!

if david bowie played a big gig and i had never seen him before...you'd be damn right i would be annoyed if i didnt hear a good share of his classics....i would want to hear mainly his 70s stuff...

.

.

TrevorAyer said:

i think the problem here is that prince HAD hits and not only that but they were NOT his best songs .. i really don't need to hear the short version of lets go crazy ever again .. i definately dont want to hear crap like guitar .. prince live career and live band have 2 selling points .. the hits and the diverse surpise songs and jams

bands like the greatful dead and phish both made a very successful career playing non hits and changing the setlist dramatically everynight

prince band blows at playing the hits .. they sound like shit compared to the original recorded songs .. they sound better doing rare songs and changing them up a bit to suit the band instead of trying to get the band to imitate the great musicians prince used to work with

at this point with prince refusal to hire a good band that can handle his past work, he should focus more on the improv element and let his hardcore following grow, and ditch the losers that only wanna hear the hits .. if u haven't seen prince play the hits by now i hate to tell you they are only gonna sound worse and worse as the years go by .. pertty soon its gonna prince at las vegas with a kareoke machine and a 2 hour medley spliced of 30 second clips of about 70 different songs .. and yes 50 of those songs will be pulled from his post wb decades ..

a band like phish can play for 4 hours with no hits and draw hundreds of thousands to their shows no problem .. prince as a hit maker is over .. he needs to accept it and change up his target audience before he further becomes a nostalgia act .. this refocus will also give new life to the good recent ideas he has that are undermined by his lazy production and corny lyrics

in other words prince career now is too reliant on past prince to allow prince to remain a credible current artist .. his entire career is behind him .. he is not relevant anymore as a writer of new music or a performer .. its just a pale rehash of past relevance .. a nosalgia act

So, you think these musicians aren't that good or can't play Prince's old material?

Genesia said:

hhhhdmt said:

if you consider prince a "nostalgia" act, then what is the point of coming on this site and whining? Best to find some other artists to listen to instead of complaining about Prince.

But...but...it's so hard to find a new hobby!

amazing, isnt it?

I mean you have people here who will say that they dont like "most" of what he has done over the past 20 years and yet they still dont have the sense to move on. There are so many artists out there, surely they could find someone whose music appeals to them instead of whining about a guy whose music they haven't enjoyed since 1988 or so. It's even more absurd that some think he should retire the hits because they are overplayed, i mean prince is the one making a living from those songs and some fans think he should stop playing them because they don't like it

I am not going to pretend that i like everything he does. I dont like 20ten, its ok and it has a few good songs but i dont care about it much. On the other hand, i really like lotusflow3r(single disc) and i think 3121 is excellent, and so i eaglerly await new music from him. If i havent liked much of what an artist has done for like a dacade, i would simply move on. Its a sensible thing to do instead of complaining about a "nostalgia" act.

Timmy84 said:

People are never satisfied.

NEVER say never.... it depends on the persona...

blackbob said:

prince could release the greatest album of his career this year or next year...critics falling over themselves to gush about it but he would never have the impact or sales of what his albums in the 80s did because his time has past...it happens to everyone....

hmmm .. well lets look at musicology .. not the GREATEST ALBUM OF HIS CAREER in fact you might say it was more of a turning point between extremely embarassing and not that embarassing .. but not even one of his top 10 records by any standard.

but what happened? he's on the cover of rolling stone, he gets great reviews (4stars.. really?), his next record premiers at number one, his tour gets great reviews .. and all this over a mediocre record that simply isn't completely embarassing to listen to.

this is how much the public WANTS to embrace a truly great prince record. his age, relevance, record companies, current trends have NOTHING to do with his success. musicology was NOT a GREAT record at all, neither was 3121.

if prince were to release the greatest album of his career you can bet yer last dollar that he WILL be embraced .. everyone is so rooting for him and is equally puzzled that he can be so off the mark for soooo long.

^^^Musicology was released on a major label (Columbia) that can afford to promote him to magazines and other media.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

TrevorAyer said:

i think the problem here is that prince HAD hits and not only that but they were NOT his best songs .. i really don't need to hear the short version of lets go crazy ever again .. i definately dont want to hear crap like guitar .. prince live career and live band have 2 selling points .. the hits and the diverse surpise songs and jams

bands like the greatful dead and phish both made a very successful career playing non hits and changing the setlist dramatically everynight

prince band blows at playing the hits .. they sound like shit compared to the original recorded songs .. they sound better doing rare songs and changing them up a bit to suit the band instead of trying to get the band to imitate the great musicians prince used to work with

at this point with prince refusal to hire a good band that can handle his past work, he should focus more on the improv element and let his hardcore following grow, and ditch the losers that only wanna hear the hits .. if u haven't seen prince play the hits by now i hate to tell you they are only gonna sound worse and worse as the years go by .. pertty soon its gonna prince at las vegas with a kareoke machine and a 2 hour medley spliced of 30 second clips of about 70 different songs .. and yes 50 of those songs will be pulled from his post wb decades ..

