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Thread started 07/09/14 11:07am

kidmelody2012

Prince's Band at Essence Inept?

I enjoyed myself at the Essence show Friday night.Prince grew up in da hood and he knew what black folks wanted and delivered!(minus,Act of God,Nothing compares to u,Days of wild).

My only gripe was how could he have 30,000 middle aged horny black women in new orleans and not do Adore,Scandalous,Do me baby,beautiful ones etc........

My biggest gripe is the 3rd eye girl band trying to play funk! specifically Donna on the rhythm funky guitar parts was unbearable.the kiss guitar riff was so sterile I thought it was a joke! the black guy on bass near the end was pretty good but who the hell is he?

Why is Prince's band so Inept at funk?

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Reply #1 posted 07/09/14 11:31am

EyeHatechu

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3Rdeyegirl is a rock band. They specialize in a rock sound. Funk is just not their strong point. He should have left 3 rdeyegirl at home and brought the NPG band to play the instruments. True, P could have and should have played the Beautiful Ones, Do Me, Baby, Scandalous, etc. But who knows why he didnt.
This Could Be Us But U Be Playin...
You Can Call It The Unexpected Or U Can Call It WOW
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Reply #2 posted 07/09/14 11:42am

Genesia

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How does Prince's choice of bands make the band inept? confuse

We don’t mourn artists because we knew them. We mourn them because they helped us know ourselves.
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Reply #3 posted 07/09/14 12:05pm

ludwig

Genesia said:

How does Prince's choice of bands make the band inept? confuse

It seems like the threadstarter is a racist. He wants prince to play "black music" to black people, and not that "white" music.

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Reply #4 posted 07/09/14 12:34pm

lezama

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ludwig said:

Genesia said:

How does Prince's choice of bands make the band inept? confuse

It seems like the threadstarter is a racist. He wants prince to play "black music" to black people, and not that "white" music.

The OP has been known to post such threads in the past so this one isn't a surpise.

Ida can play funk great. Andrew might possibly be a better funk bassist than her but it wouldnt be by much. And in any case Ida's greatest asset is that she's extremely versatile, there isnt any style she cant play, and she can play guitar as well whenever needed.

Change it one more time..
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Reply #5 posted 07/09/14 12:42pm

EddieC

EyeHatechu said:

3Rdeyegirl is a rock band. They specialize in a rock sound. Funk is just not their strong point. He should have left 3 rdeyegirl at home and brought the NPG band to play the instruments. True, P could have and should have played the Beautiful Ones, Do Me, Baby, Scandalous, etc. But who knows why he didnt.

3rdEyeGirl is part of the NPG, isn't it? There is no current lineup of the NPG that doesn't have 3rdEyeGirl at its core--sure, Ida may move over to guitar and Andrew Gouche play bass, but Donna, Hannah, and Ida are still there, and Donna's playing guitar whenever Prince is in bandleader mode, and Hannah's the drums. I can't see any real reason to complain about Ida or have her move to guitar, either, since she'd been the bassist for the NPG for a few years anyway.

I'm not saying that 3rdEyeGirl are the funkiest band in the world, but I don't know what you mean by "leaving them at home," and who would play instead. As to KidMelody2012--yeah, he hatest them, but we already knew that.

Unfortunately, I wasn't there and haven't heard anything from the show--so I can't say anything about it with certainty. But "inept" is probably an exaggeration.

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Reply #6 posted 07/09/14 12:48pm

stillwaiting

ludwig said:

Genesia said:

How does Prince's choice of bands make the band inept? confuse

It seems like the threadstarter is a racist. He wants prince to play "black music" to black people, and not that "white" music.

Can't be sure the original poster is a racist. Thanks to Kool Moe Dee Musico, I have recently been branded a racist, and never knew I was, until the expert on racism, Kook Moe Dee Musico called me one.

I sort of agree with the poster. I just don't think that he expressed himself very well. The show was good, but far from great. Prince did not play to the audience. Let's just say that he went on tour with Def Leppard and Bon Jovi..(Which would never happen)...but if he did, you would expect a bunch of rock songs, with 3rd Eye Girl...

The essence festival was a 99.9% black audience with the average age over 40.

Do Me Baby, Uptown, Adore, The Beautiful Ones, Scandalous, Insatiable, I Wanna Be Your Lover,

Delirious, Baby I'm A Star...

these songs were all missing. You could make the point that Controversy was missing, since he didn't really sing the lyrics, he was just playing crowd hype with some screams more than actually singing it.

