21 Nights

I own everything Prince has ever released, from For You to 21 Nights, (including a lot of "other" stuff). Unfortunately, I am still a sucker for everything this man records, and rush out to buy his new music, hoping new inspiration has found the once and future king.

And while ordinarily I find it hilarious that hundreds of people rush to review a new record in the first day of its release, as if they can really absorb new music that fast, in some ways, I consider this a rehash of the past, (again due to "other" stuff).

Where to begin? Well since I primarily bought this for the music, let me start there. The recording itself is magnificent. The band is super tight, and jamming as always.

But the song selection leaves SO MUCH to be desired, I just don't understand who Prince is trying to please with this release. And while I know the other hard core fans will rush to his defense, slam this review and say that this is for the TRUE FANS, I'm here to tell you, I fit the mold of a true fan, and unfortunately this just doesn't hit the mark. Many of the jams sound great on their own, but packaged together for 77 minutes, they just wander aimlessly.

And another thing, I love that Prince tries to support other artists, but official live Prince CDs are not exactly rolling off the shelves these days. That being the case, did we really need TWO Shelby songs, a Beverly Knight song, a useless souless salsa song called Indigo Nights, and a hiliarously misguided sermon talking about how everyone wants to take his picture. He actually says it's to the point that he can't leave his house anymore. Prince, your sermon came as part of a PICTURE BOOK!!!!!!

Speaking of the picture book, there are a number of beautiful shots. But at least half of the 256 pages are useless. Shots of empty streets, shots of hotel room doors, shots of maids cleaning up, etc... Where are the shots of Prince and band playing live? Isn't this a celebration of 21 nights in London? Back to my title, I'm not sure I understand the point of this release.

I know I will get slammed by the "true" Prince fans who believe the man can do no wrong. And that's O.K. if you feel the need to stick up for your hero, go right ahead. Just know that Prince is one of my musical heroes too. But with 5 of his last 6 albums now being filled with material that is almost laughably bad, I've finally felt the need to write a review.

Prince is an absolute musical genius, and one of the most important musicians to ever grace this planet. But right now I truly believe he is his own worst enemy. Spending all that time filing law suits, taking down web sites, not communicating with the fans, and worst of all, releasing sub par material.

Prince, this sucker will continue to buy everything you release because you've earned that respect from me. I just hope you will return the respect by making your music magical once again some time soon.

First I'd like to say, yes I have listened to bootlegs of live shows of his. Yes they were great and in some ways, except for total sound quality they were better. However, being someone who was not able to attend the shows in london I'd have to say I love the chance to get a glimpse into what was going on. Granted, I too think that including the tracks by other artists does take away from the disc. I mean who really wants to hear others when they buy a cd to hear their artist live? That aside though I do not see this cd as something that could be considered a proper release. Meaning, I believe, as some have said that this was simply an add on to the book, kinda mood music while looking through the pics. While some of the songs are great and complete, the addition of other artists makes me believe this was almost a musical appetizer to go with the book. I do not understand the inclusion of all the pictures that are not of prince and the band, but i can appreciate the pics of the twins/maid. I mean come on they are very nice to look at LOL. But I do believe this wasn't intended to be a photo album of prince, I believe it was to capture moments in time on the journey of 21 nights. Kind of a way to show you what prince sees as he travels to perform. I definitely would have loved to see more on-stage type pictures too, but this is more a photo essay, so if some pictures seem staged, as someone said, that is because it's intended to be, it's not impromptu, it's not spontaneous. It's beautiful photography, done in such a way as to capture a gig, one that lasted 21 nights. So when people are overly critical, I only have to ask what were you expecting? It is what it is. A Beautifully bound timepiece that also includes a musical interlude from something we were not fortunate enough to attend. While I believe it wasn't a proper album as it was not intended to be an album release, but a book companion piece, I still believe overall the album rocks. And, even though, there has not been an official live release either on cd or dvd that actually does capture the magic of probably the greatest live showman on the face of the earth, it still fares far better than most, if not all of his contemporaries. In rock, the king is dead, but the prince shall reign forever. as long as there are people who like their music to be real, then prince will always have an audience. Besides amazon's price along with the free shipping can't be beat. I totally reccomend buying it from amazon if you can, they have the best price and I got my copy pretty fast even though shipping was free. So enjoy the music, glance at the pics and blow the twins a kiss or two this book is definitely worth the price. And a must have for all true fans (remember even those who found it disappointed still bought it, so true fans, will always have his back hit or miss.And they will probably buy whatever he puts out next, even if he sings out every name of the phonebook accompanied by acoustic guitar, and if that isn't a testimony to his talents, then I don't know what is.

This is a great book with beautiful photographs by Randee St. Nichols, but the true true gem here is Prince's live disc called "Indiogo Nights." If you have ever experienced Prince live in the last five years - this disc is 5 times better.

I was dancing and jammin' and grooving to the whole thing, and was just amazed by the instrumentation of the NPG.

