funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Currently reading this Quite enjoying it, esp the chapters on the sott period, but it's very weird that such a fan centric book like this, with little interest to casual fans, was able to get published, beyond a blog. Eg it has long chapters on protege projects, his 21 night stint in London with run downs of EVERY NIGHT Then theres the highly personal anecdotes, very subjective opinions (I like 3121 but is it a 'masterpiece'? Twenty ten is as cutting edge as Hudson mohawk and joker? Really?), and memories. More than that though, its just such a personal take on prince, that if I wasnt a fan myself, I'd be totally lost This isnt a dig at Matt Thorne, I liked one novel he wrote quite a bit, but its just weird that this made it out there lol [Edited 10/10/20 10:36am]

I read it a couple of years ago, as I was trying to get my hands on any and all Biographies. It's definitely for more serious "hard core" fans. It seems that he pulled a LOT of information from previous books by Per Nilsen, but that's okay too. He got some great and more detailed infomration from Wendy, Lisa, and Susannah too.

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I agree many of his comments were purley subjective based on his own taste. Also, I think some of his ideas about the message that Prince was trying to convey in some of his songs were/are just flat out wrong. But again, that is somewhat subjective too.

*

All in all it is a good book. I loved Alan Light's book on the PR film/tour, and Duane's book.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Finally finished this. It really is a weird little book. Basically a very anal fan blog published in book form filled with odd little observations He is def not a journalist, just a gripey, highly opinionated fan Its actually like a series of long org posts lol

Kind of amazing he went to almost or all the shows (21 nights).

I enjoyed the book. To me, all these books are like puzzle pieces that offer

several new/different insights

Margot said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Finally finished this. It really is a weird little book. Basically a very anal fan blog published in book form filled with odd little observations He is def not a journalist, just a gripey, highly opinionated fan Its actually like a series of long org posts lol

Kind of amazing he went to almost or all the shows (21 nights).

I enjoyed the book. To me, all these books are like puzzle pieces that offer

several new/different insights

Quite a few of us attended multiple nights I missed 5 because I was on holiday.

I read this book when it first came out and really didn't enjoy it at all. Rather than being the authoritative Prince book that it was touted as, it turned out to be more a book about Matt Thorne and his opinions of Prince. The section about 21 Nights was infuriating as it was basically page after page of Thorne complaining about being bored, hearing the same songs over and over again, etc. and felt like padding. Many of his opinions were also highly questionable, such as the aforementioned claim that 3121 was a masterpiece and one of his greatest albums... Not the worst Prince book I've read, but certainly down amongst them.

Margot said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Finally finished this. It really is a weird little book. Basically a very anal fan blog published in book form filled with odd little observations He is def not a journalist, just a gripey, highly opinionated fan Its actually like a series of long org posts lol

Kind of amazing he went to almost or all the shows (21 nights).

I enjoyed the book. To me, all these books are like puzzle pieces that offer

several new/different insights

-

Same here.

I liked it a lot.

Waiting for the Neal Karlen to arrive soon, can't wait to read that one.

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funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

i dont need a lesson on how the publishing industry works, thank you. it wasnt a 'um how does publishing work cos um i dont like this work... someone explain how books get made please' post. it means 'this book isnt actually all it was cracked up to be (the back cover it will be the ultimate go to book on the great man lol)' i know how the book came to be. matt thorne is an author, knows ppl in the industry, and prob got given this opportunity because hes a known quantity and knows the right editors etc.

[Edited 10/19/20 8:33am]

leecaldon said:

Margot said:

Kind of amazing he went to almost or all the shows (21 nights).

I enjoyed the book. To me, all these books are like puzzle pieces that offer

several new/different insights

Quite a few of us attended multiple nights I missed 5 because I was on holiday.

Did you agree with his assessments of the shows? I read the book some time ago but I seem to remember he was critical of some of the shows. I also remember he stated he could predict when one of the better shows would arrive.

that part was one of the worst in the book. esp as he interviews NO ONE involved with that stint of london shows! no one about how clubs get booked, no one in the booking industry, no one at not even any other fans! paisley, etc etc. its just one man and his opinions! opinions like 'i dont understand family name and why prince doesnt like how slaves had their names given to them cos like, prince gave his proteges new names too' (paraphrasing, but yes, this is a genuine part of the book)

[Edited 10/19/20 8:31am]

[Edited 10/19/20 8:33am]

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

that part was one of the worst in the book. esp as he interviews NO ONE involved with that stint of london shows! no one about how clubs get booked, no one in the booking industry, no one at not even any other fans! paisley, etc etc. its just one man and his opinions! opinions like 'i dont understand family name and why prince doesnt like how slaves had their names given to them cos like, prince gave his proteges new names too' (paraphrasing, but yes, this is a genuine part of the book)

[Edited 10/19/20 8:31am]

[Edited 10/19/20 8:33am]

Yeah, not interested in the personal opinions of these so-called writers.

i like writers, just depends on who.

reading the alex hahn book at the moment, the revised one, and its very good.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Currently reading this Quite enjoying it, esp the chapters on the sott period, but it's very weird that such a fan centric book like this, with little interest to casual fans, was able to get published, beyond a blog. Eg it has long chapters on protege projects, his 21 night stint in London with run downs of EVERY NIGHT Then theres the highly personal anecdotes, very subjective opinions (I like 3121 but is it a 'masterpiece'? Twenty ten is as cutting edge as Hudson mohawk and joker? Really?), and memories. More than that though, its just such a personal take on prince, that if I wasnt a fan myself, I'd be totally lost This isnt a dig at Matt Thorne, I liked one novel he wrote quite a bit, but its just weird that this made it out there lol [Edited 10/10/20 10:36am]

Considering their reaction to Hamish Whitta's book, I'm surprised the estate didn't get angry about this. So much of it is about bootlegs he has listened to and it would be pretty incomprehensible without a fairly detailed knowledge of them.

For those interested, here's a link to my book on how Prince saved my life. store.bookbaby.com/book/purple-bananas