a band like phish can play for 4 hours with no hits and draw hundreds of thousands to their shows no problem .. prince as a hit maker is over .. he needs to accept it and change up his target audience before he further becomes a nostalgia act .. this refocus will also give new life to the good recent ideas he has that are undermined by his lazy production and corny lyrics

in other words prince career now is too reliant on past prince to allow prince to remain a credible current artist .. his entire career is behind him .. he is not relevant anymore as a writer of new music or a performer .. its just a pale rehash of past relevance .. a nosalgia act

Oh....you mean like the LOVESEXY TOUR? Sorry, I had to say it.

[Edited 6/4/11 13:40pm]

True. The Nude Tour also could also be served some "hits only nostalgia" criticism.

Fact of the matter is this: No Hugely successful act, from Springsteen, to Madonna, to U2, to Lady Gaga, can escape playing their hits to massive crowds without being criticized. So what?

[Edited 6/6/11 16:34pm]

skywalker said:

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

Oh....you mean like the LOVESEXY TOUR? Sorry, I had to say it.

[Edited 6/4/11 13:40pm]

True. The Nude Tour also could also be served some "hits only nostalgia" criticism.

Fact of the matter is this: No Hugely successful act, from Springsteen, to Madonna, to U2, to Lady Gaga, can escape playing their hits to massive crowds without being criticized. So what?

[Edited 6/6/11 16:34pm]

actually the sampler set on this tour sounds better than the band ... have u heard renatos jazz solo during delerious? .. it may already be too late

gemari77 said:

TrevorAyer said:

i think the problem here is that prince HAD hits and not only that but they were NOT his best songs .. i really don't need to hear the short version of lets go crazy ever again .. i definately dont want to hear crap like guitar .. prince live career and live band have 2 selling points .. the hits and the diverse surpise songs and jams

bands like the greatful dead and phish both made a very successful career playing non hits and changing the setlist dramatically everynight

prince band blows at playing the hits .. they sound like shit compared to the original recorded songs .. they sound better doing rare songs and changing them up a bit to suit the band instead of trying to get the band to imitate the great musicians prince used to work with

at this point with prince refusal to hire a good band that can handle his past work, he should focus more on the improv element and let his hardcore following grow, and ditch the losers that only wanna hear the hits .. if u haven't seen prince play the hits by now i hate to tell you they are only gonna sound worse and worse as the years go by .. pertty soon its gonna prince at las vegas with a kareoke machine and a 2 hour medley spliced of 30 second clips of about 70 different songs .. and yes 50 of those songs will be pulled from his post wb decades ..

a band like phish can play for 4 hours with no hits and draw hundreds of thousands to their shows no problem .. prince as a hit maker is over .. he needs to accept it and change up his target audience before he further becomes a nostalgia act .. this refocus will also give new life to the good recent ideas he has that are undermined by his lazy production and corny lyrics

in other words prince career now is too reliant on past prince to allow prince to remain a credible current artist .. his entire career is behind him .. he is not relevant anymore as a writer of new music or a performer .. its just a pale rehash of past relevance .. a nosalgia act

So, you think these musicians aren't that good or can't play Prince's old material?

When it comes to Technical skills only Dr. Fink and and Brownmark were amazing in The Revolution imo. Pre Revolution had Dez Dickerson and a Andre Cymone that was able to play bass like Prince. LovesexySOTT band had Sheila E on drums. Eric Leeds were there for quite some while. But overall his band was never 100% on the technical level. The creative level is another thing. The band he has now is technically probably overall one of his best. Only problem is that it sounds like extremly over polished lounge versions of the old classics. Yet I love it, and it's better than most.

njin said:

gemari77 said:

So, you think these musicians aren't that good or can't play Prince's old material?

When it comes to Technical skills only Dr. Fink and and Brownmark were amazing in The Revolution imo. Pre Revolution had Dez Dickerson and a Andre Cymone that was able to play bass like Prince. LovesexySOTT band had Sheila E on drums. Eric Leeds were there for quite some while. But overall his band was never 100% on the technical level. The creative level is another thing. The band he has now is technically probably overall one of his best. Only problem is that it sounds like extremly over polished lounge versions of the old classics. Yet I love it, and it's better than most.

to be clear .. i think prince band is stretching well outside of their primary element, style and sound when attempting to play prince music that imitates his old sound .. the minor personality touches to each of the songs detract even more from theme of almost sounding like the original recordings .. and i feel that they do much better when given more obscure tunes which they tend to rearrange more freely and shine in the style of music they are all clearly gifted at .. it sounds more natural but far from the 'prince' sound that they perform at the arena shows

prince should either work with those who shaped the old sound or dive right into the new sound of this group .. the middle ground as is, just mucks it up imo