OT: Prince found dead

[rochrist]

Got a link for that? That would be roughly 67 songs a year every single year over the last 30 years, or about six "finished" songs a month.

Prince’s secret music vault could produce albums for 100 years

 

[neuronet]

People saying he wasn't an amazing musician have no idea what they are talking about. He was a savant, everyone who played with him knows this (e.g., Clapton, etc have all verified this well before his death). Not liking his musical style is fine, we all have our subjective tastes, but not recognizing his talent would be an objective shortcoming that speaks to the fact that we should not listen to you.

Eric Clapton shares touching Facebook post on Prince’s death

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Haven't read through everything, but I'm going to chime in (sorry if it's repeated, but still worth repeating).

Prince, to me, was a great artist and a true musician. While he definitely had his moments in the spotlight, he seemed to quietly work in the background as perhaps the greatest songwriter, or person who would create a song and find that right person or group to single it.

I would love to see a list of musicians who were one-hit wonders or more where the song was written by Prince. to me that is one of his greatest gits. He didn't hoard the fame for himself, but was gracious and generous with his time and talent.

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

I didn't grow up in the 80s but i do love some of his songs. He also wrote songs for sinead o'connor, Sheila E, Sheena Easton etc. I am hearing alot of illuminati crap now with regards to his death.

 

[The Brandon Five]

No -- Prince was not a "virtuoso" instrumentalist -- not by a million miles. No, a BILLION miles. On anything.

Who, in your estimation, is a virtuoso? Let's pick just one instrument: guitar. Go.

Was he competent? Certainly. Was he talented at putting together an entertaining show? Most definitely. But stop with this faux hero worship making him out to be something he wasn't beyond a popular entertainer. He was not a "virtuoso," "widely influential" or a "genius."

Sorry, as a guitarist I have to disagree. Prince played guitar like a boss. That he could also play piano, keyboards, bass, drums and who knows what else speaks to his versatility. I can't speak to his abilities on those other instruments because I don't play them, but I have the sense that his piano/keyboard skills were on a high level as well.

 

[scout]

Prince was an icon.

 

[Tunescribe]

Who, in your estimation, is a virtuoso? Let's pick just one instrument: guitar. Go. Sorry, as a guitarist I have to disagree. Prince played guitar like a boss. That he could also play piano, keyboards, bass, drums and who knows what else speaks to his versatility. I can't speak to his abilities on those other instruments because I don't play them, but I have the sense that his piano/keyboard skills were on a high level as well.

If you are speaking as a guitarist and consider Prince a "virtuoso," your horizons need expanding. As far as I know, he never released a guitar album, only played guitar in the context of his songs. He WAS talented, he was a GOOD guitar player, not a virtuoso. Compare his playing to that of the players below. He does not approach most in their overall command of tone/phrasing/lyricality/timing.

Guitar virtuosos, off the top of my head. (If you are unfamiliar with them, look them up; most are in the realm of popular/rock music. I intentionally am excluding contemporary fusion/jazz/neoclassical guitar virtuosos.) If I sat down and thought about it I'd come up with more:

Uli Jon Roth
Steve Hackett
Michael Schenker
Carlos Santana
Leslie West
Ritchie Blackmore
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Steve Morse
Paul Gilbert
Todd Grubbs
Travis Larson
John Petrucci
Chris Poland
Marty Friedman
Eric Johnson
Martin Barre
Dweezil Zappa
Yngwie Malmsteen
Zakk Wylde
Eddie Van Halen
Tony Iommi
Jason Becker
Ted Nugent
Robert Fripp
Adrian Belew
Alex Lifeson
Vivian Campbell
Alex Skolnick
David Gilmour
Jeff Beck

Try topping that list off the top of your head ... I double-dare you!

Let me know when you want to talk keyboardists.

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

I didn't grow up in the 80s but i do love some of his songs. He also wrote songs for sinead o'connor, Sheila E, Sheena Easton etc. I am hearing alot of illuminati crap now with regards to his death.

That's why the coroner is not going fast - to dispel conspiracy theory rumors.

 

[MrTibbs]

Thanks to whoever uploaded the original performance of Purple Rain which we all know was performed live and simply edited and dubbed over for the album and the movie. It became maybe his biggest hit and the song he is mostly associated with.

 

[The Brandon Five]

If you are speaking as a guitarist and consider Prince a "virtuoso," your horizons need expanding. As far as I know, he never released a guitar album, only played guitar in the context of his songs. He WAS talented, he was a GOOD guitar player, not a virtuoso. Compare his playing to that of the players below. He does not approach most in their overall command of tone/phrasing/lyricality/timing.

Guitar virtuosos, off the top of my head. (If you are unfamiliar with them, look them up; most are in the realm of popular/rock music. I intentionally am excluding contemporary fusion/jazz/neoclassical guitar virtuosos.) If I sat down and thought about it I'd come up with more:

Uli Jon Roth
Steve Hackett
Michael Schenker
Carlos Santana
Leslie West
Ritchie Blackmore
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Steve Morse
Paul Gilbert
Todd Grubbs
Travis Larson
John Petrucci
Chris Poland
Marty Friedman
Eric Johnson
Martin Barre
Dweezil Zappa
Yngwie Malmsteen
Zakk Wylde
Eddie Van Halen
Tony Iommi
Jason Becker
Ted Nugent
Robert Fripp
Adrian Belew
Alex Lifeson
Vivian Campbell
Alex Skolnick
David Gilmour
Jeff Beck

Try topping that list off the top of your head ... I double-dare you!

Let me know when you want to talk keyboardists.

I would say that as a rock guitarist Prince is at least as good as Tony Iommi and better than Ted Nugent. I wasn't sure if you were thinking of a more classically trained guitarist like Segovia or Parkening or a jazz player like Mike Stern.

For rock players I'd add:

Eric Clapton
Jimmy Page
Neal Schon (toured with Santana when he was 15)
The Edge (an innovator)

 

[rochrist]

If you are speaking as a guitarist and consider Prince a "virtuoso," your horizons need expanding. As far as I know, he never released a guitar album, only played guitar in the context of his songs. He WAS talented, he was a GOOD guitar player, not a virtuoso. Compare his playing to that of the players below. He does not approach most in their overall command of tone/phrasing/lyricality/timing.

Guitar virtuosos, off the top of my head. (If you are unfamiliar with them, look them up; most are in the realm of popular/rock music. I intentionally am excluding contemporary fusion/jazz/neoclassical guitar virtuosos.) If I sat down and thought about it I'd come up with more:

Uli Jon Roth
Steve Hackett
Michael Schenker
Carlos Santana
Leslie West
Ritchie Blackmore
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Steve Morse
Paul Gilbert
Todd Grubbs
Travis Larson
John Petrucci
Chris Poland
Marty Friedman
Eric Johnson
Martin Barre
Dweezil Zappa
Yngwie Malmsteen
Zakk Wylde
Eddie Van Halen
Tony Iommi
Jason Becker
Ted Nugent
Robert Fripp
Adrian Belew
Alex Lifeson
Vivian Campbell
Alex Skolnick
David Gilmour
Jeff Beck

Try topping that list off the top of your head ... I double-dare you!

Let me know when you want to talk keyboardists.

Ted ****ing Nugent?????? Guitar virtuoso?????

Plus mentioning Yngwie Malmsteen demonstrates a profound absence of any musical taste whatsoever.

Additionally, Prince could outplay the majority of that list easily. There is no 'best' player, but Prince was certainly in the ranks.

 

[Deus Irae]

Why is Tune trolling a death thread?

 

[Tunescribe]

I would say that as a rock guitarist Prince is at least as good as Tony Iommi and better than Ted Nugent. I wasn't sure if you were thinking of a more classically trained guitarist like Segovia or Parkening or a jazz player like Mike Stern.

For rock players I'd add:

Eric Clapton
Jimmy Page
Neal Schon (toured with Santana when he was 15)
The Edge (an innovator)

I'll give you Page in his heyday, also Schon. Nugent gets disparaged for his songwriting; his guitar playing is technically brilliant -- has been for decades. His tonal manipulation via amplified feedback with the hollow-bodied Gibson is something I've seen no one else do. His phrasing and command of tone are magnificent. Clapton was on his way up 'til his drug crash at a pretty early age, wasn't able to match his previous prowess, turned into a blues player almost exclusively and has been overrated ever since. Iommi is narrowly defined but among the best of his style.

Prince was not as good as any of these guys, largely because he was not a stylist -- he was stylistically generic. He was dexterous, could pick fast and shred, but there are legions of those guys in the U.S. and U.K. alone. I am NOT saying Prince wasn't talented, he absolutely was. But because people love his songs and his singing, they also believe he was a "virtuoso" instrumentalist, and he just wasn't. He was a great pop entertainer whose primary talents were singing and songwriting.

 

[supafly]

That's why the coroner is not going fast - to dispel conspiracy theory rumors.

Could you elaborate on this thought a bit?

Although they often "push" the results through a quicker timeframe for celebrities and cases of public interest, some of the toxicology tests still take a little while to process.

