Bruno Mars' tribute to Prince at the Grammys was great - until that solo

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to recall what will probably be the last big, blown-out, nationally televised tribute to Prince -- an affair that featured nothing short of Bruno Mars in a sparkly purple suit, strapping on one of Prince's signature guitars and letting it fly.

But before that headlining performance of "Let's Go Crazy," longtime Prince collaborators Morris Day and the Time ran through their two biggest hits, "Jungle Love" and "The Bird" -- not Prince songs, per se, but songs the Purple One co-wrote and produced.

(Seeing as The Time opened for their close friend Prince what must have been hundreds of times, it was only fitting that they got in a short set before the big show.)

That big show would be Mars, probably the closest thing to Prince these days in terms of pint-sized quadruple-threat performer: singer, songwriter, dancer and musician who crosses several styles and functions as the consummate superstar bandleader.

But while Mars' singing, dancing and style choices were Prince-worthy, the guitar was an ... interesting choice.

For one thing, he'd strapped on one of Prince's custom Cloud guitars (the white one, or at least a replica) and played it gamely along with the band. Then came the solo. The solo. The "Let's Go Crazy" solo.

By no means was it as bad as, say, Nick Jonas' disastrous effort at the ACM Awards back in April. In fact, it was perfectly capable -- Mars has real chops on guitar, and just about every other instrument in the studio, because he's one of those guys.

But he's no Prince.

And who is? Prince Rogers Nelson may be best remembered as a pop superstar, but make no mistake: He was a guitar god among guitar gods, and that solo is one for the ages. Taking it on is like taking on Whitney Houston for an American Idol audition. It just isn't done. And if you're going to try it, you got to have it down. Every note. Cold.

Mars played a sort of simplified, stripped-down version, and played it ... just OK.

He tried. Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS

There are a lot of superior guitarists out there, guys who've studied the craft for years and nothing else, who could've stood in here; and no one would've complained. And even they would've fallen short of the real thing.

But hey, credit to Mars and the Grammys production crew for the choice to do just one song -- clearly they'd learned their lesson from the schmaltzy medley that Lady Gaga bumbled through at least year's tribute to David Bowie. That performance was hastily thrown-together, however, while this year's Grammys producers had some time to plan and practice.

Prince died April 23, 2016, at his home and studio complex Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota. It was later revealed that he succumbed to an overdose of the powerful painkiller fentanyl. Now that his tribute concert in Minneapolis has come and gone, along with this Grammys celebration, there's only one thing left to do: Listen to his music on streaming services for the first time.

And don't forget to check out those blistering guitar solos.