I recently ordered "Prince: Stories from the Purple Underground: 1958-2016" from Amazon. It doesn't ship until Sept 8, 2016. "Journalist and Prince fanatic Mobeen Azhar interviewed key members of Prince's entourage, many of them speaking about the great man for the first time and this book highlights those first-hand accounts, to paint a more up-close-and-personal picture of this visionary artist than you have ever seen before." I'm looking forward to reading this one.

I'm almost through with Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince. Two other books I have are Let's Go Crazy and Prince: Chaos, Disorder and Revolution that I haven't read yet. Prince: The Secret Biograpy is a pamphlet which is barely 50 pages, double-spaced and not worth the money in my opinion.

What other books are worth reading?

oh yes! *watches*

You must be reading my mind. I was going to start a thread like this. I just thought about it last night.

I'd stay away from every "secret biography", etc. If it's no been discussed a lot on here, it's probably not worth reading. Prince fans are pretty exacting and sceptical when warranted with stuff like this.

While I've not read it, I would think Toure's book and Alan Light's book (the latter on Purple Rain) would be good reads. Light has always been fair to Prince in interviews. He's often in TV shows about Prince, relaying his stories. He also interviewed Prince for Vibe magazine, where Prince was playing word games with his name change. "Nell's son. Who is that? I don't know anyone named Nell."

On my go-to list also:

Prince: A Pop Life - Dave Hill (one of the first books about Prince, and certainly one of the better ones in the 80s)

DMSR The First Decade - Per Nilsen

The Rise & Fall of Prince - Alex Hahn

While I don't have a copy of it, The Vault seems to be a must-have. I wish the author would just make it into a PDF and let folks have it at this point. Stay away from Ronin Ro's Prince: Inside the Music and the Masks. It's garbage. I checked it out at the library and returned it within 24-hours. There's another about Prince's lyrics that's just as bad, IMO.

I don't know much about Chaos and Disorder and Let's Go Crazy from Jason Draper, but it's probably been discussed on here if you search for it.

DMSR by Per Nilsen is absolutely essential.

TrivialPursuit said:

You must be reading my mind. I was going to start a thread like this. I just thought about it last night.

I'd stay away from every "secret biography", etc. If it's no been discussed a lot on here, it's probably not worth reading. Prince fans are pretty exacting and sceptical when warranted with stuff like this.

While I've not read it, I would think Toure's book and Alan Light's book (the latter on Purple Rain) would be good reads. Light has always been fair to Prince in interviews. He's often in TV shows about Prince, relaying his stories. He also interviewed Prince for Vibe magazine, where Prince was playing word games with his name change. "Nell's son. Who is that? I don't know anyone named Nell."

On my go-to list also:

Prince: A Pop Life - Dave Hill (one of the first books about Prince, and certainly one of the better ones in the 80s)

DMSR The First Decade - Per Nilsen

The Rise & Fall of Prince - Alex Hahn

While I don't have a copy of it, The Vault seems to be a must-have. I wish the author would just make it into a PDF and let folks have it at this point. Stay away from Ronin Ro's Prince: Inside the Music and the Masks. It's garbage. I checked it out at the library and returned it within 24-hours. There's another about Prince's lyrics that's just as bad, IMO.

I don't know much about Chaos and Disorder and Let's Go Crazy from Jason Draper, but it's probably been discussed on here if you search for it.

Great recommendations, and I absolutely agree with you on Dave Hill´s " A Pop Life" and of course DMSR and Possessed but I am surprised to see you mention Touré´s book. I know you said you haven´t read it yet but I absolutely can´t imagine you liking that book.

I have only read some excerpts but they were enough for me to decide against the book.

edit: PS: That lyrics book......are you talking about Claude Mc Innis´s book? I tried to order that more than a decade ago but to no avail.

What did you dislike about it?

[Edited 8/29/16 13:35pm]

Genesia said:

Genesia said:

DMSR by Per Nilsen is absolutely essential.

Agree 100% .

I think all his Prince books are essential, even the old ones. They may be old and dated but still nice to have. Prince: A documentary, and the updated Prince: Days of Wild.

