Musicology: Purple Rock Part 1

In honor of Prince’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I am dedicating some space on my site (http://www.fromZtoA.com) each day this week to an element of Prince’s work that helps explain why I became such a loyal listener. I’m calling the series “Musicology” to celebrate Prince’s new tour and CD of the same name, and because musicology is after all, the study of music.

A good place to start is by examining Prince’s role as a producer. In addition to his own work, Prince wrote and produced most if not all the work performed by his protégé acts like The Time, Vanity 6, Apollonia 6, Sheila E., The Family, Jill Jones, and Madhouse; and he wrote and produced for several other artists at the time as well including Sheena Easton, Patti Labelle, Andre Cymone, and Chaka Khan. Even though he often worked using pseudonyms like Jamie Starr, The Starr Company, Alexander Nevermind, Camille, and Joey Coco, his sound was distinct and unique, and could easily be detected especially in his choice of instrumentation and arrangements and through his use of special effects.

NOTE: I am not really trying to make any claims of Prince pioneering any of these techniques and styles, although I do think at the time his combination of elements from disparate styles created a unique hybrid. What I am really trying to get at though are the things that he did that had an appeal, because they were interesting, quirky, out the box, etc.

The Instrumentation

A multi-instrumentalist who played all the instruments in his early albums, Prince’s classic signature sound is inseparable from three foundational elements: the Linn drum machine, synth horns, and electric guitar. His use of strings later on would also become part of his signature sound.

Unlike previous drum machines that used synthesized sounds, the Linn machine pioneered the use of sampled sounds of drums. The early machines were handmade by Roger Linn and were quite expensive and difficult to work with. On the cutting edge, Prince was among the first artists to use the Linn, when he produced 1999 and in his subsequent work. The most famous sounds of the Linn used by Prince were the hand clap (“DMSR” and “1999” for example) and the rim shot (“Let’s Go Crazy” and “When Doves Cry”).

Influenced by 70s funk, Prince incorporated horn lines into his compositions, but used keyboard synths instead. By layering the synth lines on top of each other, he created an orchestral wall of horn hits and lead lines. Synth horns figured prominently in “I Wanna Be Your Lover” as well as “DMSR” and “1999.” After touring with Sheila E.’s band during the Purple Rain tour, he began to use more live horns by Eddie M. and later Eric Leeds, but he still didn’t abandon the thick funk of synth horns on songs like “Around the World in a Day” (the horn lines that follow “I think I wanna dance…”) or the fan favorite “Six” by Madhouse.

Of course any conversation about Prince’s instrumentation is incomplete without talking about his guitar playing. In the funk and R & B tradition, Prince’s music often used prominent rhythm guitar parts to drive the beat. “Kiss” features some of the best rhythm guitar by Revolution member Wendy. Or he would play phrases that featured a quick succession of notes tightly strummed, often called “chicken scratch,” as in “Erotic City” or at the ending of “I Wonder U.” Among rock fans, it's his rock guitar solo-ing (probably first introduced to the masses in "Let's Go Crazy") for which he is best known. Nothing compares to watcing Prince play live--the emotion, the facial expressions, the body movements that accompany the long sustains, the distortion and the feedback are truly moving. On record, by mixing the guitar levels down (in the introduction to "When Doves Cry" for example) he could sneak in some blues and rock into a funk or dance track, and make it work.

As Prince's collaboration with Revolution-members Wendy and Lisa grew, strings were added. The arrangement at the end of "Purple Rain" signaled the beginning of this trend, which would continue in the interlude of "The Ladder" in Around the World in a Day, and reach full expression in the Parade album. Conducted by Clare Fischer, the strings on "Venus de Milo" create a lush full sound. What was more striking however were the string arrangements for two Prince protégé acts, The Family and Jill Jones, where the strings seem to cut across the melodies in dramatic sweeps. So the penultimate Prince song could conceivably combine funk grooves, electronic rhtyhm tracks, rock guitar, and classical violin flourishes.

In the next installment, I'll talk about how Prince's arrangements added to the appeal of his signature sound.

nu? is that you?

What up NwpwrSoul.....Good to see ya back in here. Your segments looks to be very interesting!!!!

Brother 9/15

MOS DEF!!!! U should check out his site!!!

PEJ said:

that is bad-assed, man! he has his own blog....i should put it as a link on my own blog. awesome work you got goin there, nu. and it's nice to see you pop up again.

Hey Dansa, Bro915, and Pej...

Thanks for the positive feedback

Nice read, but thats Prince who plays guitar on Kiss.

Good stuff Nu!

camille2002 said:

yeah you're right... thanks for the correction. must have had the video on my mind.

NuPwrSoul said:

No problem, very good read though. I enjoyed it a lot man.

great!!!

u r missed NU!!!

camille2002 said:

OMG I have that issue of RS in a box somewhere...taking me back!

I've heard different stories of who plays guitar on Kiss. I think it's Prince (cuz he ax like an only child - i'm one too so no flames). But I think I heard Wendy...it's Wendy in concert anyway, eh?!

NuPwrSoul said:

=====
And that fly @ss hair...baby got good hair!