Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain

With the passing of
Prince just a few weeks ago, I felt compelled to check out some books about the man and try to learn what made him tick. With him now gone, I'm going to have to rely on secondhand stories closest to him to fill in the mystery that he was and still is. The author
Alan Light was popping up on all the News Networks as the authority on all things
Prince, telling random, but very interesting stories about him. So, I figured I'd start with his book and let me tell you, this is a fantastic read and insanely fast to read as well.
Let's Go Crazy zeroes in on everything leading up to, during and after
Purple Rain, both the movie and the soundtrack. The book may be about
Prince, but it's just as much about the
Revolution and how they came to be and how they came to disband due to in-fighting. I would say that 90% of what's in the book I had never heard of before. Very eye opening. We get the customary lead-in to the tidal wave that happens in 1984 and there was actually more information to the Revolution than I thought we'd get. I really appreciate the fact that
Alan not only covers Prince during this time, but makes it a point to bring in his rivalry with
Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson and
Madonna to put this all in its proper context.
The book covers a lot of ground and
Alan Light does a great job paining the picture of key moments that take place. If you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall for said moments, this is the closest you're going to get. The fact that
Alan was able to lock down
Wendy, Lisa, Dez, Dr. Fink and everyone else in
Prince's inner circle makes this a must-read book. Hearing their testimonies really elevates the book from a typical Rock-Bio to that of a time capsule. If you're a fan of
Prince, Rock Music or Filmmaking in general, I highly recommend this book for sure because it covers it all in great detail. I'd definitely re-read it again. One thing I found bone-chilling is that the final chapter was almost like a postmortem look back on
Prince's career. It's as if
Alan was prophetic in knowing that the end was fast approaching. The book came out in 2014, but it read like it came out a few months ago.