The Days of Wild book came with a great CD -Rom that contained tons of nice little things, such as pictures and tour riders and handwritten lyrics.

You guys sold me on the Per DSMR book, burt was stunned to find the price of it on Amazon and no listing of it on EBAY. If I am reading it right, most used copies that are just in "good condition" with some markings are selling over $400. Surely that can't be true. Any ideas where I might find a copy for more resaonble?

When a famous one dies, for some reason people think things related to that person are worth $$$, no matter how 'new' the item is. Items you couldn't sell for $10 before April 21, are now worth $100 to these lunatics on eBay, Amazon and such. Like the fucks who bought new Prince magazines or new Prince comics, etc, that are now sold out at cover price are now asking $50, $75, $100 for on eBay. You know who you are... Because I sure do!

gandorb said:

KoolEaze said:

TrivialPursuit said:

You must be reading my mind. I was going to start a thread like this. I just thought about it last night.

I'd stay away from every "secret biography", etc. If it's no been discussed a lot on here, it's probably not worth reading. Prince fans are pretty exacting and sceptical when warranted with stuff like this.

While I've not read it, I would think Toure's book and Alan Light's book (the latter on Purple Rain) would be good reads. Light has always been fair to Prince in interviews. He's often in TV shows about Prince, relaying his stories. He also interviewed Prince for Vibe magazine, where Prince was playing word games with his name change. "Nell's son. Who is that? I don't know anyone named Nell."

On my go-to list also:

Prince: A Pop Life - Dave Hill (one of the first books about Prince, and certainly one of the better ones in the 80s)

DMSR The First Decade - Per Nilsen

The Rise & Fall of Prince - Alex Hahn

While I don't have a copy of it, The Vault seems to be a must-have. I wish the author would just make it into a PDF and let folks have it at this point. Stay away from Ronin Ro's Prince: Inside the Music and the Masks. It's garbage. I checked it out at the library and returned it within 24-hours. There's another about Prince's lyrics that's just as bad, IMO.

I don't know much about Chaos and Disorder and Let's Go Crazy from Jason Draper, but it's probably been discussed on here if you search for it.

Great recommendations, and I absolutely agree with you on Dave Hill´s " A Pop Life" and of course DMSR and Possessed but I am surprised to see you mention Touré´s book. I know you said you haven´t read it yet but I absolutely can´t imagine you liking that book.

I have only read some excerpts but they were enough for me to decide against the book.

edit: PS: That lyrics book......are you talking about Claude Mc Innis´s book? I tried to order that more than a decade ago but to no avail.

What did you dislike about it?

[Edited 8/29/16 13:35pm]

*

Actually, The Lyrics of Prince by C. Liegh McInnis is and has been readily available on Amazon.com for twenty years (https://www.amazon.com/Lyrics-Prince-Rogers-Nelson-Philosopher/dp/0965577589/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472521658&sr=8-1&keywords=The+lyrics+of+Prince) as well as on Lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com/shop/c-liegh-mcinnis/the-lyrics-of-prince-a-literary-look-at-a-creative-musical-poet-philosopher-and-storyteller/paperback/product-22803736.html). Some people like it; some people don't. Also, the name "Claude" is a misprint. He worked in the same English Department as I do, but he left to write full time, having just completed his eighth book, Brother Hollis, which is about a Mississippi Civil Rights icon, Hollis Watkins, who was the first teenager to join SNCC when it came to Mississippi. C. Liegh is also an award-winning poet, and has published a great deal of short fiction.

I already knew all that but thanks for the info, very much appreciated. I watched a few interviews with him. The book seems to be available now but I don´t live in the USA and it was almost impossible to order it back when it first came out. I tried ordering it after I saw it mentioned in Uptown magazine. I think that was in the late 90s.

I´ll see if I can order it now.

.

1725topp said:

KoolEaze said:

Great recommendations, and I absolutely agree with you on Dave Hill´s " A Pop Life" and of course DMSR and Possessed but I am surprised to see you mention Touré´s book. I know you said you haven´t read it yet but I absolutely can´t imagine you liking that book.

I have only read some excerpts but they were enough for me to decide against the book.

edit: PS: That lyrics book......are you talking about Claude Mc Innis´s book? I tried to order that more than a decade ago but to no avail.

What did you dislike about it?

[Edited 8/29/16 13:35pm]

*

Actually, The Lyrics of Prince by C. Liegh McInnis is and has been readily available on Amazon.com for twenty years (https://www.amazon.com/Lyrics-Prince-Rogers-Nelson-Philosopher/dp/0965577589/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472521658&sr=8-1&keywords=The+lyrics+of+Prince) as well as on Lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com/shop/c-liegh-mcinnis/the-lyrics-of-prince-a-literary-look-at-a-creative-musical-poet-philosopher-and-storyteller/paperback/product-22803736.html). Some people like it; some people don't. Also, the name "Claude" is a misprint. He worked in the same English Department as I do, but he left to write full time, having just completed his eighth book, Brother Hollis, which is about a Mississippi Civil Rights icon, Hollis Watkins, who was the first teenager to join SNCC when it came to Mississippi. C. Liegh is also an award-winning poet, and has published a great deal of short fiction.

KoolEaze said:

I already knew all that but thanks for the info, very much appreciated. I watched a few interviews with him. The book seems to be available now but I don´t live in the USA and it was almost impossible to order it back when it first came out. I tried ordering it after I saw it mentioned in Uptown magazine. I think that was in the late 90s.

I´ll see if I can order it now.

.

1725topp said:

*

Actually, The Lyrics of Prince by C. Liegh McInnis is and has been readily available on Amazon.com for twenty years (https://www.amazon.com/Lyrics-Prince-Rogers-Nelson-Philosopher/dp/0965577589/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472521658&sr=8-1&keywords=The+lyrics+of+Prince) as well as on Lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com/shop/c-liegh-mcinnis/the-lyrics-of-prince-a-literary-look-at-a-creative-musical-poet-philosopher-and-storyteller/paperback/product-22803736.html). Some people like it; some people don't. Also, the name "Claude" is a misprint. He worked in the same English Department as I do, but he left to write full time, having just completed his eighth book, Brother Hollis, which is about a Mississippi Civil Rights icon, Hollis Watkins, who was the first teenager to join SNCC when it came to Mississippi. C. Liegh is also an award-winning poet, and has published a great deal of short fiction.

*

I didn't realize that you don't live in the US. I'm sure you have mentioned it on this site several times, but, somehow, I seemed to have missed that point. Depending on where you live, you should be able to get if from Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

How do people feel about the book by Matt Thorne, it's the only one I own?

AWESOME - I'm still reading it, the udated version that was published in Feb. 2016. He is clearly a major fan as well as a superb music journalist. I like he puts forth his opinions/analysis of the music (even when I don't agree with his specific take on a certain song or album). The focus is SQUARELY on the music, not on speculation of personal issues or tabloid-type stuff.

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

How do people feel about the book by Matt Thorne, it's the only one I own?

.

It's okay, but it wildly overestimates Prince's post-1980s output. The non-linear structure is annoying as hell, and he's far too much of a fan. The endless reporting on Prince's 21 Nights gets boring very fast.

BartVanHemelen said:

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

How do people feel about the book by Matt Thorne, it's the only one I own?

.

It's okay, but it wildly overestimates Prince's post-1980s output. The non-linear structure is annoying as hell, and he's far too much of a fan. The endless reporting on Prince's 21 Nights gets boring very fast.

that's just a matter of your own opinion..DO NOT present it as fact.

Morningstarlet said:

I recently ordered "Prince: Stories from the Purple Underground: 1958-2016" from Amazon. It doesn't ship until Sept 8, 2016. "Journalist and Prince fanatic Mobeen Azhar interviewed key members of Prince's entourage, many of them speaking about the great man for the first time and this book highlights those first-hand accounts, to paint a more up-close-and-personal picture of this visionary artist than you have ever seen before."

.

Most of the stories are well-known, though there is some new information here and there. It's an okay book, but it kinda feels like they wanted to make a coffee table book. It's a nice Christmas gift for a fan.

BartVanHemelen said:

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

How do people feel about the book by Matt Thorne, it's the only one I own?

.

