Hey there everyone,

I hope you are all well.

Got a quick question: outside of the Purple Rain tour, has the intro to When Doves Cry ever been played live since. I know that he's used audio samples since the Musicology tour.

Also, has anyone ever heard of how he recorded the part? It's a badass guitar part and certainly a challenge to play but I'm wondering how much of it is a studio 'trick' so to speak as I've never heard him play it nor have I we ever heard him reference the part anywhere else on record or live.

Thanks,

J

Sounds to me like he is using flanger and octaver here. It´s a E minor figure around the 12 fret. Interesting tempo changes make this one kind of unique and easy to recognize.

[Edited 3/27/12 0:23am]

Its certainly not acheived by any "studio trick" - its just a played guitar part (and not really that difficult) with some normal guitar effects on it (as mentioned, it sounds like a flanger and octaver effect).

Who knows why he's never played it live - but its definitely not because it isn't possible.

Not a 'backwards recording' then? That would perhaps explain his reluctance to reproduce it live. Someone should reverse it a la Darling Nikki and see how it sounds!

There's a dude on Youtube that explains it perfectly and plays it great. Just type in WDC guitar intro and it will pop up.

joyinrepetition said:

There's a dude on Youtube that explains it perfectly and plays it great. Just type in WDC guitar intro and it will pop up.

That's a good vid!

Funnily enough, just a couple of days ago I was watching this video - http://www.youtube.com/wa...re=related - on how to play the intro. It's a pretty interesting and detailed analysis.

Edit: Gah! Beaten to it.

[Edited 3/27/12 7:02am]

I remember hearing a tour rehearsal where he seemed to be struggling with the riff (now that I think about it, I wonder if that was Wendy). I also thought (my not being a skilled guitarist) that this may have been a one-off improvised experiment that he captured separately and edited it onto the beginning of the song. No facts, just guessing...

alphachannel said:

I remember hearing a tour rehearsal where he seemed to be struggling with the riff (now that I think about it, I wonder if that was Wendy). I also thought (my not being a skilled guitarist) that this may have been a one-off improvised experiment that he captured separately and edited it onto the beginning of the song. No facts, just guessing...

It's definitely not Wendy, cause at that time in 83 when the song was made, her skills were not that good. Just listen to the Syracuse and Atlanta shows.

It's Prince on the intro and it's probably one of those times that he just nailed as he knew he had something funky.

The reason why he may have had trouble playing it in a rehersal is probably because he never actually had to play it since he laid it down on the record. Had he played the intro during the tours over the years, he could knock it out in his sleep. Just a lack of practice.

A little off-topic, but he's never played the whole song live, ever? Is that for certain? I didn't hear the whole thing for the W2A tour, but can't imagine him not having played it at least for the Purple Rain tour.

That guy playing it on YT was really cool. Takes it from nearly impossible to actually doable. I used to think Prince captured a mistake on tape and added some studio effects.

controversy99 said:

That guy playing it on YT was really cool. Takes it from nearly impossible to actually doable. I used to think Prince captured a mistake on tape and added some studio effects.

Yup!

I strongly believe that the intro was taken out of it's original context and pasted to the front of WDC.

Could be the very reason it was never really duplicated live (save for Wendy's attempt in 84/85).

I also think that this guy (and all the others giving it a go) know more about the intro's contents better than Prince!

Prost!

thebanishedone said:

Prince had never ever played WDC in rehearsal or live setting.where did you get that info.he only played it in studio

It's on the Purple Rush Series -- I'll have to check to see which volume...

alphachannel said:

PurpleKittyK said:

A little off-topic, but he's never played the whole song live, ever? Is that for certain? I didn't hear the whole thing for the W2A tour, but can't imagine him not having played it at least for the Purple Rain tour.

I never saw the tour live, but on the purple rain "LIVE" video from syracuse I belive he skips the second verse.

narcotizedmind said:

Not a 'backwards recording' then? That would perhaps explain his reluctance to reproduce it live. Someone should reverse it a la Darling Nikki and see how it sounds!

Nope - its not backmasking. Its just a straight-played riff.

Check out the recommended YouTube vid - the guy has it nailed.

nayroo2002 said:

I also think that this guy (and all the others giving it a go) know more about the intro's contents better than Prince!

Prost!

Man, stop saying dumb shit.

rdhull said:

nayroo2002 said:

Prost!

Man, stop saying dumb shit.

To clarify:

I was referring to the obsessive and calculated dissection by the YouTube guys of every note played in this particular intro.

I would be genuinely surprised if Prince now remembers exactly how he played it when it was recorded.

Is that really dumb shit?

nayroo2002 said:

soainst said:

Sounds to me like he is using flanger and octaver here. It´s a E minor figure around the 12 fret. Interesting tempo changes make this one kind of unique and easy to recognize.

[Edited 3/27/12 0:23am]

AH, yes! The octaver!!

I always wondered why I got confused as to which register he was playing it in.

nayroo2002 said:

rdhull said:

Man, stop saying dumb shit.

To clarify:

I was referring to the obsessive and calculated dissection by the YouTube guys of every note played in this particular intro.

I would be genuinely surprised if Prince now remembers exactly how he played it when it was recorded.

Is that really dumb shit?

Yes

rdhull said:

nayroo2002 said:

To clarify:

I was referring to the obsessive and calculated dissection by the YouTube guys of every note played in this particular intro.

I would be genuinely surprised if Prince now remembers exactly how he played it when it was recorded.

Is that really dumb shit?

Yes

nasty

nayroo2002 said:

rdhull said:

Yes

nasty

Its not obsessive to learn how to play a piece of music properly - its called practice and its what EVERY musician has to do not just to improve, but to merely maintain a certain level of performance.

Suggesting Prince won't remember a part he wrote is pretty ludicrous - I wouldn't go so far as to call it "dumb", but it does show that you are unlikely to be a musician yourself and that you're opinion is coming from a certain level of ignorance.

He sure has a great lesson on "I Wanna Be Your Lover"!

nayroo2002 said:

controversy99 said:

That guy playing it on YT was really cool. Takes it from nearly impossible to actually doable. I used to think Prince captured a mistake on tape and added some studio effects.

Yup!

I strongly believe that the intro was taken out of it's original context and pasted to the front of WDC.

Could be the very reason it was never really duplicated live (save for Wendy's attempt in 84/85).

I also think that this guy (and all the others giving it a go) know more about the intro's contents better than Prince!

Prost!

TheScouser said:

PRINCE DID IN FACT PLAY WHEN DOVES CRY LIVE I WAS STANDING 50 FT AWAY FROM HIM WHEN HE DID IT IN ALBUIQUERQUE N.M AROUND PROBABLY 1996 HE COMPLETELY TORE IT UP AND DID PLAY THE INTRO VERY NASTY THAT WHEN I ABSOLUTELY KNEW THAT PRINCE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST GUITARIST OF ALL TIME I.E. JIMMY