Was it a terrible show? No. Was it anywhere near the level of 5-15-14 Birmingham, England? NO!

It was an ok show that I am happy I attended.

Some great performances of : Let's Go Crazy, Take Me With U, Purple Rain, Nothing Compares 2 U, 1999 sounded great too, Cool was pretty good, and I enjoyed Act of God, and Funk N Roll, but the audience seemed bored at times. The covers and remakes of Time and Sheila E were not overly well received, and the Janet Jackson cover was just plain out of place..

So the original poster here may have worded things a little off, but they were right, some signature songs for his black audience were missing, and he could've done better.

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Reply #7 posted 07/09/14 1:10pm

hopefularrange
r

People are uncomfortable and defensive about being branded one thing or another. Yet some these same folks have no problem outrightly asserting that a "funk/r&b tailored show" is what was called for rather than a rock-flavored one given the ethnic makeup of the majority of the audience.

As though black people are too closed-minded and musically uninformed to appreciate rock and roll - a genre our own antecedents conceptualized and, at this show, one of our own contemporaries would be performing.

But I ain't talkin' about anyone here... boxed

[Edited 7/9/14 13:11pm]

[Edited 7/9/14 14:43pm]

[Edited 7/9/14 18:39pm]

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Reply #8 posted 07/09/14 1:18pm

EyeHatechu

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EddieC said:



EyeHatechu said:


3Rdeyegirl is a rock band. They specialize in a rock sound. Funk is just not their strong point. He should have left 3 rdeyegirl at home and brought the NPG band to play the instruments. True, P could have and should have played the Beautiful Ones, Do Me, Baby, Scandalous, etc. But who knows why he didnt.


3rdEyeGirl is part of the NPG, isn't it? There is no current lineup of the NPG that doesn't have 3rdEyeGirl at its core--sure, Ida may move over to guitar and Andrew Gouche play bass, but Donna, Hannah, and Ida are still there, and Donna's playing guitar whenever Prince is in bandleader mode, and Hannah's the drums. I can't see any real reason to complain about Ida or have her move to guitar, either, since she'd been the bassist for the NPG for a few years anyway.



I'm not saying that 3rdEyeGirl are the funkiest band in the world, but I don't know what you mean by "leaving them at home," and who would play instead. As to KidMelody2012--yeah, he hatest them, but we already knew that.



Unfortunately, I wasn't there and haven't heard anything from the show--so I can't say anything about it with certainty. But "inept" is probably an exaggeration.


What im saying is that 3rdeyegirl is a rock based band meaning they are not the funkiest. Even though the band is part of NPG, they are not the only band members in the NPG who play guitar, drums, and bass. Keep Ida, I like her, but it would be nice to have John Blackwell on drums and someone funkier on guitar. Anyway, John is in the hospital but it would be nice to have some funkier players on that stage during the performances like the ones they did at the Essence fest. 3rdeyegirl is an awesome rock band but they are not funky. I see your point though, i dont recall there being a current lineup of other musicians in the NPG. But once again, this is not a knock to 3rdeyegirl or the members in it.
This Could Be Us But U Be Playin...
You Can Call It The Unexpected Or U Can Call It WOW
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Reply #9 posted 07/09/14 2:01pm

thx185

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This is echoing some of my thoughts I posted over in the Essence fest thread in the Concerts forum.

The un-funky 3rdEyeGirl was part of what I was trying to express. They are great musicians & I enjoy the studio tracks Prince is doing with them, but they are extremely un-funky and un-alive on stage. Plastic-model looking women standing in 1 spot, playing expressionless.

The OP is exactly spot-on and described it very colorfully- that dome was full of some silver fox women yall and it was the PERFECT setting for Prince to lay on the oldschool R&B vibe.

Edited to add: it was also very telling that when things did get at little bit funky at one point, Prince had a different guy on bass. That says it all.

[Edited 7/9/14 14:02pm]

"..free to change your mind"
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Reply #10 posted 07/09/14 2:39pm

FunkDr

Spot on hopeful arranger !!
Disappointing to see such posts in this day and age - particularly from Prince fans as you'd expect a greater level of understanding and open mindedness. Heck, part of Prince's thing has always been that he doesn't fit stereotypes - without denying his heritage / ethnicity he doesn't feel obliged to fit expectations - he is Prince firstly - in the space he marks "human"
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Reply #11 posted 07/09/14 2:47pm

funksterr

Most Prince bands over the years, if there is a struggle, it's with funk. People said that about The Revolution too. I pretty much don't care about that anymore. Though I haven't heard 3EG at all, so maybe there is a problem? IDK

[Edited 7/9/14 14:47pm]

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Reply #12 posted 07/09/14 3:47pm

fakir

Are we talking about music or are we just trying to categorize Prince music whenever he plays live ?
Prince, Miles are just musicians...it is not about a genre for God sake!
Did the audience (not especially P fans) love the show? Yes,yes and yes!
Jeez...
The Ignorant asserts,The learned doubts,The wise thinks.

