Cloreen said:

PeteSilas said:

I think his greatest talent was to make people feel.

Whether you loved it, hated it or him, he made you feel strongly. You could not be luke warm with him.

From his lyrics, to his music, to his performances, he made you feel something each and every time. That is a a rarity and something that many artists today cannot achieve.

Prince moved you each and every time and for that I feel eternally grateful to have lived during this time and will have eternal sorrow that we have lost such a rare spirit.

tollyc said:

gerardv said:

Just saw a Rolling Stone piece that said that Prince's greatest talent may actually jave been as a guitarist. If you had to single out Prince's chief talent what would it be?

Singer?

Pianist?

Guitarist?

Song Writer?

Band Leader?

Dancer?

Producer?

His greatest skill was getting a bunch of fanatics to agree that he "was the best" with major disagreements as to why.

He was an all round talent which is why he was so special. I wonder if his having been called Prince from birth, made him feel that he had to reach for the stars in everything. Talent can be wasted if there is no hard work ethic and he probably abused the latter which might even have contributed to his early passing.

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For me, his greatest talent was song writing. He could write for any mood and put it to music that really moves you.

It's like asking what is the best part of a Ferrari.

The whole damn thing.

Graycap23 said:

It's like asking what is the best part of a Ferrari.

The whole damn thing.

anangellooksdown said:

If forced to choose one talent among all others, I would say songwriting. He would never have made such a massive cultural impact without being a prolific creator of music.

I'm sorry, every time this thread floats to the top, I get the giggles... it just keeps reminding me of Steve Martin in The Jerk and his "special talent."

So, yes, Prince had many, many talents... and certainly had a "special talent" too!

I still think my analogy to Sugar Ray Robinson holds, ray was a guy who wasn't the greatest at any one thing but he was excellent at so many and then we speak of what we call "intangibles" in boxing, heart, courage, intelligence, he had all that too. Prince is the same, cumulatively he was the best, no one really comes close in my mind. Of course, as with Sugar Ray, there will always be the lone voice who comes in and says "wait a minute, he was overrated because of yadda yadda yadda" Doesn't change anything.

Suzee said:

Name a greater guitarist. Name one. Prince was the greatest with Carlos Santana a close second.

.

Oh, come one.

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Overall Technique -- guys like Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Robben Ford and Joe Satriani make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Versatility -- guys like Jimmy Page, Lyndsey Buckingham, Johnny Marr, Glen Campbell make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Soloing -- guys like David Gilmour, Brian Setzer, Clapton, Santana, Hendrix make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Rhythm -- guys like Keith Richards, John Lennon (yes, simple but perfect for the song), Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley (my God, those two guys actually have rhythm styles named after them!), Nile Rodgers make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Sure Prince was great. He was actualy great at all the categories listed above. But he wasn't better than those guys listed above.

NorthC said:

Yes, that's true. He was a top guitarist, bassist etc... But the instrument he played best was the audience.

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Great way of putting it.

Prince's greatest asset was his voice and this:

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He was the greatest musician to ever live, but his voice and his charisma helped him to bring the message to us IMHO he was the greatest performer ever...he knew it took the whole package to get the job done.

Cloreen said:

Suzee said:

Name a greater guitarist. Name one. Prince was the greatest with Carlos Santana a close second.

.

Oh, come one.

.

Overall Technique -- guys like Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Robben Ford and Joe Satriani make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Versatility -- guys like Jimmy Page, Lyndsey Buckingham, Johnny Marr, Glen Campbell make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Soloing -- guys like David Gilmour, Brian Setzer, Clapton, Santana, Hendrix make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Rhythm -- guys like Keith Richards, John Lennon (yes, simple but perfect for the song), Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley (my God, those two guys actually have rhythm styles named after them!), Nile Rodgers make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Sure Prince was great. He was actualy great at all the categories listed above. But he wasn't better than those guys listed above.

how much is subjective though, i'm not much of a guitar technician, but many people have shat on clapton's and Page's playing and jimi's as well. I'd agree that with as many great guitarists out there, many would play better but as I always say to other musicians, it ain't about how well you play really. and the fact is, most musicians don't respect other musicians, btw. you wouldn't be a musician would you?

did someone just imply that john lennon was a better rhythm guitarist that Prince???

PeteSilas said:

how much is subjective though,

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btw. you wouldn't be a musician would you?

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Subjectivity or objectivity really have nothing to do with declaring the greatest guitarist. The bottom line is that it can't be done. Far too many styles of music, far too many techniques to take into account. Could Prince finger pick like Chet Atkins? Of course not. Could Chet funk like Prince? Of course not. It is a ridiculous exercise to say who the greatest is. In sports one can always fall back on stats. In music, what can we fall back on? Number of records sold? If that's the case, then the guitarist for Katy Perry is the world's greatest right now.

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And, yes, I play guitar, bass, and basic piano. As for my choice for greatest guitarist it would be a guy with the most basic of skills -- John Lennon. Why him? Because my criteria would be did he use his instrument for the betterment of the song it was on. John was a master at that. His playing fit the song. That's all he cared about. No showmanship, no flash...just what worked best for the song.

article link?

For me, his greatest talent was the seeming effortlessness of his performance. Although he rehearsed for hours on end, his live shows still had such a spark about them (for the most part) and there were so many things going on at the same time and so much room for fuck-ups but he seemed in total control. That isn't easy.

Oh btw, to say P looked like a teenager on his first lesson when playing guitar next to (insert names here).... is ridiculous. Steve Vai, Satriani, Santana and others all think P was a worthy peer! With all the videos now available, it's becoming more and more apparent to me just how good he was in so many ways. There are some great musicians like David Gilmour who plays with emotion but even he uses massive stage effects to divert attention away from the fact that visually he is boring to watch as a performer. Prince, on the other hand, becomes even more engaging when viewed close up so we can appreciate the nuances and sheer passion in his playing and performance.

