Pollple Rain (search terms prince purple rain impossible)

sentimental attachment to "the beautiful ones"

In order of preference:

Beautiful Ones
I Would Die 4 U
Baby I'm A Star
Let's Go Crazy
Computer Blue
Take Me With U
Darling Nikki
When Doves Cry
Purple Rain

Today, feels like "I Would Die 4 U".

Beautiful Ones

i would die 4 u was the first song that came to mind, surprisingly

the beautiful ones always smash the picture

good pole

yes lisa

IWD4U

hate to be boring, but "when doves cry" still amazes me

Doves

"Purple Rain" for me. I know it's corny and sentimental but damn, it's A+. Something about the guitar and the strings, that refrain...Im always on the verge of tears when I hear it.

i love them all. so tough.

The ones I really love, in rank order, are:

When Doves Cry
Let's Go Crazy
Take Me With U

nothing gives me chills like the let's go crazy solo tho

torn between Computer Blue or Take Me With U

one more vote for Beautiful Ones

i would die 4 u, let's go crazy, and when doves cry are definitely my top 3, but my number 1 basically depends on the day

If the album had the 12" version of "Let's Go Crazy" it'd be an easier choice.

beautiful ones vs purple rain

beautiful ones.

sentimental attachment to "darling nikki"

Sike! Well, no, yes actually, but my actual vote is for Beautiful Ones. Would be so awesome to see this take it. Looks like there are a lot of votes.

I might actually cast what would probably be the single vote for "Computer Blue," for a couple of reasons. First, I like its context in the movie, in which it's based on a melodic fragment he hears his father playing at the piano. Second, it's got some of the best, most intricate guitar work on the whole record. Third, the actual staging/performance in the movie is freakin' fantastic.

"Doves" is untouchable for me, but I'm tired of voting for it whenever it comes up in a poll. So I'm gonna go with "Nikki" -- because it's sexy, funny, and I love that monster riff.

"I Would Die 4 U" is one of my all-time favorite songs

"When Doves Cry" is one of my go-to greatest songs ever written when people ask.

lately it's been "I Would Die 4 U" for me. the instrumentation, the simple chorus....

really I don't dislike any of the tracks. great album, awful movie.

There's really no wrong answer here -- every song is the best song on someone else's album.
Voting "Beautiful Ones" because it makes me feel ~*emotions*~ but I love every single goddamned song on this album.

This may be as good a time as any to recall how I first saw Purple Rain -- I was 9 and my friend's dad was a doctor, so they had a pool and a projector tv. They had The Joy of Sex on their bookshelves and a breadmaker. (This was 1985, NO ONE had a breadmaker). My friend and I used to sit in her basement and watch Purple Rain over and over and over again. VCRs were pretty new, and owning a movie on tape was a huge deal -- I had never seen such a thing. It was also the first time I saw boobs in a movie. The end.

I went with "Darling Nikki" for the creepy space around the drums. Also because it actually got airplay on the Chicago AM Top 40 station, uncensored and everything.

over the week and a bit i spent working at our fest in NY last september, this was the only CD in the rental car - and it was like
some supportive crutch during the insanity every time i got in the car. Thank you mr prince.

Probably go for I Would Die 4 U

It's When Doves Cry

Would have to pick "Take Me With U" - the 1-2 punch to open this album is incredible

Haven't seen the movie in years but I was so in love with Appolonia

Take Me With U is p great actually...

Will sit down and watch this movie whenever it's on, provided that someone else doesn't strongarm control of the television...

There's something about the I Would Die 4 U main melody that is melancholy in spite of the upbeat rhythm that I think is pretty genius.

...maybe the music theory guys can affirm that the chords are played a little behind the beat which may lend to that effect?

I always thought it was the synth arpeggio bassline descending and rising in oblique motion with the melody — plus that synth glissando that happens after the first "you" in the chorus just makes it seem so alien and spacey.

Yeah, it's endlessly swirling in on itself. Easily my favorite of the PR singles.

I love the transition between IWD4U and BIAS

It is 'When Doves Cry'...heard it on the radio a couple of week's ago and it still made me feel like I did the first time I heard it(like WTF...this guy is a fuckin genius)it's funny thinking about this nearly 30 years after it came out and probably 20 years since I last listened to it but thinking about it doesn't get me massively excited not like 1999 which I still think of as P being at the height of his talents...maybe it needs a couple more years to mature...mind you the title track is still a turgid dirge and the worst thing on here...

"Darling Nikki". Just ahead of "Take Me With You".

yeah when doves cry wins this for me

never liked purple rain, the title track, even as a 10 year old it felt a bit too cheesy

What's the best track on "Purple Rain"?

Apparently it was the quotes in the thread title that made finding for it a bit difficult. Searching for ILM threads with just the word "purple" in the title worked, though.

So many great songs. Surprised by all the love for "Beautiful Ones," though it does bring the drama. I'm voting Doves, but you have to put in a word for the fantastic riff that anchors "Computer Blue."

