go 2 amazon and get them rarities such as : ONE NIGHT ALONE box set

- 21 Nights table book, or start a vinyl collection for them with the resurfacing of Prince titles on vinyl now. Maybe even include a record player. #NPG

Lynnie53 said:

Hello - my older brother is a devoted Prince fan. There is an age gap between us, so maybe that is why I never quite got it (sorry - don’t hate on me!) He is dating a gal who is also a major Prince fan. Due to some tricky family dynamics and drama, she was not very welcomed into the family when they began dating around a year ago. Things have gotten much better within the family recently. To assuage my guilt and to make a peace offering of sorts, I would like to get them something really special for Christmas. Thought it would be nice for it to be Prince-centric, to show I’ve paid attention to their passion. Trouble is, I’m not keyed into Prince myself, so I don’t have great ideas. As I don’t really know what is in their collection, I was hoping maybe there is a great Prince centered experience I could gift them. They have already been to Paisley Park a couple times. They live in Colorado. But I have quite a few airline miles to use for plane tickets. Probably not enough to send them overseas. Is there any sort of creative package you would recommend that I could put together? If there is not much in the way of non-cheesy experiences, any rarer products that a pretty serious fan would not be likely to have? I’ve been poking around the web and see the memoir and album coming out. But I know they will buy those items themselves the minute they are available. Apologies for the long post and for the lack of Prince knowledge. Stumbled into this website and thought maybe a group of devoted & expert fans might be the ticket to fill in my knowledge gap. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Unless you know what he already has, I'd get him an Amazon gift certificate.

any die hard fan will most likely have every album from the first 15 years or so, depending on the fan, they may not have the books, there are some expensive books out there, the first real bio by Jon Bream might be a good idea because that one is a rare item, prince bought the rights because he didn't want it to be further published, there are some of those on amazon for hundreds of bucks. I have one but would never sell it. Like the previous poster said, hard to say what to get if you don't know what he has. Is he a fanatic of one era and not others? a fanatic of every thing prince? hard to say. With Prince's passing, there are many excellent books that have come out, maybe get some of those, no shortage of them, that's for sure.

Layitdown said:

go 2 amazon and get them rarities such as : ONE NIGHT ALONE box set

- 21 Nights table book, or start a vinyl collection for them with the resurfacing of Prince titles on vinyl now. Maybe even include a record player. #NPG

Thank you for the suggestion! I will check out Amazon for the items you mentioned. I love the idea of a record player. I remember him having vinyl albums when we were kids, but haven't noticed them at his house lately. Definitely haven't seen a record player.

laytonian said:

Lynnie53 said:

Hello - my older brother is a devoted Prince fan. There is an age gap between us, so maybe that is why I never quite got it (sorry - don’t hate on me!) He is dating a gal who is also a major Prince fan. Due to some tricky family dynamics and drama, she was not very welcomed into the family when they began dating around a year ago. Things have gotten much better within the family recently. To assuage my guilt and to make a peace offering of sorts, I would like to get them something really special for Christmas. Thought it would be nice for it to be Prince-centric, to show I’ve paid attention to their passion. Trouble is, I’m not keyed into Prince myself, so I don’t have great ideas. As I don’t really know what is in their collection, I was hoping maybe there is a great Prince centered experience I could gift them. They have already been to Paisley Park a couple times. They live in Colorado. But I have quite a few airline miles to use for plane tickets. Probably not enough to send them overseas. Is there any sort of creative package you would recommend that I could put together? If there is not much in the way of non-cheesy experiences, any rarer products that a pretty serious fan would not be likely to have? I’ve been poking around the web and see the memoir and album coming out. But I know they will buy those items themselves the minute they are available. Apologies for the long post and for the lack of Prince knowledge. Stumbled into this website and thought maybe a group of devoted & expert fans might be the ticket to fill in my knowledge gap. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Unless you know what he already has, I'd get him an Amazon gift certificate.

Yes - definitely makes it tricky. That's why I was sort of hoping to come up with an "experience". Unfortunately, they've already done the Paisley Park tour. I didn't know if there are any Prince related bands that are known to be really good or if they are all cheesy, impersonator type deals.

PeteSilas said:

any die hard fan will most likely have every album from the first 15 years or so, depending on the fan, they may not have the books, there are some expensive books out there, the first real bio by Jon Bream might be a good idea because that one is a rare item, prince bought the rights because he didn't want it to be further published, there are some of those on amazon for hundreds of bucks. I have one but would never sell it. Like the previous poster said, hard to say what to get if you don't know what he has. Is he a fanatic of one era and not others? a fanatic of every thing prince? hard to say. With Prince's passing, there are many excellent books that have come out, maybe get some of those, no shortage of them, that's for sure.

They are pretty serious fans, though not sure rise to level of fanatics. I remember him being a fan back in the 80s when I was a pre-teen and he seems to have maintained the appreciation all the way through - as he and his girlfriend are fans to this day. I will check out your book suggestions. I also see there are other threads on here about books/gifts. Thank you so much!

