For the past two weeks, fans have been been getting themselves into a tizzy with rumored anticipation that Prince is going to reunite with The Revolution at the 2015 Grammys Awards telecast and run through their run of legendary hits for millions of people watching all around the world. Ever since Prince closed his social media sites (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) and coincidental timing of members of The Revolution’s social media sites silence last November, fans on Prince.org and fan pages on FB, have been wondering if this is the year Prince plays a one-off show with The Revolution. Hey, why stop at a one-off show,? Why not a world tour of Prince and his legendary backing group wearing the ruffles and costumes they wore during the Purple Rain era? Why not everybody in the band wear their hair exactly like they did in 1984? Some fans aren’t even fans of Prince. There are fans of Prince of Purple Rain album or fans of 1999. They are uninterested in the musician. As long as Prince plays his hits, they are satisfied. There is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with wanting to celebrate the commercial triumph and cultural milestone of the Purple Rain album, film and tour. That’s part of the reason why Warner Bros. and Prince announced back in April of last year, a deluxe remastered edition of the Purple Rain album for the 30th anniversary because that music has not only stood the test of time, but is a marker of one of the greatest records of the 1980s and one of the greatest creative works of the 20th Century. That is not an overstatement. Purple Rain, stands as a brilliant album that comes after the crash of disco music and culture. The music on that album is a genuine synthesis of genres that were previously separated by radio formats that kept the music industry segregated along musical tastes and race to a certain degree.

Along with Thriller, Purple Rain captured the zeitgeist of a time when popular music became less regimented about radio formats. During the height of disco music, it was unfathomable for rock music fans to dance to dance music. The Police, Madonna, Duran Duran, Michael and Prince performed music that appealed to the sensibilities of rock fans and r&b fans. All of the songs on Purple Rain had something to offer to people with the most narrowly defined tastes. 3 decades later, it’s impact is undeniable.

Prince is just as much about business and he is about self-preservation. Prince wants to make a lot of money off of the 30TH Anniversary Deluxe Remastered reissue of Purple Rain the album, but doesn’t want to deal with fan’s hopes for a reunion of a show or tour. Plus, over the years he plays with members of The Revolution members at a time. 2004, Wendy played with Prince on Tavis Smiley, ESSENCE FESTIVAL, some Club 3121 shows, Lisa played with him during the 2006 Brit Awards and Bobby played 2 shows with Prince during the Live Out Loud Tour. But the thought of playing as The Revolution, heightened expectations from fans and critics, not to mention some possible past issues to smooth over, probably gives Prince pause. In the June 2014 issue of ESSENCE magazine, Prince said, “That’s what I used The Revolution for. They were sharp and fearless. The baddest, best-rehearsed band in the land. But ask them to do what we did tonight? To improvise. That would be a problem.”

It wasn’t smart for Prince to make those comments about The Revolution. He’s obviously happy playing with 3RDEYEGIRL, which I LOVE as a band. In short, it’s one thing to play songs from the Purple Rain era because that’s what people want to hear, but to play with The Revolution and have entitled fans dictate to you who to play with, what songs to sing and even what clothes to wear, is enough for Prince to stay away from them like the plague.

I hope Prince and The Revolution do not reunite simply for nostalgia reasons. Prince is too important and artist to allow himself to be a certified oldies act with nothing else to offer but reproduction of yesteryear glories. The mass audience mostly think of Prince as a relic of the ’80s. Even though hardcore Prince fans know that isn’t true, but by doing a medley of songs he recorded with The Revolution for the Grammys, he only reinforces that perception. Wendy and Lisa are accomplished composers of visual media arts in the field of television and movies.

