Rating: 
Summary: Is The Author A Disgruntled Former Employee????
Review: At first I was excited to read about Prince. I just love reading biographies. Though I was never a Prince fan, I always thought he was an talented individual and interesting personality. So I thought I would gain insight into this intriguing person. All I got from this biography were typo's, wrong dates, contradictions and an obvious dislike by the author for his subject. Thoroughout the entire book I kept wondering about the author "what's wrong with this guy?" Either he has a beef with Prince or someone he knows does. I gleaned a few tidbits about Prince's past, but nothing worth the price of that book. The author is giving everyone credit for Prince's success except for the artist himself. For instance he attempts to credit Alan Leeds, Prince's road manager with turning Prince on to Jazz. I ask the question: How could Leeds have introduced Prince to Jazz, when in a previous chapter he stated that Prince's very own father was a known, working Jazz musician on the Minneapolis scene and his own mother was the Jazz singer in his father's band??? Another example, making constant and totally wrong comparisons to Prince with Michael Jackson who only have in common their ethnicity. The picture he paints of the subject is an awful one. It became so irritating that I had to stop reading it and throw it in the trash. Honestly. I'm looking for another Prince Bio. Hopefully a more honest and interesting one. If you are a Prince fan don't even think about buying this one. I am sure it will only infuriate you.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good book
Review: I discovered Prince in high school and fell in love. I bought every album he made and could quote whole scenes from Purple Rain. This book was like a trip back through time. Some fans have already objected to Possessed without reading it which is too bad. This is not a hit piece. If anything I'd say it's extremely fair.For the first time this book splits the rumors and legends about Prince and tries to tell the real story. Prince is a musical genius but he's not a saint and yes, the book shows that. If you loved Prince back in the day or if you still love him get this book.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, a book that captures the man behind the freakshow
Review: I hae always been a fan of Prince, but like everyone else....never understood where he is coming from. This book sorts out the madness from the genius. A must have for any fan of music!
Rating: 
Summary: This book is great!
Review: I loved this book. I have been an avid (artist formally known as) Prince fan for years, and I found this the best book on him to date. I got so much insight into Prince's life, music, and psyche! It is well written and riveting. Its clear that it was very well researched; I feel even with everything I already knew about Prince that I was learning new information. Excellent read!
Rating: 
Summary: Worth a read for serious fans
Review: I'll say right up front, this is not an entirely favorable portrait of Prince- neither as a man, nor artist. That said, Prince the man fares much worse than the artist. There are lots of fascinating tidbits and anecdotes, most of which need to be taken with a pinch of salt. The author is admirably upfront about his sources; before chapter one even begins, he lays out who he talked to and who he didn't. While many of the more prominent figures in Prince's career did not cooperate in the writing of the book, there are sill many notable people the author did manage to interview. Who has an agenda to push and who doesn't is another story, but the point is Mr. Hahn put some effort into shedding some new light on his subject. Per Nilsen's "Dance Music Sex Romance" is HEAVILY referenced for much of the recording-history information, and that is somewhat of a deficit. Mr. Nilsen's book is HIGHLY recommended for Prince fans, and it seems redundant having read that to see much of the same material regurgitated here. Speaking of the MUSIC, the creation-of as well as analysis-of, this is another area the book comes up short. Prince is treated rather fairly as an artist, Hahn is no fanboy and does not bend over backwards to praise all of his music to the skies. BUT, not much time is spent really delving into the music itself. I have no problem with the author spending time on personal and professional life of Prince, but ultimately our interest in the man is for his songwriting/muscianship/performance. Certain albums, "Lovesexy" for example, are given very little in the way of critical examination. It's interesting to read this book in light of the rather remarkable "comeback" Prince has made this year. The subtitle "Rise and FALL" isn't quite as fitting as it was even last year. It shoudl probably be noted, in all fairness, that
Rating:
Summary: Informative, but should be taken with a grain of salt....
Review: I'm sure that like many of Prince's longtime listeners, the author (Alex Hahn) has wondered why the magic of Prince's current output seems pale in comparison to the magic of his releases in the early 1980's. Maybe, just maybe, that is what he attempts to uncover in this relatively revealing book of an artist you won't see on Behind The Music. Otherwise, it covers little new ground and may make a new Prince listener quite wary of the man as some screwed-up personality. The truth is, Prince has the God-given talent to express a myriad of musical ideas (not just the ideas that sound good on the dance floor), and the energy and intellect as well. If you listen long enough, you'll hear (or see, if you go to his shows or the Celebrations in Minneapolis)them all...you'll love some and not others, but there is no denying that he is the Mozart of our generation. If you are a Prince completist, you'll need this book. If not, spend your money on one of his multi-cd sets instead.
Rating:
Summary: Hold the line, everybody
Review: If you're a devoted, got-everything, member-of-npg-online Prince fanatic, skip this book. It paints Prince as a fallible human being, and you don't want to hear that. For the rest of us (I'm a fairly big Prince fan), this is an enlightening look at Prince's career through 2002. I didn't find the reporting to be tabloidesque - both Alex and the people interviewed (including such vital players in the Prince saga as Alan Leeds and Dr Fink) paint Prince as a fascinating and incredible human being, both with strengths (mostly musical and visionary) and weaknesses (mainly in business and interpersonal relationships, as well as the "always taking credit but never taking blame" facet that is common to many people in his position). None of what I read contradicts what I knew about the man, and reading the book threw him into sharper focus. I don't entirely agree with Alex's reviews of particular Prince albums or songs, but his insights prove very engaging reading to any Prince fan, and I think the overall picture he paints is fascinating. I do think there's a major flaw in the book, and that's its division into two halves: Rise and Fall. Alex's basic premise is that Prince was on an upward climb until around 1988 (around the time Black Album was due to be released) and been falling ever since. Due to this, everything that's happened in Prince's career is seen as confirming this theory. So "Controversy" (which was more or less a sidestep) is treated as an artistic consolidation, "Diamonds and Pearls" as a commercial sellout (which it may have been, but it still returned him to the public eye), and "The Gold Experience" as a commercial flop (while it didn't sell too well, it was a critical success). This coloring of the facts doesn't really detract from the book as a whole, but it does make Prince's career look more like a mountain (up then down) rather than the peak-and-valley rollercoaster ride it has actually been. I don't think this flaw should detract any less-than-fanatical Prince fan from reading and enjoying this book. Lots of interesting information, and almost none of it of the "juicy" nature - most having to do with unrelease tracks, abandoned projects, and so forth. Pick it up if this sounds intriguing.
Rating:
Summary: Hold the line, everybody
Review: If you're a devoted, got-everything, member-of-npg-online Prince fanatic, skip this book. It paints Prince as a fallible human being, and you don't want to hear that. For the rest of us (I'm a fairly big Prince fan), this is an enlightening look at Prince's career through 2002. I didn't find the reporting to be tabloidesque - both Alex and the people interviewed (including such vital players in the Prince saga as Alan Leeds and Dr Fink) paint Prince as a fascinating and incredible human being, both with strengths (mostly musical and visionary) and weaknesses (mainly in business and interpersonal relationships, as well as the "always taking credit but never taking blame" facet that is common to many people in his position). None of what I read contradicts what I knew about the man, and reading the book threw him into sharper focus. I don't entirely agree with Alex's reviews of particular Prince albums or songs, but his insights prove very engaging reading to any Prince fan, and I think the overall picture he paints is fascinating. I do think there's a major flaw in the book, and that's its division into two halves: Rise and Fall. Alex's basic premise is that Prince was on an upward climb until around 1988 (around the time Black Album was due to be released) and been falling ever since. Due to this, everything that's happened in Prince's career is seen as confirming this theory. So "Controversy" (which was more or less a sidestep) is treated as an artistic consolidation, "Diamonds and Pearls" as a commercial sellout (which it may have been, but it still returned him to the public eye), and "The Gold Experience" as a commercial flop (while it didn't sell too well, it was a critical success). This coloring of the facts doesn't really detract from the book as a whole, but it does make Prince's career look more like a mountain (up then down) rather than the peak-and-valley rollercoaster ride it has actually been. I don't think this flaw should detract any less-than-fanatical Prince fan from reading and enjoying this book. Lots of interesting information, and almost none of it of the "juicy" nature - most having to do with unrelease tracks, abandoned projects, and so forth. Pick it up if this sounds intriguing.
Rating:
Summary: kool book !!!!!
Review: im what you would call a diehard since 81' i've been a major supporter of prince and his lifestyle/music i have all the video's , books, cds, ect... and this is a great addition to the puzzle ....heres why you should buy it ....a book about an artist should reveal things we've never heard right ???????? well i got that on page 1 !!! i recommend this book. (where was it in 1988) ???
Rating: 
Summary: Why did he write this book if he doesn't even like the guy?
Review: It seems to me that the author is actually in the "destroy Prince" camp - he doesn't seem to understand much about the social surroundings of the 1980's, and takes the weaknesses of that era as Prince's personal faults. We belong to our places and are molded by our times. Prince as a voice of the people, as one who speaks for those who cannot - this did not come across at all in the book. All we see is what contracts were signed and who was mad at who. Although the book does have a lot of information, it doesn't have a soul.
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