Saw the thread title and thought it was Mike Scott from The Waterboys

thebanishedone said:

In a recent guitar player article Mike Scott said that he was a more techical player than Prince and something along the lines that he would add colors and embelish songs ibstead of pentatonic thing that Prince was doing all the time.what do u think of that ? I think that Mike Scott was a better guitar player than Prince only during the Rave era but that Prince from 2002 up until the end could eat Mike for breakfast and Mike Scott had terrible vibrato.Kat Dyson seemed like a much better choice. Here is the exact quote : Prince was a great guitarist and he was a showman – he knew how to bring a crowd to their knees – so I would color outside the lines. I would take solos that had more theory behind them as opposed to just doing crazy pentatonic stuff like he’d been doing forever.” [Edited 9/23/21 22:33pm]

Don't care, without Prince Mike wouldn't have much of a career.
Mike's playing is really good but soulless to the point it becomes boring to listen to unlike Prince's playing.

I don't think it was dissing to be honest. It was just about each player having a different role, in my opinion.

they had different styles, thats all he's saying. but in this world where everythign is a "dis" and everyone needs something to hate on.... go for it i guess.

Already being discussed here: https://prince.org/msg/7/467633

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Actual article: https://www.guitarplayer....o-and-road

Isn't it documented that Prince instructed his touring musicians to simplify the music (less complex structure, more simple phrases) for the style of pop concerts at loud volumes he was putting on?

Prince sort of checks Mike Scott though in telling him that all the technical stuff doesn't play well on stage. Prince could hold one note and have the crowd screaming!

Wendy said something similar in an interview, saying that Prince "didn't know what he was doing" on the guitar . . . but further explaining that with all of her music-school knowledge and training, Prince was still blowing her playing away just almost by "feel". The comment about not-knowing-what-he-was-doing was meant as a compliment, I guess.

Unless they straight out the gate put Prince down, I dont think we should be hard on these Prince associates when they do interviews. I mean, when he was alive they either didn't do interviews or were careful with their words if they did an interview.

At the end of the day, if Prince was the main attraction, what else would you expect them to do? Prince was human and he wasn't the greatest at just one thing (I think he was the most well rounded pop musician though) but he had his foibles as an artist too.

If these musicians are saying things now, maybe it's becuz they feel free to do so now. They were close to him and it's been 5 years. Maybe it's time to be honest.

Mike Scott was not dissing Prince. Also, every word he said was true. Prince was a fine guitarist. He was very good. He was also FAR from the best. When it came to soloing, Prince operated a guitar on a level similar to Santana. Prince's gifts on the guitar were ideas, not athletics. Renato said something very similar about Prince's piano playing from a physical standpoint. Renato said Prince had unorthodox technique, no doubt from being self-taugt and not learning the "correct" fingerings for scales and such. These are not disses, they are facts freely and honestly shared when asked.

antonb said:

I don’t really care to be honest.Just add him to the list of ex band members wanting more credit, etc

That is both the stupidest and most incorrect thing I've heard all day. Mike Scott was taking no credit for Prince's music. He was not claiming to have written songs without being given credit. Mike Scott is a guitar player with physical skill that was above Prince level. That is 99% of professional guitarists, by the way. He was being interviewed about Prince the guitarist and he spoke truthfully. Prince was not the best guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, drummer, etc. Not by a long shot. He was very good, though. Musically, Prince was and will always be known for his songs and his voice. The novelty of playing his own instruments in the early days (when Shuggie Otis beat him to it by years), will not even be near the top of the list of things remembered about him. People were impressed by that because they didn't know better and major label marketing departments spent a lot of time comparing him to the gold standard of the day - which was Stevie Wonder. If you think Prince could play drums better than Michael B., keys better than Lisa, Fink, Tommy, or Renato, bass better than Sonny, Rhonda or Tal then you're clearly not a player yourself. Stick to what you know, which I'm guessing is blind idol worship and marketing absorbency.

thebanishedone said:

In a recent guitar player article Mike Scott said that he was a more techical player than Prince and something along the lines that he would add colors and embelish songs ibstead of pentatonic thing that Prince was doing all the time.what do u think of that ? I think that Mike Scott was a better guitar player than Prince only during the Rave era but that Prince from 2002 up until the end could eat Mike for breakfast and Mike Scott had terrible vibrato.Kat Dyson seemed like a much better choice. Here is the exact quote : Prince was a great guitarist and he was a showman – he knew how to bring a crowd to their knees – so I would color outside the lines. I would take solos that had more theory behind them as opposed to just doing crazy pentatonic stuff like he’d been doing forever.” [Edited 9/23/21 22:33pm]

I didnt read that as insult. That is the way Prince played........and it was super effective.

[Edited 9/24/21 22:28pm]

Se7en said:

Prince sort of checks Mike Scott though in telling him that all the technical stuff doesn't play well on stage. Prince could hold one note and have the crowd screaming!

Wendy said something similar in an interview, saying that Prince "didn't know what he was doing" on the guitar . . . but further explaining that with all of her music-school knowledge and training, Prince was still blowing her playing away just almost by "feel". The comment about not-knowing-what-he-was-doing was meant as a compliment, I guess.

