I just wonder why can't somebody criticize Prince without being jumped on as being petty, overly critical or just explained away as that's him and that's okay, or who gives a fuck. Truth be told, had any other musician done that to him, most fans would have been dissing them to high heaven. Say if Larry Graham came on stage, did a killer bass solo, stole the show and then pimp-walked off stage, fans here would have been going off on him for disrespecting Prince.

Regardless of if Tom Petty and the others were boring - George Harrison was a laid back kind of songwriter so you can't expect a lot of bells and whistles during a performance. However, that isn't to say that Prince had no right to tear it up (which he did an awesome job and I give him that), it was the look on his face and how he did it. This was a George Harrison moment, not a Prince moment. He had his time in the beginning with his own performance. Now, whether it was okay with the others that he rip it up fine - it didn't come off to me like it was okay. I'm sure Dhani didn't care, he was just so happy to be up there with all those guys.

Knowing how musicians are when they jam, it's a respect thing. When you are up there with other musicians its about operating as a unit and vibing with the others. It can be pretty exciting and it can also be pretty boring with everyone taking their little solos and stepping away. There's a time and a place when yes, you do have to take it and rip it when it's just too slow and then there's a time and place when you have to say, I'm gonna just hang back. Personally, I thought Prince should have done half of the solo he did and left the James Brown stuff out of it because I found it disrespectful. It doesn't matter what may have transpired between him and Tom and the others, it was about George. We all know what a great musician Prince is, he doesn't need to resort to antics of a 20-year-old attention-starved musician trying to be heard. At the beginning of the show I felt really good at listening to him talk openly and the warmth he exuded, especially his part about being spiritual and mentoring. So if he's gonna talk all this spiritual stuff then forgive me if I'm gonna expect you to behave a little more spiritual. After what I saw I felt like, to hell with the Jehovah stuff and just go back to playing Head, cussing and womanizing. Then I can nod my head and say, hey that's just Prince. If you're gonna change, change the stuff that really matters. The ego.

But it doesn't matter what I think, I know, people will still adore him, still buy his records and still go to his concerts. I will always dig him but like any friend, I'll tell him if I think he ain't acting right - after all, what are friends for.

LQ

kisscamille said:

Exactlly!!!!

Harrison's boy thought it was apropos and appreciated it, so any whining to the contrary is meaningless in that context.

enjoyniki said:

You are a better fan than me. I love Prince, but I ain't waitin' no 3 hours or more than that for Prince. I'll get there next to the last minute and if I see him I'll see him and if I don't I don't. I first saw Prince in concert in 97 and since then I pretty much know how he works. I just bought tickets to the concert the first day they went on sale and somebody said they had been there since 3 a.m while I got there at 11:30 (tickets went on sale at noon) only for security to have us pick out a raffle ticket and ticket I got, I ended up gettin ahead of people that had been there for hours. So those of you who like to wait that long, more power to ya!

Personally, I think Prince gave respect to George by leaving the stage..

It was about George not Prince...

the problem is the prince as a muscian can't be touched, so these problems of showboating and what not come up, hey i felt a little of the same way, he could have stayed out, smile hug, something, but it is the hall of fame, let everyone one see why ur there, on the first ballot no less

xcuse my typos above, i went to public school for godsakes, and i am rick james bitch

LadyQ said:

Brava!

Fuck George. I love George/Beatles, but fuck him. This was about the song. The best tribute he could have done is lit that song on fire, which is exactly what he did. Dhani loved it, Petty was into it, 'nuff said.

And "show respect"? For who? That wasn't a regular audience, it was a room full of other rock stars. What's he supposed to do, be grateful Bruce Springsteen was clapping? Prince didn't do any more showboating than was appropriate for rock-n-roll. Remember rock-n-roll? The most histrionic music ever invented? Personally, I'm glad Prince, with his pimped-out hat and customary attitude, brought some color -- dare I say it, Negritude -- to what otherwise were pretty staid proceedings (Keef's rant/induction speech notwithstanding).

Supernova said:

exactly. It happened, its over, so get over it...Prince still kicked ass...

Ok, I dont normally get involved in these pointless debates, but this thread has got my blood boiling.
No-one, and I mean NO-ONE, has been more critical of Prince's output over the last decade than me. That's my problem, not Princes. So I'm no arse-licking sycophant who thinks everything he touches is gold.
But for fuck's sake -- are you people retarded ?
Do you have to over-analyse every last little fucking thing that he does.
The solo he played and his whole stage presence and performance was exactly what that song needed. It was excellent. There's no two ways about it. I didn't see a single iota of unhappiness on any of the other musicians' faces. And throwing the guitar and walking offstage was obviously planned beforehand, and was a joke. Godammit.
If he'd not played with them you'd all be bitching about how he thinks he's "too special" to join in, and when he does join in and plays his heart out you complain that he's showboating. OH MY GOOD GOD IN HEAVEN.

Look, if Prince would have gone up there and performed his solo sans the "tude" then it would have been very "nice". And noone would have cared about it the day after except for people here on the .org and georgeharrison.com. Think about the performance of Harrison's "handle with care" that night. It was nice. Memorable? Not especially.

