prince - purple rain

[Warner Bros: 1984]
Once I broke up with a boy because he said he didn’t like Prince.
I can’t stand liars.

Prince. He's one of the most prolific cross-over artists and composers in the history of pop music, and now at 49 Prince is still getting his funk on, performing legendary live shows (Coachella), attending Paris Fashion Week and killing on ampersand-shaped guitars. Prince has somehow maintained the extremely rare balance of both critical- and peer-acclaim as well as mass superstardom. He's won seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, an Academy Award and was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame the first year he was eligible.
He’s not just Prince – he’s rock and roll royalty.
In his three decades in the recording industry he has pumped out over thirty records, but his masterpiece is unquestionably Purple Rain.

The diversity of styles and the experimental production of Purple Rain kind of defied critics’ ability to pigeon-hole the record, making it one of the most massive crossover albums of the Eighties - consolidating his funk and R&B sounds, with synthesized pop melodies, industrial funk and even a touch of metal. And lest we forget the shredding! From Hendrix-like wailing to aggressive metal crunching to strutting funk jams. It’s like a lifetime of air guitar opportunities in nine tracks...

Purple Rain was groundbreaking from a musical standpoint, and the themes and lyrics were also considered extremely post-modern at the time. “Darling Nikki”, about a slutty gal named Nikki, had particularly scandalous lyrics and was the catalyst for the Parental Advisory stickers that you see on album covers now. Bad ass. “I would die 4 U” was allegedly written from the perspective of Jesus Christ beseeching a non-believer. “When Doves Cry” is about destructive family relationships and the narrator’s relationship with God. Intense.

But, let’s face it: when it comes down to it, who gives a shit about what it all means?
With rad synthesizer solos, a syncopated drum machine beat and Prince’s epic vocal performance, “When Doves Cry” is first and foremost a dance track that never fails to kill on the dancefloor. And then, of course, there's Prince's signature song: “Purple Rain” one of the most ridiculously awesome, sexiest rock n roll ballads of all time.

These days his recordings have gotten a bit stale (last year's LOtUSFLOW3R was pretty unspectacular), and the dude is kind of weird and reclusive... but his live performances and musicianship is virtually beyond compare, he uses a diamond studded sceptre for walking for heavensake (eat your heart out, Puff Daddy) and in 1983 he gave us the crazy awesomeness of Purple Rain. And for that we say thank you, Your Majesty.


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