Prince Parade: Purple Rain (1984)

Prince Parade is UNHNGD's weekly column on the great Purple One: Highlighting key albums to initiate the newcomer and re-energize the existing fan to Prince's vast and mighty catalog, providing brief reviews and advice on how to complement your listening experience.

Purple Rain (1984)

When you go to Prince's home in Minnesota, you'll be let into a soundstage filled with his cars, instruments, and outfits. You'll be shown the video of him playing one of his most iconic songs on electric guitar at the Super Bowl while actual rain pours on him. He refused to lip-sync or play with a track - only live - and the fear of his electrocution was palpable while bright lights beneath him displayed his enormous larger-than-life silhouette on a billowing backdrop. 

I went with my dad to Paisley Park only recently, and he recalled how jaw-dropping simply watching the song "Purple Rain" being played in the feature film had been for the first time. I remember seeing Prince perform at Madison Square Garden in the back row of a sold-out show; he was a sparkly gold speck (in high heels & sequinned onesie) whose blurry actual image enticed more than the zoomed-in version on the jumbotron display. He played his hit song "Purple Rain" early in his set and only in part. His common refrain while cutting many of his songs short was that he had "too many hits!"

You probably know many of the Prince songs on this album, and it's a treasure to listen to, from start to finish. It's sexy but less provocative within the context of, say, Dirty Mind or Controversy. Instead, Prince is exploring more love and family themes…thinking more long term, strengthening bonds, and building bridges between the people he's maybe offended or scared off.

I've offered many Prince albums with fun accompaniments, which have influenced and affected my life significantly, but Purple Rain has been my most constant companion. That being said, sharing it comes with extra weight as it serves as a litmus test into how well I'd musically vibe with someone. It's Prince's most accessible and enduring album; for me, it's a baseline.

Having lived with it for almost forty years, I can say that I don't stand behind everything the album says, and the accompanying film, outside of its musical performances, is not very good. Fascinating, colorful, stylish, but also dishearteningly misogynist with clunky acting. At best, it's so bad that it's kinda good. Be warned.

If you've never heard the whole album before, find the time to sit and give it your full attention. After this listen, it'll serve you in every other capacity to calm, excite, and inspire. In the background, as the party hit, for motivation behind a workout, to drown out noises on your commute...

I can't recommend Purple Rain enough. Prince wrote about 15 albums that I absolutely love, and this one's at the top of that list.

Listen to Purple Rain on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube