The Beautiful Ones

De: Prince

Narrado por: Esperanza Spalding, Adepero Oduye, Dan Piepenbring

Duración: 3 h y 4 m

Resumen del Editor

The brilliant coming-of-age-and-into-superstardom story of one of the greatest artists of all time, in his own words - featuring the exquisite memoir he began writing before his tragic death.

Prince was a musical genius, one of the most beloved, accomplished, and acclaimed musicians of our time. He was a startlingly original visionary with an imagination deep enough to whip up whole worlds, from the sexy, gritty funk paradise of "Uptown" to the mythical landscape of Purple Rain to the psychedelia of "Paisley Park". But his most ambitious creative act was turning Prince Rogers Nelson, born in Minnesota, into Prince, one of the greatest pop stars of any era.

The Beautiful Ones is the story of how Prince became Prince - a first-person account of a kid absorbing the world around him and then creating a persona, an artistic vision, and a life, before the hits and fame that would come to define him. The audiobook is told in four parts. The first is the memoir Prince was writing before his tragic death, bringing us into his childhood world through his own lyrical prose. The second part takes us through Prince’s early years as a musician, before his first album was released, via an evocative scrapbook of writing. The third section shows us Prince’s evolution, going up to the cusp of his greatest achievement, which we see in the audiobook’s fourth section: his original treatment for Purple Rain - the final stage in Prince’s self-creation, where he retells the autobiography of the first three parts as a heroic journey.

The audiobook is framed by editor Dan Piepenbring’s riveting and moving introduction about his profound collaboration with Prince in his final months - a time when Prince was thinking deeply about how to reveal more of himself and his ideas to the world, while retaining the mystery and mystique he’d so carefully cultivated.

This work is not just a tribute to an icon, but an original and energizing literary work in its own right, full of Prince’s ideas and vision, his voice and image - his undying gift to the world.

Includes a bonus PDF featuring never-before-seen photos and original scrapbooks and lyric sheets.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Prince (P)2019 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Prince fanatic or if your interest is simply piqued by all things music or pop culture: The book is worth picking up.... The Beautiful Ones is not a read, but an experience, an immersion inside the mind of a musical genius. You are steeped in Prince’s images, his words, his essence.... The way the book is structured simply makes one want to read it again, to leaf through the pages and be immersed in Prince’s world.... The book can be a starting point for a Prince fascination, or a continuation of long-standing admiration. Either way, it will deepen the connection of any reader with the musical icon." (USA Today)

"Everything Piepenbring shares about being a fan chosen to work with one of his idols resonates.... [He] doesn't just want to write this memoir with Prince, he wants to do it right.... This means we get a memoir that is written by Prince, literally. Handwritten pages he had shared with Piepenbring make up Part 1, taking us from his first memory - his mother’s eyes - through the early days of his career.... We also get a memoir that is carefully curated by Piepenbring, who writes that he was able to go through Paisley Park, room-by-room, sorting through Prince’s life.... The Beautiful Ones doesn't paint a perfect picture.... It’s not definitive. It can’t be. It shouldn’t be and, thankfully, it doesn’t try to be.... It’s up to us to take what’s there and make something out of it for ourselves, creating, just as Prince wanted." (NPR)

"[The Beautiful Ones] delivers much, much more than we had any reason to expect.... Prince took the project very seriously, and it shows in the work he delivered.... It shines an intimate and revealing light on the least-known period of his life - his childhood - which is embellished with family photos, notes and other ephemera. The book does not scrimp on detail: Prince’s handwritten manuscript, rendered in his famously precise cursive script...is reproduced in full.... The initial segment of that closing section is one of the most fascinating parts of the book: a reproduction of a photo album, with captions by a presumably young Prince, containing a couple dozen pictures from his trip to California to record his debut album, ranging from shots of him in the studio to candids of him and his friends.... The Beautiful Ones brings so much new information to light that it’s hard to imagine anyone being disappointed." (Variety)

Prince in his own words........ mind blown!

As a super fan; you often wonder what it's like to experience an artist or entertainer in their own light. Who are you? What are you? Why are you? In the words of Prince Eye wonder U! I learned so much from the book, even though it was short. My eyes would close and I would just listen as my imagination takes shape. My thoughts became insatiable with each chapter. Hungry for more knowledge from the most prolific and influential musician in my lifetime. I loved each chapter as if I was sitting in a room with him right by my side. Although there were narrators; I could only hear Prince. Thank you for giving me a chance to enjoy just a glimpse into the mind of a genius.

An Awesome Listen

I am a life long fan of Prince. It is still not real to me that he is no longer among the living. I learned a few things, had other things confirmed. I truly enjoyed Esperanza Spaulding's narration! I equally enjoyed the other narrator, though I am not familiar with her. Forever Love and miss The Beautiful One #RIPMYPRINCE 💕

Beautiful

This was such a Beautiful insight and well written. And, I simply cried when it was over knowing that this was his last piece of work. Prince is so deeply missed here on Earth. But, his music will live one.

Heartbroken

Prince is a beautiful one gone too soon with so much misunderstanding and unfinished love. Grateful for these words and vignettes, wish there was more!

Purple let down

I'm a HUGE Prince fan, have been for 30+ years so I was super excited to listen to this book. Unfortunately, most of it is the c0-author talking about how he came to be the co-author. It doesn't do justice the life and legacy of one of the greatest artists to ever bless us with his talent.

The part where Prices handwritten notes and bits of previously published articles and thoughts are shared is cool but overall it was an opportunity that missed its shot to be something special and instead just ended up being something average.

A bit disappointed

It was not what I expected but wasn't bad. as a prince fan I was a little disappointed

BSwift

its good to know where his head was or where his daily thoughts traveled

Left me wanting more

Overall a worthwhile book, a quick read. Flows smoothly. Would recommend to a Prince fan.

Good Book

I love anything about Prince. Being that he wrote this himself was awesome. Too bad he wasn't able to finish it.

If only he'd have lived to finish this opus...

Thank u 4 the music and thank u 4 sharing urself with us, P. The tales of his childhood and about his songs and the feelings behind them were great. But just like his insatiable music, I wanted more. I sadly and joyously listened and gleaned more about the man and the sound he created. A great production! May U Live 2 See the Dawn