Cloreen said:

Suzee said:

Name a greater guitarist. Name one. Prince was the greatest with Carlos Santana a close second.

.

Oh, come one.

.

Overall Technique -- guys like Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Robben Ford and Joe Satriani make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Versatility -- guys like Jimmy Page, Lyndsey Buckingham, Johnny Marr, Glen Campbell make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Soloing -- guys like David Gilmour, Brian Setzer, Clapton, Santana, Hendrix make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Rhythm -- guys like Keith Richards, John Lennon (yes, simple but perfect for the song), Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley (my God, those two guys actually have rhythm styles named after them!), Nile Rodgers make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Sure Prince was great. He was actualy great at all the categories listed above. But he wasn't better than those guys listed above.

Prince was a better guitarist than you give him credit for. Your versatility list is nonsensical for a start. Johhny Marr? lol. I love the Smiths but Johhny was wedded to a particular indie style which admittedly was incredibly influential. Where's his blues and funk chops? Or Rock ones for that matter? You do know what versatility means right?

Lennon was a rudimentary player yet I'll take your point re: his way at servicing the overall whole. There is no way Richards was a better rythhm player than Prince. Your assertion that all these famed guitarists make Prince look like a teenager is patendly ridiculous.

Mountains was about Princes 50th greatest song as well

NorthC said:

And if we're talking about rhythm guitar, don't forget Jimmy Nolan.

Jimmy Nolen (J.B's)

Al McKay (Earth Wind & Fire)

Nile Rodgers - (Chic)

Prince

those are the rhythm guitar masters

really though...

he said, "Glenn Campbell"....LOLOLOL

maplesyrupnjam said:

Johhny Marr? lol. I love the Smiths but Johhny was wedded to a particular indie style which admittedly was incredibly influential. Where's his blues and funk chops? Or Rock ones for that matter? You do know what versatility means right?

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Marr's versatility stems from the fact that he could do anything on guitar. Bo Diddley rhythms to jingle jangle James Honeyman-Scott leads. Blues or funk chops? You mean to tell me that you think Marr couldn't do some scratch muted rhythms if he wanted to? The guy is versatile because he is a demon on guitar. Yeah, he never played a ska song. You think he couldn't?

.

As for Marr never doing rock...Huh? Ever hear of "What Difference Does It Make"? That lick is more classic rock than The Stones' "Satisfaction."

Cloreen said:

PeteSilas said:

how much is subjective though,

.

btw. you wouldn't be a musician would you?

.

Subjectivity or objectivity really have nothing to do with declaring the greatest guitarist. The bottom line is that it can't be done. Far too many styles of music, far too many techniques to take into account. Could Prince finger pick like Chet Atkins? Of course not. Could Chet funk like Prince? Of course not. It is a ridiculous exercise to say who the greatest is. In sports one can always fall back on stats. In music, what can we fall back on? Number of records sold? If that's the case, then the guitarist for Katy Perry is the world's greatest right now.

.

And, yes, I play guitar, bass, and basic piano. As for my choice for greatest guitarist it would be a guy with the most basic of skills -- John Lennon. Why him? Because my criteria would be did he use his instrument for the betterment of the song it was on. John was a master at that. His playing fit the song. That's all he cared about. No showmanship, no flash...just what worked best for the song.

haha, i knew you were a musician. That explains it all to me.

I don't know a whole lot about guitar technique so I don't really argue with people who do. One guy i know said that jimi Hendrix could only play blues scales and he was very limited because of it. Some people would put clapton ahead of jimi but I recall reading a story of clapton traumatized when seeing his first hendrix performance, witnesses have said that he was seen backstage lamenting and saying "I knew this wouls happen someday". I've seen some very harsh criticisms of each Clapton and Page, how true any of it is? I don't know, don't really care, guitar playing never has been that important to me. I guess the things I can tell is that Jimi and Prince didn't have the fastest fingers in the world, and Jimi was often sloppy as hell when he played live, still, as artists there are not many in their class in rock history. also, by subjective, there is such a thing, what if I were to tell you that dez' solo in Little Red corvette was my all time favorite? You'd probably laugh because it isn't really that difficult and complicated but that has nothing to do with the emotional impact it had on me, it was the best. I'll take that over a bunch of fucking around with lots of fast notes and tricks anyday.

Cloreen said:

Suzee said:

Name a greater guitarist. Name one. Prince was the greatest with Carlos Santana a close second.

.

Oh, come one.

.

Overall Technique -- guys like Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Robben Ford and Joe Satriani make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Versatility -- guys like Jimmy Page, Lyndsey Buckingham, Johnny Marr, Glen Campbell make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Soloing -- guys like David Gilmour, Brian Setzer, Clapton, Santana, Hendrix make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Rhythm -- guys like Keith Richards, John Lennon (yes, simple but perfect for the song), Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley (my God, those two guys actually have rhythm styles named after them!), Nile Rodgers make Prince look like a teenager on his first guitar lesson.

.

Sure Prince was great. He was actualy great at all the categories listed above. But he wasn't better than those guys listed above.

These arguments about technical proficiency, always from unknown musicians, fly right over the point. The truly great musicians are not focused on the math and science of their instruments. Rather, they are able to bend their instruments to their whims to convey stories and emotion. Few were in Prince's league in that regard.

Side note: Referring to every human as a "guy," and naming only men on your lists of whatsits reveals much about you. Perhaps partly the reason you didn't know who wrote Mountains.

nursev said:

A master song writer, nonpareil.