I'm not even THAT big a fan of Prince (I'm far more likely to listen to Van Halen than Prince), but rest assured what I said is something I would have also said prior to Prince's death. Simply because that's the way I feel about it.
And speaking of Ed on a technical level, it is just a simple fact that Ed's technical ability on the instrument while not insubstantial is far from what I would consider 'masterful' or that of a 'virtuoso' when I consider the broad (i.e. beyond rock) spectrum of what the instrument has to offer...'virtuoso' and 'masterful' being two terms applied to Ed by others for years and will undoubtedly be reapplied when he dies.
Again, Ed is one of my favorite rock guitarists. Within that field, probably one of the all-time all-around greats. Prince as an artist, musician and songwriter was far ahead of Eddie Van Halen in terms of output and ability. It goes exactly back to what Jetstream said, in that Ed was great at one thing. And I'll make no bones about it in that Ed was great beyond mere Eruption-style solos in that he was a great rock guitarist in terms of composition, riffs and rhythms. Ed can't write worthwhile lyrics, can't sing well and can't produce/record his music in a manner that sounds better than when other producers/engineers do so. Outside of guitar, Ed can apparently play bass well, but for an accomplished guitar player that's not really a stretch. Ed can play keyboards, and I won't minimize the enduring qualities of what he did on Jump, but I'm not going to confuse that with Ed being one of the greatest rock keyboardists of all time.
Now, to be sure, people are doubtless going a bit overboard about Prince since he died. I'm not in terms of expressing how I felt about what Prince brought to the table for me as a talent. I'm not personally sad about his death (inasmuch as I didn't know the man) and outside of his Superbowl appearance 8 or so years back I haven't really paid attention to anything the guy has done since 1998. However, as an all-around prolific popular music talent Prince was the real deal. Ed was a great rock guitar player. And Ed only being a great rock guitar player - one of the all-time greats - isn't a slag or a slam or a criticism. It's just that by way of comparison, Prince was far more than ONLY a great rock guitar player in terms of sheer talent and ability.
And speaking of Ed on a technical level, it is just a simple fact that Ed's technical ability on the instrument while not insubstantial is far from what I would consider 'masterful' or that of a 'virtuoso' when I consider the broad (i.e. beyond rock) spectrum of what the instrument has to offer...'virtuoso' and 'masterful' being two terms applied to Ed by others for years and will undoubtedly be reapplied when he dies.
Again, Ed is one of my favorite rock guitarists. Within that field, probably one of the all-time all-around greats. Prince as an artist, musician and songwriter was far ahead of Eddie Van Halen in terms of output and ability. It goes exactly back to what Jetstream said, in that Ed was great at one thing. And I'll make no bones about it in that Ed was great beyond mere Eruption-style solos in that he was a great rock guitarist in terms of composition, riffs and rhythms. Ed can't write worthwhile lyrics, can't sing well and can't produce/record his music in a manner that sounds better than when other producers/engineers do so. Outside of guitar, Ed can apparently play bass well, but for an accomplished guitar player that's not really a stretch. Ed can play keyboards, and I won't minimize the enduring qualities of what he did on Jump, but I'm not going to confuse that with Ed being one of the greatest rock keyboardists of all time.
Now, to be sure, people are doubtless going a bit overboard about Prince since he died. I'm not in terms of expressing how I felt about what Prince brought to the table for me as a talent. I'm not personally sad about his death (inasmuch as I didn't know the man) and outside of his Superbowl appearance 8 or so years back I haven't really paid attention to anything the guy has done since 1998. However, as an all-around prolific popular music talent Prince was the real deal. Ed was a great rock guitar player. And Ed only being a great rock guitar player - one of the all-time greats - isn't a slag or a slam or a criticism. It's just that by way of comparison, Prince was far more than ONLY a great rock guitar player in terms of sheer talent and ability.
Comment