Prince

Inside the Music and the Masks

By: Ronin Ro

Narrated by: Mirron Willis

Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

A fascinating, authoritative biography of one of the most commercial, controversial, and influential musicians of all time.

In his three decades of recording, Prince has had nearly thirty albums hit the Billboard Top 100. He is the only artist since the Beatles to have a number one Album movie, and single at the same time. Prince’s trajectory - from a teenage unknown in Minneapolis to an idol and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer - has won him millions of adoring fans.

Prince is the first book to give full treatment to this thirty-year career of epic proportions. Acclaimed music journalist Ronin Ro traces Prince’s rise from anonymity in the late 70s, to his leap to stardom in the 80s, to his reemergence in the twenty-first century as both an artistic icon and a star maker. Ro chronicles the music, showing how Prince and his albums helped define and inspire a generation. Along the way, Prince confronted labels, fostered other young talents, and took ownership of his music, making a profound mark on the entertainment industry and pop culture.

In this authoritative biography, Ro digs deep to reveal the man behind some of the most important music of our time.

Ronin Ro is an awardwinning author and music journalist. He has written for Spin, Rolling Stone, USA Today, Playboy, Vanity Fair, and Vibe. He is the author of several other books, including the critically acclaimed Have Gun Will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records.

©2011 Ronin Ro (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Prince has helped redefine the boundaries of the music industry, and this solid biography gives fans a peek at a complicated talent.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Details of the enigma

This is a well detailed narrative that offers insight into the business man known as Prince. Highly recommended.

An uncomfortable lesson, but feels to be largely accurate

As a Prince fan since 1983, I was aware of probably 50% of the back stories of most of his scandals. Of course, being an outsider, it is hard to separate fact from fiction. So hearing some of the more sordid details was a bit unnerving, but in the end, the details made sense of the seemingly bizarre decisions, and haphazard trajectory of his career and life. One notable misstep in the book other than the mispronunciation of names, was the suggestion that Prince smashed his guitar at the 2004 Hall of Fame induction. He in fact did not do this. It is well seen on every video that he threw the guitar to his guitar tech, who then gave the guitar to Oprah. I suspect that there may be other inconsistencies, but without being an insider, there’s no way one could ever know. Overall I think, the information contained in the book was helpful to flesh out the life of Prince a bit more.

The word is ALBUM not alblum

The story itself was okay but considering the subject, hearing the word album mispronounced sooooo many times was annoying. The song "Anastasia" was pronounced "Anesthesia" TWICE!!! The reader, director, and editor of this audio book should find another line of work. There were so many flaws in this performance that I think the recording should be redone.

Interesting

Inside look at Prince's life is interesting. Enjoyed listening to this audio book. Would recommend.

Very informative

It was a good look at his history. Things I knew. Things I've forgotten. Things I had no idea about. Very enjoyable.

Wow?

If you're a Prince fan you first must read Purple Rain before reading this book but after you read Purple Rain everything will make sense it's a must-read.

a treasure. a must read for true Prince fans.

loved it. loved the insight into the true Prince. well written and based on facts and not just opinions

Good content, some mispronounced words, and a bit hard to follow.

Fascinating story about Prince, who accomplished so much and returned from the wilderness to ultimately triumph. Aside from some very troubling mispronounced words and titles, (Maniac Monday), it’s a good story and has some valuable content. The editing was a bit off and some phrases were repeated several times in the same paragraph. Otherwise it was informative although technically not up to snuff.

Pretty good, narrator detracts...

I really know nothing about Prince's history, so in that respect I found the book interesting. Learning about: the process of having to deal with both Prince (large ego) greater talent) and Warner bros was eye opening, disposability of band members, womanizing, and his insecure nature.
The narrator really brings the quality down. He sounds like Paul Mooney, over annunciates, and has horrible pronunciation. Two examples: he reads"nothing never" instead of "nothing ever," and is unable to say "Arista" (as in records) correctly.

Inspirational!

Wow! Now only if we had a part 2. So well done I want more and want more! Thank you for writing something that helps us understand the most brilliant man in music since time began. RIP our Prince. Music will never be the same.