
This Thing Called Life
Prince's Odyssey, On and Off the Record
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Narrated by:
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Neal Karlen
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By:
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Neal Karlen
About this listen
This program is read by the author, and includes archival recordings of conversations between the author and Prince. A warm and surprisingly real-life biography of one of rock’s greatest talents: Prince.
Neal Karlen was the only journalist Prince granted in-depth press interviews to for over a dozen years, from before Purple Rain to when the artist changed his name to an unpronounceable glyph. Karlen interviewed Prince for three Rolling Stone cover stories, wrote “3 Chains o’ Gold", Prince’s “rock video opera”, as well as the star’s last testament, which may be buried with Prince’s will underneath Prince’s vast and private compound, Paisley Park.
According to Prince's former fiancée Susannah Melvoin, Karlen was “the only reporter who made Prince sound like what he really sounded like”. Karlen quit writing about Prince a quarter-century before the mega-star died, but he never quit Prince, and the two remained friends for the last 31 years of the superstar’s life.
Well before they met as writer and subject, Prince and Karlen knew each other as two of the gang of kids who biked around Minneapolis’s mostly-segregated Northside. (They played basketball at the Dairy Queen next door to Karlen’s grandparents, two blocks from the budding musician.) He asserts that Prince can’t be understood without first understanding ‘70s Minneapolis, and that even Prince’s best friends knew only 15 percent of him: That was all he was willing and able to give, no matter how much he cared for them.
Going back to Prince Rogers Nelson's roots, especially his contradictory, often tortured, and sometimes violent relationship with his father, This Thing Called Life profoundly changes what we know about Prince, and explains him as no biography has: a superstar who calls in the middle of the night to talk, who loved The Wire and could quote from every episode of The Office, who frequented libraries and jammed spontaneously for local crowds (and fed everyone pancakes afterward), who was lonely but craved being alone. Listeners will drive around Minneapolis with Prince in a convertible, talk about movies and music and life, and watch as he tries not to curse, instead dishing a healthy dose of “mamma jammas”.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press
©2020 Neal Karlen (P)2020 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“The stories, like Prince, are irresistibly fascinating and as elusive as float-like-a-butterfly Muhammad Ali, the rock star’s idol. This memoir is easily the most telling book about the late Prince thus far.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
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- An Oral History of Prince
- By: Touré
- Narrated by: Touré
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Nothing Compares 2 U is an oral history built from years of interviews with dozens of people who were in Prince's inner circle - from childhood friends to band members to girlfriends to managers to engineers to photographers, and more - all providing unique insights into the man and the musician. This revelatory book is a deeply personal and candid discussion of who Prince really was emotionally, professionally, and romantically.
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The closest we will ever get to seeing the Documentary
- By Jamie Starr on 04-04-25
By: Touré
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Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions
- 1983 and 1984
- By: Duane Tudahl, Ahmir Thompson - Foreword
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 19 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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His journey is meticulously documented through detailed accounts of his time secluded behind the doors of the recording studio as well as his days on tour. With unprecedented access to the musicians, singers, and studio engineers who knew Prince best, including members of the Revolution and the Time, Duane Tudahl weaves an intimate saga of an eccentric genius and the people and events who helped shape the groundbreaking music he created. From Sunset Sound Studios' daily recording logs and the Warner Bros. vault of information, Tudahl uncovers hidden truths and reveals details about Prince's unreleased outtakes.
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Incredible oral history
- By Francis on 05-06-18
By: Duane Tudahl, and others
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I Would Die 4 U
- Why Prince Became an Icon
- By: Touré
- Narrated by: Touré
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on new research and enlivened by Touré's unique pop-cultural fluency, I Would Die 4 U relies on surprising and in-depth interviews with Prince's band members, former girlfriends, musicologists, and even Bible scholars to deconstruct the artist's life and work. Prince's baby boomer status allowed him to play a wise older brother to the latchkey kids of Generation X. Defying traditional categories of race, gender, and sexuality, he nonetheless presented a very traditional conception of religion and God in his music.
