Totally disagree, in every way. IMO, the only way Hendrix could be less underrated was if he was Clapton.
Perhaps this comes closest to an answer for me. After reading some of the thoughts in this thread, and clicking on some of the links, I see that he’s a highly skilled musician and showman. However, different people have different tastes in music. Probably those who are big Prince fans both appreciate the above about him, and also happen to really like his songs themselves. But his music just doesn’t happen to be the style that I like, and so even though I may, in the abstract, give him props for his guitar playing, singing, production skills, etc., I can’t get excited about him because I just don’t particularly care for the songs themselves.
I was a Prince fan before anyone knew who he was (well, just about). Saw him on Midnight Special in thigh high boots and was mesmerized. Probably TMI but he had a lot of influence on my sexual desires - listening to that music all day (and try it on headphones - good Lord, the stuff you don’t hear! Whew!) just put my late teens/early 20s self into a frenzy.
Saw him in concert 3x: Purple Rain, LoveSexy and later on in 2004. Stellar showmanship in all three.
For me, he kind of went off the rails in the past several many years, but I cannot deny his contribution to the musical world. He’s all Wordman said and more.
Cat Whisperer, thank you for your list of 23 songs - I know many of them and totally concur.
Speaking only for myself, Prince has it over MJ by a mile.
Okay Made in Macau. Your turn.
Thanks Cat Whisperer. Looking forward to trying out some Prince. I’m trying to make more use out of my fancy eye pods and things and listen to stuff I might have missed the first time around.
Missed the edit. Read ahead and found Made in Macau’s new thread. Thanks for starting it. Looking forward to trying new things.
- so many to include that aren’t here
> How Come U Don’t Call me Anymore - so much better than Alicia Keys’ cover
> Do it all night - off Dirty Mind
> Jack U Off - off Controversy - amazing intro
> Raspberry Beret - perfect story-song pop
> She’s Always in My Hair - weird new-wave pop
> Housequake - funk on a James Brown level
> Ballad of Dorothy Parker - low-fi story song - weird and windy
> I Could Never Take the Place of YOur Man - classic rock-style with long middle break and lead…
And She Spoke to Me, already listed, includes amazing latin/funk/pop followed by a Coltrane jazz break.
Anyone who is saying Prince’s music doesn’t appeal to them hasn’t had a chance to listen - his stuff crosses so many genres its not even funny. No worries - no one is commanding you to do your homework - but if you chose to, you would find styles that are within your normal tastes, assuming you like varieties of pop music. You may still not like Prince, but not due to his not having songs in a style you like.
To be clear: I get it - Prince is a weird dude. It presents a huge barrier to some people. All I am saying is: if you choose to get past that, the music is there. You may still end up not liking it, but the quality is worthy of the investment of time…
Well, ignoring the “your taste is wrong” subtext of this, let me ask–does he have any songs that are straight-up rock?
No - I am sorry; not “your taste is wrong” - more of “let’s make sure you really hear Prince playing in styles you like before you move past him” - I don’t mean to be condescending.
For rock stuff - hmm - what features guitar and has blocky-chord rhythm work vs. funk-type rhythm work:
- When You Were Mine off Dirty Mind has been covered by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels and Cyndi Lauper - Prince’s version has a very thin/new wave guitar
- Let’s Go Crazy
- I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man (there are synths on it, but it has great guitar parts and a technically-well-crafted delay-based lead) - can’t find link of studio version
- The Cross - starts out strummy acoustic but picks up with big guitar. Prince showing his spiritual side - really very effective - can’t find link to studio version
I would also nominate “It” off Sign O’ The Times. The guitar isn’t prominent but the way he takes a single driving beat and builds layers and layers of sound on it was probably a tutuorial to Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, even though Prince creates a different sonic experience with the same layering technique that Trent did with, say, Closer…
A few ideas for now…
‘Guitar’ from Planet Earth came to mind immediately as a very “rock” Prince song. Not exactly heavy metal or anything but probably one of his most rock-oriented singles.
Quote:
Actually, Paranoid Randroid, since I listen to music that spans Monteverdi to modern jazz of today, I daresay my horizons are considerably wider than yours.
SO I have little to no music training or depth of appreciation. I like what I like. So I read that there is no bassline in “When Doves Cry” and I thought, “so?” but then I read on and it was a big deal. So listened more closely to it and to other songs and I slowly began to think, “How the hell did he do that?” Because thge song is still so funky without thhe bassline, which is like, impossible.
It’s hard to track down his recent videos online before they get stomped on, but try searching for “Black Sweat” (if you haven’t found it already) – I’m not a music guy either but I understand it’s something along the same lines.
Another Prince rock song - “America” from “Around the World In A Day.” If we’re accepting covers, there is also “Crimson and Clover” from “LOtUSFlOW3R” and “Whole Lotta Love”.
Prince can do straight-up rock; he doesn’t live there, though - he’s too funky. 
I agree that Prince ranges through a whole lot of genres; I think the only genre I can’t think of a song for is country, and even then you might be able to fudge something.
I dig this one. 
Note, that’s not just “Crimson and Clover,” it’s also got an an interpolation of “Wild Thing.”
Pretty vid, too.
I’m a big fan of most of what Prince did before more or less the batman album. Every album I know that he did before that had a very original sound. Playing most of the instruments probably had a lot to do with that - he obviously did pop songs, but they’re so recognizable, even when other people performed them. I’m not really a fan of the later stuff, though there were - and still are - some great tunes. But Prince for me is defined by the period from “Controversy” to “Lovesexy”. Not exactly pop-chart friendly tunes, but an incredibly creative and fresh look at pop music with some tunes that will stick in your mind forever. And all of those work very well as albums - they’re not supposed to be compilations of singles.
Chiming in to add Erotic City, Adore, and If I Was Your Girlfiend.
FWIW, I am a 62 yo white man who went to see Purple Rain in late 1984 in the unheated Middleton Theater (IIRC for $1.00 in the Madison, Wisconsin suburb and froze my ass off but no one left that theater feeling disappointed) and became an instant fan of Prince. His songwriting, singing, performance, charisma, etc are, in my opinion, are in a class by themselves and matched by only a handful of other musicians. I still classify Prince along with Miles Davis (who expressed admiration for Prince’s music and, I believe, covered some of his songs), John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Johnny Cash, and Springsteen in terms of their contribution to popular music over the past 50 years.
Also, thanks to previous posters for recommendations on other Prince recordings!
And BTW and FWIW, of the 200 or so artists that I have recordings of, Todd Rundgren fits in at a ranking of number 201! While I have heard of his previous recordings and producer credits he is, basically, a sad one dimensional contributor. (Bring on the comments!):D;)
My favorites are “Manic Monday” covered by the Bangles, and “Nothing Compares 2 U” covered by Sinead O’Connor.
I once heard “When Doves Cry” covered by a geeky white guy, playing on an acoustic guitar. And it still sounded great. The man is definitely a great songwriter.
To be pedantic, “Manic Monday” was written by Prince for The Bangles, so it’s not really a cover.
To be horrifically pedantic, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ isn’t technically a Prince cover either as it was originally recorded by The Family. Prince then recorded it himself after Sinead which means you could argue he covered his own song.