Lynnie53 said:

Layitdown said:

go 2 amazon and get them rarities such as : ONE NIGHT ALONE box set

- 21 Nights table book, or start a vinyl collection for them with the resurfacing of Prince titles on vinyl now. Maybe even include a record player. #NPG

Thank you for the suggestion! I will check out Amazon for the items you mentioned. I love the idea of a record player. I remember him having vinyl albums when we were kids, but haven't noticed them at his house lately. Definitely haven't seen a record player.

I advise against a record player unless you're willing to spend more than a couple hundred and do some genuine research. A lot of those cheaper "gift" turntables with the USB emphasis and whatnot are more likely to turn someone off vinyl than anything else. Probably bad for the records, too.

WhisperingDandelions said:

Lynnie53 said:

Thank you for the suggestion! I will check out Amazon for the items you mentioned. I love the idea of a record player. I remember him having vinyl albums when we were kids, but haven't noticed them at his house lately. Definitely haven't seen a record player.

I advise against a record player unless you're willing to spend more than a couple hundred and do some genuine research. A lot of those cheaper "gift" turntables with the USB emphasis and whatnot are more likely to turn someone off vinyl than anything else. Probably bad for the records, too.

I actually love doing research! I will be sure to do so in this case and not just buy something "cute". Thank you!

1p1p1i3 said:

Pick an old random P album, track down a copy on vinyl, and have it framed. Or some of the 12 inches look awesome framed too.

I love this idea! Thank you so much!!

Lynnie53 said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

I advise against a record player unless you're willing to spend more than a couple hundred and do some genuine research. A lot of those cheaper "gift" turntables with the USB emphasis and whatnot are more likely to turn someone off vinyl than anything else. Probably bad for the records, too.

I actually love doing research! I will be sure to do so in this case and not just buy something "cute". Thank you!

I forgot you mentioned it's for your brother, so yeah, you might be willing to do some research on a really good turntable.

.

I know the very-recently released vinyl re-issues of three later-period Prince albums have been given great reviews for their superior sound over the original CD versions. I'm not even really a "vinyl re-issue" guy on any level (actually, I usually actively dislike them), but I'd freak out if someone got those as a gift for me.

.

I figure:

a) Not all of them were released in vinyl before and if they were they were ridiculously hard to find (so he probably doesn't have them).

b) Even people not into vinyl for the sound or actually playing the physical records usually love and appreciate the giant artwork as a decorative piece (re: the framing idea, especially for a superfan).

c) They're definitively better-sounding than the CD versions he's likely to already have heard/owned, at least according to this Org thread: Sound on New Vinyl Releases: Musicology, 3121, Planet Earth. (If you do get him a good player, he will definitely be able to appreciate the difference).

.

I'd also imagine (hopefully) more vinyl reissues down the line, so hopefully it'll cover a couple other future birthdays/christmases. Books are great, too.

[Edited 5/1/19 14:55pm]

He probably already has this but its an amazing read - https://www.amazon.com/Pr...B076FJS5DZ

It's really tough buying for someone who is already a big fan - I have multiple duplicate books and CDs that were bought for me with the best of intentions.

It would, of course, not be right and proper to suggest tracking down a good quality bootleg...

The Duane Tudahl book already suggested, paired with some music from that era (the recent Purple Rain Deluxe, the movie on Blu Ray, the vinyl) might work, even if he has some of that stuff. Truly great unreleased stuff from that era includes the 1983 1st Ave birthday DVD, and the audio of the 1984 Birthday show (but I'm not suggesting that...).

But that's all very Purple Rain-centric. The One Nite Alone Live boxset is terrific and rare (especially if it includes One Nite Alone...). The Prince in Hawaii photo book is super rare. The 21 Nights book/CD from 2007 is a treat too. But again, only if he doesn't have it.

If the Revolution or NPG are playing, they would be worth seeing.

If you want to get them something really special get some official Prince related artwork from Blule.

She is a water colour painter and was the official artist for Prince when he died. She created a lot of artwork that is now hanging in Paisley Park.

You can buy her stuff from here: https://blule.fr/collecti...al-badness some examples of her work below...there is also a artbook she made with most of the paintings I have it and is spectacular...https://blule.fr/collecti...out-prince

[Edited 5/3/19 15:17pm]

[Edited 5/3/19 15:20pm]

Very thoughtful of you! I just sent you a message.

purplecream3121 said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

leecaldon said:

It's really tough buying for someone who is already a big fan - I have multiple duplicate books and CDs that were bought for me with the best of intentions.

It would, of course, not be right and proper to suggest tracking down a good quality bootleg...

The Duane Tudahl book already suggested, paired with some music from that era (the recent Purple Rain Deluxe, the movie on Blu Ray, the vinyl) might work, even if he has some of that stuff. Truly great unreleased stuff from that era includes the 1983 1st Ave birthday DVD, and the audio of the 1984 Birthday show (but I'm not suggesting that...).

But that's all very Purple Rain-centric. The One Nite Alone Live boxset is terrific and rare (especially if it includes One Nite Alone...). The Prince in Hawaii photo book is super rare. The 21 Nights book/CD from 2007 is a treat too. But again, only if he doesn't have it.

If the Revolution or NPG are playing, they would be worth seeing.

This. ^^^If you want a Prince experience I was going to suggest taking them to a Prince-related live concert. Along with The Rev and NPG, Morris Day is still touring. And Sheila E. puts on a good show.