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Wonderful! Surpassed expectations
- By Tanya on 11-12-16
By: Touré
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The Wonder of Stevie
- By: Wesley Morris
- Narrated by: Wesley Morris, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Original Recording
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The year 1972 saw the beginning of a five-year span in which Stevie Wonder released five groundbreaking, critically acclaimed albums, garnering him more than half a dozen Grammys and more than 10 million albums sold, securing his place as one of the most important American musicians and songwriters in history. For the first time, uncover the untold story of an extraordinary artistic journey that shaped the greatest creative era in popular music history.
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Good but not great
- By Anonymous User on 09-14-24
By: Wesley Morris
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On Time
- A Princely Life in Funk
- By: Morris Day, David Ritz
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Brilliant composer, smooth soul singer, killer drummer, and charismatic band leader Morris Day has been a force in American music for the past four decades. In On Time, the renowned funkster looks back on a life of turbulence and triumph, chronicling his creative process with an explosive prose that mirrors his intoxicating music. A major theme throughout the book is Morris' enduring friendship and musical partnership with Prince.
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Right on time
- By detroitdolly on 10-11-19
By: Morris Day, and others
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Let’s Go Crazy
- Prince and the Making of Purple Rain
- By: Alan Light
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Purple Rain is a song, an album, and a film - each one a commercial success and cultural milestone. How did this semiautobiographical musical masterpiece that blurred R&B, pop, dance, and rock sounds come to alter the recording landscape and become an enduring touchstone for successive generations of fans?
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A Must-Read For Any PRINCE Fan
- By Bryan K. Chavez on 05-06-16
By: Alan Light
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Luther
- The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross
- By: Craig Seymour
- Narrated by: David Sadzin
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Take a journey inside the private world of Luther Vandross, one of the world greatest R&B vocalists of all time and a notoriously secretive star, and listen to this audiobook as it chronicles his journey from the projects of New York City's Lower East Side to the top of the charts.
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Perfect title..Life and Longing
- By Tiasdolls on 08-02-18
By: Craig Seymour
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The Last Showman
- Words + Music, Vol. 41
- By: Usher, Gerrick Kennedy
- Narrated by: Usher
- Length: 1 hr and 12 mins
- Original Recording
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For the past 30 years, Usher has exhilarated audiences with stadium-sized anthems, innovative choreography, and dazzling charm that has made him a once-in-a-generation superstar. The Last Showman is an introspective look into the past, present, and future of a beloved global R&B icon. Usher opens up about the inspirations, heartache, and growth that fueled the creation of his record-breaking magnum opus, Confessions, while revisiting some of its most iconic tracks.
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love you Ursher
- By Amazon Customer on 02-06-25
By: Usher, and others
What listeners say about This Thing Called Life
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- Hebern
- 05-18-21
An interesting story
Everyone thinks the music of their high school years is the best. In my case, I’m right. Or at least a strong argument can be made that I am. While I was in high school Thriller by Michael Jackson, Born In The USA by Bruce Springsteen, Like A Virgin by Madonna and Purple Rain by Prince all came out. Talk about iconic albums by iconic performers.
This book is about Prince. The older I get, the more nostalgic I get. I hadn’t heard much about this particular book, but I was interested in learning more about Prince so I got it on the recent Audible sale.
I did learn a lot of things about Prince that I didn’t know. The author was a one time writer for Rolling Stone, who had become close to Prince. Or at least as close as Prince would allow someone in that position to become. They were in contact regularly for the last 30 years of Prince’s life. Prince even had the author to write something for his time capsule. A time capsule the author is convinced also contains Prince’s missing will. The book does give a behind the scenes look at Prince and includes the tape from an interview that the author conducted with Prince. In many of the reviews of the book I saw two complaints. First, that he showed too many bad things about Prince. I discount this. Any biography about anyone that only discusses the positives of the person is a work of fiction. All humans have flaws. The second main complaint is the author publishes “off the record” interviews. Prince has been gone 5 years now. I’m ok with him releasing it now to give an accurate picture of the man for history.
