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> …Prince just didn't care enough because he was too desperate to get the music out, and that attitude never really changed much until he died. As a huge early

> …Prince just didn't care enough because he was too desperate to get the music out, and that attitude never really changed much until he died. As a huge early-/mid-career Prince fan, this is a surprising take. Prince was famous for his meticulous attention to detail and perfectionism in the recording studio. The lore is that "Purple Rain" (the song) went through 91 mixes before Prince was satisfied.

racl101 3y ago
I thought he was known for not being a perfectionist. Like he recorded so much unique music that is currently unreleased and literally sits in a vault.
- acuozzo 3y ago
  I suppose this depends on how perfectionism is defined; where the barrier lies. If a perfectionist is concerned only with perfection at release time, then lots of imperfect unreleased material can exist. Prince is likely an example of this case. If, on the other hand, perfectionism is applied to every step of the artistic process, then I'd reckon that very few imperfect unreleased materials are likely to exist. Steely Dan are a good example of this case.
vr46 3y ago
Susan Rogers on Prince: "It’s really important. I think that’s a really important question. People have asked me, or they’ve prefaced questions by saying, “Prince was known to be a perfectionist.” I always have to correct them. He was not a perfectionist. He wouldn’t have had that output if he’s been a perfectionist. What he was was a virtuoso player and a genius with melody, a genius with rhythm, a genius at writing songs. It just poured out of him – he couldn’t wait on perfection. The important thing was to have the sound serve the ideas, not the other way around. Working quickly was fine with him and only a beginning engineer would have no bad habits to break. Only a beginner would be willing to go that fast."
- CharlesW 3y ago
  Love that, thanks!
  - vr46 3y ago
    She's mentioned elsewhere about messing up and them leaving it in too - like the Forever In My Life vocal was an error I think, but how good does that sound!

racl101 3y ago

I thought he was known for not being a perfectionist. Like he recorded so much unique music that is currently unreleased and literally sits in a vault.

acuozzo 3y ago
I suppose this depends on how perfectionism is defined; where the barrier lies. If a perfectionist is concerned only with perfection at release time, then lots of imperfect unreleased material can exist. Prince is likely an example of this case. If, on the other hand, perfectionism is applied to every step of the artistic process, then I'd reckon that very few imperfect unreleased materials are likely to exist. Steely Dan are a good example of this case.

vr46 3y ago

Susan Rogers on Prince: "It’s really important. I think that’s a really important question. People have asked me, or they’ve prefaced questions by saying, “Prince was known to be a perfectionist.” I always have to correct them. He was not a perfectionist. He wouldn’t have had that output if he’s been a perfectionist. What he was was a virtuoso player and a genius with melody, a genius with rhythm, a genius at writing songs. It just poured out of him – he couldn’t wait on perfection. The important thing was to have the sound serve the ideas, not the other way around. Working quickly was fine with him and only a beginning engineer would have no bad habits to break. Only a beginner would be willing to go that fast."

CharlesW 3y ago
Love that, thanks!
- vr46 3y ago
  She's mentioned elsewhere about messing up and them leaving it in too - like the Forever In My Life vocal was an error I think, but how good does that sound!