Les Claypool has led multiple bands: PRIMUS and FROG BRIGADE, concurrently, and also collaborated to produce HOLY MACKERAL, COLONEL CLAYPOOL'S BUCKET OF BERNIE BRAINS, SAUSAGE and OYSTERHEAD. Though he only plays bass, he's one of the top innovators out there.

Warren Haynes is leader/founder of GOV'T MULE and co-leads ALLMAN BROTHERS and has now joined THE DEAD. Extremely prolific as a songwriter and a great vocalist, he's also one of the top guitarist on the scene.

Claypool is an acquired taste for those who really dig hard funk-rock (not much appeal to a black audience), but I'd put Warren up against Prince anytime in any category except dancing (the least musical aspect, if you will). WH's songs are excellent displays of craftsmanship, he's a master guitarist and other musicians love to jam with him.
[This message was edited Fri Feb 13 19:41:18 PST 2004 by PFunkjazz]

Bowie and Zappa are the only ones I can think of that are even in the same universe as Prince...

rojeanla said:

What are you REALLY asking? Are there funkier musicians? Yes. Are there funkier multi-instrumentalists? Yes. "sheer staying power"? What the heck is THAT? Viagra works wonders for any who have that problem. Question is, what other black musician had the entire force of a major label behind him with a million dollar deal at the beginning of his career? Cats like Stokley Williams of Mint Condition can hang with Prince and even surpass him in some areas. David Ryan Harris is another one. Prince has had a LOT at his disposal. A WHOLE LOT - including an arsenal of multi-instrumentalists at his disposal for him to leech from and to help build his music. What is the question? "He truly loves and feels what he does." Do you think other artists don't feel what they do? Who writes Prince's string arrangements? Who plays his horn parts? Others. Are we talking Prince the individual or Prince, Inc.? Prince has had a staff as well as a helluva lot of musicians to contribute to his cause. A PR team out of this world (for a while, anyway) and the money...yep...the MONEY to pull it all off. So-called "staying power" is a label trying to see return on its investment. ALL megastars have staying power. Megastars were made in the 80s. They are a thing of the past. If you can't sell a mil the first time out of the gate nowadays, you're over as far as a major goes. So, again WHAT IS THE REAL QUESTION? Are there artists who have written more music? Sure. Funk artists? Sure. It doesn't mean they get to release it; doesn't mean its gonna get airplay or promotion, and it doesnt mean they don't exist. The entity of Prince is bigger than Prince. Ask WB how many other artists they signed to dead end contracts because they thought they would "challenge" their investment (Prince) and you may have an answer...if we can establish some solidarity from that vague question which sounded more like a promotional introduction. (And YES labels do that type of thing ALL THE TIME)

I think anybody can think up a list of a bunch of different guys..

BUT NO!

There isn't one person with the full package.. only Prince.

* As soon as lets say Little Richard says he is Prince in this Generation.. I'd hand him a Guitar and say "play it"... now play drums.. now play bass.. now write music for other people as good or better then your own.. now produce and run a recording studio.. now be relevent 25 years after your first fame & not a complainer.

YOU can do this with ANYONE you put on a list of people better at 1 little thing then prince.

NO ONE comes close to prince!!! ..and we are lucky enough to see him from start to present!

Elvis Costello can do anything musicwise Prince can do, plus he's a better songwriter. Plus he's probably excelled at more diverse music styles than Prince has attempted.

locoarts said:

And you know this because you are aware of the abilities of every musician on the face of the earth, right? Whatever. On Prince.org, Prince has no equal.

papabeat said:

Thanks, but Elvis Costello? Get real. He doesn't jump (successfully) from genre to genre and he's not as dynamic a performer. Why am I bothering?

Anyway I'm glad BK and others didn't feel a need to overexaggerate P's shortcomings. This is prince.org and not funk.org afterall; and he's right that we haven't heard every musician out there. Just as Michael Jordan isn't the greatest basketball player ever Prince isn't the greatest musician ever. They were just the best, on the biggest stage at the right time with a powerful corporation backing them.

So I would qualify my answer as a no, not that I know of in terms of overall musicianship and showmanship. Stevie, Zappa, Bowie, the Beatles, Jimi, Ani, Mozart, Joni, Andre 3000..... MJ, Madonna, Britney, and my uncle all do something and in some cases several things better than he does musically but if you're talking the overall package P is the best of the best.

I like that Michael Jordan analogy because he wasn't the fastest, tallest, best jumper, nor best shooter but he put it all together the best, had the most drive, and made it look good.
[This message was edited Sat Feb 14 8:35:59 PST 2004 by whodknee]
[This message was edited Sat Feb 14 8:40:04 PST 2004 by whodknee]

Well, going by today's artist - vocally, Maxwell (see - Fortunate) comes close but falls a little short.
From the producer, composer, writer, and complete musician - I have to say R.Kelly is the musical genius of just the R&b/hip hop genre, but Prince was so diverse, he could do anything he wanted.

