does no one else think prince as a guitarist is kinda corny?

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when he does solos i usually think im watching hearing some bad porno soundtrack

― jennybond, Monday, 19 September 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

Stop using the word "corny," goddammit.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 19 September 2005 15:27 (twenty years ago)

...hearing some bad porno soundtrack

That pretty much describes most of Prince's music, doesn't it?

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Monday, 19 September 2005 15:28 (twenty years ago)

Classic or Dud: Public Enemy - Brother's Gonna Work it Out

― PappaWheelie B.C., Monday, 19 September 2005 15:28 (twenty years ago)

Classic or Dud: Public Enemy - Brother's Gonna Work it Out
-- PappaWheelie B.C. (pappawheeli...), September 19th, 2005.

was the scrawly guitar on that song a Prince sample???

Someone once told me it was a Vinnie Vincent Invasion sample. I knew that sounded too good to be true, but I wanted to believe it....

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 19 September 2005 18:27 (twenty years ago)

Prince could really play, but he had that weird 80s D.I. tone, especially post Purple Rain.

But when you think of the leads on Let's Go Crazy and the intro on When Doves Cry, that some Hendrixian/Hazel guitar love.

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Monday, 19 September 2005 18:31 (twenty years ago)

jennybond, clue us on this bad porno you speak of.

― donut Get Behind Me Carbon Dioxide (donut), Monday, 19 September 2005 18:37 (twenty years ago)

never been a huge fan of prince as a guitarist. any hendrix/hazel linkage is so ridiculously overhyped by his boosters - the dude can play just fine and do some a-ok shredder pop metal/r&b stuff, but it's never sounded particularly exciting to me.

― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Monday, 19 September 2005 18:42 (twenty years ago)

These guys would disagree with you. Their whole career is built on the way Prince plays guitar.

http://www.dandion.com/Images/Musicians/MusPorts/Ween2.jpg

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Monday, 19 September 2005 19:16 (twenty years ago)

haha, i don't know if offering up ween is exactly the best way to counteract charges of "corny"

― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Monday, 19 September 2005 19:19 (twenty years ago)

i think the guitars were brilliant and def meant to sound I guess "corny" and "porno". its kinda what helped his stuff sound like rock but kept it from really being rock. its an agressive man sound, but also a flowery sound and kinda a ridiculosuly over-driven fake toy sound achieved on this real machine. i think b/c his songs have classic rock tendencies and historically its ok to extract the guitar sounds from classic rock and b/c he does do these wanking off show cases solos sometimes, one might feel he's trying to be this guitarist etc. but even/esp. the wank-off solos should not be viewed alone at all or like some kinda neil young or even jimi hendrix thing. maybe someone else can explain it better. and to be honest i haven't listened to a prince song in ages. ....and i'm in between mtgs. disclaimer disclaimer.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Monday, 19 September 2005 19:45 (twenty years ago)

Susan. Plz write a book about music. Thx.

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Monday, 19 September 2005 20:19 (twenty years ago)

Um, "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man" is like Prince's greatest guitar hits: the wankery, the rockabilly twang, the uncharacterisable squiggles, etc.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 19 September 2005 20:28 (twenty years ago)

xpost -am i an asshole?

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Monday, 19 September 2005 20:28 (twenty years ago)

ooh - that IS a good prince guitar song, alfred!

― petesmith (plsmith), Monday, 19 September 2005 20:30 (twenty years ago)

I love the keyboard hook on that one.

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 19 September 2005 20:31 (twenty years ago)

yeah - prince's guitar-god moments are not my favorite moments at all, but he acquits himself well in many cases (when u were mine, the cross, etc). the tone is tinny in a lot of cases, and that tone owes a lot to the time in which it was created (that time probably owes prince something for that tone, too, come to think of it). if you arent into a trebly 80s guitar sound (im not really sure what kind of music you like, zack), you might not like it.

― petesmith (plsmith), Monday, 19 September 2005 20:35 (twenty years ago)

thing is, prince still tends to favour that thin, pop-metal sound for his rock guitar moments, even today!