They won an Emmy Award in 2010 for their score of Nurse Jackie. The other members of The Revolution have made their marks outside of the band. Prince has always maintained his thirst for growing musically. That is why he constantly changes bands, he scouts for new talent and writes music based on the talent he has around him. Throughout the image changes, he has changed his bands, and those bands have inspired some great music. Even when he records by himself, the people he surrounds himself with inspire to create new music. Whether, fans think the music is brilliant or terrible, Prince’s career is a journey of constant self-discovery. It’s unfortunate that so much of the music he has released hasn’t caught on with the general public, chief among those are the albums The Rainbow Children, Xpectation, N.E.W.S. and One Nite Alone piano album, but I chalk that up to those projects being underexposed to many people outside of Prince diehards. Albums like 3121, Planet Earth, MPLSOUND are mediocre records. There are decent songs on each record but its scope is incredibly shallow. Jim Walsh, a longtime music critic for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, wrote the liner notes for the 1995 album The Gold Experience. Walsh wrote of his experience going to see Prince and The New Power Generation in 1993, and came away with the distinct impression that Prince was resting on his laurels by coasting on ideas that he knew would work. “Overnight, then, it seemed as if Prince had prematurely signed on with this relic club, trading spontaneity for choreography, risks for hits, genius for just good enough-all of which is and always has been anathema to his legendary appetite for self-experimentation”-Walsh wrote.

Many people often compare Prince to Michael Jackson, however, Prince’s competition from an artistic point of view is David Bowie and Sting. Bowie and Sting, have used their cache to reinvent themselves by releasing series of challenging albums that is experimental. These albums haven’t outsold their best selling work, but its art for arts sake. What they also have in common with Prince, is that they seek out new collaborators to be stimuli for their creative processes.

For the past 10 years, Prince has more or less, “had little left to offer but star power, showmanship and fuzzy nostalgia”. That’s part of the reason why so many fans love Around The World In A Day, Parade, Sign O’ The Times, Lovesexy, Madhouse 8 and Madhouse 16 is because Prince did not allow himself to be influenced by people who wanted more of the same sound heard on Purple Rain. That was in the prime of his popularity. Prince is not an artist you can put in a box. By reuniting with The Revolution for The Grammys for fuzzy nostalgia is putting Prince in the smallest box.

If they were to reunite and RECORD NEW MUSIC-then BRING IT ON! Support that music by going on the road and playing fan favorites. It satisfies the constituents of casual fans and hardcore fans. They were the baddest band in the universe at a time. Other bands made music for that period, the Revolution made music that went past pop, funk, r&b, jazz. A lot of imitators came and went, but before their disbandment, the alchemy of the collective was so organic. The whole band was just entering their prime-making the best music of their careers. If anything, Prince could give The Revolution a chance to complete the arc that was prematurely stopped on October 7, 1986. Prince once said, that his only competition was him. Considering that Bruno Mars and D’angelo study Prince like a high school kid studying to take a college entrance exam, Prince still has it in him to write another edition to the textbook.

http://www.bloodburgundysoul.net/?p=201

I agree with this for the most part. I'd be somewhat disappointed if he reunited with The Revolution, even if he released the 30th anniversary edition of Purple Rain. His willingness to innovate and to challenge himself is one of the things I admire of Prince. I'm really happy that he has tried to go ahead with his last two albums, even if I don't think that Plectrumelectrum has been a completely successful artistic effort. That's the Prince I love. I really hope he continues being like that, and not a living dead musician, as many of his generation are.

---

I also agree with the comparison with Bowie. Bowie and Prince are on the same league in creative terms, and not Michael Jackson or Madonna, as much as I like them both. By the way, I don't think Sting can be compared to Prince in terms of reinvention and artistic ambition. I also love Sting, but, again, his league isn't the same. Bowie and Prince are the ones to look at when talking about long careers full of challenges and surprising and fascinating new paths.

[Edited 2/2/15 9:29am]

Javi said:

I agree with this for the most part. I'd be somewhat disappointed if he reunited with The Revolution, even if he released the 30th anniversary edition of Purple Rain. His willingness to innovate and to challenge himself is one of the things I admire of Prince. I'm really happy that he has tried to go ahead with his last two albums, even if I don't think that Plectrumelectrum has been a completely successful artistic effort. That's the Prince I love. I really hope he continues being like that, and not a living dead musician, as many of his generation are.

---

I also agree with the comparison with Bowie. Bowie and Prince are on the same league in creative terms, and not Michael Jackson or Madonna, as much as I like them both. By the way, I don't think Sting can be compared to Prince in terms of reinvention and artistic ambition. I also love Sting, but, again, his league isn't the same. Bowie and Prince are the ones to look at when talking about long careers full of challenges and surprising and fascinating new paths.

