2 parts James Brown
1.5 parts Sly Stone
1 part Carlos Santana
1 part Jimi Hendrix
1 part Stevie Wonder
1 part George Clinton/P-Funk
1 part Larry Graham
1 part Joni Mitchell
1 part Led Zeppelin
1 part Al Green/Smokey Robinson/Curtis Mayfield, classic soul crooners
0.5 part Beatles
0.5 part Miles Davis/Herbie Hancock/Weather Report fusion
0.3 part Duke Ellington

Mix thoroughly
That's how I see it. How would you break down the ingredients that make up Prince's music?

Nice combination. However, I miss Gary Numan and, in general, the European electro-pop influences.

^Ah. Yes! Of course! So add a splash of that also!

Mmm... it tastes much better...

What about his lyrics? Aren't they part of the music package as well? Can we include a little humor & playfulness in the recipe? Prince has a great sense of humor.

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I say a pinch of George Carlin & Woody Allen.

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[Edited 8/19/13 8:32am]

Hold the Larry Graham, it gives me hives.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Don't forget Musical Youth.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Hold the Larry Graham, it gives me hives.

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He gives me MORE than the hives. Just sayin'.

Can we add a sprinkle of King Solomon too?

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Some of those love ballads remind me of something King Solomon would write (ie, Song of Songs).

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SuperSoulFighter said:

Throw some Kate Bush in2 the mix! But seriously, those electro-pop influences more or less disappeared after, say, 1987. After that, Prince's music has been mostly soul/funk based. Having George Clinton, Mavis Staples, Larry Graham & Chaka Khan around must have been part of that. Hell, who would NOT jump at the chance of playing with your musical idols? But it's also true that a lot of the 80s Prince fans, like Javi, are not so much into soul and funk.. And that's one of the reasons they're not so impressed with his later records.

Kate Bush is a wonderful ingredient!

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Yes, the electro-pop influences cover mainly the 80's. But do you really think Prince's pop-rock side isn't relevant since 1988? I think there are many brilliant pop-rock tunes in the 90's, for example on Graffiti Bridge, Diamonds And Pearls and The Gold Experience. And what about Planet Earth? I see that album as a kind of Around The World In A Day Reloaded, with little pop gems like "All The Midnights In The World", "Resolution" and "Lion Of Judah", in which one notice the work of Wendy and Lisa again. You know, I think the whole Prince career is mainly soul/funk (which are genres I love), but I think he has continued making great pop-rock tunes until now.

Mix in cream and chocolate.


Let it bake.

LadyZsaZsa said:

Y'all are making Cutie Pie.

You prefer steamed or baked??

You only need 4 ingredients and some seasoning:

-

1/4 James Brown

1/4 Little Richard

1/4 Jimi Hendrix

1/4 Sly Stone

-

Sprinkle some John Lennon in there and presto-

-

Prince!

toejam said:

2 parts James Brown
1.5 parts Sly Stone
1 part Carlos Santana
1 part Jimi Hendrix
1 part Stevie Wonder
1 part George Clinton/P-Funk
1 part Larry Graham
1 part Joni Mitchell
1 part Led Zeppelin
1 part Al Green/Smokey Robinson/Curtis Mayfield, classic soul crooners
0.5 part Beatles
0.5 part Miles Davis/Herbie Hancock/Weather Report fusion
0.3 part Duke Ellington

Mix thoroughly
That's how I see it. How would you break down the ingredients that make up Prince's music?

In addition to the above, add:

1 tablespoon of Little Richard

1 tablespoon of Rick James

1 tablespoon of Charlie Chaplin

1 teaspoon of of Todd Rundgren

1 teaspoon of Gary Numan

[Edited 8/19/13 21:42pm]

[Edited 8/19/13 22:42pm]

skywalker said:

You only need 4 ingredients and some seasoning:

-

1/4 James Brown

1/4 Little Richard

1/4 Jimi Hendrix

1/4 Sly Stone

-

Sprinkle some John Lennon in there and presto-

-

Prince!

That's the Original Recipe and it was damn good!!!

Chaka Khan and Little Richard - can't believe I forgot those two!! Both crucial to Prince's sound. Add a part of each of them too.

I have to stick with Larry - love him or hate him, there's no denying his musical influence. Listen to Larry's early records with Graham Central Station.

I also agree with the Charlie Chaplin influences, but for this thread I'm talking musical influences.

Tempest said:

George Carlin

Now THAT would be one interesting conversation to listen in on - Prince and George Carlin. The only thing I can imagine them agreeing on would be some government conspiracy plot - chemtrails or something . But other than that, I think Prince and Carlin would be like chalk and cheese.

SuperSoulFighter said:

^No, what I meant was that you don't hear a lot of the early 80s electronic sound in his music any more, except on an album like MPLSound.

With that I can agree.

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However, the sound of early 80's Prince, that funk-pop mixture, with the Linn and the synths, although it hasn't continued during the 90's and the 00's, is somewhat considered Prince's signature sound, his most recognisable sound. I'm not saying it is his best sound, but that it is the essence of the so-called "Minneapolis sound", and that it instantly evokes Prince when other artists use it.

callimnate said:

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.

toejam said:

Tempest said:

George Carlin

Now THAT would be one interesting conversation to listen in on - Prince and George Carlin. The only thing I can imagine them agreeing on would be some government conspiracy plot - chemtrails or something . But other than that, I think Prince and Carlin would be like chalk and cheese.

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@ chalk & cheese.

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I think they both have (in George's case "had") a deep love for words, word play & linguistic humor. That was my thinking on Carlin & Prince.

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novabrkr said:

callimnate said:

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.

I totally agree.

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Also, the "Jimi-James-Sly" statements miss how competitive Prince has always been. By the beginning of the 80's, the most avant-garde and commercial music was made by the British electropop acts. Numan, yes, but also John Foxx, Human League, Culture Club, Duran Duran, etc. Prince worked with technology like them, and, as usual with him, wanted to beat them, both artistically and commercially. This also has to do with the famous "crossover" he aimed to obtain in the 80's.

-------

And you just can't link Prince to the funk godfathers James Brown and Sly Stone because Prince has a great gift for melody, more significant than that of his funk predecessors. That also connects Prince with the European electropop bands.

Is anyone else getting an ERROR on this thread? Top of the page in pink? Or, am I the only one seeing it?

Javi said:

novabrkr said:

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.

I totally agree.

-------

Also, the "Jimi-James-Sly" statements miss how competitive Prince has always been. By the beginning of the 80's, the most avant-garde and commercial music was made by the British electropop acts. Numan, yes, but also John Foxx, Human League, Culture Club, Duran Duran, etc. Prince worked with technology like them, and, as usual with him, wanted to beat them, both artistically and commercially. This also has to do with the famous "crossover" he aimed to obtain in the 80's.

-------

And you just can't link Prince to the funk godfathers James Brown and Sly Stone because Prince has a great gift for melody, more significant than that of his funk predecessors. That also connects Prince with the European electropop bands.

And don't forget that the Family was born partly because P "wanted to get him some Duran Duran money."

OK..Am I the only one who thinks that there's some Rick James flavour in Prince's ingredients??? C'mon now .