21 Nights by Prince, Randee St. Nicholas

From Barnes & Noble

Prince has written and performed hundreds of songs and won half a dozen Grammys and an Academy Award, but he has never done anything like this before. This lavish, authorized, large-format, multimedia package by the famed performer is truly unprecedented. Elegant and slipcased, 21 Nights contains original Prince poetry and lyrics to new songs and more than 120 full-color images taken during his triumphant 21-night London concert series. In addition, the book contains Indigo Night, an exclusive CD of Prince's live after-show sessions. A privileged look inside the mind and artistry of a secretive genius.

From the Publisher

21 Nights—a first book by Prince and celebrated photographer Randee St. Nicholas is a stunning multimedia volume offering a rare glimpse into the life, lyrics and mystique of one of the most notable and prolific musicians of our time. This beautifully designed photographic essay flows from Prince's sensational, unprecedented, record-breaking, sold-out 21 concerts in 21 Nights at London's 02 Arena in 2007. Giving insight into his dueling worlds of performance and solitude, 21 Nights incorporates Prince's evocative poetry and lyrics to new songs and other selections, and 124 full-color, sumptuous never-before-published images by Randee St. Nicholas. As part of the multi-dimensional experience, it will also include "Indigo Night," a CD—available only with the book—capturing Prince's after-hours, live after-show sessions—rare and profound moments of musical genius.

21 Nights takes the reader from the passenger seat of a limousine zipping through the streets of London to his sleeping quarters in a luxury hotel. In between we see him and his phenomenal band of musicians, singers and dancers backstage in the make up room to onstage, bathed in purple lights and a fog of gray smoke. Like a movie-in-a-book, readers are taken on his journey from London to Prague, in a style that takes glam rock to a new level.

Then there is poetry and lyrics that reveal the heart and soul of Prince—in addition to his incomparable talent. Going beyond the catchy hook, he expresses himself on everything from the destructive forces of war, greed and superficiality the life giving energy of love, beauty, and—of course—music.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review.

For international pop star Prince's first book, photographer St. Nicholas set up shop during the performer's 2007 sold-out 21-night stand at the O2 Center in London. In Prince's room, by the hotel elevator, backstage at the concert hall, out on the streets after-hours and on stage, St. Nicholas dazzles with one magical shot after another. Perhaps the most enigmatic and tight-lipped of modern rock stars, St. Nicholas says that "to know him is to know that you probably will never really know him and to question that is a waste of time." Images reveal quiet joy and pronounced solitude, pensiveness and passion, like a two-shot of Prince sitting head down at his mirrored piano, eyes closed, fingers worn down by guitar strings. Though at first glance many of these images-vividly colored, dynamically framed-appear staged, this hefty, gorgeous tome is filled largely with off-the-cuff shots of the artist and his band, the New Power Generation. Accompanying photos are Prince's lyrics and poetry-he writes a lot about women and biblical lessons-as well as a 15-track CD recorded live at London's Indigo club, where Prince played most nights after the concert. Though the low-light restriction at times interferes with a perfect print, St. Nicholas has crafted a gorgeous, raw and honest portrait of one of the world's most elusive musicians, a worthy addition to any fan's library.
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Product Details

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Those who have spent the most time with him are both frustrated and inspired. To know him is to know that you probably will never really know him and to question that is a waste of time...wasting time is something one should never do...and something Prince holds in high disregard. He is passionate and funny and smarter than any of you will probably ever believe...he stretches everyone around him and I'm not sure he even understands why...and those who get it without trying to understand soar and grow creatively in a way they probably could not find on their own...it is not a manipulation for control's sake as it is often judged...it is a way of being...a way of constantly stirring things up...a conduit to achieve creative exhaustion...so that you just do whatever it is you do, free of the limits of how you think you should do it...you are simply forced to trust yourself and to trust him...and in the end it is a gift, one that you have worked very hard for and there is great satisfaction in that. Now that you know this you will see him as I have seen him over these few weeks during the summer of 2007 in a city we hold synonymous with royalty...fitting for a Prince...a man...a musician...an artist who is truly like no other.

— Randee St. Nicholas,
From the Introduction