His name is Andre3000 Beck too. And Meshell.

I think R. Kelley does a good job on the lyrics,videos and the sexiness but that is about it.

goat2004 said:

You think Maxwell falls short of Prince vocally?? ROTFLMBAO! Go listen to Till The Cops Come Knockin' and come back.

Ubiquity said:

I agree with him Ubiquity. No one alive today equals Prince

Ubiquity said:

OMG get your head out of your ass NOW!!!

papabeat said:

This statement is pure shite!! Elvis is a dealy songwriter. But he can not do anything Prince can do musically. Evlis is great, but on Prince's level??? no even close.

Ubiquity said:

I don't think that securing a 3 record deal with Warner Bros at such a young age and producing yourself has anything to do with luck.

Jacques Brel.

I doubt if anyone knows him. They're very different, but I can't do without one of the two...

ConsciousContact said:

Prince didn't secure his deal with WB. Who in the HELL would listen to a broke ass black kid in the 70s long enough to give him a dime, let alone a deal? Prince's deal was negotiated FOR HIM. Talent alone won't get you signed. Damn! He gets credit for THAT, too? Oh, I forgot...its Prince,org...temple of worship. "Prince has no equals" was a narrow view. From a perspective, it could be called ignorant, especially if you are unaware or the talents of others that surpass Prince musically.

rojeanla said:

NO!!!

hey, knight! i was waitin for you to drop in on this one...

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

ConsciousContact said:

I was more referring to the time Prince hit. The 80s were musically pretty cold and empty, the timing for someone like Prince was perfect. While the 70s were a different story. If Prince started recording in 1970, he never would have made it as big as he did later. There was simply too many equally gifted people.

garnis said:

And that is supposed to say what? Are you trying to tell me that Jimi was technically an oustanding player? I wonder why everyone who has played with him wasn`t really that impressed...

BlaqueKnight said:

yep...I knew BK wasn't gonna be happy

2004 is not going to be a good year for BK...

Ubiquity said:

are you serious???

where's BK when you REALLY need him...

SquarePeg said:

Well, maybe instead of cursing you should debate the point.

I know two people who played with Jimi for a while. The first one is Sweet Charles Sherrell, former bass-player and band-director for James Brown. He grew up with Jimi in Nashville and they used to rehearse together a lot at Jimi's house and had a band together. Sweets told me that Jimi's techincal skills were quite weak, but he played with lots of soul. The only reason why Jimi made it bigtime - according to Sweets - was the way he played with effects and sounds. Nobody did that at that time.

The other guy I know is Tommy Trujillo, a guitar player who played with Mandrill and Charles Lloyd. Tommy had a band in the mid-60s, before Jimi moved to England. Jimi wanted to play in that band and auditioned, but Tommy couldn`t use him because he couldn`t keep up with the technical approach of the band. Tommy still holds on to some tapes that he has recorded with Jimi at that time. He played them for me, and I was shocked how weak Jimi was without all his effects.
[This message was edited Sat Feb 14 14:01:29 PST 2004 by Ubiquity]

Ubiquity said:

Everybody you know who worked with him is a jealous hater, then.


BK and i see it the same way. In the beginning, WB's hype machine made him out to be this musical wunderkind who played dozens of instruments ... blah, blah, blah.

Why does support of Prince have to translate into worship and near-religious devotion for so many folks here?

I love the Oakland Raiders, but I also know they stank up the field this year.

Is there an equal to Prince? Yes, every other human being on the planet. He's still just a man.

garnis said:

Elvis is every bit the musician Prince is; maybe moreso. He's a great producer, having produced the best albums of Squeeze, the Pogues and the Specials (as opposed to Sheena Easton). He's written songs for Johnny Cash, George Jones, and Roy Orbison, and has collaborated with Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach and Aimee Mann - all more reknowned than Larry Graham or Wendy & Lisa.

As for diversity, I'd be hard pressed to find examples where Prince excelled in the number of genres as Mr. Costello has:
Reggae - Watching the Detectives
Punk - Radio Radio
R&B - Get Happy!
Pop - Alison/Veronica/Everyday I Write The Book
Orchestral - North (he also wrote the score and conducted the orchestra! Prince can't even read music)
Country - Almost Blue
Folk - King of America
Classical/Baroque - The Juliet Letters
Jazz - Shipbuilding/Stalin Malone - plus his work as a member of the Jazz Passengers
Dance - Distorted Angel remix/Town Cryer (fast version)
Underproduced - Blood & Chocolate
Rockabilly - Mystery Dance

When Prince records a country album, and produces an album for an opera singer (as Elvis did for Anne Sofie von Otter), then call me.

BlaqueKnight said:[quote]

locoarts said:

Okay, the Prince worshippers can pack their bags again because the truth has, once again, been told.
[This message was edited Sat Feb 14 14:17:42 PST 2004 by Abrazo]