Prince has always seemed to me as the kind of person who does it HIS way, or NO way... I know he had trouble releasing his first album, because they wouldnt let him produce himself... and he had some problems in the 90's with Warner Bros.

Do you guys know of any other instances where Prince backed out of performing a concert, or record deal due to differences in opinion?

Personally, i think he has a great mind set. Don't mess with perfection.

I think he may have once had the best work ethic in music history. I think he's on auto-pilot now, but oddly, I think his studio work ethic is still very strong. Sure, I can quibble over lesser tracks on recent releases, but I am very happy with his studio output over his entire career, and the bootlegs as well.

Live, he seems to be hit and miss...more miss lately.

Grading his work ethic in the studio, I'd give him an A all the way from 1976-2012. I might give him a C+ for what tracks to include on what album, but most of the best tracks end up in our hands one way or another.

Grading him live is another matter.

1980-1989 A+ for most tours...1999 and PR might have been a little underwhelming at times, but he seemed to put his all in it.

1990-1996 B....Some brilliance in nearly every show, but he did start to do a few too many covers for my tastes at times. Allowing Tony M in the band at all was like watching Michael Jordan demanding some 50 year old slow guy start for the Bulls.

1997-2001 C- There were always flashes of brilliance, but his reliance on medleys and poor band members like Kirk Johnson hurt. He also seemed to water down arrangements on songs like Baby I'm A Star, 1999, etc...to the point where he seemed like a 65 year old Vegas performer who just wanted to get the concert over with.

2002-2004 A...This was the Prince I wanted back, and despite a few minor quibbles like piano medleys...making "Free" a snippet...when he hardly ever played the song in full bothered me, but the musicianship and long concerts were so strong, even a complainer like me found it hard to find anything wrong with it. The moment at the Lakeland "Soundcheck" where Power Fantastic was played...was like the Holy Grail of shocks to me. "Strange Relationship," and "Anna Stesia," in full each night was like a dream come true for me. Getting "Shh," and "The Question of U," live again was flawless. "Baby I'm A Star," and "DMSR," sounded as good as I could have ever imagined with perfect horn parts and great performances. "Let's Go Crazy," sounded awful with multiple saxophone parts, as it should be a rock song, (Prince's guitar solo was still great) but there were few low moments for Prince.

2005-2012 C+ You still get some really brilliant shows, and some incredible guitar solos. "Shh," is starting to sound flat every now and then...You just get this when Prince decides to. Anotherloverholenyohead seems to be flawless every single time... There have been multiple shows under 2 hours, and way too many cover songs, and way too much chanting and lead vocals from the very talented Shelby. I can't possibly take Prince's age as an excuse, as 65 year old Elton John is fat, had years of abusing his body with drugs, but he makes the most of a shot voice, and seems much more motivated.

Despite all this, I'll still take my chances on Prince. It may not really be a lack of a work ethic, he may be the spoiled child who thinks he has done enough, and is willing to rest on his laurels. A bad Prince show still beats most anything else out there. Sure much lesser talented U2 puts on a better show these days, but I like Prince's songs so much more.

I also love how divided people on this site are. On most artist websites, most fans are either Very Positive or Middle of the Road. On this site, people are either too harsh and too negative, or will be willing to tell you that they would be happy with Shelby singing lead on all of the songs.

I wish more fans on here could be a mix of positve and truthful. You can't possibly hate everything Prince has done, or kiss his ass so much and say everything is perfect.

Several years back Prince got sued by European (Irish?) concert promoters after he backed out of a major concert festival after agreeing (and being paid upfront). They settled, I believe in the 7 figures.

SOTT was supposed to be 3 CD's (Crystal Ball)

stillwaiting said:

I think he may have once had the best work ethic in music history. I think he's on auto-pilot now, but oddly, I think his studio work ethic is still very strong. Sure, I can quibble over lesser tracks on recent releases, but I am very happy with his studio output over his entire career, and the bootlegs as well.

Live, he seems to be hit and miss...more miss lately.

Grading his work ethic in the studio, I'd give him an A all the way from 1976-2012. I might give him a C+ for what tracks to include on what album, but most of the best tracks end up in our hands one way or another.

Grading him live is another matter.

1980-1989 A+ for most tours...1999 and PR might have been a little underwhelming at times, but he seemed to put his all in it.

1990-1996 B....Some brilliance in nearly every show, but he did start to do a few too many covers for my tastes at times. Allowing Tony M in the band at all was like watching Michael Jordan demanding some 50 year old slow guy start for the Bulls.