I can't even explain what he does to Alphabet Street and All the Critics Love U In London. I honestly listened to the first five songs three times before I went on to the rest of the disc. I wanted to jump ahead to see how the rest of the cd compared but the groove and vibe was just 2 funky.

I must admit, the CD and the exceptional pictures in the book, along with all my memories of great Prince concerts through the years actually brought a tear to my eye.

Prince. Still got it after all these years!!!!

I AM TRULY A PRINCE FAN. WHEN I SAW THE BOOK I IMMEDIATELY PUT IN MY ORDER, I RECEIVED THE BOOK YESTERDAY AND AM TOTALLY DISAPPOINTED. I'LL KEEP THE BOOK BECAUSE IT IS PRINCE, BUT WHO NEEDS TO SEE PICTURES OF A CITY, THAT PRETTY MUCH LOOKS LIKE ANY OTHER CITY IF TAKEN BY THE RIGHT PHOTOGRAPHER. THERE WASN'T EVEN GOOD PICTURES OF HIM. TRULY A WASTE OF MONEY..

ROBIN, NWK., NJ

I consider myself to be a true, long time, die-hard Prince fanatic. I did not hesitate to order the book and was so excited when my book was delivered yesterday. I was VERY, VERY, disappointed.
Did I really need to see so many shots of empty streets, hotel rooms, airport runways? Such a beautifully made book with so little to offer a true Prince fan. This was just an advertisement for designers, just a bound magazine. I feel taken advantage of. What an absolute rip-off. I am so disappointed that I did not even try to listen to the cd yet. I hope that when I do listen to the cd, my spirits are lifted.

I am truly a Prince 4Ever fan and this book/cd are a big collectors item, I have seen 21 Nights in London or Indigo Nights on auction sites ranging anywhere from $80-$325+ and often missing the CD so I decided to take a risk for less then $20 and I couldn't be happier the book and book jacket/cover are in perfect condition. The CD was in place and works perfectly. The pages have absolutely no bends, tears or creases. I would say the condition is brand new even the binding is not "broken". I am extremely happy with this purchase.

i purchased this as a gift for my wfie. We are both Prince fans and have been for decades. For anyone who is a true fan, this is a must have of the the MAN, lots of great photos in here . i Highly suggest having this in ur collection ..

Being a VERY huge Prince fan after almost 30 years and collecting everything this guy has released including all his protege groups, bootlegs, concerts, movies, etc. I would have to say I am pretty disappointed in this book as well as the CD. First I dont seem to understand why we get filler pages and photos of all his maids, clothes, rooms, buildings, and streets with store windows!? Where is Prince performing his 21 Nights concerts? Than really wanting to hear the disc again I was terribly disappointed. The quality of course is excellent but who needs filler songs again with girl guest singers? Again where is Prince? The other book that was also released around the same time called Prince: Life And Times is way better than this release and I catch myself always reaching for that book and reading it page by page. As Prince is always complaining and removing his pictures and photographs I see this book as another way of him telling all the fans that this is all your getting and youll have to pay me in order to view them too. Than Im sorry Prince, Than you should have not chosen to be a star if you didnt want your fans to take photos or ask you for an autograph. Its a part of the career.

It would be best to approach this an elaborate, beautifully done album cover. Sure, I appreciate beautiful photography, but I wouldn't have gotten this if not for the cd. I wanted to hear the music, and I knew this would be live recordings from aftershows.

Not to denigrate Randy St. Nicholas' beautiful photography, but the photos lacked passion. They don't quite capture the essence of what it might be like behind the scenes. It would have been good to include pictures from the recordings on the cd. None of the included concert shots show either the passion or spontaneity that I hear on the disc. So it's on to the music.

This recording captures Prince at what I consider his best, performing live. He's so comfortable and has nothing left to prove. He just demonstrates what makes him special. Prince is simply in a totally different class from his contemporaries, and belongs alongside masters of the past. There are no barriers, no genres, no labels; just awesomely talented musicians led by the funky captain himself, Prince, taking us on a wild musical voyage.

More than a meer vessel's captain, Prince is more of a musical Poseidon. He not only rides the waves, he actually causes them. He leads these fierce musicians to a place where they can do what they probably always dreamed of since they first picked up their instruments. You can see what St. Nicholas means when she says: "he stretches everyone around him...and those who get it without trying to understand soar and grow creatively in a way they probably could not find on their own."

Whether singing, directing, chanting or showing that he is one of the most talented people to EVER put hands to a guitar's strings, Prince pushes the limits and breaches every musical coast. I believe that sums up this man's career and solidifies his position as one of the greatest musical entertainers ever.

Oh, if you don't understand or appreciate funk there's no hope for you. If you're funky, get some.

I have a lot of Prince CD's since I have been a Prince supporter since the 80's. I was interested in purchasing a book to take an in depth look into who Prince is that is why I purchased it. I find his poetry very profound and beautiful. His insight is one that I find fascinating. I enjoyed looking at the pictures (I think he has beautiful eyes that draws one in) and listening to his live CD as well (he has a beautiful voice). I wish it would have been more behind the scene writing instead of just poetry but it is still a good book to have.