Purple Rain - review

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life. Electric word life- it means forever, and that's a mighty long time." - Prince

The passionate voice of a young prince is priceless. I have often noted that if someone has enough hunger, they will sound good no matter what music is playing. That would explain one or two of the tracks on the first Wu-Tang album back in 1993 that were frankly, not that outstanding musically, yet still stood out above everything else because of the hunger of the personalities behind the mic. Fortunately for Prince, he is one of the most talented musicians of his generation. Purple rain, the most energetic pop album you'll ever hear.

From the insane opener- Let's go crazy, we are introduced to the up-tempo drums that Prince uses to such frenetic effect on similarly hip-jerking tracks Baby I'm a star, Computer Blue, & When Doves cry. The most important thing to understand about these tracks is that they will make you want to move. Prince has the mind-state and knowledge of rhythm that the Neptunes are currently displaying, removing the importance of lyrics and placing all concentration on the extended moments of unstoppable funk and soul.

If I hyped this album up any more without evidence, I would lose my credability, therefore I issue a challenge to all readers, if possible, listen to The Beautiful ones right now, and try not to be moved by the sheer ferocious soul in Princes voice as the song reaches its devastating and explosive climax. From the distortions and synth effects in the very beggining of the song, the likes of which will sound familiar to anyone familiar with El-P's Fantastic damage, we are treated to a spaced out sonic ballad, the likes of which could never be repeated, possibly not even by Prince himself. Simply put, just wait until the song hits 3:20, then sit back and listen to 2 minutes of the most insane passion spill in all possible directions in what is one of the greatest moments in the history of soul music. Yes.

The album has it's more tender and thoughtful moments on When Doves cry, and I would die 4 U, although both of these tracks seem to be able to maintain the energetic pace of the entire album. On I would die 4 U, you can, even now, appreciate that a whole new style of music was being created, sincere emotion poured all over a funky track with wild keyboards and nervous edgy drums, the recipe is insane and yet nothing could be more satisfying to the human body.

Quite suitably, Prince does the right thing by putting the albums only slow track, Purple rain, at the end. We are given a breather from the up-tempo joyride for this last song, but that in no way makes Purple rain a straight-forward love-ballad. It is still a tiring song, just as all of the songs on this album are. Tiring because you can feel the energy and passion in every line, every moment is filled with tears and sweat, and at times you wonder if it can go any higher, the doped out ecstasy of Purple rain does manage to go higher after the amazing guitar climax. Prince has sung his heart out as the orchestral waves and grand guitars bid farewell as the cinematic strings sweep across the track. A moment to remember, the crowd goes wild, the beauty in each note is unspoken and extended to it's full capacity, and the sounds make more sense than thoughts. Prince is silent, he's just made one of the best albums of all time, the year is 1984.

Y.Misdaq aka Yoshi, 04 Nov 2002