The Real Reason Prince Isn't Considered The Best Artist.

i just bought my first prince album because of this thread....1999

i listened to like 5 of his albums and liked this one best.

 

Amy still manages to find ways to stay relevant to the fans and is still as great a singer as she was in her heyday, she has proven to have staying power, while in the case of Prince, he occasionally appears in the press, but has tarnished his legacy way too much. Prince's catalog is very spotty, Amy's catalog is overall consistently strong, IMO.

 

The real reason Prince isn't considered the greatest artist, imo, is *songs*.
More specifically, not enough great ones, and not enough great ones that appeal to a wide range of audiences.
Despite his undeniable talent(s), I'd contend that his work is simply too 'idiosyncratic' for him to be a threat to the very greatest artists.

 

this x 1000

 

So people acknowledging Elvis as the 'king' (which to all intents and purposes here most people would also interpret as being the 'best') of rocknroll, holds no significance or merit whatsoever?

 

Yes, he's been too damn prolific for his own good. Sometimes, less is more.

It's just another opinion, as far as I'm concerned. Sometimes, if an opinion is particularly widely held, it might be possible to arrive at a consensus, but I'm not sure how many people would hold up Elvis as the greatest anymore.

 

Unfortunately their collaboration "I Wanna B Naked 4 U (Praise Jesus)" is still in the vault.

 

I agree.
When I think of a great, catchy pop song from Prince, (and great in the sense of 'timeless' & 'classic' and appealing to all types) I struggle.
I mean, the best I can do off the top of my head is 'Raspberry Beret'. But then, that's hardly 'Pretty Woman' or 'I Saw Her Standing There' or.. you get my drift here?

 

Don't you mean Roy Orbison, or Bob Dylan, lol.

 

I take back what I said in a previous post. (WTH was I thinking? ) I went years without listening to his music. I forgot how amazing he is.
Prince has arguably 4 masterpieces. Those include Dirty Mind,1999,Purple Rain & Sign o' the Times.
Maybe the reason why he doesn't receive as much acclaim as Michael Jackson or Madonna is because his music wasn't as impactful or groundbreaking.
Don't get me wrong, "Purple Rain" is a much greater than anything MJ/Madge produced but it didn't change the landscape of Pop music like "Thriller" or "Like a Virgin".
"Thriller" influenced everyone from Justin Timberlake to Beyonce. "Like a Virgin" influenced everyone from Britney Spears to Rihanna.
Which artists were directly influenced by "Purple Rain" or "Sign o' the Times"? Beck? Miguel? D'Angelo? Andre 3000? That's all I could come up with.

 

Dirty Mind
1999
Purple Rain (I agree, the song sucks)
Sign o' the Times
Diamonds and Pearls

You struggle? What about "When Doves Cry"? That's Prince's "Billie Jean".
How about 1999? Little Red Corvette? Take Me With U? Kiss? U Got the Look? Diamonds and Pearls? Cream?

 

Nice. Hey, i don't care for Rihanna's music, but isn't she something? I really believe she's the prettiest woman alive. What an angel...

 

It's those hazel colored cat eyes that makes me weak at my knees. Image is just as important as the music when it comes to becoming a Pop star. (Prince knows that very well)

 

They may not be quite your cup of tea but "1999," "Little Red Corvette," "Delirious," :Money Doesn;'t Matter 2Night," "Nothing Compares 2U" and "Kiss" all proved to have pretty widespread appeal. (And in terms of lost gems I'd add "Alphabet Street" and "Anotherloverholenyohead").

 

No such thing as "the best artist".

That said, if there is a musician with more actual talent, versatility and virtuosity than Prince out there, I am unaware of him or her.

 

I can't disagree with anyone that says prince is the "best all around" artist. He's a virtuoso.

 

Really???

I believe that Prince is one of most influential artists from the 80s.
Just google the words and see what you come up with.
An example: http://s-endz.tumblr.com/post/6283837452/why-prince-is-the-biggest-influence-on-modern

 

Again, it's the 'broad-ranging' appeal aspect.
The other 2 songs I mentioned would click with all age groups. But as much as *i* like those Prince songs, are they something your Grandma would enjoy listening to ?
I don't see it.
Prince is a great all round artist. And he gets more respect than a lot of others because -where some others don't make much effort in this regard- he's very accomplished on *several* musical instruments. And he takes a more 'active' role in the creative process of music-making, where others too might handball those things off. He deserves credit for that. One could sit here all day, however, and detail aspects of what constitutes a great 'all round artist'. Yet surely one of those aspects, and a major one at that, is 'legacy of great songs'. And, like his eighties peer Michael Jackson, I'm not really seeing him fulfill that one. Of course, as with MJ, I should probably now expect a Prince fanatic to jump down my throat with a list of the '100 greatest Prince songs'. But ask yourself this; Would anyone other than Prince fanatics be interested in the songs from 40-100..?
I would maintain that he doesn't have *anywhere near* enough timeless classic songs to compete with the most elite of artists.
And yes, I know, one man's meat is another...
I'm fully aware that some of you think Dylan and Springsteen combined have less great tunes than Prince..

 

There are lots of people who prefer Prince to the Beatles, Stones, and the other darlings of this board. Myself among them.

 

See, it's weird when people bring hits into the discussion. I mean, yeah it's a plus, but it's doesn't determine the greatest. Prince had five #1's for Christ sakes, haha. A top 10 hit every year from '83-'92. That's pretty legit to me. Does his music touch the masses? Probably not, but you can't really hold it against him. As long as some people get it, then it's cool.

Since I made this thread, Marvin Gaye has become the greatest artist of all time to me, and I'll argue anyone on that.

 

He's a great singles and album artist. He has around 40 successful singles and produced 4 of the greatest albums in the Soul genre.
I would say he's the greatest R&B artist of all time. There might be others that are more influential but they don't have the robust body of work to back them up like he does.

 

I'd say Marvin is the greatest R&B act of all time. Prince doesn't have a What's Going On.

 

Nobody has a "What's Going On".

 

Exactly lol

 

Is that your favorite Soul album?