Let's be objective here guys.

Prince is a great guitarist. He's an average drummer. However, like George Clinton, Prince has a knack for surrounding himself with great musicians. This includes some fabulous drummers, who have brought skills which perfectly supplement Prince's own skills.

I've never heard anything to convince me that Prince was a particularly good drummer. I play drums myself - I'm pretty average too. Like Prince I only ever learned enough so I could put together tracks myself quickly, and more often than not I'll program drum tracks using MIDI sequencers.

Prince is a fabulous all-rounder, but that doesn't mean he's brilliant at everything. Prince isn't a brilliant drummer, but he does't need to be - he has a brilliant drummer holding it down in the band, whilst he wails on guitar and gets the glory. That's where he belongs - right up front with his guitar.

While it is quite true to say that Prince isn't a brilliant drummer, I've no idea why anyone would expect him to be.

okaypimpn said:

Well I'm not gonna take anyone's word for it (including Miles)... all I'm saying is that I've never heard anything that made me think Prince was an incredible drummer. If you think he's such a mindblowing drummer, point me at something that makes you think that, what music? He's not shit, but he's not brilliant. Why would he be? He's never been a full-time drummer, he's chosen some brilliant people to do that for him.

Why does Prince "need" to be brilliant at everything? He's good enough. I don't get this discussion but I certainly don't get the defensive responses.

ian said:

Damn it, I'm not into repeating myself, so just scroll towards the middle and see where I posted my reasons why.

okaypimpn said:

You mentioned songs that you think illustrate Prince being an incredible drummer? Well that's a subject issue, and not one I'll necessarily agree with you on. Anyway, you've only listed one song - the drum solo on "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night". Is that really Prince playing? If it is, either way it doesn't thrill me or kill me. All of the greatest drumming in Prince's music was performed by Sheila E, Michael B, and John Blackwell. I never even noticed Prince.

Get over it guys. Prince doesn't need to be "brilliant" at absolutely everything. He's extremely talented across the board, and he plays all of his instruments to a sufficient level of proficiency to deliver some fabulous music. That's good enough. He's particularly talented on some instruments - such as guitar.

In terms of pure musicianship - there are hundreds of thousands of drummers around the world who are better than Prince, in my opinion. Not that it matters - he's good enough for all of us here, evidently.

ian said:

Clearly you didn't read it, because I said NOTHING about his guitar playing. Try again.

Who plays drums on alot of the songs on SOTT?
Alexa De Paris?

okaypimpn said:

Hi again,

Well, I didn't say you did. Oh wait, are you resorting to nit-picking obvious typos now? Fabulous. Let me know when you're done with that, so we can get back to the topic of the thread. You know, the topic I discussed in my posts? I've fixed the typo. Have you anything else to add?

If you have something of merit to contribute to the discussion, or if you disagree with my point and would like to contribute to the thread further on the matter, please feel free to do so. I respect your right to hold whatever opinions you want, try showing me the same courtesy.

Otherwise, stop posting if you have nothing to say. In fact, if you aren't interested in hearing other people's opinions which may differ from your own, why even bother joining an internet discussion forum at all?

(Needless to say, I'm posting here as myself and not in any official Prince.org capacity)

ian said:

Are you finished with your essay?

P-R-E-T-T-Y-M-A-N!!!

C-Y-B-E-R-S-I-N-G-L-E!!!

PRINCE HAS STILL GOT CHOPS NO DOUBT!!!