I can't tell if this thing is a biography or a really long E! Hollywood show transcript. Lawd, hammercy, the first two pages start with a mental breakdown?!?!?


I can't believe I'm reading a book about Prince.
I'm bored.



Anybody enjoy this book?

I liked it alot!Prince is a total Bully

Sure. I enjoyed it until I reached the part where Alex Hahn calls Prince's 1993 Come album his weakest in years.

Now, we all know it was Prince's strongest material in years, so obviously Hahn doesn't know what he's talking about.

I liked it. I thought it was a better read than DMSR or that Liz Jones Prince bio.

dannyd5050 said:

Heresy!

Boo! at the title!

scififilmnerd said:

Actually when I bought COME and listened to it, I couldn't believe how unbelievably weak it sounded. I *HATED* the album, and was stunned at how bland it was.


COME eventually grew on me but I still don't consider it one of his better albums. It just elevated to a level of not being one of his 'bad' albums.

I can't remember which magazine it was (I think it was SPIN) where Prince invited a journalist to listen to his new albums (COME and GOLD). Prince's own reaction to both albums is very telling. For COME, he fidgeted with the tracks, seeming impatient, and skipping around. On Gold, he played it pretty much front to back, simulating air guitar and other gestures to the journalist. It was apparent which one Prince preferred too.

He even did alternate 'better' versions of COME songs, one of them appearing on Crystal Ball. I don't think Prince liked COME at all--I think it was deliberately subdued to make Gold sound better.


That being said, COME is better than much of his output this decade though.

Close2u said:

shit, did I misspell something again?

Imago said:

I think they mean "The Rise and FALL of Prince". You're good, dude.

I like the book only because I find it amusing the author's thesis (and the implication of the title) was so thoroughly proven wrong in 2004. If anyone has any recent interviews of the author, I'd love to read.....he was probably saying "'doh" during Prince's Grammy performance w/ Beyonce, and then again at the superbowl, and then again when Musicology, 3121, Lotusflow3r, and even Planet Earth charted at or near the top of charts.

Imago said:

Yes, but you're talking about Come 1994 (the released version) which was made up of leftovers from Come 1993 plus an extended version of Come and a new R/B track entitled Letitgo which is an annoying song at best.
[Edited 6/5/09 12:12pm]

scififilmnerd said:

DMSR is the factual bible of Prince's peak but I think I like Possessed because of the tabloidish feel to it that Imago was talking about. It's just a juicier read to me!!

Good read... The introduction is very interesting

dannyd5050 said:

That Liz Jones bio (doesn't it have two different names?) is nothing but a lot of cut and pasting from other sources, most of which are NEVER credited (like the Oprah Show interview). People should just order the show transcript.

I do love DMSR. LOTS of great facts w/ the dates of recordings, and release dates, personality conflicts, etc. I've not read Alex's book yet, but I want to.

Jatrig said:

I liked it and of course let's remember this book didn't come out in 2007/2008
so those albums and years are not accounted for

And the title 2 me works in a dramatic way

I think the book echoes a lot fans thoughts concerning choices Prince made professionally and musically

And I must say near the end of the book (not where he lists the delicious unreleased songs... he's definately a fan) but where he does leave some air of a come back for Prince at the time/year the book was done

it. first prince book i read ( yes ive read multiple). whether its true or not, VERY entertaining.

Just remember to take this book with a grain of salt, but know that there's probably a lot of truth in there at the same time. I ended up questioning the writer's motives - yes, I think he was trying to tell an objective story, but he gets caught up in the hater vibe too often.

eaglebear4839 said:

Matt Fink really hated how Hahn wrote that book and how he misused Fink's words, and really twisted some of them. A lot of "off the record" conversations were used, and other quotes from Fink were put in a totally different area, answering unrelated questions or comments. I think it's why I never put a lot of stock in the book, knowing just that much. If that much is wrong, what else could be wrong? Hahn's credibility went out the window.

I'd still read it for the sheer drama of it. Dave Hill's A Pop Life is still a great read too, but truth be told, I have read Per's DMSR quite a few times, and used to reference it all the time. I've thought of making a playlist in iTunes and arranging all the Prince songs I have in order that they were recorded. It'd be interesting to hear that evolution over time.

shelbey said:

Some chick dry humped Prince at a concert, and he fell over, feigning disgust or something. I'm sure someone will post the story in full. Pretty funny though.

Prince invites fans to dance on stage during a song....
Prince dances with girl seen in pic.....
Girl give prince a kiss.....
Prince fall to the ground, in mock of surprise....
Girl jumps on prince and grinds him on the floor...
Security takes care of it....


beet me 2 it earnest...lol
[Edited 6/5/09 13:26pm]

Oh my God. That is so funny and so disturbing all at the same time. Some crazy chicks out there, man. I wish there was a video. I would die to see that.

I loved it because it didn't sound like an ass kisser wrote it.

ernestsewell said:

DMSR is more like a history book to me...Alex's book kinda reads like a movie. I wish someone would make a movie of this...

vainandy said:

Exactly!!

dannyd5050 said:

i'm half way through DMSR



Thief in the Temple aint bad either- though it focuses more on a psychoanalysis of his lyrics in a non-chronilogical order

SirPsycho said:

This post is so full of purse!

Imago said:

you think that's gay...

I think "Possessed" is bullshit, because how can you give an accurate account of a person when you've personally been involved with a legal battle AGAINST that person like Hahn was? There's just no way that Hahn wouldn't have bad blood from that situation. He might be a mature person but human nature just doesn't work that way.

The title alone shows you what angle he's coming from ans as Jatrig says, the implications of the title were completely proven wrong from 2004 onwards.

An artist can only go so long being at the top of the game before they have to withdraw slightly and take stock of themselves and their career and figure out where to go next. but MOST artists cannot come back from that. Prince did, and he did it with a fucking vengeance.

That book should be updated and renamed "The Rise, Slight fall and then subsequent return to glory of Prince"

Let me get started on Hahn's ass.

Dude used to post here when the book was being written and was trying to use people here as sources. He sent me a Orgnote asking me about info on Prince because I quoted an USA TODAY article about Prince and Troy Beyer possibly being with child. He thought that I knew Prince.

Why was the book written?

To smear Prince after Prince sent his legal people after Uptown (wrongfully IMHO) printed bootleg recordings.

Now the book itself was ok, but his cred was destroyed with me because if he was asking people like me for info he was getting pure hearsay.