by DUANE TUDAHL
Hardcover
Published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Released November 17, 2017
523 pages
How did he do it??? Even after reading this extraordinary book, I am still shaking my head. Just how did he do it???
For those of you who have or still know me in the real world or for those of you who have been regular visitors to this blogsite, all of you will know emphatically that the artist forever known as Prince will eternally hold a crucial place as one-third of my musical Holy Trinity (with The Beatles and Todd Rundgren as the other two essential pieces of this specific triumvirate).
Ever since that summer's day, at the age of fifteen during the opening weekend of his debut feature film "Purple Rain" (1984) as I walked into that movie theater as a complete skeptic and emerged afterwards as a complete convert, I have passionately followed every inch of His Royal Badness' career and supreme artistry from album to album, from B-side to side project to unreleased bootlegs, from one pseudonym to the next, to every confounding musical stylistic change and finally, to his shocking passing nearly two years ago on April 21, 2016, and throughout all of the years and music, I have consistently wondered just how did he ever accomplish all that he did indeed achieve...and powerfully so.
Yes, there are all of the legends of his prolific nature, creating new songs tirelessly and endlessly filling up the mythical Vault with an amount of material that it would take a lifetime to hear it all, and to top it all off with the epic performances, the music videos, the films, etc...Without question, we know that everything that happened did indeed happen but it still seems impossible for there are only so many hours in one day and for Prince, it seemed as if he was able to manipulate time itself in order to amass his musical legacy.
Every so often over the years, I would come across a book that would help to give me a window into this magical, musical world, most notably, books and material compiled and written by Per Nilsen, all of which are now either difficult to find and/or enormously expensive due to their rarity. But now, I believe that I have read a work that has exceeded all of my expectations for what a volume of Prince "behind-the scenes" could possibly be, so much so that I think it has also transcended its core subject matter to make a grand statement about the nature of art, inspiration and creativity itself.
Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Session 1983 and 1984 from Author Duane Tudahl (once an associate of the aforementioned Per Nilsen) is indispensable, for fans of Prince and frankly, of music itself. This meticulous, exhaustively researched tome, complete with prologue, epilogue and an introduction written by like minded and self described "Prince scholar" Ahmir "Questlove' Thompson, Tudahl takes one specific period in Prince's musical history from January 1983 through December 1984 and details it extensively in almost diary format, all the while chronicling the end of the era of "1999" (released October 27, 1982), the beginnings and recordings of the songs that would constitute "Purple Rain" (released June 25, 1984) plus The Time's "Ice Cream Castle" (released July 2, 1984), "Apollonia 6" (released October 1, 1984), Shelia E.'s "The Glamorous Life" (released June 5, 1984) and even the bulk of what would become Prince and the Revolution's "Around The World In A Day" (released April 22, 1985) and even the one and only release from "The Family" (released August 19, 1985).
Add to even that, there are the details of the concerts performed and rehearsed, the writing, filming and release of Director Albert Magnoli's "Purple Rain" film plus the preparations and frustrations of the "Purple Rain" tour, the disillusion of The Time and the rise of The Family, Prince's struggles with post "Purple Rain" superstardom after having existed as a cult hero, his constant need to find inspiration to create and his astonishing dedication to his craft throughout.
In addition to Tudahl's clean, elegant prose, he includes copious interview segments, both archived and newly granted, from a variety of the principal cast of characters of this specific era. Memories from The Revolution, The Time, The Family, Vanity/Apollonia 6 and more are all here plus those from exceedingly crucial players, most notably Engineer Susan Rogers, who shared an intensely close working relationship with Prince over the duration of the period when his most celebrated material was created.
What I loved so terribly much about this book was how Tudahl brilliantly weaved a narrative that succeeded on a variety of levels. First, he cuts past the notions of Prince's place as a celebrity and enigmatic public figure to focus directly upon what tends to be somewhat lost when people write or possibly even think of him, and that is his extraordinary work ethic. At the outset of this posting, I questioned just how did Prince ever accomplish all that he did and even after reading, I still question it because of his excessive determination and inner drive to play, to create, and to release his gifts to the world.
With the book's chronological, month-by-month, day-by-day structure, we are witness to how Prince would record for hours on end without sleep and therefore, requiring and daring his associates, from bandmates to engineers, to keeping up with his seemingly impossible pace, as well as some eccentric recording habits, like recording his vocals with little to no one present as he desired privacy in this area as well as having beds delivered to studios as he liked feeling "at home" as he wrote lyrics.
Beyond that, I was astounded to regard the man's crystal clear clarity as he was able to focus with laser like efficiency on whatever project he was recording for, especially as he was working on several albums at the same time. He had an uncanny ability to know precisely which song would work best for whichever project, even if it confounded those closest to him. Furthermore, Tudahl also demonstrates that what was new to us as listeners, was already old and in the distant past to him, making Prince an artistic figure that was forever restless with his own creativity. To regard that "Around The World In A Day" was essentially completed and in the can as the "Purple Rain" tour was beginning was astonishing to me, plus the fact that so much material that still remains unreleased was created during this period as well, which Tudahl also details.
From this aspect of the book, I think Tudahl has delivered a powerful service, especially in our era of severe instant gratification and entitlement. Nothing worth doing arrives without the work that one puts into it and Tudahl illustrates over and again that Prince was not a genius because he snapped his fingers and magic happened. He was a genius because he took it to the woodshed, so to speak, every single time, demanding nothing but the best of himself plus whomever happened to be working with him at the time, performing what felt to be impossible and discovering newfound abilities and talents along the way.
And to that end, Duane Tudahl's book speaks to the nature of art and creativity itself as he presents just exactly how Prince found himself inspired in the first place, and how he feverishly tried to keep tapping into that specific spirit for every new song that emerged in his brain. Certainly not an easy process but one that Prince was demonstrably in service towards. The search never ceased just as the pursuit for excellence, and if anything has been captured to such a towering degree is that very pursuit for the work was never truly finished--and in that regard, that sentiment works just as equally for Duane Tudahl as it did for Prince.
I can only imagine just what Tudahl endured creatively to make a work like this one come to life. From the interviews, of course, but just think of the archived studio logs and information that is now over 30 years old and having to sift through all of it in order to make this narrative function to its very best. Knowing that he is planning further installments, therefore making this book the very first of a series, I am already salivating at the opportunity to dive in again to read about what reportedly will cover the years 1985 and 1986, especially and creatively productive and turbulent times for Prince.
For now, we have this initial volume, a work that proves without question that it is an essential document of two years in the life of one of the most idiosyncratic artists we have been fortunate enough to experience. Duane Tudahl has created a work that not only demands and deserves its own reverence, it is equal to the artistic nature and commitment of its subject.
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