― okok, Monday, 19 September 2005 20:42 (twenty years ago)

actually, despite his corny moments, he still comes up trumps with good solid guitar hero tracks like da bang (everyone doubting him here needs to hear that), or the cross, or could never take the place.... etc

― okok, Monday, 19 September 2005 20:43 (twenty years ago)

Also, "Shh"!

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Monday, 19 September 2005 20:44 (twenty years ago)

These guys would disagree with you. Their whole career is built on the way Prince plays guitar.

Unfortunately, the same is true for this guy:

http://g.sheetmusicplus.com/Look-Inside/covers/WB-904154%20.jpg

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 19 September 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

Where is that thread on ILE where you guys were making fun of the guitar instruction manuals and somebody went and bought a bunch of them?

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 19 September 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

OK, I found it thanks to your help, Jordan.

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 19 September 2005 21:27 (twenty years ago)

That thread is awesome.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 19 September 2005 21:28 (twenty years ago)

was the scrawly guitar on that song a Prince sample???
Someone once told me it was a Vinnie Vincent Invasion sample. I knew that sounded too good to be true, but I wanted to believe it....

-- M@tt He1geson (mat...), September 19th, 2005.

Spotting this sample for me was like looking at one of those 3-D posters. You had to concentrate on a sepcific point while zoning out and the picture came to life.

But if you suck at seeing orange blockheaded dinosaurs on posters, I'll just tell you it's the from the guitar solo at the end of Let's Go Crazy

― PappaWheelie B.C., Monday, 19 September 2005 21:47 (twenty years ago)

Thx dude.

My Vinnie Vincent dreams are shattered, but it's important to face reality.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 19 September 2005 21:50 (twenty years ago)

Glad to shatter your dreams.

― PappaWheelie B.C., Monday, 19 September 2005 21:51 (twenty years ago)

I still have other dreams. Like my dream that the next Kanye record will feature a Rock City Angels sample.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 19 September 2005 22:11 (twenty years ago)

Where is that thread on ILE where you guys were making fun of the guitar instruction manuals and somebody went and bought a bunch of them?

― Lukas (lukas), Monday, 19 September 2005 22:15 (twenty years ago)

I like to pretend "The Cross" is a lost Velvet Underground track from the day Lou found religion. In other words, it's a fucking awesome guitar song.

The wanky tinny '80s guitar sound is Prince showing off -- not only can this little r'n'b singer play every instrument in James Brown's band, but then on the next track he will out-Vai Steve Vai just because he can.

What's being referred to as his "guitar sound" is his hard-rocking solo sound -- there's definitely a huge variation of guitar sounds on all his records.

― A|ex P@reene (Pareene), Monday, 19 September 2005 22:48 (twenty years ago)

I like to pretend "The Cross" is a lost Velvet Underground track from the day Lou found religion. In other words, it's a fucking awesome guitar song."

Yup. Eric Weisbard wrote something similar in the SPIN 80's band: it rocks like "80s Lou Reed," I think.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 19 September 2005 23:10 (twenty years ago)

then on the next track he will out-Vai Steve Vai just because he can.

Dude....there's no way Prince can out-Vai Steve Vai...for serious....Maybe Satriani could but c'mon, there's no way Prince has near the wowzer wank-a-roo chops of Vai. Plus, Prince can play pretty fast, but he's not light-speed, super-clean and precise like those guitar mag dudes....no way.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 00:10 (twenty years ago)

Btw, my fav Prince guitar solo is on a cover of "Just My Imagination" from this 80s S.o.t.T-era bootleg I've got, it's retarded.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 00:14 (twenty years ago)

Susan Douglas

I wasn't being facetious. I genuinely enjoy reading your posts!

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 00:39 (twenty years ago)

Corno, that's what he was.

― Collardio Gelatinous (collardio), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 00:58 (twenty years ago)

"light-speed, super-clean and precise like those guitar mag dudes"

yeah those dudes sUCK!

― okokok, Tuesday, 20 September 2005 10:26 (twenty years ago)

That thread is awesome.
The guy who bought all the guitar instructions books later had an internet mentalist breakdown, so it only goes to show.

― k/l (Ken L), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 15:36 (twenty years ago)

Btw, my fav Prince guitar solo is on a cover of "Just My Imagination" from this 80s S.o.t.T-era bootleg I've got, it's retarded.
-- Jordan (jordan...), September 19th, 2005.

