Prince’s magnum opus? Debatable. One of the best soundtracks of all time? Yup. One of the best albums of all time? Hell yeah. One of the best media/musical experiences ever? “Yessssss” (in Morris Day-speak).
Purple Rain, the album/soundtrack of the film of the same name, is a modern marvel. Released on June 25, 1984, it’s a still startling masterpiece from a then young and hungry super talent who threw down the gauntlet to the music industry and won. I’ve written about the immediate after effect of Purple Rain’s success. But, it almost can’t be overstated how massive this album was. Check the stats: The album sold 13 million copies. It stayed at the number one spot for album sales for 24 consecutive weeks on Billboard’s 200 chart. The first two singles dropped from the album (I’ll discuss them soon) shot to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. In short, Prince (and the Revolution, who the album is attributed to) ruled all he surveyed in 1984.
Below, I’m going to review this legendary album (its anniversary is this year) and discuss the songs on the LP.
- Let’s Go Crazy. One of the best album openers of all time. A rare instant anthem of a song. A supernatural blast of rock and pop music.
- Take Me with U. Sexy and fun. Sounds great in your car.
- The Beautiful Ones. Haunting. Awesome song…but haunting.
- Computer Blue. One of my favorite Prince songs. That breakdown in the middle? Still a knockout.
- Darling Nikki. I don’t want to upset WYSO’s HR department. I’ll just say, great song, NSFW lyrics.
- When Doves Cry. Flat out, one of the best songs of all time. A legendary single that still hits you in the soul the same way that it did 40 years ago. It’s one of the first songs in my life that I saw change the cultural landscape the minute it dropped.
- I Would Die 4 U. Purple Rain’s gospel song. It’s excellent.
- Baby I’m a Star. This is one of my favorite motivational songs. Great to work out to.
- Purple Rain. This is more than an anthem. This song is a moment. A moment where a prodigy finally figured out how to connect with the rest of the world. Prior to 1984, Prince was a provocateur, an enigma. Pop stardom didn’t seem to be in the cards for him. But, he decided he wanted to be bigger. He wanted to matter. And damn…he succeeded. This single is one of the few that truly affects people. When this comes on, you don’t know if someone around you will get quiet, sing out loud, or cry. The Man from Minneapolis finally figured out how to use his superpowers, and he gave us this gift of a song.
Listening to Purple Rain today reminds me of how amazing this album was and is. It’s the culmination of (at the time) six years of album making from Prince. He wanted to play with the big boys of American music, and not only did he succeed in doing so, he became bigger than them (Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Ritchie). I still give Purple Rain an A +.
