Dig If You Will the Picture: Funk, Sex, God and Genius in the Music of Prince

Many authors have tried to assemble the puzzle that is the life and death of Prince; novelist and frequent music-bio cowriter (Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove; I Am Brian Wilson) Greenman has assembled a complete if slightly blurred image. This book is a thorough analysis of the music of Prince/The Symbol and readers (from the casual to the ardent fan) will view the music/performances through the lens of increased insight after reading. Although the biographical information is scant, it is effective in its brevity and foreshadows the making of the megastar whose star burns just as brilliantly after his 2016 death at age 57. Greenman cleverly dispenses slivers of Prince's personal life to whet the appetites of those hungry for biographic information while leading readers to draw their own conclusions about its influence on his music. A fitting homage to the legacy of an artist whose body of work and persona remain a study in contrasts (overt sexuality/social commentary and masculinity draped in lace and heels) that continues to question the "who" and "why" of the man, the mystery and his music.