I don't think there's anyone who can deny he had an amazing vocal range and his falsetto was amazing. What I think he was able to do better than anyone else with his voice was convey his feeling of passion in whatever form it took, whether it was lust, desire, or spiritual yearning.

his falsetto was always pretty good, his deeper registers only came about with that one factor that would get him there, hard work. In old interviews he says he didn't really have much power in his lower registers and that was why he rarely sang there, some of his biggest hits in his peak, he sounds like he's almost just talking. His additions of all the vocal screams and creative use of vocal runs and we had a very fully fleshed rounded out vocalist/artist. I wouldn't put him in a class with marvin gaye but not too many are, Prince was a fine vocalist and got better with time.

One of the most gifted vocalists of all time. What Prince had that most other acts lacked was a crazy range. From the deep baritone of "Diamonds and Pearls," "Peach," and "Purple Rain" to the soft midtempo used on songs like "1999," "Little Red Corvette," "Cream," and "Sometimes It Snows in April" to Camille (even if it's not a natural effect), to songs done in a more nasal vocal, then some of his punky falsetto ones and then of course some of the most beautiful falsettos put on tape ala "The Beautiful Ones," "International Lover," and "Power Fantastic". It's almost crazy just how much different vocal mechanisms the man had.

While Michael Jackson and his imitators went for an instantly catchy quick-paced vocal style, Prince always had a more deeper, soulful voice and it's only become more well-known since his death ever since the bland Purple Rain tributes have come up -- even 'barely-fans' seem to agree that no one can do justice to Prince's version.

I also agree with PeteSilas about the screams and creative use of voice -- Prince really was unique and fearless in putting vocal emotion in his songs. He took hiccups and grunts to a new level.

All in all, I firmly believe Prince has not only the best use of voice, but one of the best voices of all time. He used it in eccentric ways sometimes, but that magic was always there.

and one thing you either have or you don't is passion and prince had it in spades, I can still remember him scaring the shit out of this Indian boy with those wild war whoop sounding screams on Something In the Water.

he never gets credit for how much he got better as a singer, sometimes people mention how he improved on guitar or whatnot but never his vocals. I still remember listening to the symbol album and thinking "my god, he just keeps getting better and better" his vocal control, his polish in the studio, his playing, songwriting. Then, having never really thought he was a great vocalist, I saw the Gotta Broken Heart Again from the ONA dvd and thinking "he is officially a great singer now, I'm convinced". He never sang better.

Prince had the voice of an angel with his falsetto and his regular voice was beautiful as well. I'm glad he left us so much music, so he can talk and sing to us forever...

Yes, his falsetto was divine. Nobody else could put their signature on it like Prince. He made it so you KNEW it was him. There have been many imitators.

His voice got better with time , i know not many love the album Emancipation but you have to admit his singing on that is divine.

[Edited 6/4/16 12:25pm]

just listen to pink cashmere with headphones...

His voice was great from the get go. For You is just layers and layers of his beautiful voice blended together. I'm going to miss that.

MadamGoodnightTwo said:

His voice was great from the get go. For You is just layers and layers of his beautiful voice blended together. I'm going to miss that.

falsetto was pretty darn good, but if you check the reviews, some of them were pretty bad (not that that means everything). The rest of his voice, the manly registers came about from a lot of hard work, kind of like how Elvis developed from a thin voiced kid to a damn near operaetic singer.

PeteSilas said:

MadamGoodnightTwo said:

His voice was great from the get go. For You is just layers and layers of his beautiful voice blended together. I'm going to miss that.

falsetto was pretty darn good, but if you check the reviews, some of them were pretty bad (not that that means everything). The rest of his voice, the manly registers came about from a lot of hard work, kind of like how Elvis developed from a thin voiced kid to a damn near operaetic singer.

I don't care about reviews. I grew up around singers my whole life. I can hear. Good enough.

The first time I heard Soft And Wet on the radio, it hooked me for life. His voice was unique, and what he did with it was one of a kind.

MadamGoodnightTwo said:

PeteSilas said:

falsetto was pretty darn good, but if you check the reviews, some of them were pretty bad (not that that means everything). The rest of his voice, the manly registers came about from a lot of hard work, kind of like how Elvis developed from a thin voiced kid to a damn near operaetic singer.

I don't care about reviews. I grew up around singers my whole life. I can hear. Good enough.

The first time I heard Soft And Wet on the radio, it hooked me for life. His voice was unique, and what he did with it was one of a kind.

ya, i know, i'm just mentioning it. Not everyone liked his falsetto.

his ability to construct harmonies was unparralelled i think. He sounded like the best harmony groups of the 70's, the chi-lites, ojays etc.., all by his lonesome.

I honestly can't think of a more inspired vocal stylist. Other singers had purer falsettos or richer deeper registers, but no one had a vocal palette quite as multi-colored as Prince.

When he layered his vocals in the studio, essentially singing back up to himself, he could make each voice sound distinct and coming from a different person. That's not hard to believe considering we have tracks of his voice on lead vocals on a song he gave to someone else, and you can hear him sound Morris-like (as opposed to "like Morris") or slyly feminine (in some songs intented for his protégées).

There's the vocal studio manipulation, from ultra high to ultra low, his use of speech, whispers, shouts and guttural sounds, his versatility in terms of elocution, Prince all but give his microphone a blow job so intimate was he with the mike.

PeteSilas said:

MadamGoodnightTwo said:

I don't care about reviews. I grew up around singers my whole life. I can hear. Good enough.

The first time I heard Soft And Wet on the radio, it hooked me for life. His voice was unique, and what he did with it was one of a kind.

ya, i know, i'm just mentioning it. Not everyone liked his falsetto.

I know, but means nothing to me. I don't base my fandom on what reviews were written, or what other people think. *shrug* I'm glad I didn't.

PeteSilas said:

his ability to construct harmonies was unparralelled i think. He sounded like the best harmony groups of the 70's, the chi-lites, ojays etc.., all by his lonesome.

Exactly - when you hear a Prince song, you're hearing several vocal performances at once. Other people do this but not with has much range and stylings as he does -- I'm open to suggestions as to whom came close or was better, god knows there's so many great vocalists out there. Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Al Green -- Prince could pay vocal hommage to them all, TMBGITW would have been perfect for Al, Adore for Marvin, Curtis could tear into lots of his songsé

I loved how Prince used his voice not just to convey words, but he used the structure of words as well as the texture and color of his voice as an instrumental track -

simply brilliant.

When the lights go down is another example of his vocal ability... hotter than July.

Aerogram said:

PeteSilas said:

his ability to construct harmonies was unparralelled i think. He sounded like the best harmony groups of the 70's, the chi-lites, ojays etc.., all by his lonesome.

Exactly - when you hear a Prince song, you're hearing several vocal performances at once. Other people do this but not with has much range and stylings as he does -- I'm open to suggestions as to whom came close or was better, god knows there's so many great vocalists out there. Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Al Green -- Prince could pay vocal hommage to them all, TMBGITW would have been perfect for Al, Adore for Marvin, Curtis could tear into lots of his songsé

some say marvin pioneered it but you know, when someone makes those claims there is always someone who say's 'no, so and so did that way before" I think Ray Charles was one of the early guys to back himself as was Buddy Holly I believe. A number of guys do it well, Michael Jackson Terence Trent D'arby, Marvin, but I don't any of them quite sounded like Prince, not only because of the density of the harmonies but also the ranges he'd use.