OK..Am I the only one who thinks that there's some Rick James flavour in Prince's ingredients??? C'mon now .
Hah, yeah. Absolutely. That's the artist he mostly resembled all the way up to Purple Rain. I think people really throw around that "James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone" thing just because it sounds better and more people are familiar with their output.
OK..Am I the only one who thinks that there's some Rick James flavour in Prince's ingredients??? C'mon now .
Hah, yeah. Absolutely. That's the artist he mostly resembled all the way up to Purple Rain. I think people really throw around that "James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone" thing just because it sounds better and more people are familiar with their output.
Don't forget it is Prince himself who keeps naming these three (+Santana) and more or less ignoring the rest.
Hah, yeah. Absolutely. That's the artist he mostly resembled all the way up to Purple Rain. I think people really throw around that "James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone" thing just because it sounds better and more people are familiar with their output.
Don't forget it is Prince himself who keeps naming these three (+Santana) and more or less ignoring the rest.
I have the feeling that Prince won't usually name contemporary musicians because of how competitive he is. He may name James Brown, Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix, they don't compete with him. But it is less likely that he named musicians that have or could be competitors. Not only pop-rock musicians: for example, D'Angelo was a big influence on The Rainbow Children and I don't think Prince would acknowledge it.
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In my opinion, Brown, Stone and Hendrix are certainly big, sometimes huge, influences on Prince. But he has created a fascinating mixture of sounds during the years, which at the end of the day is much more than that.
novabrkr said: Don't forget it is Prince himself who keeps naming these three (+Santana) and more or less ignoring the rest.
I have the feeling that Prince won't usually name contemporary musicians because of how competitive he is. He may name James Brown, Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix, they don't compete with him. But it is less likely that he named musicians that have or could be competitors. Not only pop-rock musicians: for example, D'Angelo was a big influence on The Rainbow Children and I don't think Prince would acknowledge it.
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In my opinion, Brown, Stone and Hendrix are certainly big, sometimes huge, influences on Prince. But he has created a fascinating mixture of sounds during the years, which at the end of the day is much more than that.
[Edited 8/21/13 0:35am]
Agreed. U Make My Sun Shine is clearly a reply to D's Untitled. BTW, Prince did name a handful of contemporary musicians --but only those who bow to him i.e. Outkast, Alicia, Janelle, Badu, Lenny. In D's case, maybe he feelt somewhat threatened (musically)? Sometimes the way ?uestlove and D praise Prince makes me cringe, saying things like "Voodoo is an audition tape for Prince," etc, which I think is totally unecessary.
I have the feeling that Prince won't usually name contemporary musicians because of how competitive he is. He may name James Brown, Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix, they don't compete with him. But it is less likely that he named musicians that have or could be competitors. Not only pop-rock musicians: for example, D'Angelo was a big influence on The Rainbow Children and I don't think Prince would acknowledge it.
-------
In my opinion, Brown, Stone and Hendrix are certainly big, sometimes huge, influences on Prince. But he has created a fascinating mixture of sounds during the years, which at the end of the day is much more than that.
[Edited 8/21/13 0:35am]
Agreed. U Make My Sun Shine is clearly a reply to D's Untitled. BTW, Prince did name a handful of contemporary musicians --but only those who bow to him i.e. Outkast, Alicia, Janelle, Badu, Lenny. In D's case, maybe he feelt somewhat threatened (musically)? Sometimes the way ?uestlove and D praise Prince makes me cringe, saying things like "Voodoo is an audition tape for Prince," etc, which I think is totally unecessary.
Did they say that? I agree, it's unnecessary, Voodoo is as good as the best Prince albums, or almost...
Gary Newman!? How has The Rolling Stones NOT made this recipe!? They have been a MAJOR influence throughout his career. Maybe not so much now. Gary Newman. Seriously!?
Shocked? Prince was apparently a big fan of him around Controversy / 1999.
What these "Prince is a mixture of Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone and James Brown" statements always seem to miss is the huge role synthesizers and technology has always played in his music. They're overlooking the obvious.
OK..Am I the only one who thinks that there's some Rick James flavour in Prince's ingredients??? C'mon now .
Hah, yeah. Absolutely. That's the artist he mostly resembled all the way up to Purple Rain. I think people really throw around that "James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone" thing just because it sounds better and more people are familiar with their output.
There is a lot of Rick James influence in early Prince, totally agree here!