The Beautiful Ones - Prince ( & Dan Piepenbring - Editor )

Prince was working on his memoirs at the time of his passing. Piepenbring, the editor chosen by Prince, has completed what is honestly a collage of what he had, inclusive of  a long introduction, in which Piepenbring discusses his experience working with Prince, how the latter wanted it to be the best music book ever published as well as reveal certain aspects of his childhood - especially his mother - for his has always been more close to his father, who was his hero for a long time. Yet, he has told Piepenbring that he wanted to do justice and be fair by his mother too. I was surprised to note the number of instances he had brought up the matter of racism in the USA, during his interviews with Piepenbring.

It also includes about 3- pages worth of content written by the purple one himself, elaborating his childhood, relationship with his parents, his adolescence and his fascination with music. It is quite clear that if Prince had written these pages to a completion, this book would've been a wonderful insight into Prince and his life. As it is it's just peek into his early years - maybe up until the time the Revolution was formed. However Prince's pages reveal about  his personal life than music per se. It is quite interesting to note that Prince considered his life took a change for the better, when he started to live with his father, after a while, upon their parents' divorce. The musical back ground he received at home, plus the fact this parents were good looking, well dressed people ( which he makes constant reference to ), appears to have had an impact on young Prince.


Having said all this, it has to me conceded that this is a book for fans of Prince; and I have been a fervent one for over three decades. It was Prince and necessarily his album, Purple Rain, which I had the chance to listen in full a good 6-7 years after its release, that made me take another look at all the charting music I was listening to at the time, and made me slowly take on the path of rock music, and later a little bit of Jazz as well. Listening to Purple Rain, when I was fifteen or so felt, as if I was indulging in a prohibitive exercise given its heady music style (i.e. Let's go Crazy ), wicked bass ( When Doves cry), Psychedelia ( Purple Rain ), range of vocals that I hadn't till then heard ( The Beautiful Ones) and the clearly explicit ( Darling Nicky ). In fact it was this track, darling Nicky which made Tipper Gore co-found the Parental Music Resource Center and the resulting Parental Advisory sticker on album covers.

Among these pages are what he considered good music and what wasn't. While these were mentioned only in private conversations with Piepenbring, ( and appears in the section presented by Piepenbring), they certainly are indicative.He felt record labels force fed Kate Perry and Ed Sheeran. But he didn't think highly of such artistes as Springsteen and Billy Joel either.

He mentioned a writer who'd compared him to Bruce Springsteen.
"Why? No one has any of his albums here. No one listens to him. I don't. You might as well compare me to Billy Joel."

However there is an album copy " A Decade of Steely Dan" that they uncover after his demise. And he clearly was a fan of Fleetwood Mac, James Brown, Miles Davis. Micheal Jackson too is mentioned, always with respect. Someone had used the term "magic" to describe Prince's music, and he had been offended, for he always thought it was more natural. He goes on to say that magic was Micheal's word and how his music should be described in. Prince was sensitive to what terms were used to describe his music.

What I expected to find here and didn't ? Reference to his androgynous nature. Not even a passing reference. In fact he had been blooming in confidence all along if these pages were anything to go by. And I think I have good reason to believe him given the songs from his first three albums, and how detailed and explicit it was about sex - "Soft and Wet", "Head", "Do me, Baby" to name a few. There is also reference to his love life, including his first girl friend etc. but  that is presented as part of his maturity and starting on a career in music.


For the details in  music we have to settle for his picture books and the references therein, which has been collected upon his demise. The pictures serve as a good reason to buy a hard copy of the book, as does the photos of Prince's  scrip hand writing. Although I read the kindle copy, I will definitely purchase a hard copy, when the opportunity arises. Having said that it is quite evident that the book is but a collection of what Piepenbring could sum during his brief encounter with Prince, and incomplete nature of the whole effort stares down at you - not withstanding Piepenbring's best efforts at collarging what he had ( Hence the three stars for this book )



A good book to understand the genius of Prince, but, definitely only for those who appreciated him as an artiste.