Amsterdam, 18 Aug. 1988. yep.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 15:48 (twenty years ago)

What about that cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" everybody was ravign about?

― k/l (Ken L), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 15:52 (twenty years ago)

xpst-phew!-thx.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

"light-speed, super-clean and precise like those guitar mag dudes"
yeah those dudes sUCK!

-- okokok (okok...), September 20th, 2005.

yeah I know...but that's why you can't out-Vai Vai! Vai is Vai. There can be no other!!!

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 17:10 (twenty years ago)

Warner Brothers Classics?

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 17:17 (twenty years ago)

"What about that cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" everybody was ravign about?"

that was actually pretty fucking brilliant. he was showboating a bit with his facial expressions, but he did such a good job on his solo.

― okoko, Tuesday, 20 September 2005 17:55 (twenty years ago)

ihttp://members.xoom.virgilio.it/Vampy/prince-in-white-with-symbol-guitar.jpg

― dan bunnybrain (dan bunnybrain), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 18:07 (twenty years ago)

ihttp://www.purplehouse.nl/gallery/albums/90s/Prince_1995_With_Guitar.sized.jpg

― dan bunnybrain (dan bunnybrain), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 18:09 (twenty years ago)

Amsterdam, 18 Aug. 1988. yep.

Oh yeah, I forgot that you (i.e. your book) pointed me to that solo, Matos. By chance I had already owned and loved that bootleg for a few years, though (and I'm not even a Prince-collecting dude).

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 18:23 (twenty years ago)

where can one find this oft-discussed bootleg

― strng hlkngtn (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 18:26 (twenty years ago)

E-mail me back with yr address and I can hook you up.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 18:32 (twenty years ago)

if people wanna hear prince excel with rock guitar, check the undertaker video where he does honky tonk woman and various other guitar heavy tracks in a trio format, or find his live cover of jailhouse rock or led zep's whole lotta love.

― okoko, Tuesday, 20 September 2005 19:00 (twenty years ago)

YSI pretty pretty please?

― Lukas (lukas), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 19:02 (twenty years ago)

Prince is an excellant and a highly respecttd one.Steve Vai,Eric Clapton,Stone Gossard,Jeff Beck,and Joe Satriani are just a few of the names who praise him.Prince does not over play, even on lets go crazy,and unlike dozens of others,has not lost his ispiration to create and move forward.

― thomas cullen, Saturday, 1 October 2005 23:47 (twenty years ago)

good thread...I don't love the sound of Prince's guitar solos a lot of the time, and it's a bit like Hendrix for me--yeah, solos and all that, but they're both great rhythm guitarists and that's what I tend to like more anyway. "Sign of the Times" is a great example. I saw Prince on some TV show just playing acoustic and singing, and he was really playing: fills, time, taste, all that. so fuck, no way is he not a pretty great guitarist.

― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Sunday, 2 October 2005 17:54 (twenty years ago)

five years pass...

Have to note that Prince was the only guitarist on stage at the show last night. No gimmick-looking guitars, just the same Telecaster he's had forever and a pretty good sized pedal board. His sound reminded me a lot of Jeff Beck: low/mid-range growly sound that he'd let hang out into feedback land.

Outstanding show last night - just a shade under four hours in length.

― Stockhausen's Ekranoplan Quartet (Elvis Telecom), Friday, 15 April 2011 19:39 (fourteen years ago)

two months pass...

i used to love the cross but i listened to SOTT yesterday for the first time in prob 5 years and much as i love the sound of it and the wiry playing (i used to play the live version all the time), it now sounds a little bit pompous. like its going for the 60s rock religious/social comment etc vibe a little too much (the arabic sounding parts prob added to this).

― titchy (titchyschneiderMk2), Sunday, 10 July 2011 11:44 (fourteen years ago)

There might be songs I'll submit as answers to the original thread question, but, er, "The Cross" is not one. Not one at all.

― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 10 July 2011 13:05 (fourteen years ago)

"The Cross" is his attempt of at a VU sound, right?

― these goons were made for waka (The Reverend), Sunday, 10 July 2011 23:18 (fourteen years ago)

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