Aristotle
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Reply #13 posted 07/09/14 4:16pm

lezama

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thx185 said:

it was also very telling that when things did get at little bit funky at one point, Prince had a different guy on bass. That says it all.

[Edited 7/9/14 14:02pm]



That has everything to do with the songs he played with Andrew and nothing to do with Ida, but good try. And with all the people he had on stage wtf would he want his bassist and guitarists moving around for? Your statement about them being in one spot makes no sense. Im sure everyone did exactly as he instructed them to.
Change it one more time..
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Reply #14 posted 07/09/14 7:23pm

1contessa

I thought the band played well, and I especially liked the drummer. When Prince asked the crowd, "do you like my band".....I didn't hear any boos, only cheers.

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Reply #15 posted 07/09/14 7:45pm

beatz01

So who is this Andrew Gouche guy and how come he played bass with Prince at Essence ? Is he a new addition ? Is this the first he has popped up in the lineup ?

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Reply #16 posted 07/09/14 7:49pm

EddieC

EyeHatechu said:

EddieC said:

3rdEyeGirl is part of the NPG, isn't it? There is no current lineup of the NPG that doesn't have 3rdEyeGirl at its core--sure, Ida may move over to guitar and Andrew Gouche play bass, but Donna, Hannah, and Ida are still there, and Donna's playing guitar whenever Prince is in bandleader mode, and Hannah's the drums. I can't see any real reason to complain about Ida or have her move to guitar, either, since she'd been the bassist for the NPG for a few years anyway.

I'm not saying that 3rdEyeGirl are the funkiest band in the world, but I don't know what you mean by "leaving them at home," and who would play instead. As to KidMelody2012--yeah, he hatest them, but we already knew that.

Unfortunately, I wasn't there and haven't heard anything from the show--so I can't say anything about it with certainty. But "inept" is probably an exaggeration.

What im saying is that 3rdeyegirl is a rock based band meaning they are not the funkiest. Even though the band is part of NPG, they are not the only band members in the NPG who play guitar, drums, and bass. Keep Ida, I like her, but it would be nice to have John Blackwell on drums and someone funkier on guitar. Anyway, John is in the hospital but it would be nice to have some funkier players on that stage during the performances like the ones they did at the Essence fest. 3rdeyegirl is an awesome rock band but they are not funky. I see your point though, i dont recall there being a current lineup of other musicians in the NPG. But once again, this is not a knock to 3rdeyegirl or the members in it.

Yeah, they're primarily a rock-oriented band--but they're what he has now. I'm not big on the idea of pulling in someone (even if Blackwell were available--which at the moment he clearly isn't) just for one of these shows. It leaves him open to things not being as tight playing with an ad hoc band he's not playing with all the time (and that doesn't play together all the time). And then that's just something else for people to complain about. Admittedly, there might be a bit more of a demand for a more R&B or funk approach at Essence--but I doubt they really tanked, and a thrown together group might have.

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Reply #17 posted 07/09/14 7:57pm

EddieC

beatz01 said:

So who is this Andrew Gouche guy and how come he played bass with Prince at Essence ? Is he a new addition ? Is this the first he has popped up in the lineup ?

He tends to pop up with the huge band lineup (often more R&B or funk-based) "NPG" versus the stripped down lineup rock "3rdEyeGirl" gigs the last year or so. He first played with the band I think during the series of Dakota shows in early 2013, when Prince divided it even more starkly by genre/band. The horns and the backing vocalists get added to 3rdEyeGirl, they play some uninspiring funk grooves... but I don't think the problems the band (well, I'm not entirely sure about that--there seems to be so many people they're tripping over themselves literally in some of these venues). I think, for whatever reason, Prince just ain't into that right now. He drags them out for festivals or whatever, but I just don't see that as being his focus musically or as a showman. Not right now, though I'm sure it will be again.

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Reply #18 posted 07/09/14 8:34pm

metallicjigolo

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You mean Everyone here has not watched (especially his reaction to) the American music award show where they announced him winner of Best "Black" song?!!!!!?
Don't go there!!!!!
[Edited 7/9/14 20:35pm]
Prince did an interview with a woman at Record World. They talked about whatever, then he asked her: "Does your pubic hair go up to your navel?" At that moment, we thought maybe we shouldn't encourage him to do interviews.
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Reply #19 posted 07/09/14 9:02pm

kidmelody2012

not racist.....i heard people in my section saying "he better not play that rock shit tonight"

ludwig said:

Genesia said:

How does Prince's choice of bands make the band inept? confuse

It seems like the threadstarter is a racist. He wants prince to play "black music" to black people, and not that "white" music.

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Reply #20 posted 07/09/14 11:29pm

trax

kidmelody2012 said:

not racist.....i heard people in my section saying "he better not play that rock shit tonight"

ludwig said:

It seems like the threadstarter is a racist. He wants prince to play "black music" to black people, and not that "white" music.

Not surprising. It is the south afterall.

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Reply #21 posted 07/09/14 11:58pm

Bambi82

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kidmelody2012 said:

not racist.....i heard people in my section saying "he better not play that rock shit tonight"

Well maybe they should take their asses on the stage and play their own shit! I HATE when people bitch about what he plays! FFS, it's HIS show to play HIS songs the way HE wants.

.

As far as your opening comment.. what the hell does race have to do with it? I'm not black and the songs you listed that he omitted are some of my favorites. Furthermore, the girls are doing thier best and I think they do a damn good job keeping up with Prince (can you imagine working for him?!) Can you do better?

[Edited 7/10/14 10:18am]

Everybody stop on the 1...GOOD GOD! Uhh!
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Reply #22 posted 07/10/14 12:53am

jaawwnn

kidmelody2012 said:

not racist.....i heard people in my section saying "he better not play that rock shit tonight"

ludwig said:

It seems like the threadstarter is a racist. He wants prince to play "black music" to black people, and not that "white" music.

Those people need to open their minds so.


As for the original post, for starters the Kiss riff has never sounded especially good live except when he plays a sample of it. Secondly you're always starting threads complaining about how rubbish prince and everyone related to prince is musically so really I don't think anyone should be trying to answer your questions, you ain't interested in any opinion but your own.

[Edited 7/10/14 0:53am]

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Reply #23 posted 07/10/14 1:47am

NikkiAndTheRev
olution

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This isn't about race this is about sound! What if he went to The Essence Fest and sang Opera? I think The Essence Festival Is more about Soul and R&B. The people who were there probably expected Prince to take care of it 'cause they knew of his earlier work. They went for soul and got hardcore rock!

A lot of the grown folks I know today wanna hear Kiss or Purple Rain. Some of them DONT know he's still making new music and the ones that do DONT like it because its rock oriented. They grew up with funky Prince and THATS who they wanted to see, not new-wave PRETZELBODYLOGIC Prince.

He should've appealed to the masses that night; they wanted funk and that is not 3RDEYEGIRL. They can throw down some rock music, but that wasn't the place to do it!

(Please don't hit me.)
From the vineyards of Lavaux back 2 the heart of Minnesota. U R was, and will 4ever B The Purple Yoda....
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Reply #24 posted 07/10/14 2:33am

EyeHatechu

avatar

NikkiAndTheRevolution said:

This isn't about race this is about sound! What if he went to The Essence Fest and sang Opera? I think The Essence Festival Is more about Soul and R&B. The people who were there probably expected Prince to take care of it 'cause they knew of his earlier work. They went for soul and got hardcore rock!

A lot of the grown folks I know today wanna hear Kiss or Purple Rain. Some of them DONT know he's still making new music and the ones that do DONT like it because its rock oriented. They grew up with funky Prince and THATS who they wanted to see, not new-wave PRETZELBODYLOGIC Prince.

He should've appealed to the masses that night; they wanted funk and that is not 3RDEYEGIRL. They can throw down some rock music, but that wasn't the place to do it!

(Please don't hit me.)