1997-2001 C- There were always flashes of brilliance, but his reliance on medleys and poor band members like Kirk Johnson hurt. He also seemed to water down arrangements on songs like Baby I'm A Star, 1999, etc...to the point where he seemed like a 65 year old Vegas performer who just wanted to get the concert over with.

2002-2004 A...This was the Prince I wanted back, and despite a few minor quibbles like piano medleys...making "Free" a snippet...when he hardly ever played the song in full bothered me, but the musicianship and long concerts were so strong, even a complainer like me found it hard to find anything wrong with it. The moment at the Lakeland "Soundcheck" where Power Fantastic was played...was like the Holy Grail of shocks to me. "Strange Relationship," and "Anna Stesia," in full each night was like a dream come true for me. Getting "Shh," and "The Question of U," live again was flawless. "Baby I'm A Star," and "DMSR," sounded as good as I could have ever imagined with perfect horn parts and great performances. "Let's Go Crazy," sounded awful with multiple saxophone parts, as it should be a rock song, (Prince's guitar solo was still great) but there were few low moments for Prince.

2005-2012 C+ You still get some really brilliant shows, and some incredible guitar solos. "Shh," is starting to sound flat every now and then...You just get this when Prince decides to. Anotherloverholenyohead seems to be flawless every single time... There have been multiple shows under 2 hours, and way too many cover songs, and way too much chanting and lead vocals from the very talented Shelby. I can't possibly take Prince's age as an excuse, as 65 year old Elton John is fat, had years of abusing his body with drugs, but he makes the most of a shot voice, and seems much more motivated.

Despite all this, I'll still take my chances on Prince. It may not really be a lack of a work ethic, he may be the spoiled child who thinks he has done enough, and is willing to rest on his laurels. A bad Prince show still beats most anything else out there. Sure much lesser talented U2 puts on a better show these days, but I like Prince's songs so much more.

I also love how divided people on this site are. On most artist websites, most fans are either Very Positive or Middle of the Road. On this site, people are either too harsh and too negative, or will be willing to tell you that they would be happy with Shelby singing lead on all of the songs.

I wish more fans on here could be a mix of positve and truthful. You can't possibly hate everything Prince has done, or kiss his ass so much and say everything is perfect.

Good lord! Methinks you are following Prince to close lol. Maybe I would complain too if every blip and fart Prince produced I scutinized. jeezus.

tricky99 said:

Good lord! Methinks you are following Prince to close lol. Maybe I would complain too if every blip and fart Prince produced I scutinized. jeezus.

Let's see. This is a Prince website. It's also not an official one, and will be full of people who are subject matter experts, newbies, and everything in between. I happen to think I know a lot, but I know there are others who know much more. I have strong opinions and the balls to post them.

Like I always say, there are mostly 3 groups of Prince fans on here:

1 Everything Prince has ever done is so great, his hair is perfect, and I love him!

2 Everything Prince has done since 1990 is terrible, he should go away.

3 I like this, I love that, I sorta like this, I hate that, I really can't stand that, I have opinions on lots of things, and think it is crazy to either hate every single thing, and love every single thing. I have an open mind, and have no problem sharing my thoughts.

Now, there might be some other fans on here, but most are in those 3 groups. A lot seem to be in groups 1 and 2. I like having the freedom to have an opinion and not be overly positive or overly negative.

Since 2005, I don't really like Prince's live shows, but still acknowledge some of them are still brilliant. I love most of his studio output, so that makes me backwards compared to the typical Prince fan who thinks he is perfect in concert, but has been making crappy albums lately. So what...it's my opinion.

It's really funny you think I'm following him too close. Music is my main hobby. I love sports, food, women, and a few other things.

stillwaiting said:

2005-2012 C+

Despite all this, I'll still take my chances on Prince. It may not really be a lack of a work ethic, he may be the spoiled child who thinks he has done enough, and is willing to rest on his laurels. A bad Prince show still beats most anything else out there. Sure much lesser talented U2 puts on a better show these days, but I like Prince's songs so much more.

I also love how divided people on this site are. On most artist websites, most fans are either Very Positive or Middle of the Road. On this site, people are either too harsh and too negative, or will be willing to tell you that they would be happy with Shelby singing lead on all of the songs.

I wish more fans on here could be a mix of positve and truthful. You can't possibly hate everything Prince has done, or kiss his ass so much and say everything is perfect.

I think some of the medelys lay flat and boring Vegas style like the take me with you stuff, but He still gives "A" concerts. I saw him in Victoria 2011 and loved that show. I really enjoy the 20 minute Musicology Jam.

As for U2, take a way all the lights and computer screens -What do you got????