Classical Composer Reacts to While My Guitar Gently Weeps - RIP Prince | The Daily Doug (Ep. 116)

I was never a big Prince fan, seldom listened to much of what he did, with exception of "Little Red Corvette", so when I saw this on YouTube, I watched only because of the other musicians on stage. Then came Prince's turn, and he blew the walls down. The most stunning performance I had seen in years. My opinion has changed dramatically in his favor. This was raw unadulterated genius on the stage, and it was exhilarating. Only one word: Wow.

The story as told by Tom Petty is as follows: The producer asked Prince if he would play with the band on this song. He said he would, but he said he was not familiar with the song so he would have to listen to it a few times. He DID show up for the rehearsal (there is a picture of Prince walking the streets of NYC on his way to that rehearsal) but the guy who played the first solo kept playing when Prince was suppose to solo. The producer apologized to Prince and Prince said, “no problem, it will work out, don’t worry. Then Prince left. And…the rest is history.

I have a feeling that it was only the hardcore Prince fans who knew what a great guitarist he was. The rest of us only found out later.

Prince quotes parts of the original Clapton outro solo in this performance. It wasn't just mindless shredding, this is a real heartfelt and sincere tribute to George and Prince takes it home with a performance for the ages.

There’s a moment in this when Prince looks at Tom like ‘should I keep playing?’ & Toms like Hell yes!

Imagine being Dhani (George Harrison's son) here. Playing a tribute to your dad with all these incredible, legendary musicians, and Prince is playing some of the most incredible guitar work ever a couple metres in front of you. Must have felt absolutely unreal.

One of the great things about this is the ensemble aspect. Prince is shredding the solo but keeps checking back with Tom and everyone else. Subtle nods and smiles communicate so much here!

If Clapton's solo was gently weeping on the original, Prince's was uncontrolled sobbing

I’ve been a guitar player for about 50 years. I hate comparisons in music because it’s not a competition. But damn . . . that’s the best rock guitar solo I have ever heard. RIP Prince.

I'm a Prince fan and i find it kinda funny that this show made so much impression around the world thanks to youtube, because Prince performed solo like that in pretty much ever live shows he did, after shows or whatever, he just didnt put them in his albums for some reason. Also interesting is that Prince, in every live show, deeply changes the arrangement of his songs, some time you barely recognize them, changed tempo, instruments, turning them into completely different songs, usually much better than the original.

What i love about prince's performance here is that he sometimes let the backing track shine through in the solo while he plays minimal notes and then absolutely shreds whenever he needs to.

Prince deservedly stole the show but Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty harmonizing is magnificent.

Prince absolutely took over the stage while continuously meshing with the rest of the players. He managed to go out on the edge while Tom Petty was still doing vocals and never took away from the vocals. I don't know. How? He was completely tuned in to what the others were doing while doing what only he could do.

My MOST FAVORITE version of this song...right here. You got Dhani looking like a clone of his father...Prince killin' it right to the end proper...Tom Petty...Love!

There was word that Prince was not mentioned in some magazines top 100 guitarists of all time and he had extra incentive. Guitar players have openly spoken about Prine and his ridiculously talented playing acumen. We get caught up I the high heels he wore and the pants that showed his ass but he was a guitar player through and through. This solo will be mentioned 100 years from now. He is finally immortalized as a musician.

Written in an article by the producer of this show just after Prince passed, an explination of how the rehersal and live show came about. That story tells us during the rehersal Prince was to play both solos. When that moment came the clearly true to note utterly perfect solo was performed by the stand in stage guitarist. Absolutly perfect. After that rehersal the producer came to Prince with an appology for having not been able to play those solos. Prince replied "he did great, have him play the first solo, and let me play the second" Prince knew he was setting up a masterpiece. The producer goes on to explain, Prince played that solo from sheer skill & completely unrehersed, live on stage as we all bear witness.

Classic George Harrison. His songs always stood out on the Beatles albums. Jeff Lynn nails the vocals and it feels good to see Dhani Harrison there. Prince shreds it!

I think the most impressive part of Prince's solo is how perfectly it still fits with the rest of the song. For the first half of the song, he's happy to hang out on the side and play along, but when it's his time to shine, he still makes it about the whole performance. He always finds ways to make space for the vocals when they come back in, either by playing sustained notes, harmonizing, playing in a different register, or simply not playing and kind of "resetting". As great as the solo is, it's not there for him to show off, it's there to make the whole performance better. You can see it in how he looks at the rest of the band with that big grin on his face. You can see it on Dhani Harrison and Tom Petty's faces when Prince falls backward off the stage, and when Prince gets Tom jamming down low.

Every time I hear this I just cry......weeping for my unfinished goals, the people I will soon leave behind, the world as it is, and the music of such talented musicians ....and watching George's son.....

That solo from Prince seems to come from another universe!