Who do you think is the more talented? Personally, I would state Prince.

His first album was pure genuis. Not only did he write the songs......... he produced/ arranged ....and all the instruments he plays himself....all at the age - of just 17.

His covered songs, have been huge all around the world....resulting in huge interest in the artist who covered the songs.

He is also an amazing guitarist....who has in the past, been included in the top ten guitar greats.

Example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifp_SVrlurY

For me, Prince without a doubt. For the reasons you mentioned, plus he can put on one hell of a show without needing any fancy dance routines.

It has to be the King of Pop Michael Jackson.

He had the full package - he could sing, he could dance - he do everything in the musical dictionary. He is a legend and will never, ever be forgotton.

In terms of class and showmanship Prince, he wrote as as already said played and produced his own music.

Michael was an excellent performer, but the majority of his back catalogue is down to a gentleman called Quincy Jones whom he collaborated heavily with throughout his career, if it wasn't for Quincy, Jackson would not likely have been the success he was.

Michael Jackson - no contest

Prince is a stuck up drama queen who can't stand other people performing his songs (no audio on youtube) who actually sing them better than him.

MJ, on the other hand, is a legend. A global icon and is one of the best dancers and male singers in the world EVER.

MJ hands down, Personally Prince doesn't appeal to me, but I think it's pretty safe to say in terms of "Reaching people" MJ's music did that a lot more so than Prince.

And about the whole writing business, Michael did a HELL of lot of his own writing, particularly when his solo career really took off (With Quincy PRODUCING the albums), I personally prefer Teddy Riley's production, but there you go haha. I'm pretty sure Michael co-produced Bad and the albums thereafter, and I'm also pretty sure he was playing musical instruments also

[Edit: just to let people know I'm not like against Prince, just I haven't heard a song of his that I've had on repeat or anything like Michael who I grew up with ha. Might actually have to check him out though, any song recommendations, other than the usuals?]

While I do rate Prince highly, it has to be Michael, his songs, voice & dancing are amazing.

Very true.

The problem with Michael was - he was so predictable on stage.........same old dance routines..nothing new.

At times I found him act - sad.... .rather than great

There's to many dude......here goes though.

Rasberry Beret
I would die for u
Nothing Compares.....
1999
Uptown
u got the look
I could never take the palce.....
Gold
Dolphin
Star Fish & Coffee
Lonely
Dirty Mind
Ronnie Talk To Russia
Bambi

Check the above on google video

A unusual take on: When Doves Cry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLPv0QQF9Vk

MICHAEL JACKSON.

No contest.

too true. my vote goes to prrrince

I'm the opposite.

As much as I like Prince's 80's music, I find him really boring to watch onstage. He just doesn't do IT for me at all.
I could watch Michael dance for HOURS and I think his music alone eclipses anything Prince has ever put out. (and yes, I've heard 90% of Princes albums too).
Time and time again I keep hearing "Oh, but Prince is such a good musician" by his fans - Yes, he is...but people tend to forget that Michael could play instruments also.
Whenever I watched him on tour, T.V...whatever..I was always fascinated by him - Prince (the poor mans Michael) was just THERE. imo.

Michael Jackson.

Prince has never really done it for me but no doubt he is a very talented musician.

But in terms of songs, singing & dancing - Michael appeals to me all the way.

Both are legends so no need to discredit one so easily in favour of the other.

Prince hands down....

you're talking about a musical genius here, the likes of which is very rare indeed.......

Great views on here..........still no contest though- Prince all the way.


