I like horns in his music when it´s just Eric Leeds or Eddie Minninfield (sp?).

If he uses more horns or other horn player, it´s just too much for me.

too much of them in this last album...

music for middle aged people... too much horns.

if i want horns i'll listen to miles or coltraine on vinyl.

It has a lot to do with how they are mixed. As long as his albums were intended and mixed for vinyl, there was no issue and they were great on Sheila's albums (particularly Romance 1600) and his own (Eric Leeds' contributions).

When he started using them more prominently on the NPG records, they tended to be mixed too high, but during the present decade he has found just the right balance.

I first noticed the improvement on Extralovable Reloaded then it was confirmed on AOA and now HnR2.

definitely has a lot to do with how they're mixed but also who is playing them AND how many. i agree with the above comment about D&P. when it was just Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss, it worked or if they weren't mixed too high. 11 horn players is over kill; especially for more than half the songs. a trumpet and a sax would do just fine in my opinion, not mixed too high tho

thebanishedone said:

I was listening to Sheila E. Albums and i found her first one to be the best because the sound is synth based.on her latter album there is a long sax solo fiesta.That is my problem with Prince using saxophones and horns,he tends to over use it.That relates to a new album Phase2. Lots of good stuff drenched in dozen of horns.Do you think Prince over uses horns? i love horns in funk music but to me Prince sounds much better when his sound is stripped and synth driven.After all it was synthisizer that helped Prince become the name he is in the music,not horns.

This is my exact thoughts also. A great deal of songs that Prince has done lately lack that synth sound that he is famous for. Either it's buried so deep in the mix, you can't hear them or he just doesn't use them at all. I was just listening to the original configuration of the 1987 Crystal Ball and the synths are a fantastic blend with the horns of Leeds and Bliss. Neither one over powers the other. The simple Sax and Trumpet are all that Prince needs for horns, but I truly miss what Dr. Fink, Lisa, Mr. Hayes and Cassandra brought to the table as keyboardist.

best use of horns by prince is on the lovesymbol and come album, i would say, extrmly funky.

The jazzy use of Horns (Atlanta bliss and eric)...is not my cup of tea.

HNR 2- hmm. it has a lot of hornsssss...maybe to much, im not sure at the monent...

To me, the question is not whether he should use horns OR synths but rather how many horns he uses.

The perfect balance, at least in my opinion, was between 1985 and 1988 when he combined Eric Leeds and Eddie Minninfield´s sax melodies with his trademark Minneapolis Sound synths and drum computers, like on the extended version of I Would Die 4 U or during the Lovesexy tour.

-

These days, his horn sound sounds too oldschool and Vegas-like to me.

I also liked the NPG Horns but nothing compares to Eric Leeds with Prince or Eddie M. during the Purple Rain era or the Romance 1600 and Glamorous Life horns played by Eddie.

The bigger the horn section, the less I like it.

I also liked when he played with Candy and Maceo but to me, nobody comes close to Eric Leeds when it comes to the quintessential Prince sound.

KoolEaze said:

Cthulhu said:

I love jazzy Prince so i do love me some horns. Eric leeds is classic but he is rather clinical in his play. Maceo is the funk-jazz master, more intuitive and raw. Candy has her own style wich is somewhat inbetween. I loved Atlanta Bliss on the trumpet but i'm not overly convinced off the NPG hornheads or what are they called? Synths is cool and i feel that sometimes P. uses horns a wee bit cheesy. But horns as in Make your mamma happy, Prettymen, Rockard in a funky place etc. is awesome in my book...

I don't like Prince's use of horns for the last 17 years. It's too conventional. Girls & Boys was cool. Rockhard in a Funky Place was cool. Housequake of course. That Big City horn use sucks though. From the snippets of Revelations that I've heard it sounds conventional, too.

iZsaZsa said:

Aren't real horns a rich man's synthesizer?

thebanishedone said:

iZsaZsa said:

Aren't real horns a rich man's synthesizer?

Actually no ,big old analog synths can give you a fuzzy warm sound and those things cost much more than horns. If Prince used horns instead of synths he would never crossover and would not differ from the other rnb artists. Synthisizer is one of the main reasons Prince got his status.If he used a conventional instruments only he would be regarded just as another Stevie Wonder clone.And it is strange synths are missed from his music since 1985.i don't count roland d 50,korg m1,nord and workstations he use now days. For example if Big City was made with synths and linn it would be a classic Prince,instead it sounds like horn overkill.
[Edited 12/19/15 22:24pm]

Cthulhu said:

The horns on Xtraloveable Reloaded are his best since Billy Jack Bitch.

KingSausage said:

iZsaZsa said:

Synths are cool. I would never replace the intro of Little Red Corvette e.g. with horns, but I don't think Prince would either. So if it's just a question of how much horns is too much, all I can say is it depends on my mood.

I love the horns in everything

NPG back on board is good

I think his use of horns has added a dimension his music never had before. It began with purple rain.

Eric Leeds, Atlanta to begin with and look where he is now with the npg horns. Horns make it funkier

thebanishedone said:

I was listening to Sheila E. Albums and i found her first one to be the best because the sound is synth based.on her latter album there is a long sax solo fiesta.That is my problem with Prince using saxophones and horns,he tends to over use it.That relates to a new album Phase2. Lots of good stuff drenched in dozen of horns.Do you think Prince over uses horns? i love horns in funk music but to me Prince sounds much better when his sound is stripped and synth driven.After all it was synthisizer that helped Prince become the name he is in the music,not horns.

I love barebone electrofunk more than trad funk but I have to admit that in certain cases the use of horns is more than justified.

Overall I think Eric Leeds and Michael B. Nelson's sound complement P's sound perfectly. It's like those guys, as well as Clare Fischer, were born to work with Prince. I found the use of horns much less satisfactory in the 2000's: I mean Candy Maceo Greg and all are great but their sound was more generic and doesn't complement P's sound the way Eric and MBN does.

Eddie was perfect for the sound P had designed for Sheila on R1600 but it's pretty obvious Eric was a better choice for what came next. Candy also surpassed herself on Xpectation so I got no problem with her there.

In the end there are cases where no horns is better: for example I think Extraloveable is sexier in its electrofunk cut from 2011, even though I love the arrangements on the new version. P obviously liked both cuts and therefore released both. Eric did a horns arrangement for Dorothy Parker and P decided to leave it out.

But overall I think if u look at P's career as a whole we have a lot of electrofunk and a lot of horns, it's pretty well balanced if u ask me.

feeluupp said: