I was thinking about this recently. Prince was a man with amazing natural talent, but he also had to work hard to shape his talent (for his singing and dancing, there doesn't seem to be much proof of the hours of effort, but there must have been.)

He worked hard to be able to be as much as possible a one-man band... (yes, I know the Revolution had significant contributions but this was exactly where the conflicts lies).

Anyhow, the way in which he was promoted as a young young artist (the 20 year old who played all the instruments on his first and second album) and his later need to build a musical family of sorts around himself--these two things seemed in constant conflict. Perhaps, Prince would have been better off (on a personal and emotional level) if the early promotion of his first two albums hadn't focused on his having played all the instruments; or better yet, maybe Prince should have alternated between being just Prince and Prince as a member of a band like the Revolution (for example--one year doing an album that was just Prince; the other year doing an album as Prince and The Revolution...

His work with 3rdeyegirl seemed to be more collaborative but he was also able to release Art Official Age which seemed much more just Prince.. This seemed to be a healthier and happier approach.

I don't know if you can have it both ways--either you are a solo artist with a backup band of studio musicians or you are in a band---you gotta pick one (or like I said alternate between the two). But sending mixed messages to your band is always a mistake. Not that bands don't have conflicts; but I would imagine things are better off when they know what's expected from them in the beginning.

Another thought--

Prince probably worked so hard at doing so many things as perfectly as possible that he could not understand how people could make mistakes when their primary focus is one instrument. Is it possible that deep down he didn't realize how naturally talented he truely was? I remember Blackwell saying that Prince didn't understand that people just werent' as good as him.

What I mean is that he attributed too much of his ability to hard work and possibly God, but not enough to just natural talent--making it a bit tough for him to understand that others were just not blessed to the same degree? Perhaps, when he saw that Wendy and Lisa could shine, at first, he was happy for them and their contributions, but eventually it intimidated him a bit..which was an erroneous way to feel, because as good as they were, his singular talent was still going to shine no matter what. A lot of insecurities in that man I assume. A seemingly big ego can also be a fragile cumbersome one.

[Edited 9/17/16 21:33pm]

[Edited 9/17/16 21:46pm]