Michael was 'stayed'..........in latter years......same old.........same old - where as Prince was -ever the evolving artist

absolutely no contest, prince is probably the most musically talented person of all time, even including beethoven and mozart, but those guys had the disadvantage of not having as many years of musical history to learn from before them, and of course not the same range of instruments. plus prince not only composes music but he writes lyrics, which those guys didn't do, and he performs live on stage

when you listen to a prince record, you hear prince. you hear the music he wrote, the lyrics he wrote, you typically hear him playing every single instrument on the record, and his lead and backing vocals. a prince record is a prince record, not a bunch of other people writing, producing, playing, and creating the record with someone singing on it

in concert he plays live, sings live, he teaches and rehearses the band to play his songs the way he wants them to sound, and teaches the band to jam and play what he wants when he wants, so he can play impromptu and change songs at a whim. a prince concert is all about the music, not dancing, videos, or other distrations

in 30 years he has released over 30 official albums, including many double, triple and multi set releases of brand new official music. no rereleases, remasters or remix albums, plus he has literally thousands of fully completed unreleased tracks in the same releasable quality as any of his official released work

his style covers rock, soul, rnb, funk, and jazz. he can play most instruments. he can play guitar with the best of them. he can play keyboards with the best of them, hell he can play any instrument he plays with the best of them. he's the only person to have cover features with guitar, bass, keyboard and drum magazines

if anyone honestly thinks that MJ is a better musician, you really don't have a clue what you are talking about. MJ wasn't a musician, he was a vocalist, and one that relied on lypsynching to backing tracks for the majority of his adult life, relying on distractions such as dancing and special effects during live shows that stuck to the same rigid setlist and arrangement throughout the tour

it's understandable that some people may prefer MJ to prince, but you can't honestly say that MJ was a better musician, as that's one thing he wasn't. writer, dancer, singer, he was, musician he most certainly wasn't

if for some reason you think MJ is better, do yourself a favour and checkout prince's work in detail. if you like MJ, moving to prince is like moving from baby food to solids. if you like MJ's dancing, wait till you checkout prince's dancing in his prime, he made MJ look like he was nailed to the floor

^ You are hyping Prince way too much whilst belittling Michael at the same time.

Both are very different artists with different appeal, pros & cons.

If you're refering to me then you really should learn to read posts more carefully. All I said was that Michael could play instruments, I never said anything about playing them better than Prince.

EDITED!

Prince for me.

Prince....no question

trust me, i've not hyped prince at all. the guy created all his own music, wrote it, played it produced it, he didn't need anyones help to make his records. to shoot him into stardom he created one of the greatest rock movies of all time, which won him an oscar. from then, instead of repeating his success by making a similar follow up album, he completely changed his style and direction as he then had the worlds attention, he didn't care what anyone else thought and just made the music he wanted to make, and his fans appreciated him for that

MJ wrote many of his songs, but he needed other people to create the music for him. his adult career was based on music videos that other people created for him at great expense. his stage appearances in his adult life were primarily focused on dancing and tricks instead of the music, which was woefull compared to the studio recordings. he short changed his fans by miming instead of singing during two of his three solo tours. the excuse of dancing being the reason for not singing doesn't hold as he sang live during his first solo tour, and prince and most other artists can sing and dance at the same time. the drugs were the most obvious reason for this. he simply wasn't in a fit state to perform fully at his live shows

MJ didn't tour in the last 12 years of his life, or release any new music in almost 10 years, instead reissuing the same material umpteen times. his attempt to tour again ended up killing him

prince could dance better than MJ, you may prefer one person over the other, and MJ had the four popular routines (that were created and choreographed by other people, and benefited from other people doing the same routine synchronised with him), but prince set the stage on fire, and did so wearing high heels

vocally, they had similar talents, again you may prefer one or another

musically, you can hear prince play when you listen to any of his music. you can't hear MJ play on any of his most popular tracks

writing skills, prince writes all his own stuff, and has written and released far more hits than MJ, perhaps due to the lack of released material from MJ in his adult career. even prince's throwaway material became hits for the bangles, sinead o connor, tom jones, chaka khan, sheena easton, martika, etc. there are notably few hits by other artists that MJ has written. regarding his writing technique, it's a partcularly cheesy, cliched and childlike style. the lyrics are pop, and either say nothing of consequence, such as billie jean or beat it, or are like nursery rhymes or childrens songs, such as we are the world, or heal the world

