Good thoughtful post.

However, I have to disagree with some of it and come to the defense of the current band. Blackwell is outstanding. Renato Neto deserves a little more credit, the man is sick. His solo's on the One Night Alone live disc were the shit and stand as evidence, to me at least, that the guy's got it. Rhonda Smith, while very easy on the eyes, can bump. I much prefer her style to say a Larry Graham and I've always been impressed when I see her play. Maybe it's cuz she's girl.

Rad and Chance are cool, they're doing their thing. I've seen them live once and on t.v. twice, they know what they're doing. I mean afterall, any musician on the planet would jump at the chance to play with Mr. Nelson...he could have whoever he wants. He must have selected them for a reason - they can play. I'm anxious to see how they're gonna love the World Tour.

And finally, that horn section. Greg Boyer makes me miss New Orleans everytime he plays, Candy Dulfer makes me want her lips wrapped around my reed and finally, Mr. Maceo Parker. Sure, hearing old school stuff like Pass The Peas might be a far stretch for some folks, but there is no diss I could imagine for Maceo's skills. Sure, Prince is paying homage....imagine how it must FEEL to Prince to have a member of James Brown's band in HIS band? Same goes for Larry Graham....these guys were his heroes when he was growing up. I love the fact that he's included the people into his band because he's introducing them to people who may have never known them before...and they remain funky.

Prince is older now. He's coming full circle. His music is maturing along with the rest of him. Sure, seeing the Revolution on stage again playing those songs would be great. The music he did with Wendy & Lisa's influence on him are my favorite in his catalog, but I understand and respect that times are different now. You grow up with a dad that was a jazz musician, eventually you become a jazz musician too.