:
would you say displays the utmost talent in Prince's:

• Vocals
  
• Guitar skills
  
• Piano skills
  
• Ability as a Composer
  

Try to name one song per skill, and why you feel it's his best display of that particular talent.

Also, if you think there is a song that he has written and performed that diplays all of the above.

:

Vocals - christopher tracy's parade
Guitar - Rave Version of "She's Always In My Hair"
Piano - Alexa de Paris
Composer - Shy

Vocals:One Song Each off the Top of My Head:"Adore".piano:I'd say"When Doves Cry" dig those Runs in the Song alot.Guitar"Bambi".All-Around Songs that Showcase it all"Crystal Ball".as the Composer with all things coming together"Lady Cab Driver".

Vocals--> "For You"

Piano Skills--> "Under The Cherry Moon"

Guitar Skills--> "The Undertaker" or "Computer Blue"

Composer Highlights--> "Soft and Wet" or "The Love We Make"


Tina (~!~)

LaVisHh said:

Vocals: For You (the chords and harmony is amazing)
Guitar Skills: Purple Rain-the Rave N2 The New Year Version (his feedback and wah-wah resonance was supurb)
Piano Skills-Condition of the Heart (kinda like new-age classical music)
Composer: Sign O The Times (just a very self-explanatory song that will never die...especially in this day in age)

Vocals - Adore...nuff said!
Guitar - Joy In Repetition (It Aint Over NY version)...THAT'S the passion thats been missing far 2 long!
Piano - One Nite Alone...one word-beautiful
Composer - Sign O The Times...less is more

---

NettieSmiles said:

cuh...cuhh...


co-sign!

Vocals - A case of u (one nite alone album)
Guitar - Joy In Repetition (It Aint Over NY version)
Piano - One Nite Alone
Composer - Sign O The Times

alexnevermind319 said:

Alexa de Paris? Theres to much going on in that song for just a piano. I think you mean "Venus de Milo"

LaVisHh said:

off the top of my head...

for GUITAR skills, look no further than the inventive, out-there, totally exciting lead-work on XPEDITION (last track of x-album). it's so good it makes me pee myself! i know he belts this kinda stuff out live (joy..., family name etc...) but as a recorded moment this one brings tears of joy to a grown mans eyes...

COMPOSITIONAL skills, i do agree with the less is often more idea stated above, but sometimes big is great too - crystal ball is completely interesting and brilliant for 10 mins!!! loadsa great changes and playing... xenophobia is damn good too with loads of unusual changes and a nasty horn line... i also really dig forever in my life...

VOCALS - adore... beautiful

KEYS - i love you but i dont trust you anymore (which also has beautiful vox by P, and some nice guitar by ani di franco)

vocals - adore

guitar - habibi or maybe rave small club

piano - how come... just unique

Piano: Under The Cherry Moon. Not per se his best playing
but whenever I think Prince and Piano in the same line I
immediately hear that little flutter of keys he plays just
as he mutters "and that's allright". That is so beautiful.

Guitar: Joy In Repetition/Bambi from the Ona Tour. Just
very very powerful. I like the way that guitar sounds as
he plays it now. It sounds harder and more raw. Almost
psychotic in places. It's harder than he ever played it.

Composition: Crystal Ball, hands down. It's all there and
it rocks funks jazzez gospels and bubbles with a ferocious
stomp that makes you scared and delighted at the same time.
I don't know who wrote the orchestration for the intro, if
it was purely Clare Fisher's composition or wether it had
some Princely influence, but that intro deserves a special
mention here. Good god.

Vocal: If I Was Your Girlfriend. Ok so the vocals are not
his original ones and have been tampered with. But they
are just so incredibly spaced out and deranged and they
complement the song so incredibly well that I had to pick
this one. And even these tampered vocals have different
backingvox and change so dramatically toward the end. The
final verses are spoken with such urgency and yearning it
is simply incredible.