MJ was the worlds most famous artist, but not the best. coke is the worlds most famous drink, but not the best. being the most famous, or most well liked does not equate to being the best. MJ was a commercially accessable artist, the king of pop, pop being disposable throwaway meaningless music for enjoyment. prince is a musician, a writer, performer and musical genuis, he creates art and continues to do so. his music is mature and progressive, covering a multitude of styles. like a fine wine compared to pop

now, that post may be more worthy to your comments, but balanced, though out, and explained. from someone who was a MJ fan first, has all his released work, and still enjoys listening to it, but moved to being more of a fan of prince as he had much more to offer the world musically. MJ really was the biggest waste of talent the world ever had. he could sing, but he never fulfilled his potential, wasting his time on stupid video projects like captain eo, moonwalker, ghosts, etc, instead of using his real talent to sing. to further waste his talent by miming during his last two tours was simply taking the piss

Most powerful voice: Michael.
Most versatile voice: Prince.

Greatest Dancer: Can't decide.
Best showman: Can't decide - each does their thing differently.

Best live act: Prince all the way. Mimes very rarely as opposed to Michael's often mime-athons. Prince can jam, meandering away from the song, and still be thrilling as opposed to Michael's dance-to-a-pre-recorded-remix. Prince can pick up an instrument and play it and create something new on the spot. If Michael was alone on a stage with a host of instruments, he'd have struggled. And did Michael ever do intimate, raw, 100% live aftershows with real musicians?

Best businessman and self-publicist: Michael. He knew how to bring his music to the masses and how to sell albums. He needed no help even if he had it sometimes. He even beats Madonna on that front.

Best pop artist: Michael all the way - his back catalogue is a canon of pop excellence that I genuinely believe even The Beatles can't equal.

Best Musician: Prince. He can create a pop album and then immediately follow it up with an album of jazz instrumentals, then go for a rock record. He can mesmerise and audience with just him and one instrument. He can even do a successful arena tour playing 90% unreleased music (1995 tour). The vast majority of his music is written, recorded and produced by himself - the ultimate one-man-band.

In the end, both have embedded themselves into musical history. I can only dream of just what musical treats Michael would have provided us with if he hadn't spent his career obsessed with perfection rather than doing the Prince thing and just releasing music and getting it out there, regardless of whether or not it sold millions of copies.
Prince's output has been hit and miss over the years, but still constantly proves his talent by it's sheer diversity of styles and all-round eclecticism.
I believe Michael also had that ability, but we never saw it in his releases. Maybe at some point in the future, we'll get to hear more of his less-polished, rawer stuff that will make his detractors eat their words.

i wasn't referring to you or anyone in particular. the OP asked who was the most talented, not who is the most popular, or who do you prefer

and whilst MJ may be the most popular in the world, or even the most preferred by those posting here, he certainly wasn't the most talented

i would never say prince was second best to MJ for any reason. he wasn't the second most liked or popular, far from it, madonna was probably second after MJ in that respect. prince never cared about popularity in that respect, which is why he followed up his most popular album with something that sounded completely different, and why the subsequent follow ups all sounded different from the last, and why he recorded and released a number of instrumental jazz albums. his interest was music, which is why he used the money made from purple rain to build a state of the art recording studio, where he could then create all the music he wanted, when he wanted

he reason prince isn't recognised for his dancing is because his music outshines anything else. his music is the most important thing. it's a joke when people say MJ is best because of his dancing. it belittles his vocal talents. you don't see the dancing when you listen to the music. what you say just underlines the importance of the videos to MJ's success. when people talk about prince performances they see, they usually talk about his guitar playing blowing them away, or other music related things. as there are few officially released prince concerts on dvd/vhs, and prince declared war on the internet, there aren't videos easily available to watch online, so it's hard to find good examples of him dancing, but checkout the sign o the times live concert movie from 87, watch him do spins, the splits, slide through the legs of another dancer, and all wearing high heels. then watch an MJ solo live concert and compare the dancing. it's clear he's drugged out of his mind as the performances are lacking in enthusiasm, he's simply phoning home the performance. when you watch the tv performances when he was a kid hew as full of life and exuberance, but as an adult past the pepsi incident he was a shadow of the man he could have been. of his famed moonwalk, just count how many steps he actually takes. from his choreographed routines such as thriller, beat it or smooth criminal, watch the other dancers and note that they can do exactly what he can do, just as good as him, if not better. you have about half a dozen people onstage doing the same thing, likewise in the videos. he isn't doing anything special, he simply follows dance routines that are simply routine for any stage show dancer, and his bodypopping freestyling is nothing that any teenager couldn't do in the mid 80s, but he kept doing the same old moves long after they became over tired

