+1 Dennis! Call the cops… Prince was robbed over and over because he was different! So sad! He was near the top of his game.
Thanks for the video. I loved that tribute show…but…had you pressed me, I would have guessed that Clapton had done that solo. Beautiful.
I was blown away by seeing Purple Rain the movie in a theater when it first came out, in 1984. Sadly, for me, though I tried, I never saw him live. A big regret. There aren’t many I totally missed (I saw the Beatles.) But, this is the biggest regret in that regard.
And…Tom Petty does have a natural sourpuss look most of the time. I think he was into it.
I finally went to see him live a couple years ago. My wife likes the genre, but me-not so much. I like guitar rock, was fully aware of his rep on guitar, and seen a few tv clips like the super bowl. What a show. There were two opening acts and he contributed some restrained but stylish guitar to both. As the main gig, he was the real deal. Wow. Sad to see him gone.
When he gave a concert in Copenhagen a couple of years ago, he drank Opus One fwiw.
I think he’d have appreciated the 1999 Pride Reserve too, had he known it.
RIP
The reason I never went is that most people I know didn’t like that “genre” or relate to it. I think they thought of him as an outshoot of the disco or something.
I had a friend here who was a prominent, 70s progressive DJ. He took me…or had me drive him or him and his wife to hundreds of shows over the years (with memorable backstage experiences). Every time Prince came around (which was very infrequent) he said he was uninterested.And, I didn’t know anyone who was. I’m not sure what his “genre” really was.
But, he had huge talent and was a great showman, so…I tried. The real deal indeed.
A sad thing is that he seems to have died home alone, much like Elvis did, ie, no one to find him in time.
I had this.
TN: Clos de la Cocotte 1999
Dig if you will the picture: it wore its fresh raspberry fruit like a saucy beret. It was a little red Corvette of a wine. It said “how’d you like to waste some time?”
Thank you for a funky time, but you were too young.
Last night in Brooklyn, Bruce Springsteen opened his show with Purple Rain, featuring a lovely solo by the great Nils Lofgren. Bruce has sure done his share of these…I was in Phila in 1980 the day Lennon died and then the next night, when he finished with Twist and Shout.
Outside of Prince, Nils Lofgren was probably my favorite living guitarist today. Hell, I always preferred his solo career to Springsteens. It was a super fitting tribute.
Nils is a great guitarist and nice, earnest guy.
I’m not sure if you’re comparing his career to Springsteen’s or just their solo efforts?
But…Nils has added a real dimension to Bruce’s efforts since he join the band in 1984. He allowed Bruce to be an even better live “act”, as he didn’t have to focus on featured guitar as much (though Bruce is also a VERY capable guitar player; even better than as a “singer”).
Thanks for sharing Dennis, awesome! Love how at the end Prince just throws his guitar up in the air and walks off the stage!
yeah…what happened to it, I wonder…did someone catch it or did it crash…or…did Prince care?
That’s actually a good question because he used that Telecaster for years…maybe decades. Maybe he has multiple backups of it. He opens with what looks like the exact same guitar (you can tell by the staining) at his 2007 Super Bowl Half Time show:
[video]- YouTube
If you look at the video of the 2004 George Harrison Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction tribute, it’s obvious a stage hand or security caught him as he leaned backwards after making eye contact with Tom Petty, so maybe he tossed it to him? You know, just for theatrics.
Dennis, one of my all time favorite guitar solos. I watch it all the time, and it never gets old. Glad others are catching on to it. Simply mind blowing.
Drank one of my favorites…2012 Prince of Hearts. Seemed fitting losing both Denis and Prince in one week.
open 2013 Sine Qua Non Syrah 
last thursday…purple wax with symbol label…decanted 3 hours and was singing
Purple Star laced with a few mg of Dilaudid.
Say, do any of you know where the best place to buy Prince albums is?