I posted this topic because i feel that funk defined Prince early on and whatever style of

music he did

funky was always infused .slow jams were funky ,rock songs were funky.

It seemed like everything he touch is funky.

But i have a feeling that latter in his career things changed.

It seemed like Prince displayed funk like a museum kind of thing.

it was like a pastiche,

an ode to funk

it was not a natural thing like it was.

Yeah he could cut on guitar fireing some cool funk riffs until the end of his career

but funk became just a part of his arsenal,it was not a natural state for Prince anymore.

The bass part to "Stare" proves he was still super funky!

With these threads like this and the "did Prince devolve as a guitarist in the 3rdeyegrl era", I don't think Prince really lost anything in terms of ability of natural musical flow, he just was doing intentionally stylistically different things.

[Edited 9/21/20 16:55pm]

the funk never stopped. #sorryhaters

ForceofNature said:

The bass part to "Stare" proves he was still super funky!

With these threads like this and the "did Prince devolve as a guitarist in the 3rdeyegrl era", I don't think Prince really lost anything in terms of ability of natural musical flow, he just was doing intentionally stylistically different things.

[Edited 9/21/20 16:55pm]

maybe you are right.im not saying he lost is instrumental proficiency ,its just funk

wasnt part of his persona like it was in the past.it seemed more like

rock was more natural than

funk latter in is career

but you are right about Stare.amazing bass line

thebanishedone said:

ForceofNature said:

The bass part to "Stare" proves he was still super funky!

With these threads like this and the "did Prince devolve as a guitarist in the 3rdeyegrl era", I don't think Prince really lost anything in terms of ability of natural musical flow, he just was doing intentionally stylistically different things.

[Edited 9/21/20 16:55pm]

maybe you are right.im not saying he lost is instrumental proficiency ,its just funk

wasnt part of his persona like it was in the past.it seemed more like

rock was more natural than

funk latter in is career

but you are right about Stare.amazing bass line

I think it was just a different musical phase for Prince. Just like how on Around The World In A Day, if it wasn't for the protoge albums from that time people would probably say "man Prince lost his R&B funk vibes" like was expressed on The Family and The Time material. Not neccesarily that any of his natural funk was lost, just not visible because he wanted other musical styles to be visible for those projects - if I had to kind of put myself in P's mind which ofc is a hard task haha

[Edited 9/21/20 17:06pm]

ForceofNature said:

thebanishedone said:

maybe you are right.im not saying he lost is instrumental proficiency ,its just funk

wasnt part of his persona like it was in the past.it seemed more like

rock was more natural than

funk latter in is career

but you are right about Stare.amazing bass line

I think it was just a different musical phase for Prince. Just like how on Around The World In A Day, if it wasn't for the protoge albums from that time people would probably say "man Prince lost his R&B funk vibes" like was expressed on The Family and The Time material. Not neccesarily that any of his natural funk was lost, just not visible because he wanted other musical styles to be visible for those projects

but Around The World In A Day is very funky,Parade also.its just he started incorporating unortodox

elements to funk like weird string arrangements,tarabuka and other different instruments.

Pop Life is very funky ,Tambourine,everything except The Ladder and Raspberry Berret.

If he didn't bathe or shower, definitely.

I was geared up to be outraged by your suggestion (of course Prince was always funky), but I know what you mean. I would state it differently in that I think that Prince was always naturally funky but that he became less innovatively so in the studio at least (part of the course of a creative life in many cases). There were always exceptions, but as a rule I felt the same way as you about stuff like Musicology – solid and enjoyable, but a little nostalgic and backward looking for me.

Live he could always churn out inspired funk jams though, he was never losing that! Stuff like his Montreux performance of All The Critics... (that sustain guitar part where he just keeps hitting that same roaring note is eye-watering, transcendent funk imo) or the footage of The Dance Electric in Baltimore in 2015 where he starts jamming on the Nord.

fen said:

I was geared up to be outraged by your suggestion (of course Prince was always funky), but I know what you mean. I would state it differently in that I think that Prince was always naturally funky but that he became less innovatively so in the studio at least (part of the course of a creative life in many cases). There were always exceptions, but as a rule I felt the same way as you about stuff like Musicology – solid and enjoyable, but a little nostalgic and backward looking for me.

Live he could always churn out inspired funk jams though, he was never losing that! Stuff like his Montreux performance of All The Critics... (that sustain guitar part where he just keeps hitting that same roaring note is eye-watering, transcendent funk imo) or the footage of The Dance Electric in Baltimore in 2015 where he starts jamming on the Nord.

well i knew that maybe some people will take it the wrong way but i am glad that you understand what i meant.

i didnt check The Dance Electric Baltimore 2015

but i will look 4 it

LoveGalore said:

I feel like the best funk is born out of experimentation and, really, frustration. Like previously stated, Prince had a naturally funky vibe to pretty much everything he recorded even when he was striving to accomplish a specific genre that isn't funky like classical. But his experimentation stopped being as challenging to the ear, in my opinion, around Emancipation. That's when he started focusing hard on clean production and once that was nailed down he focused on showing off his specific gifts in a more concentrated way - ie, an instrumental album, a piano album, a guitar album, etc. Songs that showcase specific gifts like Dreamer, Here, The Dance, The Word, Boom, etc. Less funky overall, but probably more deliberate and focused.

yap.that are my thoughts as well.

In a word. Yes. For more information:

http://www.princevault.co...d_Standard

skywalker said:

his funk got lighter and smoother, more retro (eg chelsea rogers, which is more disco, or it got retro in reference to his own 80s material eg 1+1+1 is 3). he lost that edge, that tension. he also got more reverent of his 70s influences, so the funk became old-school.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

his funk got lighter and smoother, more retro (eg chelsea rogers, which is more disco, or it got retro in reference to his own 80s material eg 1+1+1 is 3). he lost that edge, that tension. he also got more reverent of his 70s influences, so the funk became old-school.

I agree with you with everything except 1 thing .studio version of 1+1+1=3 is actually pretty unique and strong.

For a short moment in time Prince in The Rainbow Children era seemed back in a top form.

No matter what people think regarding the lyrics from that album ,no matter

that it was mastered so loud that most of dynamics are gone but on the other

hand he created such a strong and very funky statement.

The 3 minute intro to Family Name is 1 of the funkiest Prince moment ever,also The Everlasting Now is very funky.

I think that around The Musicology era funky side of Prince become

more like a pastiche ,an ode to funk but gone

were the days when Prince was living and breathing funk.

He had moments latter in his career but latter day Prince seemed more comfortable in rock than in funk.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

his funk got lighter and smoother, more retro (eg chelsea rogers, which is more disco, or it got retro in reference to his own 80s material eg 1+1+1 is 3). he lost that edge, that tension. he also got more reverent of his 70s influences, so the funk became old-school.

this also applies to his guitar rawk evolution thread.

It seems to be common of musicians in general (retro throwback in later years). This is why say a Dylan mostly covers songs from the 20s 30s in his later career.

[Edited 9/22/20 15:52pm]

Live with the NPG hell yeah. Welcome 2 America was absolutely relentless. With 3rdeyegirl and in the studio, hell no. He weakened his sound down to a harmless nub. The latter-day albums have no edge, no excitement, just routine old man funk.

He was funky but I felt like I was listening to a James Brown impersonator more than Prince. Too many horns and too Vegas sounding. It was OK but I continued to hang in there because I was desperate for funk and he was the only one still making it. I could tolerate that but what I couldn't tolerate was him selling out to current mainstream sounds which is why I didn't buy his last few albums but I did "find" them, if you know what I mean. But I was at the point of dropping him altogether because what I was hearing on the stuff I "found" was making me taste vomit in my throat. I have no desire whatsoever to hear what he was working on in his later years.

.

However, I am absolutely loving the expanded editions with the unreleased tracks (except for that boring piano album). They are giving me that same feeling I used to get when I would buy a new Prince album. Whoever is putting these together is doing a great job. Keep 'em coming!

vainandy said:

He was funky but I felt like I was listening to a James Brown impersonator more than Prince. Too many horns and too Vegas sounding. It was OK but I continued to hang in there because I was desperate for funk and he was the only one still making it. I could tolerate that but what I couldn't tolerate was him selling out to current mainstream sounds which is why I didn't buy his last few albums but I did "find" them, if you know what I mean. But I was at the point of dropping him altogether because what I was hearing on the stuff I "found" was making me taste vomit in my throat. I have no desire whatsoever to hear what he was working on in his later years.

.

However, I am absolutely loving the expanded editions with the unreleased tracks (except for that boring piano album). They are giving me that same feeling I used to get when I would buy a new Prince album. Whoever is putting these together is doing a great job. Keep 'em coming!

wow,i feel the same i even made a thread Did Prince become James Brown clone on Parade Tour.