[Edited 2/2/15 9:29am]

Miles Davis had the same attitude and although he played with Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea long after they went on to front their own bands with Headhunters and Return To Forever, Miles cherished playing with new musicians and making records that was cutting edge. The difference with Prince is that, he is so close to the pop arena, where to play stadiums mandate that you play the hits, it's always with a nea backing band. If P decided to cut new music with The Revolution and support it on the road-I'm all for it.

I would love to see......

Wendy & Lisa together with Prince again.

thedance said:

I would love to see......

Wendy & Lisa together with Prince again.

Didn't you see the Brit Awards?

W&L were not the most important members of The Rev anyway.

he "tried" when roadhouse garden was on tap...but why bother now?

luvsexy4all said:

bloody hell, i can not believe that some prince fans think that there is going to be Revolution reunion, with prince , that is. There is no sniff of a real rumour or talk of it. Its completely fan made. If there was any truth in it i am sure it would have been leaked out by a genuine source. Plus the fact hes just about to do some shows with 3rdeyegirl. Stop being deluded.

paulludvig said:

thedance said:

I would love to see......

Wendy & Lisa together with Prince again.

Didn't you see the Brit Awards?

W&L were not the most important members of The Rev anyway.

to me W&L were the most important members, however...

the Brit Awards 2006 wasn't good imo, mainly because the 3121 album (and Te Amo Corazon) is utter crap...

LGC & PR played that night were better though.

A new tour by Prince & The Revolution would be welcomed though....

Like written above by w2all:

"Life is short why, not have fun..?"

i couldnt bear to read that first post with no paragraph breaks lololol


but i vote no, on nostalgia. the past is past. and it's been very well documented via video etc...

we already saw they best of the revolution and tbh, as long as prince is front center thats all i care about.

i don't want to feel nostalgic i wanted to feel excited about the present and future

terrig said:

i couldnt bear to read that first post with no paragraph breaks lololol


but i vote no, on nostalgia. the past is past. and it's been very well documented via video etc...

we already saw they best of the revolution and tbh, as long as prince is front center thats all i care about.

i don't want to feel nostalgic i wanted to feel excited about the present and future

this is spot on. I want to hear new music , even if its not up to old standards. He will play songs from purple rain, i just dont get desire to go back decades . Prince is not the same guy he was back then. Doesnt have the energy or the moves etc. Plus the fact he aint gonna play darlin nikita is he?

terrig said:

i couldnt bear to read that first post with no paragraph breaks lololol


but i vote no, on nostalgia. the past is past. and it's been very well documented via video etc...

we already saw they best of the revolution and tbh, as long as prince is front center thats all i care about.

i don't want to feel nostalgic i wanted to feel excited about the present and future

I tried to format the article as best as I could. Fuck it, lol.

I don't get why they'd have to turn back the clock to do a reunion. Sly & The Family Stone reunited at the Grammys and they weren't decked out in 1960s garb from their heyday.

I'd love to see a Grammy reunion followed by a big $$$ tour with a setlist of hits, Roadhouse Garden material and Prince staples. If they could pull it together long enough to create some new material, I'd love a setlist of completely new stuff.

paulludvig said:

thedance said:

I would love to see......

Wendy & Lisa together with Prince again.

Didn't you see the Brit Awards?

W&L were not the most important members of The Rev anyway.

lol U and you W&L dislike

Purple Rain isn't the rocky horror picture show. Nobody outside of Prince.org knows who the revolution is. Or cares.

He reunited with Wendy (& Lisa?) at the Brit awards and played Purple Rain... nobody cared. Wendy just looked pissed off the whole time. It was a good rendition but hardly anything to write home about.

Why reunite with an old band to watch them do something they did miles better 30 years ago? Put on a DVD if you're feeling nostalgic and watch them at their peak rather than a watered down version of.

He should have had the Time open for him on the Welcome 2 Australia tour

that would have generated a totally different level of excitement.

I disagree with Noodled24 about no one knowing who the Revolution is, I doubt the Roots are .Org members and they know and definately care...

Many people know the Revolution,

antonb said:

this is spot on. I want to hear new music , even if its not up to old standards.

You've been getting your wish for 20 odd years.

Now we want our wish.

And oh put on a DVD of Prince & The Revolution? There isn't one.

Noodled24 said:

Purple Rain isn't the rocky horror picture show. Nobody outside of Prince.org knows who the revolution is. Or cares.

He reunited with Wendy (& Lisa?) at the Brit awards and played Purple Rain... nobody cared. Wendy just looked pissed off the whole time. It was a good rendition but hardly anything to write home about.

Why reunite with an old band to watch them do something they did miles better 30 years ago? Put on a DVD if you're feeling nostalgic and watch them at their peak rather than a watered down version of.

Yup. Why reunite to do a lesser version of what you did 30 years ago? Doesn't make sense.

OldFriends4Sale said:

paulludvig said:

Didn't you see the Brit Awards?

W&L were not the most important members of The Rev anyway.

lol U and you W&L dislike

Just trying to create some balance to this uncritical W&L lovesfest.

antonb said:

thedoorkeeper said:

antonb said:

bloody hell, i can not believe that some prince fans think that there is going to be Revolution reunion, with prince , that is. There is no sniff of a real rumour or talk of it. Its completely fan made. If there was any truth in it i am sure it would have been leaked out by a genuine source. Plus the fact hes just about to do some shows with 3rdeyegirl. Stop being deluded.

You are 100 per cent right. Unfortunately on this site that means you will be ignored and the Revolution rumours will continue with mucho speculation on what songs they should perform.

And Prince will be blamed when the reunion doesn't take place.

paulludvig said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

lol U and you W&L dislike

Just trying to create some balance to this uncritical W&L lovesfest.

lol yeeeahhhh

1 persons comment about seeing those 3 together

mmm hmm

OldFriends4Sale said:

He should have had the Time open for him on the Welcome 2 Australia tour

that would have generated a totally different level of excitement.

I disagree with Noodled24 about no one knowing who the Revolution is, I doubt the Roots are .Org members and they know and definately care...

Many people know the Revolution,

The Time can do what they want. They're awesome. But they've performed as "The Time" on and off for the past 30 years. "Prince & The Revolution" quickly became "Prince". The Roots are Prince geeks, I'm sure they're org members even if they don't visit often. That doesn't diminish what the revolution brought to the table 30 years ago.

It's the celebrity equivalent of hooking up with your college band when you're 50. You all remember your part but there's no chemistry like there used to be. Plus Prince doesn't have the moves like he used to.

Let the legend live.

"Let the legend live"....Well said. Every year the speculation/rumours of the "Grammy-Prince & The Revolution reunion" hype hits the Org. As cool and fun as it might be (even for a few minutes), I doubt it will happen...It's like Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin.

warning2all said:

-Life is short, why not have fun? A Revolution reunion would be fun and make a lot of people happy. -Wearing the ruffles would be embarrassing. That's like asking Shatner to wear his 1966 Star Trek outfit now. -3121 was not a mediocre album Well written post, tho!

Wearing the ruffles would be better than the pajamas he wears now. That is embarrasing along with that extremely thin afro. I agree 3121 is not mediocre but I think the OP was just trying to be generous in giving it mediocre. It had 2 or 3 songs that were good and the rest is a bunch of filler tracks which is common in todays music. I personally would love to see the Revolution reunion and an album but I do think it would be disappointing at the same time. But a bad Revolution reunion would be better than the crap we have gotten since 2010. I wish he would go with the 2009 Montreaux band and go with a rock funk jazz fusion like the show. John Blackwell has been scooped up by D'Angelo now though(smart move) so I guess he is out of the picture.

bashraka said:

Prince is just as much about business and he is about self-preservation. Prince wants to make a lot of money off of the 30TH Anniversary Deluxe Remastered reissue of Purple Rain the album, but doesn’t want to deal with fan’s hopes for a reunion of a show or tour.

How do you know any of that? I think he lied, about the remasters to get AOA and PE released.

Plus, over the years he plays with members of The Revolution members at a time. 2004, Wendy played with Prince on Tavis Smiley, ESSENCE FESTIVAL, some Club 3121 shws, Lisa played with him during the 2006 Brit Awards

I'm sure it was just a coincidence that Prince reunited with W&L just as his fanbase, many of which are gay, shit their collective pants over comments he made against gay rights to a magazine reporter and other instances of what seemed to be homophobia that came to light around that time, but go on...

and Bobby played 2 shows with Prince during the Live Out Loud Tour. But the thought of playing as The Revolution, heightened expectations from fans and critics, not to mention some possible past issues to smooth over, probably gives Prince pause. In the June 2014 issue of ESSENCE magazine, Prince said, “That’s what I used The Revolution for. They were sharp and fearless. The baddest, best-rehearsed band in the land. But ask them to do what we did tonight? To improvise. That would be a problem.”

