"Musicology" has been written a hundred times before, but much better. It's time to drop the horns and the 1 chord jams and come up with something a little more original. I can see anyone down at the local jazz bar play this type of "new stuff".

Prince used to be original and a leader in pop music.. Now I feel he's "grown up" into his Dad's music and is merely a band leader for a band of interchangeable session musicians. Sure there great "musicians" in a Berkelee College of Music kind of way, but where's the personality? the originality? Being a technically proficient musician does not make a great musician. (Keith Richards never won any technical awards that's for sure, and he only uses 5 strings!)

I'm hoping I'll hear some new sounds on the new disc, but I have a feeling I'd rather put on James Brown and Sly Stone records to get the music he's dishing these days..I can't see myself grooving at a party singing "musicology" I mean how corny can you get!

Don't listen to him! He's crazy! Keep the Horns! Keep the James Brown-esque funk!

i used to go to Berklee and i tell you nobody i ever heard there ever sounded like any NPG member.
prince is still going to do what he does. ih you had R Kelly or babyface or Usher up there stading next to him on Leno then you would have seen the clear difference between the two artists. even if Prince is doing ripped off JB riffs, he would be so original it wouldn't be funny. yeah i know i sound like hero-worship, but i think he stands out in the climate today of pop music. and for the better.

i think the thing that we have forgotten about Prince is that he is the guy that synthesized all these sounds (Hendrix, JB, Sly, etc) and made it his own. he's done it all already. he has no one to compete with but himself.

DMSR said:

HUH?? ARE YOU INSANE?? NOT THE HORNS!!

Well, if Prince drops this shit that means its back to bad-pop ala Rave, so we might as well stick with this.

"Bring the family?!" What's next.. little kids onstage like a Michael Jackson concert?

The dirty little Prince is gone forever, maybe he'll come back, I'll put on Sign O the Times double Cd and hope he comes back...Until then I've got to watch a G rated imposter!

DMSR said:

i agree.

Prince wants you to know that he's becoming an old man, so the horns are here to stay.

DMSR said:

I think you're way off.

The horn charts are to the current music what synth lines were to his 80's music. They've esentially replaced them.Synths are cold-horns are organic.

His music is fuller and richer with horns. They fuel his music. Listen to" D&P"-those songs would be better without horns. Without horns-you get: "Rave"; or a tendancy to go overboard and compensate with keyboards and drums: "Emancipation". Imagine "Newpower Soul" without horns!

A Prince "James Brown" take adds flavor to a record. What "Housequake" does forr SOTT, or "Sexy MF did for "Symbol. It's about adding flavor and texture to an overall album-not wether it's better than a James Brown track. You're being too picky and closed minded.

warning2all said:

rudedog said:

Actually I kinda agree. I've probably heard enough of the JB-mimicry stuff, he's done it a million times. The Work, Prettyman etc... I wouldn't mind losing the horns and seeing a return to the more stripped-down minimalist electro-funk sound. Or something.

Yeah, when we want James Brown music we put on James Brown albums and that's when I want to hear Maceo. This is just where Prince is right now, so we just have to wait and see if he gets out of this. I can't imagine he'll spend the rest of his life doing funk, jazz, or even rock jams with a band called the NPG. Even if he does I'll survive.

Personally, I think if he's gonna start experimenting with stuff, he should go for more electronic and maybe even light industrial.

warning2all said:

Prince is not OLD to all Haters and he should leave in the HORNS and James Brown Routine you speak of. His show is Great. ORIGINAL? PRINCE is ORIGINAL. MUSICOLOGY ROCKS..GREAT NEW SONG>>>

ian said:

But I think he has a more HISTORICAL approach to the styles he encompasses, whereas Madonna tries to keep up with the latest sound. She does Electronica;Prince embraces James Brown, or the Commodores, or Tower of Power.

Have you heard Kylie Monogue's latest cd? 12 or so tracks of the same electronic beats and sounds? But you DO know what you're getting when you buy it. You don't know what you're getting with a new Prince album,from one track to the next.That probably hurts him in sales and popularity; it's probably why Prince fans have wildly different opinions on what his best albums/worst albums are!; but makes him an artist to respect.

It's all a matter of taste,I suppose.

The horns in and of themselves is not the real issue. The real issue is the uninspired songwriting. Prince and the NPG are brilliant live performers and it's a testament to their skill that they can still get an audience to go crazy.