It's okay, but it wildly overestimates Prince's post-1980s output. The non-linear structure is annoying as hell, and he's far too much of a fan. The endless reporting on Prince's 21 Nights gets boring very fast.

.

I agree about the section dedicated to 21 Nights.

.

Although I still stand by my recommendation of the book, I think the negative point I would make is that he does fanboy-out a little too often during the later sections of the book. The earlier stages of P's career, he approaches more from a journalistic point of view. Because of the volume of shows he was attending - particularly 2001-onward - he shifts into a more personal approach that doesn't work as well. It starts to get more than a little rose-tinted.

.

As for overestimation of the post-'80s output, for me personally I didn't detect that until around '3121' and beyond. Before that point, I was more or less with him as he went album-by-album.

There have been other books with great info (i've read them all)..

But i've always 'respected' & enjoyed this book - and its one of the earlier ones..

I thought the Toure book was pretty lightweight. What especially got me was his inclusion of a comment that Mayte gave birth to twins, both of whom died in October 1996. That was the first time I had ever heard that information, which supposedly came from a doctor on scene.

Keep an eye out for Duane Tudahl's book: PRINCE: The Complete Studio Sessions. It is not out yet, but is scheduled to be released in 2016 or early 2017.

He has interviewed over 50 different band members,singers, studio engineers and others about their private stories surrounding his biggest successes, including Purple Rain,

When Doves Cry, Raspberry Beret and dozens of others including never before revealed details about unreleased outtakeshidden from the public in Prince’s vault.

https://www.facebook.com/...104195943/

.

.

EG

[Edited 10/18/16 7:58am]

[Edited 10/18/16 8:01am]

BartVanHemelen said:

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

How do people feel about the book by Matt Thorne, it's the only one I own?

.

It's okay, but it wildly overestimates Prince's post-1980s output. The non-linear structure is annoying as hell, and he's far too much of a fan. The endless reporting on Prince's 21 Nights gets boring very fast.

Thorne's book focuses on the music and the machinations behind its creation and not so much on the gossip. He's definitely a huge fan, but he articulates his thoughts clearly and is well-researched. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The 21 Nights bit was only one chapter. He's definitely less critical of Prince's post-80's output than other authors, but it was refreshing to read so much detail on this era.

This isn't a book about Prince per se, but 'The Black Album' by Hanif Kureishi is a wonderful novel - Prince's music and spirit inform a lot of the narrative. Pretty edgy stuff, though...

.

I also yearn for The Vault in PDF, having never read it.

.

TrivialPursuit said:

You must be reading my mind. I was going to start a thread like this. I just thought about it last night.

I'd stay away from every "secret biography", etc. If it's no been discussed a lot on here, it's probably not worth reading. Prince fans are pretty exacting and sceptical when warranted with stuff like this.

While I've not read it, I would think Toure's book and Alan Light's book (the latter on Purple Rain) would be good reads. Light has always been fair to Prince in interviews. He's often in TV shows about Prince, relaying his stories. He also interviewed Prince for Vibe magazine, where Prince was playing word games with his name change. "Nell's son. Who is that? I don't know anyone named Nell."

On my go-to list also:

Prince: A Pop Life - Dave Hill (one of the first books about Prince, and certainly one of the better ones in the 80s)

DMSR The First Decade - Per Nilsen

The Rise & Fall of Prince - Alex Hahn

While I don't have a copy of it, The Vault seems to be a must-have. I wish the author would just make it into a PDF and let folks have it at this point. Stay away from Ronin Ro's Prince: Inside the Music and the Masks. It's garbage. I checked it out at the library and returned it within 24-hours. There's another about Prince's lyrics that's just as bad, IMO.

I don't know much about Chaos and Disorder and Let's Go Crazy from Jason Draper, but it's probably been discussed on here if you search for it.

Someone scanned it a few years back, it's out there.

I Cant Wait For the TELL ALL books to start hitting the shelves!

Today I just got my ARC of this one. It is dues to be published in January 2017. Can't wait to dive in

Does anyone know anything about Per Nilson, the author of DMSR? I've been looking online to see if it is possible to contact him and request that he do an update, but I can't seem to find out anything.

I haven't tried looking for/through Uptown magazine - does it still exist?