I'm curious. How many are basing their opinion on having actually attended a show with the current horn line-up as opposed to listening to a bootleg of the current horn line-up?

thebanishedone said:

U don 't need horn to make the funkiest music ever.Listen to album X periment by the System,that album is one of the funkiest albums ever and it 's base d on fairlight computer

Agreed! David Frank is a genius, some of the best The System music was very funky...

skywalker said:

One of the funny things about Prince fans is that, after all of these years, many still have a less diverse music palette than their musical hero.

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Prince basically made his career by breaking the mould and staying out of one category, yet some fans want him to stick to ONE or TWO styles, certain playlists, genres, etc.

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Personally, I got used to Prince's horniness for horns after the horn onslaught of 1986/87. Any horn hangups I had after that got wiped out by "Sexy M.F."

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Currently, Prince is letting us have cake and letting us eat it too. Two nights at Montreux 2013 were funked out horn/soul/big band shows, the 3rd night was straight up blistering (3rdeyegirl) guitar rock. Yet, people still find room to complain.

[Edited 7/20/13 21:00pm]

*

Amen, once again! They hate him with horns, and they hate him without horns. Most, not all, of these people hatin' on the horns are the same people who said that Prince's rock ain't really authentic or something like that so...it is what it is...haters gone hate...Damn, I swore I'd never use that phrase. Look what the Org has done to me.

HonestMan13 said:

I for one was really disappointed with the `horns`playes on keyboard during the 2010-11 tour. Bring on the real stuff!

HonestMan13 said:

It's a gimmick. Of course it sucks, but Prince isn't interested in what we enjoy. His every move is designed to appeal to the press. That "We Are The World"/ "Under The Cherry Moon" backlash forever altered his thinking.

HonestMan13 said:

I'm curious. How many are basing their opinion on having actually attended a show with the current horn line-up as opposed to listening to a bootleg of the current horn line-up?

I am basing my opinion on having seen Prince this year at Dakota Jazz Club, The Myth, and Paisley Park a few weeks ago.

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I said it before. Prince is looking/sounding reinvigorated.

[Edited 7/21/13 8:14am]

funksterr said:

It's a gimmick. Of course it sucks, but Prince isn't interested in what we enjoy. His every move is designed to appeal to the press. That "We Are The World"/ "Under The Cherry Moon" backlash forever altered his thinking.

*

When you state, "Prince isn't interested in what we enjoy," who, exactly, is the "we," especially considering that I like Prince's diversity and can enjoy his work with horns and without horns, and I wasn't or am not a part of the Under the Cherry Moon backlash because I also enjoyed Parade and Under the Cherry Moon. So, exactly, who is this "we" since I'm not limited in my ability to enjoy the full spectrum, realm, and diversity of Prince's artistry?

*

However, I will admit that I have always loved that Prince follows his own vision in most cases and does what "he" enjoys regardless of who digs it or not and has never seemed to be bothered or influenced by "backlash." I'm certainly glad he hasn't be bothered or influenced by the current thirteen-year "backlash" of this site 'cause I'm loving what he's been doing in 2013, especially his ability to be one of the few artists who can be as powerful playing rock as he is playing funk. I’ll say it again that I can’t think of any other artist with the range to play songs like "Endorphinemachine," "Screwdriver," and "Fixyourlifeup" and then follow it with songs like "Adore," "Satisfied," and "Ain’t Gone Miss U." It would be very rare for any artist producing new music today to have this range. So, I’m quite glad that Prince is doing what he’s doing. And to quote him from one of the LOL shows: "I like rock-n-roll, but I like my rock-n-roll funky!"

Hell, I talked about those horns from day one when he started using them. I can tolerate them on songs that he originally recorded that used horns but when you start putting horns on songs like "1999" which was recorded as a futuristic song at the time, they sound horrible and ruin the whole futuristic feel that was originally intended.

No, I don't care for all those horns in general anyway. They remind me of the old days when Johnny Carson used to have musical guests and they wouldn't bring their own band, they would sing with Doc Severinson and the Tonight Show house band. That's what they remind me of. Either that, or some tired Las Vegas show.

thebanishedone said:

I like horns but not in Princes music.Prince sounds much better with synths. Real horns don 't suit his mudic that well.

Exactly. They work well with some people and with others, they don't. Rick James did wonders with horns, especially on songs like "Love Gun" and "High On Your Love" and the songs still sounded hard and not "Las Vegasy". Actually, when Rick ditched the horns, that's when he fucked up because he lost his signature punk funk sound that defined him. And with Prince, when he started using them, they took away from his signature Minneapolis Sound and make him sound more like he was doing a tribute concert to his musical heros. They were tolerable in the late 1980s because he still had a little of that signature sound underneath them. But throughout the years, he seems to keep adding more and more to the point that the music starts sound more like jazz than funk.

funksterr said:

It's a gimmick. Of course it sucks, but Prince isn't interested in what we enjoy. His every move is designed to appeal to the press. That "We Are The World"/ "Under The Cherry Moon" backlash forever altered his thinking.

Are you smoking crack? He may be offering two different projects. One rock project and the other funk what on gods green earth does that have to do with "We Are The World"/ "Under The Cherry Moon"?

hearing little red corvette with horns makes me want to stab someone. but i guess i agree with the OP - horns where there originally were none don't add to a song, for me.