..Hold up.... Did Prince really say that? I mean he doesn't just write corny, he walks around speaking it too during interviews? "Baddest band in the land"??? Sheesh. And no they weren't, btw. They were clunky. From a technical standpoint, they were probably the 3rd best band working for him, behind The Time and Sheila's band. But technical perfection is hardly very important for most listeners anyway. It's about the percieved chemistry of the personalities of the members. For example Sheila's band was hot, yet nobody is really passionate about them or can say much about them in hindsight.

It wasn’t smart for Prince to make those comments about The Revolution. He’s obviously happy playing with 3RDEYEGIRL, which I LOVE as a band. In short, it’s one thing to play songs from the Purple Rain era because that’s what people want to hear, but to play with The Revolution and have entitled fans dictate to you who to play with, what songs to sing and even what clothes to wear, is enough for Prince to stay away from them like the plague.

He fired them 2wice. It was essentially a coinflip between them and NPG in 2014. I wouldn't call that happy. I would call that an attempt to make a less gay and less jew, fantasy copy of The Revolution that may be a more pallatable compromise to Tugboat Larry and his Jehovah Witness friends and his professional commitments within the industry. 3EG are sort of like those creepy plastic-looking backing dancers MJ hired to be the prefected J5 fof his dreams once he went solo. Sometimes it's just better when an artist's vision is restricted. But go on..

I hope Prince and The Revolution do not reunite simply for nostalgia reasons. Prince is too important and artist to allow himself to be a certified oldies act with nothing else to offer but reproduction of yesteryear glories. The mass audience mostly think of Prince as a relic of the ’80s. Even though hardcore Prince fans know that isn’t true, but by doing a medley of songs he recorded with The Revolution for the Grammys, he only reinforces that perception. Wendy and Lisa are accomplished composers of visual media arts in the field of television and movies.

Unfortunately that's a fact. Prince hasn't had a big hit single since TMBGITW.... 20 years ago! I know the guy kept using his Purple Rain money to self produce new projects, and a lot of those projects have exceptional moments, but nothing anywhere near his best material from the 80's. It's just a fact.

They won an Emmy Award in 2010 for their score of Nurse Jackie. The other members of The Revolution have made their marks outside of the band. Prince has always maintained his thirst for growing musically. That is why he constantly changes bands,

Nah..People quit a lot and he's forced to replace them.

he scouts for new talent and writes music based on the talent he has around him. Throughout the image changes, he has changed his bands, and those bands have inspired some great music.

Hmm.. maybe through Lovesexy. But after that, ain't no way in hell...

Even when he records by himself, the people he surrounds himself with inspire to create new music. Whether, fans think the music is brilliant or terrible, Prince’s career is a journey of constant self-discovery.

Well.. if Prince's career is self discovery then he must have been looking in his asshole, because the last 17 years or so have been pure shit... But go on.

It’s unfortunate that so much of the music he has released hasn’t caught on with the general public, chief among those are the albums The Rainbow Children, Xpectation, N.E.W.S. and One Nite Alone piano album, but I chalk that up to those projects being underexposed to many people outside of Prince diehards.

You just named probably the worst 4 albums in Prince's career. I know, I know. You thinky they are "creative successes" which couldn't be further from the truth. TRC and Xpectation are examples of Prince just plain being in over his head. He's not musically smart enough to pull off those styles, and it shows. They are the equivalent of "Seinfeld", only with Charlie Sheen as the Jerry character.

Albums like 3121, Planet Earth, MPLSOUND are mediocre records.

Mediocre is far too generous a term but go on...

There are decent songs on each record but its scope is incredibly shallow. Jim Walsh, a longtime music critic for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, wrote the liner notes for the 1995 album The Gold Experience. Walsh wrote of his experience going to see Prince and The New Power Generation in 1993, and came away with the distinct impression that Prince was resting on his laurels by coasting on ideas that he knew would work. “Overnight, then, it seemed as if Prince had prematurely signed on with this relic club, trading spontaneity for choreography, risks for hits, genius for just good enough-all of which is and always has been anathema to his legendary appetite for self-experimentation”-Walsh wrote.

Many people often compare Prince to Michael Jackson, however, Prince’s competition from an artistic point of view is David Bowie and Sting. Bowie and Sting, have used their cache to reinvent themselves by releasing series of challenging albums that is experimental. These albums haven’t outsold their best selling work, but its art for arts sake. What they also have in common with Prince, is that they seek out new collaborators to be stimuli for their creative processes.

I can't think of any bandmembers that Prince forced out, really. I mean he dissolved The Rev after W&L left, but 9 out of 10 times it's the bandmeber making that choice not Prince. So I don't but the seeks out new collaborators. I can't believe you are even admitting Prince had any collaborators, but go on...

For the past 10 years, Prince has more or less, “had little left to offer but star power, showmanship and fuzzy nostalgia”. That’s part of the reason why so many fans love Around The World In A Day, Parade, Sign O’ The Times, Lovesexy, Madhouse 8 and Madhouse 16 is because Prince did not allow himself to be influenced by people who wanted more of the same sound heard on Purple Rain. That was in the prime of his popularity. Prince is not an artist you can put in a box. By reuniting with The Revolution for The Grammys for fuzzy nostalgia is putting Prince in the smallest box.

Errr... This part truly makes no sense at all. And by the way. Now seems like a good time to wonder what it is about The Revolution that makes you so AFRAID??? Prince reunited and played a full concert at The Conga Room with Michael Bland, Sonny T, and Morris Hayes in 2009, as many fans wanted at the time. Did you have a problem with that? Was that "putting Prince in a box"? How is playing with The Revolution any different?

If they were to reunite and RECORD NEW MUSIC-then BRING IT ON! Support that music by going on the road and playing fan favorites. It satisfies the constituents of casual fans and hardcore fans. They were the baddest band in the universe at a time. Other bands made music for that period, the Revolution made music that went past pop, funk, r&b, jazz. A lot of imitators came and went, but before their disbandment, the alchemy of the collective was so organic. The whole band was just entering their prime-making the best music of their careers. If anything, Prince could give The Revolution a chance to complete the arc that was prematurely stopped on October 7, 1986. Prince once said, that his only competition was him. Considering that Bruno Mars and D’angelo study Prince like a high school kid studying to take a college entrance exam, Prince still has it in him to write another edition to the textbook.

So you are saying reunite The Revolution, but don't just tease us with a random show, give us a new album too? Ok. I'm with you on that sentiment. It will never happen though because Prince can't face Larry is he ever does real business with devils and heathens, that's all you non JW folks. I mean he can shake your hand and what not, but he can't have you in his life for real for real. That's why we are also not getting outtakes or remasters. Prince would be breaking the covenant, or something he has with LG, to do it.

And one other thing, since you mentioned D'Angelo. The Rev played some events with D'Angelo in the Prince role, right? Uh-un. I can just see Prince's face like Big Brother Almighty in School Daze when Tisha Campbell slept with the Spike Lee character, "You gave up the rhythm to Half-Pint???" Nah. Revolution reunion ain't happening.

/\

Wow - long post!

Just a couple of points -

W&L didn't leave, they were fired.

Playing with Hayes, Bland and and T in 2009 was different because he had continued to work with them on and off the entire time.

He's not musically smart enough to pull off the style on TRC? He's made plenty of music that is more clever than that.

paulludvig said:

/\

Wow - long post!

Just a couple of points -

W&L didn't leave, they were fired.

Playing with Hayes, Bland and and T in 2009 was different because he had continued to work with them on and off the entire time.

He's not musically smart enough to pull off the style on TRC? He's made plenty of music that is more clever than that.

I believe I read somehwere that the proper order of events were that they quit, returned, and were later fired.

Prince worked with W&L on and off too. i still don't know why a Revolution reunion is in some way harming Prince.

TRC, is a great Prince album, in a sense, but it is not good jazz, per se. It's an entertaining jazz flavored pop album. Any style of music that calls for an advanced understanding of music theory is beyond Prince's ability to execute at a high level ("Purple and Gold", anyone?). I mean we have the evidence, by this point that he is not an advanced composer and arranger. Yes he is a good composer and arranger. Yes he is also clever, creative, imaginative, etc. He's not writing any symphonies, though, or arranging any old school pop standards. That's a different skillset and Prince rarely needs it.