In the 80s Prince,Michael Jackson, Lionel Riche, Madonna and Springsteen were

the biggest names in popular music.

But unlike Prince their albums usually had a list of high profile bassists,

guitar,drums and keyboards players who were the

backbone of what those albums .

You had killer funk bassist Louis Johnson, master

rhythm guitarists like Paul Jackson jr ,lead players

like Steve Lukather and keyboard wizard Greg Phillinganes

all playin super tight melodies.hooks,licks.

On the other hand you had Prince who played all those instruments by himself

on his records.

So how did Prince hold against this guys in term of musical content?

Did Prince stand a chance in your opinion on bass against

Louis Johnson?

or on rhythm guitar against Paul Jackson jr or on other

instruments?In terms of execution on the records.

Cause we all know those guys dedicated their life to 1 instrument and

this guy was playing 4 instruments on his records?

I think most people here don't care much about his technical skills but more about the way he played and his sound.
Technically he isn;t as good as the players you mention but IMO his sound and what he plays and the pure emontion he coaxes through his instruments is miles above theres and unreachable by any of them.
Prince's playing evokes feelings and emotions that I never get with for example Toto even tho those musicians are amazingly good.

I think P could have held his own as a studio musician/sideman (if he never had become a performer). He was versatile enough and had a good ear to pick up things.

thebanishedone said:

So you think that what Prince played resonates more because emotional content is stronger than just being a pro session player?

To me it does but to others maybe not. No harm in that right?
Most pro session players, as much as I admire a love there skills and music, don't give me the same feeling that Prince gave me when he played.
For example, Steve Vai is one hell of a player that I really love but he doesn't grip me as when Prince played.
But this is just me and how music works for me. It's not a competition but an artform and art is subjective.

[Edited 9/2/20 7:24am]

thebanishedone said:

Would you say that musicianship displayed on Purple Rain is inferior compared to an all star studio pros?

Absolutely not.

thebanishedone said:

So you think that what Prince played resonates more because emotional content is stronger than just being a pro session player?

Prince was responsible for the entire creation of the song. He dreamed it, ate it, breathed it. Each instrument. When you are that much in control, there is a distinct difference in how comfortable a person sounds in the mix. It is way more organic than being pulled in to do a great job on your instrument for someone else's project.

JorisE73 said:

SantanaMaitreya said:

He would have had his own signature style/sound (like Ray Parker Jr., Luke and Phil Collins when they played on other people's songs). His studio cameo appearances with Stevie Nicks, Common, Stevie Wonder and George Clinton proved that.

jazzz said:

If you want to hear how Prince’s music sounds when played by 80’s LA session musicians, listen to “With You” on Jill Jones’ album. The sterility of the playing makes it the ‘stand-out’ track of the album! Imagine the whole album done this way... or even SOTT...

That one is horrible and soulless.

Sessions players have chops, and they might even get some long rope to creatively bring something to the table, but they're not doing what Prince did. So yeah, maybe Prince wouldn't win as a session player on bass, but why would he need to? Why is there a comparison? What we hear again and again from players with chops that have worked as session guys is that Prince could hold his own, and would grab their instrument and do something better than they could.

lavendardrummachine said:

jazzz said:

If you want to hear how Prince’s music sounds when played by 80’s LA session musicians, listen to “With You” on Jill Jones’ album. The sterility of the playing makes it the ‘stand-out’ track of the album! Imagine the whole album done this way... or even SOTT...

I prefer her version to the Prince version!

Anyway, the question is a non-starter, most session musicians dedicate their lives to their instrument but have little vision outside of that, which is fine, it's how it's supposed to be. I love Greg Phillinganes but he wasn't exactly knocking out those solo albums. Prince's albums probably could sound better in a technical sense if he had got in the best session musicians and bent them to his will, but it would have dramatically dropped his level of output.

A better question might be, what would Thriller have sounded like if Prince had been a session musician on it? What would the solo of Beat It sounded like?

thebanishedone said:

lavendardrummachine said:

Sessions players have chops, and they might even get some long rope to creatively bring something to the table, but they're not doing what Prince did. So yeah, maybe Prince wouldn't win as a session player on bass, but why would he need to? Why is there a comparison? What we hear again and again from players with chops that have worked as session guys is that Prince could hold his own, and would grab their instrument and do something better than they could.

Reason to compare is because many times on this site i heard people downplaying Prince as a musician.yet most of the stuff he did alone unlike other big acts at the time

Isn't that more of a reason not to compare? I mean, not knocking wanting to discuss it but that era's weakness was how manufactured most music got. Whole genres came out of it in response based around bands that played their own music and wrote their own songs. The big stars tried to take more creative control and write more, and it usually lead to weaker material.

The fact is, Prince had the chops to be The Revolution, and The Time, and put out songs like Manic Monday that sounds like session musicians could have done it. But if you listen to the stems or software created solo tracks for big hits of his, a lot of it's the vibe. What he created was better than the sum of any of the parts.

I think what I always found lacking in Prince's 80's catalog that was fairly abundant in other records was the quality of sonics and the mastering crispiness (Dirty Mind and Controversy would be exceptions since they're essentially minimalistic). Otherwise, I think his basslines, melodies and synth ideas were very creative, catchy, innovative and unique.

Is the question whether Prince would have been a good session musician? I think he would have been amazing at whatever he set his mind to.

rogifan said:

Is the question whether Prince would have been a good session musician? I think he would have been amazing at whatever he set his mind to.

Yeah that sums up the question. Plus he was essentially a session player at times. "Stand Back", "Like a Prayer" and the "Make me feel", etc.

Technical skills does not equal musicality. Listen to over-rehearsed mechanical kids doing grade 8 exams, compared to a pianist who may not be as technically mechanical but plays with feeling. If you do not really 'feel' the music you are playing as it is not yours, then the effect is not so pleasing emotionally.

Great technical players can play with feeling, but you can always feel what is missing. That is why they stay as session musos

I put it this way... some were better than he was at any given instrument... but put them all together, then add: producing, composing, lyrics, preforming, and productivity... add style and one of the best given names in rock... he is hard to beat...

Prince reminds me of Duke Ellington, in the sense that he treated his instruments like characters as opposed to eminent objects. There's a human element to them, sometimes even a conversational quality to the way he played. Duke came at a time when piano virtuosos such as Willie 'The Lion' Smith, Fats Waller, Art Tatum & James P Johnson were his contempraries, they ecplised him technically and had more vocabulary in their playing than he ever did, but he dug within his imagination and brought something infinite from his own limitations that resonated with listeners globally. Prince couldn't play the guitar like Eddie Hazel, or bass like Bootsy Collins, or drums like his own drummer John Blackwell, or the keyboards like Bernie Worrell or Herbie Hancock, but what he lacked in their techincal skills, he drew many worlds with his imagination that made everyone of them tip their hats to him. Composionally, his music could range from simple to somewhat complex/abstract, moreso the former which to me is what made listeners resonate with his music.

Hamad said: