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Thread started 10/23/20 8:34am

homesquid

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Prince + Horns = Perfection

Yes I'm absolutely stone cold crazy for SOTT Deluxe and have always loved how he used horns so I'm lusing for that Parade Deluxe!!

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Reply #1 posted 10/23/20 8:40am

funkbabyandthe
babysitters

funnily enough i was just thinking that while it doesnt need them, those horns on dorothy parker on SOTT deluxe are so, so good.

but then i was also thinking i dont think his horn arangements were ever better than in the mid to late 80s.

def some good soloists with him in later years, but on the whole, his use of horn sections didnt always feel necessary. he just loved having a big band.

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Reply #2 posted 10/23/20 10:24am

TheKid94

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

funnily enough i was just thinking that while it doesnt need them, those horns on dorothy parker on SOTT deluxe are so, so good.

but then i was also thinking i dont think his horn arangements were ever better than in the mid to late 80s.

def some good soloists with him in later years, but on the whole, his use of horn sections didnt always feel necessary. he just loved having a big band.

I agree his use of horns was methodical and added more emotional depth in this period. Not to mention songs like Mutiny which to me will always belong to Eric Leeds.

However, songs like Let's Go Crazy never needed horns, yet the horns on When You Were Mine from Lovesexy Live just adds to the fun to the song. It's always a hit or miss for me no matter the players.

-

I also have a deep love for the Hornheads/NPG Hornz. Their arrangements are damn good and added a lot to songs that I'm not sure I would like, most notably The Flow. Their arrangement on Billy Jack Bitch would have to be my favorite (I'm talking about the full 8 minute version wink)

prince
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Reply #3 posted 10/23/20 12:42pm

LoveGalore

thebanishedone is gonna hate this thread.
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Reply #4 posted 10/23/20 12:52pm

OldFriends4Sal
e

mmm I was thinking the horns on the Ballad of Dorothy Parker and understand why I'm glad it didn't happen.


Some parts on the Cocoa Boys didn't need to happen

Some songs like Little Red Corvette on the SOTT tour took the electricity out of the song, and made it sound sappy

There are places where it was too much

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Reply #5 posted 10/23/20 1:01pm

purplethunder3
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Less is more.

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato

https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0
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Reply #6 posted 10/27/20 1:41pm

jdcxc

Prince always made the right choices with horns. His use of keyboard horn lines during his first few albums really helped his future arrangement skills IMO.

Love the horn charts on New Power Soul album btw.

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Reply #7 posted 10/28/20 8:32am

thebanishedone

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LoveGalore said:

thebanishedone is gonna hate this thread.

haha you made my day ,thank you smile
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Reply #8 posted 10/28/20 8:40am

thebanishedone

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I don't hate horns,but i don't like horns in Prinve music and the reason is like with most of the stuff Prince was infatuated with is that he liked to overuse horns .There is a Sheila E album from 1987 and every single song have sax soloing in the background non stop.I heard versions of Bambi ,Lets Go Crazy and Purple Rain with horns and it sounds terrible.I do love horns on Sexy MF,Rock Hard In A Funky plave ,New Power Soul(1998 title song).With no horns the emphasis is always on Prince
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Reply #9 posted 10/28/20 3:52pm

paraded

Love his sparing use of horns in the mid to late eighties. Every solo was unexpected and twisted, every horn line was supportive, not starring. There are very few horns in harmony. Most moments are doubled notes. This was a great idea.

I even enjoyed how he used them in the early to mid 90s, even as they sounded derivative of James Brown.

But his increasing reliance on horns later in his career, especially live, was too rich. It was like a favorite dessert spoiled by too much sugar. Tons of stacked notes with each horn playing a different note. Too much going on.

Certain songs like 1999 and Let's Go Crazy have always sounded especially atrocious with horns. Replacing maybe the coolest synthesizer hooks ever with an easy-listening Vegas sound never worked.

This is a good example of how Prince actually made less exciting decisions the more "expert" he became. Early on, lacking the resources / knowledge to hire and arrange big bands, he used synths as substitute horns. Those synths are incredibly important to his patented Minneapolis sound. I wish he'd stuck with them more than the horns, and kept the horns as decoration rather than main ingredients.

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Reply #10 posted 10/28/20 6:58pm

thebanishedone

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paraded said:

Love his sparing use of horns in the mid to late eighties. Every solo was unexpected and twisted, every horn line was supportive, not starring. There are very few horns in harmony. Most moments are doubled notes. This was a great idea.

I even enjoyed how he used them in the early to mid 90s, even as they sounded derivative of James Brown.

But his increasing reliance on horns later in his career, especially live, was too rich. It was like a favorite dessert spoiled by too much sugar. Tons of stacked notes with each horn playing a different note. Too much going on.

Certain songs like 1999 and Let's Go Crazy have always sounded especially atrocious with horns. Replacing maybe the coolest synthesizer hooks ever with an easy-listening Vegas sound never worked.

This is a good example of how Prince actually made less exciting decisions the more "expert" he became. Early on, lacking the resources / knowledge to hire and arrange big bands, he used synths as substitute horns. Those synths are incredibly important to his patented Minneapolis sound. I wish he'd stuck with them more than the horns, and kept the horns as decoration rather than main ingredients.

Thats what i don't understand also,it feels like Prince went from a fearless electro funk alien to a James Brown impersonator.

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Reply #11 posted 10/29/20 1:09am

funkbabyandthe
babysitters

Actually a lot of his horns arrangements became more rnb than funk.
He just stuck them in cos he could.
Like a show of how big his band was.
But it became unnecessary.
He went from less is more to more is more
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Reply #12 posted 10/29/20 6:42am

MattyJam

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I always dug The Greatest Romance live with horns.

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Reply #13 posted 10/29/20 9:42am

masaba

I actually really like the 1999 arrangement from SOTT tour. Super funky.
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