I saw TR last week doing the pet Shop Boys thing and it occured to me that P has a lot in common with him.

They both show a mastery of all instruments and styles.

They both can produce as well as perform, and are obsessed with studio perfection.

They are both VERY difficult to get along with for other musicians, who are hard to find (of a suitable caliber) in the first place.

They both have a pop sensibility (and TR can funk too) and a great understanding of what makes a great lyric/melody match + the hook.

Both change shape on stage tour by tour and often dress to shock, and both have solo and band personas that are different (Utopia).

Religion features noticably in both their work, in TR's case he is an atheist but that still counts if you sing about it.

TR can WAIL on guitar, maybe not on P's level (who is) but still respectably.

Both of them have LEGENDARY sexual appetites where the ladies are concerned.

It would be cool to see a few covers from each of them; P could really handle "God Said" or Can We Still Be Friends and TR could KILL The Beautiful Ones not to mention Purple Rain.

Just my 2c

Bebe Buell, TR's "main girlfriend" from the 1970s, claims that Prince had tried to get to meet TR at a backstage after a concert when Prince was still a teenager, but there's no confirmation on it from any other other source. She's flakey, in all honesty. Prince has never brought up TR in interviews, although TR has mentioned Prince a few times (he brings Prince up in some of the liner notes on the remasters of his CDs).

I'm not sure if I can really hear a TR influence in Prince's music, not in any explicit manner at least. TR has his own signature style as far as his harmonies and chord progressions go, but those don't really match Prince's. Maybe some of Prince's "prog" stuff is closer to Utopia's stuff than it is to many other 1970s prog bands (e.g. "Last December" is not so far removed from the late-70s Utopia stuff). I think TR has tried to emulate Prince's style a bit on his funkier tracks later on.

I don't really hear the Todd influence either (musically)..but on the one man band stuff that Todd did, I can sense the creative adventures that P absorbed from him. P's symbol shaped guitar looks just like one that Todd played in the 70's.

I wouldn't be surprised if he has a copy of A WIZARD A TRUE STAR in his collection. The way it jumps between styles and feels, doesn't shy away from soul sentimentality or extreme weirdness, and the unique production sound do kind of remind me of Prince.

I'd say game recognizes game

Maybe its not an influence that you hear per se, but maybe Prince was inspired by Rundrgrens versatility and mastery and worked toward that kind of rare air himself.....albeit in his own way...

Stimpy said:

I remember Jon Bream mentioned Glam Slam sounding like Todd Rundgren in his review, but I don't know enough about his music to concur.

bobzilla77 said:

I wouldn't be surprised if he has a copy of A WIZARD A TRUE STAR in his collection. The way it jumps between styles and feels, doesn't shy away from soul sentimentality or extreme weirdness, and the unique production sound do kind of remind me of Prince.

Prince denied that the main influence on ATWIAD was the Beatles, so I've wondered what he really meant by it.

I think Todd's AWATS has a similar approach and a structure as an album. It even starts with a song called "International Feel", digs deep into psychedelia and then turns into something more poppy towards the end. Even the cover art is in the same territory. Don't know, but it very well could be an influence.

thedoorkeeper said:

Stimpy said:

I saw TR last week doing the pet Shop Boys thing....

Whats that mean - "doing the pet Shop Boys thing" - ????

Electronica, using a DJ programmer all samples and 2 background female singers.

I can see the influence in as much as they're both incredibly diverse, adept at a lot of different styles and a tad bit underground while still being mainstream. I never thought about it before but it's a valid comparison. I just missed Rundgren playing near my town recently and wished I had gone.

Everybody Wants What They Don't Got reminds me a bit of some of Rundgrens songs.

Wasnt Rundgren the actual music guest on the night when Prince played "Partyup" on SNL in 1981? Coincidence? I know I remember reading somewhere about Bobby Z and Prince going to see Rundgren in concert in those early days when Bobby was Prince's driver. There's some kind of connection...

At this point in his life adn career, I find discussions of Prince's influences to be dated and almost irrelevant with the breadth adn depth of originality that we have seen from Prince for so long. Not saying that there is no merit in it - just think that if it was a horse, it would have been beaten to death at least 2 decades ago.

UncleJam said:

Wasnt Rundgren the actual music guest on the night when Prince played "Partyup" on SNL in 1981? Coincidence? I know I remember reading somewhere about Bobby Z and Prince going to see Rundgren in concert in those early days when Bobby was Prince's driver. There's some kind of connection...

Yep, i just recently got a copy of that episode. If a person is a fan of Prince or Todd, they should seek it out. I hadn't seen it since it first aired and it was as memorable as i remembered it.

As far as the question. I can't say for sure but i would be surprised to know that Prince wasn't influenced by Todd. In terms of creativeness, musical talent, vision, work ethic and individualism, Prince and Todd are hella similar. I understand that being "similar" doesn't mean that Prince was "influenced by" Todd. Its just game recognizes game, so i can imagine a young Prince hearing Todd for the first time, and then exploring his music further. And once he did that, i could see him being influenced by Todd's creativity. Plus Todd has produced or performed on a lot of other artists albums, so i can imagine Prince discovering Todd's talent, through those means.

Regardless of if Prince was "influenced" by Todd, im sure he has major respect for the guy. And if he doesn't, he should. He(todd) is just as creative, talented, and can hold his own against any of the people who we do know that Prince was influenced by, and (or) respects, (Joni Mitchel, carlos Santana, sly Stone, george clinton, james brown, jimi hendrix, larry graham, stevie wonder, etc).

At least that's my take on it.

[Edited 6/1/15 21:27pm]

prince wasn't obsessed with studio perfection though, and his drug intake was mild at very worst.