Now Prince does what Prince does and people actually noticed the performance. People from here to freaking alt.springsteen are giving him props. That tribute is now a classic all-time Hall of Fame highlight.

I just hope that on some far off future date when somebody is performing a post-humous tribute to Prince, they sieze it as an opportunity to all-out kick ass just like Prince would have done.


.
[This message was edited Tue Mar 23 17:46:00 2004 by Universaluv]

I think people who didn't like the showboating would have been okay with it if at the end, Prince had given Dhani a hug, shook Petty's hand, and basically acknowledge the other musicians...that would have been cool....it would have shown the other musicians that he knows he a badass, but he respects us as fellow musicians...

I was reading this at a Petty forum, and everyone there seemed to be in awe

http://www.mudcrutchfarm....pic&t=3037

Me thinks the fancy boy has upstaged the " cig hanging from the lip " school of guitar players !
When I read some of this , I thought about that mimi-documentary on P from years ago ( I think it was on cinemax ) , where Keith Richards talked about arguing with Eric Clapton over P's talent as a guitar player . Clapton didn't think much of P , Richards thought he was brilliant - and wouldn't give up the argument . Clapton finally gave in , giving up his Rolex to Keith - as if to say "Time out . You win ."

psychodelicide said:

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who thought this. Bob's voice is nothing like it used to be.

As for Tom Petty, it seemed to me like he was quite OK with the whole thing. Prince looked over at him a couple times, and seemingly got the head nod "Go for it." So he did. And Harrison's son just was beaming ear-to-ear. Good moment. I do agree that it might have been cooler if he hadn't strutted off, but that's him.

Definitely a high-light moment.

I don't care negative or positive... Prince Ripped the hell out of that solo. Santana would have been like Damn Prince way to go! Van Halen would have gave him love too. Hendricks would hav been like great job. Oh and F--- Tom Petty and all the other old farts that didn't remember what it was like to been on stage. P is getting old too, but still has showmanship. Those guys were going to hang out all night and grab their last little glory. Prince has things to do, money to make and crowds to please. Critics? He don't care about the critics. Never have. Ego? No really.? Prince has always been big headed. He knows he's bad. He said so himself and has a huge Ego. That is part of the attraction to him. His Confidence. He knows he can rock the crowd anywhere he goes. Prince showed much respect to Harrison for playing on the song. He doesn't do that unless it is his show. hmm! hmm! still was his show. The first guitar dude wasn't bad. Prince ripped the song point blank. He should do his own cover of that. The best guitar solo I have ever heard him do. Give it up haters. The brotha is long overdue for the Hall and to get his guitar recognition. Maybe he will make the list now.

Peace,
COCOMF

Play Prince in my limo at my Funeral please.

Oh Jesus H. Christ on a cracker. Prince's solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was appropriate. George's version kicks ass in the first place and before Prince stepped in and set the tribute on fire it was turning into a death march.

What was inappropriate was Kid Rock putting that crap of so called rap in the all star finale. If that was the only contribtion he could come up with he could have kept quiet or sung along with everyone else. And I'm glad Prince didn't participate in that crap.

And Keith Richards barely said a thing about ZZ Top. WTF? The joke about the not having a prepared speech and being given 10 bucks was funny but the rest was incoherent drivel that he could have kept to himself.

Fandangouk said:

Agreed and well said. If the other musicians (including George's son) and audience appeared to enjoy it why is it that some viewers found it "disrespectful" etc. I could see if he threw down that solo on the Lawrence Welk show or something but this was the ROCK N Roll HOF!!..This is what he is supposed to do.

ginosascaggagracci said:

Actually, it was the other way around; Richards compared Prince to the Monkees and couldn't see past his image, it was Clapton who thought he was the shizznit. But you're right about Clapton giving up his watch (according to Clapton, anyway).

Fandangouk said:

You should have seen some of the threads about his appearance on the Tonight Show sitting next to Mel Gibson. Talk about drama queens.

Thats what a guitar player does when they solo!!! you do ham it up a bit . Prince was just being himself. His on stage persona. I didn't find it disrespectful. He did an awsome job with the solo. But, P is just a showman in every since of the word. NO WAY IS HE GONNA JUST SIT THERE IN ONE PLACE AND PLAY A GUITAR SOLO!!!! U CAN'T EXPECT THAT FROM A PERFORMER. He atacked the solo with energy, pride, and love. you can't ask for more.

Well, the name says it all . . . petty . . .

George Harrison is passed, RIP, but so are Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan - doesn't mean you have to perform their music like it's a damn funeral . . .

Prince showed respect to the song while sprinkling in his own flavor . . .

Did anyone hear Dhani's excited question backstage?!?

"Where is Prince? I want give him a HUG!"

That answers any questions.

Tom and Prince kicked ass in their own ways. You could see Prince and Tom and Dhani grooving on each other all the way through.

whoops. double post.
[This message was edited Tue Mar 23 20:46:04 2004 by brianr54]

Hey man, Prince kept looking at the guys for cues, like, "can I keep soloing? Really?" then looked all happy about it. (He did the same thing with Lenny in the Rave Un2 the Year 2000 DVD.) I thought the most appropriate thing for that song was for someone to just fucking rip into a solo like that. It wasn't a fucking funeral, pal. It was "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and P made that motherfucker cry!!!