bobbyperu said:

Who wants a Prince album that doesn't sound like Prince?

I don't.

Graycap23 said:

Jamie Starr.

didnt he do some of Rave or was that just 'return Prince'?

rdhull said:

Graycap23 said:

Jamie Starr.

didnt he do some of Rave or was that just 'return Prince'?

I'm not sure but I would NOT even buy a Prince project produced by someone else.

Graycap23 said:

rdhull said:

didnt he do some of Rave or was that just 'return Prince'?

I'm not sure but I would NOT even buy a Prince project produced by someone else.

I would (it being Prince release and NOT a protegee release though). I think it may sound refreshing to see what happens when production control is released. Hell, look at the collab between Madonna and him back on Like A Prayer s' Love Song. After 20 albums or so, why not? If he wants to truly be Miles....

plus it would be psychologically healthy and open god knows what ......

friend2001 said:

ChadNPG69 said:

Teddy Riley !!!

He injected new life and swagger in2 Michael Jackson's sound with "Dangerous"

Imagine a project combining Minneapolis Sound with New Jack Swing !!!

Of course the ULTIMATE fangasm would b bringing in Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis !!!!

now you're just being silly. Although, Terry is the one who turned him onto Protools for lotusflower/mplssound.

That's really not true. Prince has been using ProTools on the mastering side for a while.

'The Rainbow Children' was recorded on 2" tape before being mixed and mastered within the ProTools environment. That album is one of the best sounding albums in his catalouge. Big, rich, dynamic, organic... a lot of that comes from recording analog on tape. Of course, Femi Jiya had a big hand in mixing, and he's very talented.

But back to the subject... NO. Prince should not ever have a co-producer. I'm cool with Teddy. LOVED New Jack Swing and I know Teddy. But naw... no producer, co=producer, or any influence would be good for P. Actually, I believe he's at his best when isolated.

David Z.

Rick Rubin is the only one to be considered if any. He has worked with such a diverse group of musicians and has always consistently turned in spectacular results that stay true to the artists he works with.

But I don't know about a Prince album with anyone else at the helm.

How about a surprise producer like he promised for Rave...

This time instead of Prince being the surprise producer for

it should now be suprise producer for Prince

I think it would be a great idea. I think Prince needs other peoples ideas to inspire him, cause imo its been a while since we've heard something truely inspired from Prince.

ManlyMoose said:

I think it would be a great idea. I think Prince needs other peoples ideas to inspire him, cause imo its been a while since we've heard something truely inspired from Prince.

agreed actually the last Prince song that I felt was truly inspiring was The 1 U wanna C and that was a Collaborative effort with Wendy and Lisa. B4 that track you would have to dig back far to find anything that was inspiring imo

[Edited 9/6/11 14:19pm]

Meshell Ndegeocello

Mark "Flood" Ellis

rdhull said:

ARock said:

Thats a good one, i think that might actually be awesome how did i forget about ?uest

If not him, then I'd choose Rubin, as you aleady suggested. 2uest and Rubin have a way of getting artists back to their basics imo.

I don't think Quest would be able to push Prince's ego aside - Quest seems to be too much of a fan! That and the fact that Prince has several years on him both in terms of age and also in terms of how long they've both been playing and as a result, I don't think Prince would give Quest as much credit as the okayplayer cats do.

It would be nice to see an artist like Daniel Lanois or Rick Rubin give Prince some different ideas! Cool idea on Rick Rdhull!

ChadNPG69 said:

Teddy Riley !!!

He injected new life and swagger in2 Michael Jackson's sound with "Dangerous"

Imagine a project combining Minneapolis Sound with New Jack Swing !!!

Of course the ULTIMATE fangasm would b bringing in Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis !!!!

That would've been a great idea if it were 1991!

Although if you think about it, the Minneapolis synth heavy sound really did have a big influence on the New Jack Swing sound!

Teddy Riley is probably looking for someone to update his sound as well!

xLiberiangirl said:

iloveannie said:

xLiberiangirl said:

William Orbit will be very interesting.

He's doing Madonna's new album. Again.

I know, but that doesn't say anything. It would be interesting to hear his sound or a mix of his sound and Prince his sound together.

George Massenburg

Grammy Winner, (multi nominations)

He knows digital (designs/ builds processors)

He knows analog

Vintage mic guru

Stays out of the artists way (more of a consultant/ confidante w/ tons of practical experience to help get a sound an artists wants or suggest better options)

Is involved in the mastering process (unlikely to allow a brickwalled master)

On hearing his work, I'd say he's one who can elevate an artist's art...

To quote:

"My vocation is making artful records and hoping that they'll sell, while some producers strive to sell records and hope that people will think that they're art."

A few he's worked with in one capacity or another (producer, mixing, engineer).

Aaron Neville

Earth Wind & Fire

Average White Band

Weather Report

Stanley Clarke

Herbie Hancock

Little Feat

Jennifer Warnes

Tower of Power

Linda Ronstadt

Lyle Lovett

I agree with everyone that says Rick Rubin. Rick Rubin is a quintessential producer because he doesn't write songs for the artists he produces, nor does he provide the music ala (Timbaland, Neptunes etc.) He usually determines before recording, the type of musicians needed, if strings or music charts are needed, and extract from the artist what type of music does that artist want to make and use those dictations as a basis for accomplishing that task.

Another potential co-producer is Hugh Padgham who has worked with Sting. Both of Padgham and Rubin could get he best sonic quality of a prince record as far as engineering goes and can get Prince to explore other musical vistas. For example, encourage Prince to play more "overhand" or use the traditional way of playing bass on some tunes that's been underutilized in his music. Think about Prince's playing on songs like "Everywhere" from TRC, "Call My Name" from Musicology and "Resolution" from Planet Earth. I think Prince would blow people's minds if he could record his bass parts like that for the duration of a project with good songwriting.

AKABubbleup said:

George Massenburg:

"My vocation is making artful records and hoping that they'll sell, while some producers strive to sell records and hope that people will think that they're art."

I like him already.

Rick Rubin gets my vote, always has the knack for getting the best out of the artist (apart from a couple of RHCP albums, but that might just have been over familiarity with the band)

I agree with some people here, that this will probably never happen but its nice to think about it.

I think he shouldnt go with people like Dangermouse or Questlove, because i think the result will be that Prince's formulaic R&B / lite funk from the '00's will only be modernised / updated a bit, without any real artistic progress.

I rather go with more suprising names from other types of musical fields.

For example, Marius de Vries: he worked with people as diverse as Madonna, Bjork, Neil Finn and Teddy Thompson. He also did the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. I like how he almost 'paints' aural landscapes with his production-style, mixing electronic and organic instruments in a stylish way. I could see him produce a more mature, balanced version of something like the 'The truth' album.

Another producer i would be curious about would be Hall Wilner: he did production-work for Marianne Faithfull and Gavin Friday and also produced a tribute-album to Brecht and Weill by popartists. I think he is great when it comes to mixing 'classic' elements (pre-war music from the fourties and fifties) with contemporary pop and rock. The kind of producer who could help Prince go further with what he tried to achieve on Parade: mixing rock and funk with 'European' influences.

When it comes to a 'clean', back to basics producer, i would prefer Brendan 'o Brien (Pearl Jam, Matthew Sweet, Bruce Springsteen) over Rick Rubin. Rubin's production is a bit to dry for my taste, its clean but not very exciting. 'O Brien is also very good when it comes to 'keeping it with the basics', but his sound is more full and snappy. I could see him produce something like the Gold Experience of the '00's.