Dont worry, I wont hit you..
hug...i totally understand your point.
This Could Be Us But U Be Playin...
You Can Call It The Unexpected Or U Can Call It WOW
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Reply #25 posted 07/10/14 3:12am

fnksoul

EyeHatechu said:

EddieC said:

What im saying is that 3rdeyegirl is a rock based band meaning they are not the funkiest. Even though the band is part of NPG, they are not the only band members in the NPG who play guitar, drums, and bass. Keep Ida, I like her, but it would be nice to have John Blackwell on drums and someone funkier on guitar. Anyway, John is in the hospital but it would be nice to have some funkier players on that stage during the performances like the ones they did at the Essence fest. 3rdeyegirl is an awesome rock band but they are not funky. I see your point though, i dont recall there being a current lineup of other musicians in the NPG. But once again, this is not a knock to 3rdeyegirl or the members in it.

.

.

3rd Eye Girl could play funk im sure, Ida is quite good at it, Donna, wasnt her previous project funk rock? Its just that they were missing NPG Horns wthat wuold have added an element of funk, the fact is, thats not what Prince is currently about and the more he goes back to that, the more people expect it.

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Reply #26 posted 07/10/14 5:14am

lezama

avatar

NikkiAndTheRevolution said:

This isn't about race this is about sound! What if he went to The Essence Fest and sang Opera? I think The Essence Festival Is more about Soul and R&B. The people who were there probably expected Prince to take care of it 'cause they knew of his earlier work. They went for soul and got hardcore rock!

A lot of the grown folks I know today wanna hear Kiss or Purple Rain. Some of them DONT know he's still making new music and the ones that do DONT like it because its rock oriented. They grew up with funky Prince and THATS who they wanted to see, not new-wave PRETZELBODYLOGIC Prince.

He should've appealed to the masses that night; they wanted funk and that is not 3RDEYEGIRL. They can throw down some rock music, but that wasn't the place to do it!

(Please don't hit me.)


Firstly, Prince didnt play a rock heavy set, he also didnt play but 3 songs the average person wouldnt be familiar with, so he DID cater to his audience, and the only place ive seen any type of complaint I saw from any of the people who attended (outside the org of course) has to do with the sound in the venue, which didnt really have anything to do with him.
Change it one more time..
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Reply #27 posted 07/10/14 5:53am

OldFriends4Sal
e

Prince didn't grow up in da hood

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Reply #28 posted 07/10/14 5:56am

OldFriends4Sal
e

EddieC said:

EyeHatechu said:

3Rdeyegirl is a rock band. They specialize in a rock sound. Funk is just not their strong point. He should have left 3 rdeyegirl at home and brought the NPG band to play the instruments. True, P could have and should have played the Beautiful Ones, Do Me, Baby, Scandalous, etc. But who knows why he didnt.

3rdEyeGirl is part of the NPG, isn't it? There is no current lineup of the NPG that doesn't have 3rdEyeGirl at its core--sure, Ida may move over to guitar and Andrew Gouche play bass, but Donna, Hannah, and Ida are still there, and Donna's playing guitar whenever Prince is in bandleader mode, and Hannah's the drums. I can't see any real reason to complain about Ida or have her move to guitar, either, since she'd been the bassist for the NPG for a few years anyway.

I'm not saying that 3rdEyeGirl are the funkiest band in the world, but I don't know what you mean by "leaving them at home," and who would play instead. As to KidMelody2012--yeah, he hatest them, but we already knew that.

Unfortunately, I wasn't there and haven't heard anything from the show--so I can't say anything about it with certainty. But "inept" is probably an exaggeration.

I agree, and I'm glad Prince didn't pander to race

'African -American' fans love Prince's music from Let's Go Crazy-Black Swet

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Reply #29 posted 07/10/14 6:12am

ludwig

fnksoul said:

EyeHatechu said:

EddieC said: What im saying is that 3rdeyegirl is a rock based band meaning they are not the funkiest. Even though the band is part of NPG, they are not the only band members in the NPG who play guitar, drums, and bass. Keep Ida, I like her, but it would be nice to have John Blackwell on drums and someone funkier on guitar. Anyway, John is in the hospital but it would be nice to have some funkier players on that stage during the performances like the ones they did at the Essence fest. 3rdeyegirl is an awesome rock band but they are not funky. I see your point though, i dont recall there being a current lineup of other musicians in the NPG. But once again, this is not a knock to 3rdeyegirl or the members in it.

.

.

3rd Eye Girl could play funk im sure, Ida is quite good at it, Donna, wasnt her previous project funk rock? Its just that they were missing NPG Horns wthat wuold have added an element of funk, the fact is, thats not what Prince is currently about and the more he goes back to that, the more people expect it.

You don't need horns for funk. Listen to prince's early work. The classic mpls funk was fantastic, without any horns at all.

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