I'm sure we'll be hearing something in the next couple/few weeks. For a regular person, the official report can take several months. My brother died several yrs ago of an overdose in mid-June, and we got the "official" cause of death/coroner's report just in time for the holidays about 5 months later. I'm sure it differs a bit during the summer, when there are generally higher rates, as well as specific cities.

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

Could you elaborate on this thought a bit?

Although they often "push" the results through a quicker timeframe for celebrities and cases of public interest, some of the toxicology tests still take a little while to process.

I'm sure we'll be hearing something in the next couple/few weeks. For a regular person, the official report can take several months. My brother died several yrs ago of an overdose in mid-June, and we got the "official" cause of death/coroner's report just in time for the holidays about 5 months later. I'm sure it differs a bit during the summer, when there are generally higher rates, as well as specific cities.

At the press conference, he said they are going to do it right - not fast.

That sounds like looking at all possibilities to avoid 2nd guessing.

 

[supafly]

At the press conference, he said they are going to do it right - not fast.

That sounds like looking at all possibilities to avoid 2nd guessing.

I gotcha.

Seems like a pretty standard statement, though.

 

[RobertWeathers]

If you are speaking as a guitarist and consider Prince a "virtuoso," your horizons need expanding. As far as I know, he never released a guitar album, only played guitar in the context of his songs. He WAS talented, he was a GOOD guitar player, not a virtuoso. Compare his playing to that of the players below. He does not approach most in their overall command of tone/phrasing/lyricality/timing.

Guitar virtuosos, off the top of my head. (If you are unfamiliar with them, look them up; most are in the realm of popular/rock music. I intentionally am excluding contemporary fusion/jazz/neoclassical guitar virtuosos.) If I sat down and thought about it I'd come up with more:

Uli Jon Roth
Steve Hackett
Michael Schenker
Carlos Santana
Leslie West
Ritchie Blackmore
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Steve Morse
Paul Gilbert
Todd Grubbs
Travis Larson
John Petrucci
Chris Poland
Marty Friedman
Eric Johnson
Martin Barre
Dweezil Zappa
Yngwie Malmsteen
Zakk Wylde
Eddie Van Halen
Tony Iommi
Jason Becker
Ted Nugent
Robert Fripp
Adrian Belew
Alex Lifeson
Vivian Campbell
Alex Skolnick
David Gilmour
Jeff Beck

Try topping that list off the top of your head ... I double-dare you!

Let me know when you want to talk keyboardists.

No SRV, Jimi or Randy Rhoads?

 

[Tunescribe]

No SRV, Jimi or Randy Rhoads?

The list was living players off the top of my head. But sure, those three would be in there. I'd like to add that "virtuoso," at least by most folks' definition, encompasses a uniquely identifiable signature sound (as a stylist) in addition to superior technical chops.

 

[Deus Irae]

Vedder's speech came after Pearl Jam had played "Even Flow," the Ten single that Prince had previously performed an instrumental rendition of during a May 2013 concert at Minneapolis' Myth nightclub, a version that showcased Prince's remarkable guitar work.

"People know him from the ways he looked, and the different ways he looked, and different things he said – a lot of incredible things to remember him by," Vedder added. "But I gotta tell you, and you just saw some great guitar playing. Prince was probably the greatest guitar player we've ever seen."

Pearl Jam on Prince: 'Greatest Guitar Player We've Ever Seen'

Well, to borrow your word, sensational is about as close a description of Prince’s guitar playing as words might allow. I believe that the feeling one was left with, if afforded the luxury of actually seeing Prince perform … we’d be looking for other superlatives. Because it’s almost got to the point of defying description.

‘Defying description': ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons on Prince the ‘sensational’ guitarist

14. Prince

Often overlooked as one of the all-time great guitarists, Prince is a tremendous player with a chameleon-like ability to color any song with dazzling fretwork and a prodigious fusion of funk, blues, R&B, jazz and rock. Prince can shred like a metal god in one moment, then stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jimmy Nolens and Steve Croppers of the world in his ability to lay down a tasty R&B groove. The Artist’s true genius on guitar is his ability to coax real emotion out of the instrument, thereby elevating good songs into masterpieces. – Sean Dooley

Gibson.com Top 50 Guitarists of All Time – 20 to 11

 

[supafly]

Pearl Jam on Prince: 'Greatest Guitar Player We've Ever Seen'



‘Defying description': ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons on Prince the ‘sensational’ guitarist


Gibson.com Top 50 Guitarists of All Time – 20 to 11

Yes, Eric Clapton gushed over Prince's guitar work. I believe he actually went as far to calling him the greatest ever. While I wouldn't necessarily agree with that bold of a statement, he was very, very skilled, and deserves to be included in the conversation as one of the greats.