I do have some complaints with the book, however. First, the author interjects himself into the story way too much. In telling about Prince’s basketball ability for example, the author goes into detail about his own failed high school basketball career. There was a lot of that. I hate to tell him but the readers are here for Prince stories, not Neal stories. Second, the book is a non-linear one that is basically just a lot of Prince stories from the author’s perspective and experience. Since this was my first Prince book, a traditional biography would have been better for me. Finally, the author repeats himself. A lot. Some quotes make 3 or more appearances.
Overall, the picture of Prince that emerges is one of huge musical talent. A guy who played all the instruments and wrote all the songs on most of the albums. A guy, who like wrestlers adopted a persona as an entertainer and never dropped the act in public. The author discussed Prince’s kayfabe a lot. A guy who was depressed and lonely while living a life that so many of us would think is ideal. A guy who like many I’ve read about as having reached the absolute pinnacle of their field is better to watch from afar than to be in a personal relationship with.
With all the faults of the book, it did make me want to get another Prince book at some time in the future to get another perspective. Prince was obviously hugely talented and also a very interesting person.
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- amber
- 08-08-21
Learned ALOT...
I thought a different perspective on Princes life by a long time friend was super interesting. I believe its a truthful honest read on what the writer went through while knowing Prince. I enjoyed it so much. Only thing that personally bothered me was the tone of the writers voice but after I got over that I did enjoy it comming from his look on their life knowing one another. Thank you for writing this BOOK!
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- Pro Female Bodybuilder
- 06-11-22
Heartfelt Reminiscence
I found Neal Karlen’s book to be the most honest telling of a “friendship” as backed by his evidence of tapes from years covering Prince for Rolling Stone.
He gives the most eye opening revelations into one of the most secretive personalities that had ever been a part of pop culture, and he does it from a place of genuine respect for Prince and admiration for his talent.
Ultimately, he allows the reader to see Prince as HUMAN & not just some untouchable, perfect, unfathomable musical genius. This book should be listened to simply because the author wrote about the subject as he really was, not as this mythological character.
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- luv2shop62
- 11-07-23
Very Insightful
I learned so much about Prince. I loved hearing the recordings of his voice. I loved hearing all the stories. Some sad & some funny. Every minute was interesting. Highly recommend.
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- C. Bournea
- 02-20-21
A Must Read for Prince Fans
Fascinating insights into the genius who can never be fully understood. Neal Karlen explains why so many who knew and worked with Prince have widely varying perceptions of him: socially awkward loner or a social butterfly who hosted star-studded parties and late night jam sessions for fans? Perfectionist or a virtuoso who was more concerned with getting his music on tape than making it sound pristine? Tyrant or philanthropist? Yes.
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- Torrance W.
- 10-29-20
This thing called life
Like many Prince fans I have read or listened to many of the fascinating stories about Prince. What has become very clear is the people who knew Prince from his younger days in Minneapolis or worked with Prince have a much more intimate story of him as a person than someone on the outside. This is very good audiobook but not for typical Prince fans who may get offended by some of the personal stories or audio recordings of Prince talking.
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- Leesmileyman
- 12-26-24
Remembering the VOP
Remembering the Voice of Prince from someone who had access was a remarkable feature of this book. The actual audio tapes were bar none a way to best remember him. Kudos to Neal to provide his views and first-hand witness testimonies throughout!
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- Kindle Customer
- 05-02-23
Wow
This is the first biography I have read about Prince. I read it while listening to the amazing Audible version, containing actual recordings of interviews with Prince. I admit, I was not a big Prince fan when I was growing up in the 80s, but my best friend was, and I read this when, in our 50s, she convinced a group of us to go to Minneapolis and visit Paisley Park (and other places). This book gave me a unique insight into the person known as Prince and the city of Minneapolis as I took the VIP Paisley Park Tour, contrasted with a visit to George Floyd Square. Thank you, Neal.
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- Johnathan Szymborski
- 05-07-21
If you’re more interested in the life of Prince over a deep musical study, this is the title for you
Quite a bit of repetition in regards to certain stories or references throughout parts of the book, but nonetheless a very fascinating and somewhat bittersweet look into the life of Prince by someone who had direct access and could even be considered a friend.
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- MICHELLE KING
- 01-04-21
Wonderfully sad and amazing
Wonderfully sad and amazing story from the inside out. Love is in the details! Thank u Neal!!!
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