Prince is Arguably one of the all time great guitarists. Based on most of your comments I'm not the only one that thinks so. I believe that Mr. Armadillo hit the old nail square on the head with his estimation of why the man wasn't taken more seriously in the beginning. The late 70's and early 80's were strewn with flamboyantly dressed young men that appeared to be making some sort of cross gender statement. Some of there lyrics were a bit on the vulgar side. I for one wasn't ready for that kind of image. Many of the great performers of the time fit the mold perfectly. Remember, Boy George/Sir Elton John/Micheal Jackson/Prince & for god sake we cant forget The great Little Richard. the list goes on. I think it all boils down to great showmanship, and would be and is much more readily accepted today. Rock on you frilly boys.
----Danny,

Oh, I've heard all that stuff, the "ex" I mentioned was around the time of Purple Rain coming out, saw the movie, heard all his music up until then. It's amazing what you'll compromise on for the one you love, , or love at the time anyway.

I find him very boring

"Why is Prince so underrated?"

Simple fact is that he isn't underrated at all. See all the posts here for ample proof of that.

I acknowledge that his is not the first name that comes to mind when you're asked to name the 'great' guitar players. Rightly or wrongly, that will be a list of 4, maybe 5 first generation guitar stars: Hendrix, then the Clapton/Beck/Page trinity and just possibly Ritchie Blackmore.

Then you have the next generation of more technically advanced players that broke through, the next innovators: Van Halen, Vai, Satriani and maybe Malmstein.

Prince is in the middle of those two waves somewhere. Like May, Moore, Santana, Schenker etc. Which seems to make them somehow slightly less celebrated.

And notice how these players are generally known as 'rock/blues' players? Where the guitar is widely celebrated? Again, rightly or wrongly, guitarists working outside that particular field are again less celebrated it seems to me. And as a player perceived to be 'funk based', Prince maybe misses the boat again. (Actually, I think Prince is a rock guitar player at heart, but that's neither here nor there). Look at the neo Jazzers, some magnificent guitarists - Alan Holdsworth, Frank Zappa etc - none of them are the first names on people's lips. Obscure, 'difficult' and certainly not working in the right field. Albert Lee? Brad Paisley? Again, not working in fields that celebrate guitarists, despite their incredible talents..

Maybe you agree with my brief analysis, or maybe not, but for me it accounts for the answer to your question. No doubt some may complain I've missed their particular favourite or important player, but I don't claim my examples to be comprehensive.

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

I'm the odd man out. I can't stand him or his music. No offense meant to his fans. He's just not my thing.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

"I've been a Prince fan for about 5 years now, and I never heard anyone mention him in the same sentence as Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana etc.."

a fan since the early 80s, Prince usually is the sentence subject as he is one of a kind.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

I like Prince but couldn't help giggle at what Lemmy said to Dave Grohl on the subject, "I've seen Hendrix. What do I need to see him for?".

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No no and no

Never been a fan as such, talented musician / performer, don't think you could nail him down as primarily a guitar player therefore can't be pidgeon holed

I my self have never underrated Prince the dude can play!

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Yes, but those were PRINCE productions. All 3. And they sound like Prince too.

Also I've noticed that there is a startling difference between Prince's recorded works and his live shows in how vastly more important his guitar work becomes in the live work. Also I've noticed when playing very intricate songs with a heavy guitar emphasis he has a Fender Telecaster that he highly favors over any of the dozens of custom made ones.

So, part of the problem is how much difference there is between his recorded works and his live shows. I think anyone who sees him play a show live comes away far more impressed with him as a world class guitarist than the majority of people who only hear the techno-pop-funk-synth heavy recordings where the guitar work is much less up front.

He actually has a lot of musical talent, but he went for style over substance, so it got lost in the mix... Besides, his music was too pop for the cool folk of his day.

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Bass is the bottom line!

Distilled to the essence, audiences such as we are looking to the art and virtuosity of the musician whereas as Prince has capitalized on his stage presence with his music as his support. His guitar is not the same kind of channel it is for someone like Joe Bonamassa.
That solo Prince did at the Hall of Fame concert was killer, but he still had to do that thing with the guitar rising out of his hands, another example of how he detracts attention from himself . He should have ended the set with all eyes on him and taken the cudos he earned for the performance.

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"Another day in paradise!"

I just got to see him run through a rehearsal of his show last night here in my hometown...for free,no less, and I have to say it was a pretty impressive. When he cuts out all the theatrics he can really make a tele beg for more. He's doing two nights in Toronto this weekend and both shows are sold out......hmmm still love the way he cuts a James Brown groove with "You Sexy Motherfucker"

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Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancin'