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A review by nickscoby
Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions: 1983 and 1984 by Duane Tudahl
4.0
admittedly, I am one of those annoying Prince fans who was onboard prior to 1984 and, accordingly, I tend to look down on those who jumped on the Purple Rain bandwagon. I was bummed that so many people knew about Prince, that he was on the cover of People magazine, that everything was colored purple and that my seats to the show were now in the back of the stadium instead of down on the floor. This fastidiously detailed chronology affirms many of the feelings that I have about this era, namely that this version of Prince was a bit watered down and too radio friendly. Or as Duane puts it, "what had started as a revolution was now routine."
But I did learn some new things from this book:
1. Prince was kind of an asshole but people put up with his crap because he also was kind of a genius whose work ethic was unmatched.
2. The Time fell apart earlier than I thought, i.e., during the 1999 Triple Threat tour. Morris' ego was bruised and Jesse Johnson was holding things together. Also, Morris acted like a dick toward the new band members. (To be fair, Prince was acting like a dick toward Morris. Seriously, these people needed Jesus)
3. Vanity/Denise Matthews was more assertive than I ever thought. Apparently, she bounced and didn't look back twice.
4. On the other hand, Jill Jones is the tragic heroine in this tale. Faithful, dedicated, always available. Poor thing kept getting shoved aside for more inferior singers (Sheena Easton??) but was right there contributing her hand claps, finger snaps and background--sometimes lead--vocals on projects spanning from 1999 to Around The World and a Day. I want to give her a hug.
Overall, a great read for casual or long-time fan alike. Because of the chronology format, the narrative does get repetitive at times, but I salute the author for his effort.
But I did learn some new things from this book:
1. Prince was kind of an asshole but people put up with his crap because he also was kind of a genius whose work ethic was unmatched.
2. The Time fell apart earlier than I thought, i.e., during the 1999 Triple Threat tour. Morris' ego was bruised and Jesse Johnson was holding things together. Also, Morris acted like a dick toward the new band members. (To be fair, Prince was acting like a dick toward Morris. Seriously, these people needed Jesus)
3. Vanity/Denise Matthews was more assertive than I ever thought. Apparently, she bounced and didn't look back twice.
4. On the other hand, Jill Jones is the tragic heroine in this tale. Faithful, dedicated, always available. Poor thing kept getting shoved aside for more inferior singers (Sheena Easton??) but was right there contributing her hand claps, finger snaps and background--sometimes lead--vocals on projects spanning from 1999 to Around The World and a Day. I want to give her a hug.
Overall, a great read for casual or long-time fan alike. Because of the chronology format, the narrative does get repetitive at times, but I salute the author for his effort.