Post by The Curmudgeon on Feb 26, 2015 1:45:12 GMT 2
It's almost a trademark stamp on the back of pretty much every Prince record; "All songs written and composed by Prince." And almost more than any other artist, whether it's the baffling, almost impenetrable "Rainbow Children" or the straight out bluesy rock of his Third Eye Girl project, you can always rely on the record you're listening to being exactly where Prince is in his head at the time.
But would Prince benefit from someone else contributing a little? While the likes of the New Power Generation were all super skilled performers, Prince was and is undoubtedly in charge of everything. But if you think of some of the most celebrated records of all time, there's someone behind the sound/feel of the actual album itself. David Bowie's career would almost certainly be different without Tony Visconti, and Lou Reed and Iggy Pop's most famous solo album's all had Bowie's flawless fingerprints all over them. Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, Nirvana and Steve Albini, Blur and Stephen Street, Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson.. the list goes on.
And then there's Prince, who in thirty years and as many albums has never let anyone else produce or write on his albums. Quite a feat when you think about it, but at this stage in his career would Prince benefit from someone else taking hold of the reigns? Prince produced by, say, Pharrell Williams? Could that work? A Prince collaboration album, a la Tom Jones' biggest selling album in thirty years, where a whole bunch of young guns team up with Prince to reach a whole new audience? Could that work?
Or do we like Prince as the "play everything, do everything" egomaniac he has been since 1978?
But would Prince benefit from someone else contributing a little? While the likes of the New Power Generation were all super skilled performers, Prince was and is undoubtedly in charge of everything. But if you think of some of the most celebrated records of all time, there's someone behind the sound/feel of the actual album itself. David Bowie's career would almost certainly be different without Tony Visconti, and Lou Reed and Iggy Pop's most famous solo album's all had Bowie's flawless fingerprints all over them. Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, Nirvana and Steve Albini, Blur and Stephen Street, Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson.. the list goes on.
And then there's Prince, who in thirty years and as many albums has never let anyone else produce or write on his albums. Quite a feat when you think about it, but at this stage in his career would Prince benefit from someone else taking hold of the reigns? Prince produced by, say, Pharrell Williams? Could that work? A Prince collaboration album, a la Tom Jones' biggest selling album in thirty years, where a whole bunch of young guns team up with Prince to reach a whole new audience? Could that work?
Or do we like Prince as the "play everything, do everything" egomaniac he has been since 1978?
