ozone14 said:

TheFreakerFantastic said:

If you want in depth facts and details and what date did Prince do this and that then DMSR, if you want a more general but enjoyable read then Possessed.

And if you want something more gossipy then Slave to the Rhythm/Purple Reign by Liz Jones.

[Edited 5/27/11 9:10am]

Yea I'm not looking for anything sensationalized or gossipy. Thank You!

If it is facts and figures you want then you really need Uptowns The Vault, it will take you up to the end of 2003. It is not a biography though, the first part of the book is dedicated to an in depth "diary" of the day to day goings on in Prince's life from his birth right up to December 2003. This is probably the part of the book that is easiest to read, and the detail is incredible and amazingly valuable.

The rest of the book lists songs (released & unreleased), albums, video, associated artists, tours, bootlegs, interviews, tv appearances and much much more in great detail, giving dates, times places etc.

All in all, an essential book for anyone who has more than a passing interest in Prince.

Also as mentioned by FFantastic, DMSR is a top read, and Possessed is not bad.

If it's pretty pictures and the basic Prince story you want, then Prince - Life & Times, will provide you with that sort of stuff.

[Edited 5/27/11 9:56am]

TheDigitalGardener said:

ozone14 said:

Yea I'm not looking for anything sensationalized or gossipy. Thank You!

If it is facts and figures you want then you really need Uptowns The Vault, it will take you up to the end of 2003. It is not a biography though, the first part of the book is dedicated to an in depth "diary" of the day to day goings on in Prince's life from his birth right up to December 2003. This is probably the part of the book that is easiest to read, and the detail is incredible and amazingly valuable.

The rest of the book lists songs (released & unreleased), albums, video, associated artists, tours, bootlegs, interviews, tv appearances and much much more in great detail, giving dates, times places etc.

All in all, an essential book for anyone who has more than a passing interest in Prince.

Also as mentioned by FFantastic, DMSR is a top read, and Possessed is not bad.

If it's pretty pictures and the basic Prince story you want, then Prince - Life & Times, will provide you with that sort of stuff.

[Edited 5/27/11 9:56am]

THE VAULT (by the UPTOWN magazine staff) is going to be the best book out there to read. It isn't a narrative type book, but it is the encyclopedia (or more accurately Prince-cyclopedia) of his songs, their histories and the tours, etc. The research that went into that book is still being used by most Prince historians and writers. If a book about Prince doesn't thank Per Nilsen or UPTOWN magazine, then they aren't being honest. Per Nilsen's book DMSR is a great book, but as it was mentioned it ends in 1987 and I can tell you with no doubt in my mind at all, that there will not be a DMSR volume 2 from Per. I highly suggest POSSESSED, which is based on some of the same research that was used in THE VAULT and DMSR. Some people feel it is a little sensational, but Alan Leeds has even come out saying it is one of the most accurate books on Prince he has read, so I think it is worth a look. POP LIFE (by Dave Hill) and a few others are ok, but I would stick with THE VAULT, DMSR and POSSESSED. The newer books that have been coming out often put pretty pictures over the research used in these books and add very little new information.

Now if there was only a book about Prince's studio sessions... that would be really cool! lol

madhouseman said:

TheDigitalGardener said:

If it is facts and figures you want then you really need Uptowns The Vault, it will take you up to the end of 2003. It is not a biography though, the first part of the book is dedicated to an in depth "diary" of the day to day goings on in Prince's life from his birth right up to December 2003. This is probably the part of the book that is easiest to read, and the detail is incredible and amazingly valuable.

The rest of the book lists songs (released & unreleased), albums, video, associated artists, tours, bootlegs, interviews, tv appearances and much much more in great detail, giving dates, times places etc.

All in all, an essential book for anyone who has more than a passing interest in Prince.

Also as mentioned by FFantastic, DMSR is a top read, and Possessed is not bad.

If it's pretty pictures and the basic Prince story you want, then Prince - Life & Times, will provide you with that sort of stuff.

[Edited 5/27/11 9:56am]

Now if there was only a book about Prince's studio sessions... that would be really cool! lol

We are waiting patiently.

TheDigitalGardener said:

madhouseman said:

Now if there was only a book about Prince's studio sessions... that would be really cool! lol

We are waiting patiently.

It is going to be a wait. I can say honestly that it won't be this year. My guess is that the book may come out in parts. The first one being The Sunset Sound Era (81-88ish), which is the era that is of the most interest to me.

but maybe Jake Brown's book covers this enough that I don't have to worry about putting out another book. I haven't seen his yet.

What we really need is a proper biography from 1958 - 2011 including direct interviews with Prince. A big hitter like J.Randy Taraborelli would be good as there isn't really a mainstream book of Prince by someone well known.

That said DMSR / The Vault and Possessed are good . Liz Jones's book isn't bad either.

TheFreakerFantastic said:

Spinlight said:

That'd be why I never picked up on it. I didn't read Possessed - only have read DMSR as far as the new breed of more accurate books are concerned.

Sounds strange to me. Never heard of a March 1986 Minneapolis snowstorm even happening. Interesting.

Yes Possessed is defnately worth reading - I'm surprised you hadn't heard of this DODP story. I like that muted effect, makes it seem dreamy.

Susan Rogers also made a mistake on Little Red Corvette with the vocals being too high and distorted but Prince liked the effect and it was kept.

I notice however that the version released on Prince Ultimate has the vocals undistorted.

[Edited 5/26/11 2:55am]

Susan wasn't working for Prince (yet) during the recording of "Little Red Corvette". She made the mistake of recording his vocals too "hot" on "If I Was Your Girlfriend"-- that might be the song you are thinking of.

duggalolly said:

TheFreakerFantastic said:

Yes Possessed is defnately worth reading - I'm surprised you hadn't heard of this DODP story. I like that muted effect, makes it seem dreamy.

Susan Rogers also made a mistake on Little Red Corvette with the vocals being too high and distorted but Prince liked the effect and it was kept.

I notice however that the version released on Prince Ultimate has the vocals undistorted.

[Edited 5/26/11 2:55am]

Susan wasn't working for Prince (yet) during the recording of "Little Red Corvette". She made the mistake of recording his vocals too "hot" on "If I Was Your Girlfriend"-- that might be the song you are thinking of.

Maybe it was Peggy Mac...but I remember that there was some reference to the distorted vocals on Little Red Corvette, the engineer had accidentally set the levels too high and vocals went way into the red but that Prince actually liked it so kept them.

[Edited 5/28/11 1:35am]

madhouseman said:

TheDigitalGardener said:

We are waiting patiently.

It is going to be a wait. I can say honestly that it won't be this year. My guess is that the book may come out in parts. The first one being The Sunset Sound Era (81-88ish), which is the era that is of the most interest to me.

but maybe Jake Brown's book covers this enough that I don't have to worry about putting out another book. I haven't seen his yet.

Brown's book is about the first draft of what might become a worthwhile book. I'm posting about it while I'm reading it here: http://prince.org/msg/7/358209 (and I wouldn't mind someone else's input -- isn't anybody else reading this book? Is $10 really too much money?)

I was under the impression that the processing error happened with If I Was Your Girlfriend, not Forever In my Life?

Cyra said:

I was under the impression that the processing error happened with If I Was Your Girlfriend, not Forever In my Life?

IIWYG's error was in the recording level. FIML's error was in the timing.