https://www.youtube.com/w...3zqqfKh2_k

was about to collect it, but its private

This is actually really cool!

It also sounds like the mix has changed as well - Prince's guitar has always been too low in every version I've watched/ listened, but here it's much more prominent. There's also another electric guitar playing towards the end, which is what Prince was smiling about. If I recall correctly, that other guitar isn't in the mix of other versions.

ufoclub said:

bluegangsta said:

bsprout said:

Cool...Looks like this is from a video exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. I saw this video when I was there last February. It’s like a 1/2 hour video and at the end they highlight the top performances in RRHOF history, which gloriously ends with this performance, including Prince’s solo in its entirety. I didn’t get to see him perform it live, unfortunately, but watching this video at the RRHOF in loud surround sound was pretty damn incredible and unforgettable. During the video they only play snippets of the other highlighted moments (which are impressive musical moments in their own right), but they reserved the last clip to play the ENTIRE performance of this song - sweet! I walked out of that theater with a huge smile on my face, so happy that they honored Prince like that. I wrote a post about this on the org last year. I recommend a visit to the RRHOF, if you happen to be in town, which I was - and managed to sneak away for 2+ hrs. There’s plenty of Prince memorabilia here, if you can’t make it to PP. Someday...

Thanks for reminding us, I would love to visit.

JoeyCococo said:

Amazing....here you see Prince lay right back....almost 180degrees!! You only see him lay back but off camera in the broadcast. Also, you see Tom smile and encourage him to keep going during his 2nd solo. On the broadcast you don't see the smile and I always wondered if the others including Petty were annoyed by the pro showing off in front of the amateurs:) Love this.

I know...laying right back like that.

I liked how he checked in with Tom more frequently than the edited version.

Also wondered if Tom was annoyed but he clearly wasn't.

There were many more facial expressions on this version as well. He seemed

more accessible.

PorterUK said:

bluegangsta said:

This is actually really cool!

It also sounds like the mix has changed as well - Prince's guitar has always been too low in every version I've watched/ listened, but here it's much more prominent. There's also another electric guitar playing towards the end, which is what Prince was smiling about. If I recall correctly, that other guitar isn't in the mix of other versions.

Yes! My take was that all the other instruments were muted in the broadcast version yet here they are left up. You hear the piano much more, the tone of P's guitar is much clearer in the mix. The other guitar is Jeff Lynn's guitarist, Marc Mann, who plays a brilliant rendition of Clapton's original stuff right up until P kicks in. We've all read the stories about the rehearsal I'm sure - well, that's the guy who steamrolls P in rehearsal. No sleight to him, he's clearly a fantastic guitarist. But when P hits a certain length of his solo, the broadcast version feels like it has "ran of out of steam". Here you can actually hear that he's playing off of Marc Mann who has rejoined with some guitar weeping of his own. It makes much more sense to me now. Great guitar work! [Edited 1/17/21 3:39am]

I remember years ago they had the RRHOF video on the George Harrison website. The video footage was the same one we've seen for years but this audio version was on there. I remember hearing the 2nd guitarist coming in towards the end. It made think that, with no proof at all, that Prince probably had indicated that they had to keep the 2nd guitarist down in the mix during his solo. Still though, I can finally hear some of the parts that were omitted.

PorterUK said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Who has the final say re: editing of this solo? Prince?

RRHOF?, Petty?

Margot said:

Who has the final say re: editing of this solo? Prince?

RRHOF?, Petty?

I would say the RRHOF owns the footage and editing.

Great clip which also seems to be in high defintion which the original YouTube clip is not (I recall the ceremony was not broadcast in HD at the time?)

[Edited 1/17/21 19:27pm]

mrmaxwell said:

Margot said:

Who has the final say re: editing of this solo? Prince?

RRHOF?, Petty?

I would say the RRHOF owns the footage and editing.

Great clip which also seems to be in high defintion which the original YouTube clip is not (I recall the ceremony was not broadcast in HD at the time?)

[Edited 1/17/21 19:27pm]

• Appreciate the HD.

I never knew that editing was so comprehensive. In this case it provided a more polished end-product by removing 'imperfections', but as a fan, I appreciated the unedited version.

