TrivialPursuit said:

PennyPurple said:

Genesia said:

Interesting... Negative responses on this thread and positive on the other...

Vannormal said:

ufoclub said:

Is this the "big white rabbit"?

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LOL, rolling on the floor.

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I think you have to be a long time Prince fan to know who Neal Karlen is.

Find it also unbelievable some people never heard of him.

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I'm also surprised about people not having heard of Neal Karlen.

Don't mean this AT ALL in a negative way. Surprise is just that when here at the Org, I'm usually one of the ones learning about people for the first time. As a place to start, people could check out his Rolling Stone articles on Prince. He also writes about subjects outside of arts/entertainment.

Anyway, one suggestion is to check some of those things out if trying to decide whether to look into this book.

TrivialPursuit said:

rap said:

Seriously? He's part of Prince folklore.

I really don't recognize Neal's name off hand. I don't mean to imply he's not credible or anything. I just don't know him.

Fair enough. I thought it was fairly common knowledge. I have messaged him on Facebook and he's very approachable.

Seven minutes and seventeen seconds?

Really? He was timing it with a stopwatch?

It sounds like some artistic liberty going on here.

ThatWhiteDude said:

PennyPurple said:

I just don't know. He recorded Prince without Prince knowing, and has those tapes. I just don't know. I'll wait til some more reviews come out.

He did what?! Sorry, but this iust takes the cake. Prince was a person who really had trouble to trust people, neal should be grateful that he seemingly had a friendship with him. But it sounds like the journalist in him took over and he recorded these conversations and I'm convinced he knew back then, that he someday can release them to the public. What makes him believe that this makes him look good in any way? What would he think if one of his "friends" records their conversations with him? He'd probably feel betrayed. But I guess he seea it in a different light..he might think that because prince is a celebrity, that people have a right to know what he had to say about certain topics. I'm sorry, it's just pissing me off so much, out of all the things his associates and "friends" have done, this is the worst to me. It's the ultimate betrayal.

He talked about selling those tapes to the highest bidder at some point and also joked about Prince´s death before he died, speculating in a joking manner that all the stuff he has would be worth much more if Prince was dead.

Then , when Prince really died, he expressed his regrets for what he had said previously.

Neal Karlen is one of the most important Prince interviewers and "associates" but sometimes I wonder if he was really that close to him or if he´s exaggerating and embellishing things to make himself more important. Some of the stuff he wrote was quite interesting I must admit but I have no inclination to spend any money on him, sorry Neal Karlen.

I also remember him talking about wanting to get rid of that "the Prince guy" image, and that he hadn´t talked to him in a very long time before Prince died, so I´m surprised to see him mention that phonecall he had.

I´m sure it´s going to be one of the better Prince books in a gossipy kind of way but he won´t get a penny from me. Not even sure if I´d buy a second hand version of this book. I simply don´t trust him and something about him rubs me the wrong way.

onlyforaminute said:

Why does this man keep saying he got his marriage annulled? He says it in interviews, he keeps saying it throughout the book. There are a handful of things he keeps repeating and this is one. And I'm sure he's been corrected a couple of times by now. It's driving me up a wall because I'm beginning to believe it.

Because he is looking for some quick and easy cash and notoriety. Seems he calculated it would be a slam dunk to use Prince's voice for emotional impact to sell books and 'authenticate' whatever he says... a kind of 'sleight of hand'. But the truth is that Prince wouldn't even let Neal bring a tape recorder to his article interviews... and obviously didn't know his phone calls were being recorded. So I don't find such a person to be reliable and trustworthy. Privacy has been a significant concern of many in this electronic, internet age... the ethical implications of what he has done go beyond a 'Prince book'.

[Edited 10/7/20 1:51am]

KoolEaze said:

MoodyBlumes said:

Browsing the pictures before I start the book proper and already I'm bothered by "the soundtrack went platinum and gave us It Only Snows In April and Kiss"...

onlyforaminute said:

MoodyBlumes said:

Because he is looking for some quick and easy cash and notoriety. Seems he calculated it would be a slam dunk to use Prince's voice for emotional impact to sell books and 'authenticate' whatever he says... a kind of 'sleight of hand'. But the truth is that Prince wouldn't even let Neal bring a tape recorder to his article interviews... and obviously didn't know his phone calls were being recorded. So I don't find such a person to be reliable and trustworthy. Privacy has been a significant concern of many in this electronic, internet age... the ethical implications of what he has done go beyond a 'Prince book'.

[Edited 10/7/20 1:51am]

I get what people feel about the taped recordings. But this tidbit about how his first marriage was dissolved seems pivotal concerning reliability coming from such an experienced journalist. Either the man is pandering to rumor mongers or he truly knows hidden information. To me knowing this particular easily checkable fact is a major linchpin to everything else he is saying in this book, yet Im noticing it's being completely ignored by other "joutnalistic" critics that's bothersome to me.

I agree, and perhaps wasn't clear. To me this smacks of a get rich quick scheme... so a few (okay more than a few) sloppy details is no biggie; that with 'creative license' and the use of Prince's voice... a slam dunk. If Prince's marriage was annulled, then an explanation is in order - because I can't see how that would be true given the criteria for annulment.

.

Here is Neal speaking on Prince 2 weeks before his death:

"And these letters he sent me after my Rolling Stone stories are my stocks and bonds... I'm waiting for him to die frankly, I am, because they're worth infinitely more... he is worth so much more than Bob Dylan, his signature. I was just at an autograph show and everyone was saying... 'wait 'til he dies'."

C.J.: Neal Karlen's most ...not Prince

[Edited 10/7/20 6:39am]

gsmith5678 said:

Browsing the pictures before I start the book proper and already I'm bothered by "the soundtrack went platinum and gave us It Only Snows In April and Kiss"...