Special mention for vocals goes to "Avalanche" which is an
all-round brilliant piece of work. Great composition, great
piano and amazing vocals. For me, Avalanche is the best
song he did the last odd 7 or 8 years. What a performance!

Vocal-Adore
Guitar-The Ride (In Concert tv show version)
Piano-How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore
Composer-impossible to narrow down to just 1

Very nice posts... don't stop now!

[*]Vocals - For You Album

[*]Guitar skills - When Doves Cry

[*]Piano skills - One Nite Alone (Album!!!)

[*]Ability as a Composer - Everything!!!

Vocals - The Beautiful Ones (when he really starts screaming it sends shivvers down the back of my neck every time, such a contrast from the gentleness of his voice at the start of the song)

Guitar Skills - Batdance

Piano Skills - How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore

Composer - If I Was Your Girlfriend

All-round - Question of U

(and can I suggest another category - producer? I'd go for 'something in the water does not compute')

Vocals - Avalanche (live or studio)... his voice is pure, flawless, stunning

Guitar skills - Q of U or Joy in Rep live... pretty much ANY version kicks ass, LOL

Piano skills - When the Lights Go Down... feels improvised & loose, sounds SO good

Ability as a Composer - Alexa de Paris... I just love how it's layered, the different places it goes, very nice

All around - Adore... always a good choice, right?


GREAT thread LaV

wow...a very Difficult QUEStion...and a great one,too.

let's see...

vocals:damn you (check out how effortlessly prince slides
through the octaves on the part..."all i got to do is...
psychedelic shouts..part on the last bridge...unbelievable
vocal control!!!)

piano:under the cherry moon (jazzy and TASTY. very SOLID.
guitar:i could never take the place of your man
(i can't explain it...every note just fits...nice tone,too)

and one that showcases all fo his abilities?

man...let me think about it for a bit longer...

ok...here;s the rest of my picks

composer:beautiful ones (the album track he did everything)

all around ability:beautiful ones again.

Best Guitar - JiR, or maybe Last December

Best Vocal - Tambourine for it's vocal gymnastics, Avalanche for it's emotion and control, A Case of U ditto.

Best Piano - The Max. Only joking, probably A Case of U.

Composer - Pink Cashmere, Crystal Ball, or The Rainbow Children.

All around - Pass, it's too difficult. Maybe Lovesexy. Kind of encapsulates his whole thang - sex, spirituality, funk, humour wildness.

Guitar, Three Chains O' Gold..

Vocal: Crucial
Guitar: Joy In Repetition (It ain't Over)
Piano: Power Fantastic
Composer: Calhoun Square, People Without, Pink Cashmere, Rainbow Children, The Ladder, too many to mention!

youngca said:

Great choice!!

vocals- Solo from Come just for the pain in his voice and the versatility in his range

guitar- Xpedition

piano- Condition of the Heart

composer- Avalanche, Everywhere, Love 2 the 9s, I Hate U, and tons from 1986...

Any more? I'd really like to see if any of the songs presented set a trend...

• Vocals - Love2the9s. - The harmonies in this song are to die for just like Tommy B says.
  
  
• Guitar skills - Joy in Repetition ONA Version - This shit is just ridiculous. But if he hadn't released this, my vote would go to Alexa de Paris.
  
  
• Piano skills - Have A Heart/Objects in the Mirror. However, if a studio version of the instrumental An Honest Man were released, I'd pick that.
  
  
• Ability as a Composer - For me this is a toss up between Strays of the World and Celine Dion's With This Tear.
  

[This message was edited Tue Mar 18 17:44:22 PST 2003 by chickengrease]

• Vocals - For you, Adore.
  
  
• Guitar - Joy In Repetition, Question Of U and Red House from Rave DVD
  
  
• Piano - One Nite Alone album (studio) and the piano medley he keeps doing at shows.
  
  
• Composer - That's a tough one, but I'd probably go with complete albums - TRC, The Symbol, Sign O The Times, Parade & Lovesexy.
  

[This message was edited Wed Mar 19 1:07:09 PST 2003 by MissCute]