[Edited 7/23/13 12:23pm]

vainandy said:

thebanishedone said:

I like horns but not in Princes music.Prince sounds much better with synths. Real horns don 't suit his mudic that well.

Exactly. They work well with some people and with others, they don't. Rick James did wonders with horns, especially on songs like "Love Gun" and "High On Your Love" and the songs still sounded hard and not "Las Vegasy". Actually, when Rick ditched the horns, that's when he fucked up because he lost his signature punk funk sound that defined him. And with Prince, when he started using them, they took away from his signature Minneapolis Sound and make him sound more like he was doing a tribute concert to his musical heros. They were tolerable in the late 1980s because he still had a little of that signature sound underneath them. But throughout the years, he seems to keep adding more and more to the point that the music starts sound more like jazz than funk.

He brought in the horns because everyone was copying his sound. When he does do something like jazz people bitch that he cannot not do jazz because it sounds to much like funk. Sounds like dude cannot win with his nutty fanbase.

1725topp said:

funksterr said:

It's a gimmick. Of course it sucks, but Prince isn't interested in what we enjoy. His every move is designed to appeal to the press. That "We Are The World"/ "Under The Cherry Moon" backlash forever altered his thinking.

*

When you state, "Prince isn't interested in what we enjoy," who, exactly, is the "we," especially considering that I like Prince's diversity and can enjoy his work with horns and without horns, and I wasn't or am not a part of the Under the Cherry Moon backlash because I also enjoyed Parade and Under the Cherry Moon. So, exactly, who is this "we" since I'm not limited in my ability to enjoy the full spectrum, realm, and diversity of Prince's artistry?

*

However, I will admit that I have always loved that Prince follows his own vision in most cases and does what "he" enjoys regardless of who digs it or not and has never seemed to be bothered or influenced by "backlash." I'm certainly glad he hasn't be bothered or influenced by the current thirteen-year "backlash" of this site 'cause I'm loving what he's been doing in 2013, especially his ability to be one of the few artists who can be as powerful playing rock as he is playing funk. I’ll say it again that I can’t think of any other artist with the range to play songs like "Endorphinemachine," "Screwdriver," and "Fixyourlifeup" and then follow it with songs like "Adore," "Satisfied," and "Ain’t Gone Miss U." It would be very rare for any artist producing new music today to have this range. So, I’m quite glad that Prince is doing what he’s doing. And to quote him from one of the LOL shows: "I like rock-n-roll, but I like my rock-n-roll funky!"

Co-sign We are lucky to have an artist that can do so many different things with his music and he keeps us guessing about what is coming next. It looks like he is about to rain down some serious music with a real record lable behind him. Fans should be excited but are beefing. WTF

Loved it when Maceo played with the band.

YES! AGREE 100%! Eric Leeds was a perfect addition and the only horn he ever needed. I liked some of the Act I arrangements but everything since makes his music sound dated and Vegas-y.

the montreaux horns were sloppy and distracting .. there are too many of them .. i do like real horns in prince music .. i do not like when horns play famous guitar solos with no guitar to go with it ... i don't care for candy or najee or most other horns he has had ... i do love eric leeds, atlanta bliss, miles davis and maceo parker contributions .. at montreaux the horns did funk up some songs but others they cluttered up the background .. strays of the world sounded like a marching band with the local church choir singing along .. i mean your average church choir and average town marching band .. not prince caliiber at all and really sounded messy and clumsy .. almost high school level clumsy .. minus the cover tunes .. the setlist was really cool .. but the performance of the setlist leaves a bit to be desired, both in tune arranging and musical competency ..

I've mostly enjoyed the horns in Prince's music. I saw them at the rehearsal gig at Paisley Park, and it wasn't as if they were bad...they just weren't as tight as previous horn sections/players. Maybe it was just because it was a rehearsal, but I doubt it. Too many peeps on stage, in my opinion.

motherfunka said:

I've mostly enjoyed the horns in Prince's music. I saw them at the rehearsal gig at Paisley Park, and it wasn't as if they were bad...they just weren't as tight as previous horn sections/players. Maybe it was just because it was a rehearsal, but I doubt it. Too many peeps on stage, in my opinion.

That's the key--to use horns effectively with the right players on the right songs...and not to over do it...

HonestMan13 said:

I'm curious. How many are basing their opinion on having actually attended a show with the current horn line-up as opposed to listening to a bootleg of the current horn line-up?

[Edited 8/5/13 9:24am]

SuperSoulFighter said:

HonestMan13 said:

I'm curious. How many are basing their opinion on having actually attended a show with the current horn line-up as opposed to listening to a bootleg of the current horn line-up?

Reading some Montreux comments on the concert forum made me wonder the same thing. And that was before the boots were even out. I hope his next band has a harp, a violin, a didgeredoo and bagpipes in it!

oh man me too! if anyone could pull it off...

The One Nite Alone tour had cool horns, suited the music but got sick of horns around 2007 as he just seemed to include them in every song, and the endless solos... nah, too much for me. Could do without them.

Prince was so good in the 80s at blending horns with synths and other sounds.
He could mix it up and have a hybrid sound that was all his own.

A good example is HOT THING from SOTT. That sht was fierce.


But, I find Indigo Nights unlistenable because it does sound like

circus music to me.

I dig some of my Org folks...

But mainly? This is a misreable, petty place....

murph said:

I dig some of my Org folks...

But mainly? This is a misreable, petty place....