Details details... of no import.

This will come down to a question of trust. Do we 100% trust a journalist that needs 'an agle' to sell a book about an artist who has now had countless books written about him since 2016. Trust, genuine friendship & loyalty really do seem to have gone out of the window for Neil. Would have been happy to buy it in all honesty & take it with a pinch of salt BUT if the story about him secretly recording P is true then that's a 100% no from me.

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

This will come down to a question of trust. Do we 100% trust a journalist that needs 'an agle' to sell a book about an artist who has now had countless books written about him since 2016. Trust, genuine friendship & loyalty really do seem to have gone out of the window for Neil. Would have been happy to buy it in all honesty & take it with a pinch of salt BUT if the story about him secretly recording P is true then that's a 100% no from me.

Prince's refusal to be taped is well documented.

https://nealkarlen.com/wp...E-1990.pdf

"Finally, there is one more philosophy unchanged with the years. "I play music," Prince has said. "I make records. I make movies. I don't do interviews." Sowhat are we doing? "We're just talking" he says. Hence, his decision not to be taped or allow notesto be taken or even a pad of questions to be brought out. That would inhibit him, he says; that would mean doing the thing that he just doesn't do."

He is lying on Prince. He says Prince called him in March 2016 in the book. In April 2016 before Prince died he said:

Q: How long has it been since you had contact with him?

A: When did I insult him on John Hines' show? Several years ago; I'd say three. In the last year I've been to Paisley Park a few times. A few times we have locked eyes and we smiled at each other.

Stop lying on Prince. Stop talking to people that lie on Prince.

donnyenglish said:

He is lying on Prince. He says Prince called him in March 2016 in the book. In April 2016 before Prince died he said:

Q: How long has it been since you had contact with him?

A: When did I insult him on John Hines' show? Several years ago; I'd say three. In the last year I've been to Paisley Park a few times. A few times we have locked eyes and we smiled at each other.

Stop lying on Prince. Stop talking to people that lie on Prince.

Do you have a link or reference where he said this?

MoodyBlumes said:

donnyenglish said:

He is lying on Prince. He says Prince called him in March 2016 in the book. In April 2016 before Prince died he said:

Q: How long has it been since you had contact with him?

A: When did I insult him on John Hines' show? Several years ago; I'd say three. In the last year I've been to Paisley Park a few times. A few times we have locked eyes and we smiled at each other.

Stop lying on Prince. Stop talking to people that lie on Prince.

Do you have a link or reference where he said this?

https://www.startribune.com/c-j-writing-a-book-with-prince-would-be-a-nightmare-job-says-neal-karlen-who-loves-the-purple-guy/375907901/?refresh=true

We can't trust anyone who says he is saving notes from Prince to sell when Prince dies among other lies.

I think Housequake asked the queestion recently what makes a true Prince fan? My answer to that question is that true Prince fans don't let people that lie on Prince tell Prince's story. This nonsense must stop and we can stop it instead of giving oxygen to these dumpster fires.

sro100 said:

Seven minutes and seventeen seconds?

Really? He was timing it with a stopwatch?

It sounds like some artistic liberty going on here.

It all sick satire!

...a Rabbi, a "journalist" and Prince walk into a bar...

nayroo2002 said:

sro100 said:

Seven minutes and seventeen seconds?

Really? He was timing it with a stopwatch?

It sounds like some artistic liberty going on here.

It all sick satire!

...a Rabbi, a "journalist" and Prince walk into a bar...

...waiting for the punchline.

purplethunder3121 said:

nayroo2002 said:

It all sick satire!

...a Rabbi, a "journalist" and Prince walk into a bar...

...waiting for the punchline.

The Book???

donnyenglish said:

I think Housequake asked the queestion recently what makes a true Prince fan? My answer to that question is that true Prince fans don't let people that lie on Prince tell Prince's story. This nonsense must stop and we can stop it instead of giving oxygen to these dumpster fires.

By that standard, Prince couldn't write his own autobiography. (If he were still alive to do it, of course.)

nayroo2002 said:

purplethunder3121 said:

...waiting for the punchline.

The Book???

No, just the punchline.

donnyenglish said:

I think Housequake asked the queestion recently what makes a true Prince fan? My answer to that question is that true Prince fans don't let people that lie on Prince tell Prince's story. This nonsense must stop and we can stop it instead of giving oxygen to these dumpster fires.

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A Prince quote; ''fan = fanatic''

Anyways, Prince lied a lot - many times.

It suited him, he wanted us not to know things; ''I love mysteries''

It made him human, which he was, and we're all trying to figure that out, right here, right now.

There is so much information comming out. And that's very good. We need it from all sides.

And there will be more and more, and even so more suprises, I like that.

He was pretty unique - a virtuoso, but he was not perfect, and he was a very lonely guy.

He hated perfection; ''All that glitter's ain't gold.''

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He actually was kind of a real Jamie Starr to be honest.

A character he created to mistify and lied about it (for instance).

To me a (true (hate that word)) Prince fan is someone who dares to see things differently, accepts uncomfortable truths and cares for different views from other angles, other than told by Prince himself.

At least this is my humble opinion and approach of what it all means to me.

I'm not a fan. I'm just a huge music absorber, and Prince happens to take a lot of time in that.

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PennyPurple said:

ThatWhiteDude said:

PennyPurple said: I tried to cancel my order from Amazon, the more I read the more I'm turnes off. I so hope the order can get canceled. And now that I read your post, I wish it even more.

I just don't know. He recorded Prince without Prince knowing, and has those tapes. I just don't know. I'll wait til some more reviews come out.

Aren't those 1985 recordings for the first Rolling Stone interview?