I don't think I have eveer seen a quote of Wendy saying Prince didn't know what he was doing on guitar. The notion that Prince didn't know chord structure or music theory is false. He did - as in depth or extensively as Lisa or Fink? No, but he got there quickly. There's also this idea that "white" musicians and only the white musicians provided this language for Prince. Also false. Jesse Johnson and Dez Dickerson really helped in this regard as it relates to Prince's guitar playing. Prince's dad wrote music and wrote pieces that blew Wendy and Lisa away, you think Prince didn't get anything from him? If you've ever heard a recording of the band rehearsing and you can hear Prince teach the band the songs and hear him call out chord changes and then have each instrument play textures and layers on top of the lead melody - you know the man knew music and you appreciate the gift and talent of his band to catch on fast and even add their flavor. As fans, we have to STOP LYING by creating these narratives of Prince solely being a self taught, feel, musician. He was more. Prince also wasn't an island unto himself. The Bands he played with, DID more. We don't need to embellish their stories.

[Edited 9/26/21 5:18am]

[Edited 9/26/21 5:20am]

Milty2 said:

Unless they straight out the gate put Prince down, I dont think we should be hard on these Prince associates when they do interviews. I mean, when he was alive they either didn't do interviews or were careful with their words if they did an interview.

At the end of the day, if Prince was the main attraction, what else would you expect them to do? Prince was human and he wasn't the greatest at just one thing (I think he was the most well rounded pop musician though) but he had his foibles as an artist too.

If these musicians are saying things now, maybe it's becuz they feel free to do so now. They were close to him and it's been 5 years. Maybe it's time to be honest.

.

Agree completely. They are only being honest, and giving their point of view.

Polo1026 said:

Se7en said:

Prince sort of checks Mike Scott though in telling him that all the technical stuff doesn't play well on stage. Prince could hold one note and have the crowd screaming!

Wendy said something similar in an interview, saying that Prince "didn't know what he was doing" on the guitar . . . but further explaining that with all of her music-school knowledge and training, Prince was still blowing her playing away just almost by "feel". The comment about not-knowing-what-he-was-doing was meant as a compliment, I guess.

I don't think I have eveer seen a quote of Wendy saying Prince didn't know what he was doing on guitar. The notion that Prince didn't know chord structure or music theory is false. He did - as in depth or extensively as Lisa or Fink? No, but he got there quickly. There's also this idea that "white" musicians and only the white musicians provided this language for Prince. Also false. Jesse Johnson and Dez Dickerson really helped in this regard as it relates to Prince's guitar playing. Prince's dad wrote music and wrote pieces that blew Wendy and Lisa away, you think Prince didn't get anything from him? If you've ever heard a recording of the band rehearsing and you can hear Prince teach the band the songs and hear him call out chord changes and then have each instrument play textures and layers on top of the lead melody - you know the man knew music and you appreciate the gift and talent of his band to catch on fast and even add their flavor. As fans, we have to STOP LYING by creating these narratives of Prince solely being a self taught, feel, musician. He was more. Prince also wasn't an island unto himself. The Bands he played with, DID more. We don't need to embellish their stories.

[Edited 9/26/21 5:18am]

[Edited 9/26/21 5:20am]

I'll have to look for the interview. Her attempt at a compliment was misconstrued as her throwing shade.

Se7en said:

thebanishedone said:

Se7en said:

I'll have to look for the interview. Her attempt at a compliment was misconstrued as her throwing shade.

Wendy did say what u wrote.something along the lines that he was not knowing what he was doing,but he become a master later in his career.

"As far as calisthenics go, I always felt Prince was one of those rare athletic players who was extremely dexterous, but always made every note count for something. Even when he was playing something tricky, it wasn’t banal.
Yes, it’s true! Sometimes he had moments where I’d look over and he’d be going for it and I’d laugh to myself and say, “You don’t even know what you’re doing right now!” But by the time he passed, he was undoubtedly a truemaster at the neck of the guitar. He just knew the thing so damn well."

This is the quote in full context - Wendy was in NO way shape or form saying Prince didn't know what he was doing on guitar. However, that Prince had the musical athleticism that allowed him to achieve things on the guitar that normal people did not have but that his knowledge of HIS own ability grew to become a master.

It's akin to MJ doing a 360 dunk in a game because he could in the heat of the moment but then eventually practice the craft of basketball for so long that MJ used his natural leaping ability to create an unguardable fadeaway jumper.

This nwas not a diss nor was it throwing shade nor was it alluding that Prince was ignorant at the craft of guitar playing.

JUNKIE said:

Who is Mike Scott?

Prince´s guitar player from 97-2000 (I believe) and Musicology tour.

JUNKIE said:

Who is Mike Scott?

Founder, songwriter and lead band member of The Waterboys, mostly known for their song "Whole of the Moon", once covered live by Prince, but also an amazing band in thier own right whose first three albums are amazing

GustavoRibas said:

JUNKIE said:

Who is Mike Scott?

Prince´s guitar player from 97-2000 (I believe) and Musicology tour.

Also this guy.

You have to know this was his boss for a bit so not everything was flowers and sunshine. They play differently nothing wrong with saying his styule and approach was not like his own.