The problem is that the newer songs (The Work, Musicology, Reflection) simply lack the creativity, originality and inspiration of much of his past work. Someone mentioned that Prince is his own competition and that's a true statement. For so many years every album yielded a new sound and approach to the music. For many years now, he's been stuck in a some kind of old school r&b groove (and I don't mean that in a good way).

Rainbow Children, while not one of my favorites was at least a step in the right direction. But using The Work or Everlasting Now as live highlights only seems to showcase the typical side of that record.

Also, I think the lyrics as of late are to simple and lack the spark of much of his 80's and early 90's material. Reflection was a beautiful song, but hearing those simple and literal lyrics really knocked the song down a notch or two in my book.

Positivity Y'all
Wizong

warning2all said:

Prince used to add his own flavor when he borrowed from James Brown or whoever else-
for example:

"Kiss" is obviously similar to "Papas Got a Brand New Bag" but Prince adds the sparse production, weird drum track and his falsetto, and makes it his own.

"Sexy MF" had the horns, but we got a new take on a James Brown song with Prince almost rapping and adding an X-rated lyric.

"Delirious" "Jack U Off" and "Horny Toad" pay tribute to 50's Elvis type songs, and recorded by anyone else would be nothing new, but Prince put a cool drum machine track, a crazy synth track instead of live horns, and there you have a new take on an old style song.


See my point? Sure he's always been influenced by old skool artists, but he always made it his own. And of course mixed in with these songs were his totally orginal songs such as "Sign O the Times" and "When Doves" "Shhh" etc...

Shit like "Pretty Man", Musicology, The Work, and even "1plus1=3 sound like I've heard it before, only better, and more inspired. Songs Like "Pop Life" and "1999" done with real horns instead of that cool string/synth sound from the original recordings, sound like a bad Vegas cover band.

i was thinking just the same thing-too much horns.It's just a matter of taste i guess,but i liked better the guitar driven shows from mid 90s.Prince has been using too much horns in the past 3-4 years in my opinion, even tho they are a nice addition to his music.

What about THE SIGN O THE TIMEs ERA? THAT was when he used Eric ,Atlanta Bliss. Beautiful Night well that's the Prince SHIZZLE ya Know.....And I miss when he does that Cloreen Bacon Skin and all that Funk stuff.

Zelaira said:

The horns weren't front and center on most songs, and there wasnt any extended Maceo solos. And there was alot more variety of musical styles than he has now.

I don't have a problem with horns, but I would like more originality. All of Prince's great albums are all over the map, stylistically speaking. Really, I don't care what instruments he uses as long as the song is good. But it would be cool if he did use a little less horns and mixed things up a bit. It's not my favourite album but I did like the violin on Xpectation. At least it was a new sound for Prince.

All these always the same useless threads make me get a
Soon I'll be really
And will propably

Zelaira said:

Prince is acting old, that's for sure. It's great if you liek the song, but the general public won't buy into it.

DMSR said:

You FINALLY admitted it... you finally spit it out. It's not so much the JB sound thats bothering you... it's not so much the horns irking your nerves. What's REALLY bothering you is that the "dirty little Prince is gone". Your argument is a microcosm of what is wrong with many, many Prince fans the world over. What some of you all really miss more than the "music", more than the "sound"... more than anything is the "RudeBoy dirty little Prince". Well in case you haven't gotten a clue by now... I have a big news flash for you "DMSR" and others who are suffering from the same problem. DIRTY LITTLE PRINCE IS DEAD! GONE FOREVER! And if you've been sticking around the past several years hoping that your dirty little Prince is going to come back (and bitching and complaining in the mean time)... well then, you may as well turn in your "Prince-fan card" and get on the next thing leaving town.

The Prince from 1984 ain't coming back! I don't know how many times that has to be said and in how many different ways it has to be said before it starts to sink in for some people. Please just get over it or stop pretending to be a fan, because you're not. In reality, you're just a fan of an era which doesn't exist anymore. Meanwhile, by sticking around places like Prince.org, the only purpose you're serving is to get on other people's nerves. If that's how you get your kicks, then oh well... but I really fail to understand why some of you frequent a fan site of an artist whose music you no longer care for.

JimmyNothing said:

yes, i love the horns.