Here's what I'm wondering...

I've read many fans on this board diss truly great records like The Truth, One Nite Alone, The Rainbow Children... and I was wondering whether those fans who can play an instrument can appreciate these records in a way that fans who don't play, can't.

I grew up playing the piano and I don't think it's any coincidence that much of my favourite Prince material is piano-based (I'm in love with the ONA album, the live piano medley's etc... I can listen to these for hours).

It's the same for those who play guitar... I think they appreciate a great solo more because they understand the complexity of the instrument.

I'm not saying that you have to be a musician to truly appreciate his work, but I think it helps.

What do you think? This question is to both musician and non-musician-folk.

It works both ways. I'm a musician whose studied classical and jazz theory at university, and I think I appreciate Prince's musical abililty in his compositions and his playing moreso than someone who hasn't studied music.

But then again, I don't know anything about taste buds, but I know what food I like and what I don't like. So people who don't know much about the "theory" might hear something that I don't cause they hear it in its purest form.

I think there may be something in what you say alright. I am a lazy bastard and gave up learning to play guitar, but after learning the basics I have a better appreciation of the complexity of the instrument, and what it takes to make it make the sounds you want.

On the other hand, anyone, musician or not, who loves and lives music will probably have more appreciation of it than those for whom music is not a daily necessity, if only because with experience comes understanding.
On the third hand, anyone who regularly will have a greater appreciation of music than those that don't (those that don't needn't bother saying this isn't the case - I assure you it is).

AsylumUtopia said:

LMAO!

Listening to Crystal Ball (the song) makes me feel like that naturally anyway...

I don't play an instrument but I am a guitar person and my crticism of any Prince track on any of the albums you mention has nothing to do with his playing, although some of the playing on The Truth is not very clean to me and I prefer it that way. My problem lies in the lyrics.

MattyJam said:

Yeah, it's a fairly trippy one!
And also, in my non-musical opinion is "one of his most complex songs, though it's complexity does not detract from it making it sound overly complicated or 'busy', but rather unfolds over many listenings" - as I wrote for the liner notes of a best-of/delve-into-the-world-of hybrid coffee table compilation I made (currently entitled "Now that's what I call the very, very best of Prince, ever, and then some!", but I'm open to suggestions).

i think people who play an instrument(me included)
appriciate more prince music.
rainbow children is his musicly best album.
last few months ,
i rave and show that (beautiful is small word for it)guitar solo on "west".
people who dont play,say :its psyhodelic solo.
my girlfriend (she's very educated musician with classical music) said
that guitar solo is so deep emotinal.

I don't know if we can generalize completely, but I do think musicians have a tendency to look at P's music a little differently than the average listener. Sometimes they can appreciate certain things that they know are musically challenging that may not always stand out to everyone else. Sometimes we as musicians can also easily appreciate the "simple things" in the music that make it so special.Not that no one else can, I've just noticed that musicians normally notice the little things right away.
Musicians have MUCH respect for P. I think we're gonna be seeing quite a bit of that this year.

thebanishedone said:

Interesting, my initial (and current) impression of TRC is that it's the one album where he doesn't stretch himself at all. I find it to be very much a tedious foray into musical masturbation. But then, I'm not really being fair to it, I probably haven't listened to it enough to appreciate it's complexity. It's the one Prince album that I have the most difficulty getting into, I just find that the lazy, jazzy, funky groove, nice as it is, doesn't really change throughout the album and eventually becomes tedious. Oh well.

MattyJam said:

Hmmm. I've been playing since I was a kid, but I don't think it's as black and white as it SOMETIMES seems. When I listen to anything musical I think the passion imbued within the music is every bit as important as the ability of the musician(s) involved. Because I've listened to some musicians of average to slightly above average ability over the years, and have sometimes been just as impressed with their musical intensity as I am by their arrangements and skill.

On the other side of the coin, any musician who is highly skillful, but creates/performs as if he/she is punching a clock on a daily basis can come across as cold or purely technical. Going thru the motions is just an exercise in execution. You may as well be Yngwie Malmsteen.

thebanishedone said:

i cant play no instruments, and i fink "rainbow children" and " N.E.W.S" are really good, "raindbowchildren" is 1 of my favourite all time albums, so i fink ur wrong there.

generally the musicians are checking out what he's doin' chords,sounds,etc. especially when they see if they can duplicate it themselves

MattyJam said:

you hear more with a I definately think so anyway! It's hard to explain though. You pick up on things hidden way down in the mix that you'd ordinarily miss.

Crystal ball, All My Dreams, Automatic, America 12" are all good examples.

its funny i always thought so but this girl im seeing came to visit me over the weekend, and i sat her down and played her a bunch of prince songs i thought she might be interested in (we only met abit ago and we both like almost exactly the same music...bar prince)

anyway, she hated everything bar:

when u were mine = pretty good
umm...lets work = good bass (grudgingly admitted)
raspberry beret = she likes
and i think that was about it!

i played her venus de milo cos she plays piano and has a degree in music, and she hated it. she really really hated it, saying the piano in it was wank and so on.

so i played her a case of U, have a heart and objects in the mirror. the only one she liked was a case of u! so i admitted its a joni mitchell song arranged by prince on piano, and she said figures the only good one isnt his song!

we were semi-arguing and winding each other up about it all weekend. i was soo annoyed!