and that was the problem of MJ, relying on the same old same old too much, and the success of that one big hit album. his music never grew up or progressed, and stalled with the dissapointing album invincible, that sounded dated before it was released. his best work features live drums and musicians, his worst is a mix of drum machines and keyboards without a soul. strangely though, most modern successful pop and rnb artists manage to create create music with drum machines and keyboards, so what went wrong for MJ?

Hey unique - enjoyed reading your posts. You really went techinally into how Prince recorded his songs and how much creative control he had over his entire catalogue and no doubt he is one of the best ever musicians.

I am a HUGE MJ fan and i also have a pretty good insight into how he recorded his music and how much creative control and power he had over his songs.

All the guys who have worked with Michael - producers, engineers etc. have said that he had a unique way of putting across his lyrics and sounds. He would record everything onto tape - his voice, the melody and beats. He would then come in and direct the guy on bass how he would want the bass licks and chords to sound and at what level. He would direct the keyboard player on what key to use. He'd use his vocal sound and knowledge to get what sound he wanted.
There is a website called gearslutz where professional & amature engineers post and there is a huge thread there with guys who are interested in the music business asking engineers who worked on Michael's albums to tell their stories - how Michael sang, what specific techniques would he use, his enormous creative input, the sort of person he was - you name it. It's a long thread but my god it was such an interesting read! It opens your eyes on the talent and focus Michael had in that recording studio, for all his albums. Here it is.

There is also a fascinating video on youtube - it's from a court deposition where some silly woman in the 90's was claiming that Michael stole the song Dangerous from here. Anyway in court, Michael describes how he recorded that song, where the bass licks came from, how the process of one song progresses onto another, how many songs he writes from one album (around 60 new somgs which are then all locked away) and he then sings, beatboxes, in court to show he does his own thing in the recording studio. Here. It was great to listen to and you can hear through his voice & giggling how funny he finds the whole situation (and he easily won the case).

I don't know how many know, but Michael is one hell of a beatboxer. You can hear his beatboxing in many of his songs - Stranger In Moscow, Who Is It, Tabloid Junkie and many more. He had a great technique of making it sound so sophisticated that at times, you wouldn't have realised he was doing straight from his mouth. A quick example i will give you is the demo version of Billie Jean which he recorded in his house, by himself - before he played the tape for Quincy Jones. After listening to it and apart from the lyrics, everything else is not different from the final version. And that's just one example.

Playing your own instruments isn't the be all, end all of musicians. It's the talent you have and how you use it. Michael may not have been a great guitar player, or a keen keyboardist but he had the sounds of each instrutment down, in his mind & soul and was able to capture what he wanted and how he wanted it without having to lift an instrument. And if he did play instruments - then one example is Scream where he played many of the instruments on the song and the final outcome ain't bad is it?

Michael Jackson also was one of the best using simplicty. For all his dancing & showmanship, he really shined when it was just him, his voice and a microphone (the latter performance was nominated for an Emmy award).

That's my contribution put forward and i based it on Michael's ability as a musician and used facts to back them up.

For me, Michael Jackson was the best at what he did!


Btw, unique. I am interested to know whether you have listened to any of Michael's new material in the past 10-12 years. If i am being honest, some of his later songs are superior to his 80's work. If you don't mind, can i give you a couple of his songs to listen too? In return, i am open to listening Prince's recent work.