Artist: Prince & The Revolution
Album: Purple Rain
Release Date: June 25, 1984
Today’s album a day comes by way of a request made by the only celebrity reader I have (to my knowledge, anyway), Los Angeles producer and remixer Doctor Rosen Rosen. Doctor Rosen Rosen came across the post I did awhile back about his remix of Chris Cornell’s “Scream”, and dropped an email thanking me for the mention. While he was at it, he floated the idea of playing this for my ongoing project. After a little bit of work (since to the surprise of some readers as well as myself, I didn’t own it), I can now bring this request to life.
I don’t know how to properly categorize how Prince fits into the musical map of my generation. He’s spent most of my music-listening life decrying the label system, releasing highly innnovative and unpredictable funk and pop music, and relentlessly controlling his image and how it is transmitted to the public. Oh yeah, and that thing with changing his name to the symbol. To be honest, I’ve never even seen the film Purple Rain, I just know that it’s most infamous for the places on Apollonia Kotero where Prince places his hands. Likewise, I know “Darling Nikki” for a) the terrific Foo Fighters cover, and b) it’s cultural impact in the form of the creation of the “PARENTAL ADVISORY” sticker. That’s more or less Prince’s legacy for my generation. Don’t get me wrong; this isn’t the first time I’ve heard Prince in any depth. I’m largely familiar with his body of work, I’ve just never sat down and given it a careful analysis. Having said that, if Purple Rain is any indication of what else Prince’s career has to offer, color me imressed, sold, and otherwise intrigued. Purple Rain strikes an alluring balance between ingenuity (the bassless “When Doves Cry”), merciless dancefloor pop appeal (hell, 90% of the entire album), and musical and thematic depth (“Take Me With U”, “The Beautiful Ones”). All of these facts don’t even touch the ubiquitous classic nature of the title track. Put quite simply and with all hyperbole aside, Purple Rain is a freaking pop/rock/soul/R&B masterpiece.
Prince – When Doves Cry [iTunes] (YSI)
==TJ==
PS: To everyone else who sent in requests, I’m getting around to them. In some cases it’s matter of getting the music, in others, it’s about me being in the right mood to listen and listen critically to that album. So be patient, I haven’t forgotten. If you’d like to make a request, check out the page on the top navbar.
Filed under: Album A Day | Tagged: 1980s, Album A Day, Chris Cornell, Doctor Rosen Rosen, Foo Fighters, movies, Prince, Soundtracks