(I bet Prince had a hand in the editing as I can see a couple of facial expressions he may have wanted

removed...just guessing, tho')

PorterUK said:

PorterUK said:

EnDoRpHn said:

in the NYT piece, it says they aimed to rehearse prince doing a second solo after the main one but the other guitarist didnt make it possible so prince just said it was fine, with the idea im guessing that they would just play it by ear on the night. in the rehearsal he wasnt doing much but playing along with everyone else. so maybe he really just took it over during the actual proper performance.

the petty comment sounds like hes just smoothing out the edges, esp as that piece was after his death, so theres no way hes going to say much else at that moment. funny/weird also that in the NYT piece someone says its a bit 'spinal tap... but in a good way'. lol/wtf. i think the solo prince delivered is amazing. he outdid himself. BUT in the context of the performance, idk, its just a bit weird, and does draw all the attention to prince, rather than to the song and who its meant to be a tribute to, which is george harrison, so not really what you would call respectful. if prince had some sort of personal connection to GH, then it might be okay, but he didnt, so he turned it into an opportunity to dominate, take shit over, and also kind of throw a middle finger to these old rock stalwarts on the other side of the stage. so on one hand you could def see it as a 'LOL prince is making these old rock dinosaurs look staid and boring' or 'ha! revenge from a black guitarist for all the crimes in rock history'. but hey, each to their own.

maybe prince should have saved that for his own performance. interesting that no one talks about his own performance that night, and only this one. maybe he knew there was something more newsworthy about this as its a beatles tribute.

funny that even in his later years, prince STILL had this kind of attitude of competing with others on stage, rather than playing along. he always had to dominate (unless it was his own protege or associated artist).

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

"he outdid himself. BUT in the context of the performance, idk, its just a bit weird, and does draw all the attention to prince, rather than to the song and who its meant to be a tribute to, which is george harrison, so not really what you would call respectful."

"maybe prince should have saved that for his own performance. interesting that no one talks about his own performance that night, and only this one. maybe he knew there was something more newsworthy about this as its a beatles tribute."

Given 15 years of hindsight, I see both of these observations as pointing at the same thing - if an artist does their own material, it gets next to no press coverage. But step outside of your area and the press are salivating.

Would anyone be talking about this performance had P done a by-rote copy of the Eric Clapton guitar work? No. Because it's always performed like that.

Is anyone talking about the tight but sanitised 12-minute career medley that P performed that night? No. Becuase he always did performances like that.

P did a solo that was true to his abilities. Yes, he loaded it up with tricks and styles to make a point to the old Rock n Roll establishment but look at his body language in that clip - it's as easy as breathing for him to perform at a stellar level. I don't see that as disrespectful of George Harrison. Go watch GH doing the song with Gary Moore on guitar - he's beaming as a virtuoso guitarist plays an original solo to his song. Prince's ability to play virtuosic AND put on an entertaining show... The dude was next level and then some!

Let's not lose sight of what happened that night...

A very competent but ultimately just-like-the-record rendition of WMGGW was being performed by friends of George Harrison. P stepped in and took that performance so far past the point of recognition that it is now a career highlight of P's in the eyes of most casual fans - 95 million views and counting says this is the most watched Prince clip online.

I'm all about celebrating how Prince showed his immense talent. To think George Harrison would have thought differently is just ridiculous.

[Edited 1/18/21 4:52am]

Margot said:

mrmaxwell said:

I would say the RRHOF owns the footage and editing.

Great clip which also seems to be in high defintion which the original YouTube clip is not (I recall the ceremony was not broadcast in HD at the time?)

[Edited 1/17/21 19:27pm]

• Appreciate the HD.

I never knew that editing was so comprehensive. In this case it provided a more polished end-product by removing 'imperfections', but as a fan, I appreciated the unedited version.

(I bet Prince had a hand in the editing as I can see a couple of facial expressions he may have wanted

removed...just guessing, tho')

I'm a video producer and yes editing can be very comprehensive. Sometimes it's the most time consuming part of any film or video.

Milty2 said:

Margot said:

• Appreciate the HD.

I never knew that editing was so comprehensive. In this case it provided a more polished end-product by removing 'imperfections', but as a fan, I appreciated the unedited version.

(I bet Prince had a hand in the editing as I can see a couple of facial expressions he may have wanted

removed...just guessing, tho')

I'm a video producer and yes editing can be very comprehensive. Sometimes it's the most time consuming part of any film or video.

Thanks for your input.

Yes, I found it changed the tenor of the performance for me.

