The Beautiful Ones

This book, had he been able to finish it and allow some of the same rawness, memorabilia, and pictures, would have been massive in size...volumes... so its tempting to give the book less than five stars, but I can't fault a memoir for an unfortunate and tragic death that curtailed its completion. Its brilliant what they were able to do in spite of his death though. Plus, had he lived he might have chucked it anyhow. A two hundred page journal discovered after he died would have probably been brilliantly raw...the fact we get 28 pages of that is still a treat. Some have said this is a quick read, but really its not. It is surprisingly dense with tidbits and offers new insights when you re-read it. The article (with his conversations and thoughts throughout), the captions in the back, his memoir and its notes, the pictures and things he kept (his dad's wallet with his mom's picture in it--speaks volumes) , the original darker PR script--all make up a puzzle... When you assess all this stuff and organize it a bit by theme, its got a lot to say about Prince's core dilemma and the way in which he filtered his personal experiences (how he attempted to use humor, imagination, self invention, and optimism to combat despair and often succeeded) . You discover a man tormented by insecurities/an identity crisis, religious guilt, and a longing for unity due to polar-opposite parents who drug him into their drama (not intentionally but still) leaving him feeling divided and unclear of how loved he was. He is consumed with imagination and a brilliant savant-like mind and as a result, he decides to use art, music, fame and re-invention (maybe a bit too soon after the 'traumatic" divorce) as a way to create a happy harmonious life, and when he was up on that stage soaking up the audience's love , I believe it worked.. But, it must have been exhausting to be Prince though (and this might have helped lead to his death) and I am not sure he ever found that harmony on a regular basis, but his life had wonderful moments through out. The Beautiful Ones hurt you the most and sometimes you love them but don't trust them but there is still love, forgiveness, beauty, and humor in the little moments. And even if one is warring with oneself a lot of the time, there is still moments of harmony and joy to be had in the expression of that duality. Do we learn about what Prince thought about his mistakes later in life or his behavior with others and some of his narcissistic defenses? .NO. (But there is a point when he alludes to his tendency to self-protect by bailing out of relationships when he figures they are heading into the pits..to guard his heart) But we are given a motivation for his need to create himself and control that creation...we get his motivation for making his art his life. (Very few artists do I find to be misunderstand and "tortured" artists to the extent I see in him.) But his warm attention to detail in terms of describing others and his love of people like Bernadette Anderson, his parents, the musicians who inspired him, and his community overall indicate a heart more caring than he might have wanted people to believe in the past. Plus, the book has got cool pictures and is damn funny at times.

Prince. The mere mention of his name brings up memories of my first Purple Rain album, waiting in 100 degree heat for tickets, the exhilaration of his concerts, and the giddy joy of it all. There was no one on earth who was great with music, greater with double entendres, and the greatest at singing about his ode to joy: sex. And he did it with high heels and makeup. Prince was my life. Until his life ended. A few months before he passed, Prince was working on publishing his memoir. He sought out an unknown journalist named Dan Piepenbring to do the ghostwriting. For three months Piepenbring spent time in Prince’s inner circle, had lengthy discussions with him, and read over his handwritten notes. After his lonely death, the estate granted Piepenbring access to Prince’s personal items that spanned his entire life. Those personal items are the core of the Beautiful Ones, Prince’s “incomplete” memoir. Replete with family photos, school pictures, his drawings, and with his written songs, The Beautiful Ones gives us a glimpse of his family and his early years. It also gives us an idea of what it was like for Prince to grow up black in Minneapolis. In good ways and bad, one can glean that Prince’s childhood not only shaped him, but allowed him to channel those struggles into his music. The real treat of the Beautiful Ones is the photo journal taken in 1977, right before Prince’s rise to superstardom. You see Prince the wunderkind, mugging for the camera, knowing he’s a star. The early photos of Prince are both poignant and sad, because it shows his brilliance yet shows his vulnerability and loneliness. It’s almost like he’s taking those pictures from a fishbowl. Because of its incompleteness, The Beautiful Ones has a lot of photojournalism along with quotes from various interviews and magazine articles. The rare photography of Prince shows his sheer presence, and his hunger for fame. For the Uber-Stans, The Beautiful Ones won’t disappoint you. If you’re a casual fan who wants an in-depth memoir into Prince’s life, look elsewhere. It isn’t a coincidence that The Beautiful Ones is incomplete, just as his death wasn’t as untimely as we’d like to believe. Prince lived on his enigmatic terms, and he died as one. He gave us everything he had, but he wasn’t going to give us everything. He gave us just enough to keep us guessing, without giving himself totally away. Prince loved his fans, which is why he wrote this beautiful book. This was his swan song, his thank you, and his goodbye to his fans. I found myself in awe throughout the book, because it’s truly that beautiful...And in tears because it’s truly that sad.

Fun to read and see princes handwriting. Im glad I got it

I followed Prince back in the 1970's, before he made it to the "white" radio stations. Then I saw him perform in the 1980's and again in 2007. I will confirm first hand what you already know if you're a Prince fan: he started out as a magician and then got better. He wrote truly unique tunes and played them as a phenomenal instrumentalists--he considered his voice as only one of his many instruments. You'll gain much insight about the artist with this book; but, there's something much more important between the covers-- if you are open to the idea. Thoreau talks about the most frightening journey is the one that goes inside. Most people never have the courage to even listen to what's inside, much less are they inclined to actually act on what they hear. Prince lived his life and wrote his music from a place of what he heard from inside with little regard for the rest of the world's opinion. I remember in the 1980's when some fundamentalists protested his music (even though at the time he had his own devotion to GOD that you could find in much of his music). I was brought up Christian (am part Jew by genetic testing, eat kosher, studied meditation with the last living disciple of Paramansa Yoganda, and sent my children to a Catholic School, and read the Koran, the Gita, and the Old Testament)--so I have some religious tendencies; but, I did not agree with the "religious" protests against Prince. I could hear something more than sex in his music (though the music stands on the sex part alone). He once held up a live concert for over an hour while he discussed his ideas about GOD with a journalist. And I witnessed that after his concert in 2007 (Biloxi Mississippi), he pointed to the sky and bowed, to let the audience know where he thought the music started (this after driving the crowd wild with sexual desire). He did that concert with only a drummer to accompany him: he played all the other instruments, with no piped in fake music. It was all live and it was magic. That was Prince at his best. He lived his life with the courage to be himself. This book could give you more volition to do the same. And, you will see some fun photos from his life.

It was amazing to be able to read Prince’s own handwriting. I wasn’t expecting that at all, and it caught me off guard. I almost cried. I wish he could still be here. Gone way too soon.

Prince Rogers Nelson was one of the most creative musical geniuses. He was known far and wide. I got to know him through his film, ‘Purple Rain’, and, then, of course, all of his music. Difficult to find anyone who didn’t listen to his music. His death felt unreal, a calamity out of proportion, and then, to know he was addicted to drugs was a cruel blow. Too young, too much for him to do, but that’s how it is in our lives, now. This book, started as an autobiography by Prince, he knew what he wanted to say, and let others know. "Try to create," he told one person. "I want to tell people to create. Just start by creating your day. Then create your life." This book is an attempt to do just that. But, it feels strange, we go from photos of prince to the written word, and then the second half is told through photos of his writings, photos of his life, and photos of everyone in his growing years. I read his book on a kindle, and it was difficult to read the writings on a kindle. In the beginning of the book, we get to meet the author, and an explanation of how writer Dan Piepenbring, was chosen to finish the book on Prince. This is his first published book, and it is well done. How to finish a book that was begun by the genius, Prince. We learn of Prince’s life growing up and into adulthood, but most of the book is about the music, the writing of his music. And, then, the people Prince met and liked. He had an unusually eclectic group of people who would gather at his Paisley Park. Prince loved music and his music, his fashion, the layers, and his relationships to people. Prince was creative in his life in many ways, and this was one of his greatest achievements. Recommended. prisrob 10-29-19

First, I just want to say that I love his music very much and how humble and caring he was. I was told that the author did a bad job with his memoir and to skip the first pages where he talks about his time with Prince and I’m glad I didn’t skipped that part because it’s actually very interesting because we learn more about who he really was as a person and the stuff he thought about that pretty much made him, “him.” It’s crazy because reading those first pages it opened my eyes that wow Prince was born around the same time as my parents haha and it’s hard for me to believe that because of how funky he was, and as well as his very youthful appearance. We never really get to hear much about some of the things that were important to him and the things he must’ve talked a lot about, like religion and the black community. I’m not saying he never wrote a song about those things but reading about his point of view on subjects such as those and related to that is sooooo freaking awesome because yes he was an extremely talented person, but he was actually very intelligent!! From some of the things that the author wrote about him, it looks as if he wanted to go with something different, as if Prince wanted some kind of change in his life. Maybe that’s why he did the piano and a microphone on his last tour. I think he wanted to start writing books. Man after reading his memoir, I really wish he would have had more time to write more because it’s so interesting because he was a very private man and to have him write about his mom and how he grew up, is very interesting and I can now understand why he probably did certain things that he did in the past. If you are curious about reading his memoir, you really should read it sometime. It’s very interesting. I always knew he was into religion but man, I didn’t know he was that religious/spiritual haha I actually learned a few things myself when it comes to certain things he says about the Bible. Very interesting and sad because well he’s gone now and I just really wish he were still alive. He was waiting to finally open himself up to people by writing a memoir that he didn’t get to finish.

this book was hard to read only because of the realization of its finality. prince was written about by many who really didn't know his innerlife and at times his outward appearing life. to hear him describe himself as a superhero with this amazing and vibrant imagination is wonderful and so apropos! prince is a unique person shaped by his family experiences but then deciding freedom and creativity were the only things worth living for. he is the most prolific songwriter, possibly in musical history and more to the point, the greatest musician of this or any age. he didn't play at music, he is music. every single kind you can think of, he did extremely well. i hope the world at large gets to see, experience and understand some of what prince was about by listening to his music, especially from the 90s until the end of his time here. he is beyond amazing. his bravery and social consciousness were beyond measure. there is so much left unsaid in this highly emotional book, but reading prince's own words about how he viewed the world as he was becoming our 'prince' is awesome. create your life. prince created a world and he invited us all in.