I noticed this difference, too, when we visited Paisley's editing room. There was video of Prince while being interviewed by Oprah. The tape @ Paisley was quite a bit different than the finished product...perhaps it was the unedited version.

PorterUK said:

• The difference is in the editing.
• With editing they focused more on the dominant moves and less team- play
• W/O editing one can see he still playing superbly, but checking in w/Petty more. Less 'polished'

EnDoRpHn said:

PorterUK said:

Given 15 years of hindsight, I see both of these observations as pointing at the same thing - if an artist does their own material, it gets next to no press coverage. But step outside of your area and the press are salivating.

Would anyone be talking about this performance had P done a by-rote copy of the Eric Clapton guitar work? No. Because it's always performed like that.

Is anyone talking about the tight but sanitised 12-minute career medley that P performed that night? No. Becuase he always did performances like that.

P did a solo that was true to his abilities. Yes, he loaded it up with tricks and styles to make a point to the old Rock n Roll establishment but look at his body language in that clip - it's as easy as breathing for him to perform at a stellar level. I don't see that as disrespectful of George Harrison. Go watch GH doing the song with Gary Moore on guitar - he's beaming as a virtuoso guitarist plays an original solo to his song. Prince's ability to play virtuosic AND put on an entertaining show... The dude was next level and then some!

Let's not lose sight of what happened that night...

A very competent but ultimately just-like-the-record rendition of WMGGW was being performed by friends of George Harrison. P stepped in and took that performance so far past the point of recognition that it is now a career highlight of P's in the eyes of most casual fans - 95 million views and counting says this is the most watched Prince clip online.

I'm all about celebrating how Prince showed his immense talent. To think George Harrison would have thought differently is just ridiculous.

[Edited 1/18/21 4:52am]

Couldn’t agree more. I always found it revealing when people claim Prince is showboating or stealing the spotlight. HE WAS BEING INDUCTED INTO THE RNR HALL OF FAME WITH GEORGE HARRISON THAT NIGHT. He was supposed to showboat, and frankly, what defines and distinguishes Rock N Roll from Jazz or Blues more than showboating? [Edited 1/18/21 11:49am]

Margot said:

• The difference is in the editing.
• With editing they focused more on the dominant moves and less team- play
• W/O editing one can see he still playing superbly, but checking in w/Petty more. Less 'polished'

EnDoRpHn said:

PorterUK said: Couldn’t agree more. I always found it revealing when people claim Prince is showboating or stealing the spotlight. HE WAS BEING INDUCTED INTO THE RNR HALL OF FAME WITH GEORGE HARRISON THAT NIGHT. He was supposed to showboat, and frankly, what defines and distinguishes Rock N Roll from Jazz or Blues more than showboating? [Edited 1/18/21 11:49am]

The 'truth' is always somewhere in the middle.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Does anyone wonder if the other guys in the performance gave prince the cold shoulder in the rehearsal so when it came to the real thing,he wanted to blow them out the frame? Doesnt sound like there was much communication there between them.... Either way he def did not look like he was part of that group. It was like he wanted to show he was def separate from them on stage. Even his positioning shows that. [Edited 1/19/21 3:39am]

It makes me think of how he would have been in the We Are The World setting...

Here's 2004 P who has matured and is now a lot more at ease with others, yet he still is the odd guy here. Shy, a little awkward around all these fossils - but on a different level talent-wise.

I can't see him being cool in that We Are The World session at all. And they certainly wouldn't have given him room to shine. Hell, Jacko had even lined him to sing after him and in a bad key... So it would have been a bad moment for P.

Back to this performance, I don't think they were extremely welcoming to him but I also think he'd have come across as being a bit aloof (due to his shyness) and therefore it compunds. The story in the NYT suggested that the musicians did say hi to him. I think that group of fossils was used to playing together though so there'll have been a little bit of a clique.

Also it's worth saying that some of them will have 'looked down' on Prince for being a funk musician and not a dyed-in-the-wool rocker. How wrong they were to make that assumption as we all knew different and he made that point emphatically that evening!

I stuggle with this performance as I find it untiringly interesting. Yet it doesn't have 99% of the magic that a genuine Prince performance has to me. Take this and juxtapose it to LRC in Montreux 09... Both guitar masterclasses but one is real-Prince and the other feels like some strange event.

Cool!
So to be clear there are now 3 versions of this going around?
The original TV broadcast/DVD version, the unmixed version that George Harisson's wife put out and this Jonathan Demme version, right?