I always thought it was the synth arpeggio bassline descending and rising in oblique motion with the melody — plus that synth glissando that happens after the first "you" in the chorus just makes it seem so alien and spacey.

― corey, Monday, 25 April 2011 22:03 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Yeah, it's endlessly swirling in on itself. Easily my favorite of the PR singles.

― scissorlocks and the three bears (Eric H.), Tuesday, 26 April 2011 00:36 (17 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Both posts totally OTM re: 'I Would Die 4 U'.

as a kid, my favorite of the singles was "I Would Die 4 U"

when I heard the album, I immediately gravitated towards "The Beautiful Ones" and it remains one of my favorite Prince songs to this day

so hard. all the IWD4U talk is convincing, so i think it's down to that and purple rain for me (vegemitegrrrl OTM about that one).

hmmmm ok purple rain for today.

I wish the album would've included the 10 minute extended mix of "I Would Die 4 U" that appears on the single, it's a thing of beauty. Still, even the shorter version is obviously the best tune on PR, such an unstoppable groove.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCFiKl7iUFY

I'm not even a woman and I want to fuck Prince after hearing that.

Oh I had fun writing this up, let me tell ya

http://thequietus.com/articles/15259-prince-purple-rain-anniversary-review

i had fun (and a few tears) reading it ..

Wow, ya just nailed it - great job. I, too, had the poster front & fucking center of my bedroom wall @ age 14. Can't express what good job you did - hoping ya make that a library display on the year 84 with Purple Rain as a huge part!

Hahah thanks very kindly!

Nice write-up, Ned. I had that poster on my wall, too.

Fun fact: "When Doves Cry" was released 30 years ago today.

I just finished listening to the 12" extensions of "God" and "17 Days". Cannot really articulate my feelings atm. <3 <3 <3

Bumping since today is the actual 30th anniversary. Lotsa pieces floating around today! (And as posted upthread a bit, mine ran in May: http://thequietus.com/articles/15259-prince-purple-rain-anniversary-review )

never knew that prince's pops wrote the non sequitur instrumental section of 'the beautiful ones'! http://blog.thecurrent.org/2014/06/bobby-z-shares-his-purple-rain-memories-on-the-albums-30th-anniversary

this record is holy to me and I have no time for any web stuff but ilx today so pls post more linx!

Controversial rankings I may or may not have had some hand in: http://1041jackfm.cbslocal.com/2014/06/25/purple-rains-tracks-ranked-from-worst-to-best/

What will arrive first, new D'Angelo album or expanded Purple Rain remaster?

<3 to Eric H for that list

Prince's engineer Susan Rogers on recording Purple Rain.

Prince would come downstairs and usually have a lyric sheet written in long hand. And he would tape it up on a stand in front of the drums. I'd hit record and he would play the entire drum track from beginning to end without a click with the song in his head.

I love her

did anyone talk to wendy and lisa for any pieces yesterday?

Wendy.

Yes Lisa.

is the water warm enough?

watch out wendy's comin

that susan rogers article is awesome

Eric H, I was reading a Pitchfork review that said if you only own one XTC album, it should be Chips From The Chocolate Fireball. I suppose as a writer there's a natural tendency to go for some sort of shock value, as that's the only rationale that allows for Purple Rain to be ranked below even Another Lonely Christmas.
Absurd.

Eric H, I was reading a Pitchfork review that said if you only own one XTC album, it should be Chips From The Chocolate Fireball.

idg what's so absurd about this (says huge XTC fan)

It was admittedly a little bit rhetorical, but for the life of me, I have never felt anything remotely close to moved by that song. It's the only less than stellar track on the entire album.

as a Bob Seger homage it's not bad but it is really repetitive, I'm usually tired of it by the end

Another Lonely Christmas is a v funny song otoh

Fair enough. As a single I think it's good, as a nearly 9 minute closing song I think it's brilliant.

Was 4 the Tears in Your Eyes a PR B-side? So amazing, it's like Prince doing a Cure song

I have never felt anything remotely close to moved by that song.

We're so good at not being moved by things.

xp I wish that had been the B-side to "Rain" instead of "God."

oh wow "Purple Rain" has definitely made me feel many types of ways

the title track was only the 6th-highest song from Purple Rain on the ilx Prince tracks poll, so it's not that strange to suggest it's one of the album's lesser lights (I like it, but i also like "Another Lonely Christmas" more, that's a great fucking song).

Never was a huge fan of the title song myself.

I've been to several weddings where the title track was the last song of the night which is both cheesy and amazing.

the title track was only the 6th-highest song from Purple Rain on the ilx Prince tracks poll

And people were wrong for that. Only tracks I'd put above it are "Darling Nikki", maybe "When Doves Cry", and maaaaaaaybe "The Beautiful Ones"

The Reverend is wrong for that.

the idea that Eric has ever listened to XTC are made me lol

both Prince and XTC's "God" are meh.

Was 4 the Tears in Your Eyes a PR B-side? So amazing,

that was recorded for -- and specifically written for, if i'm not mistaken -- the we are the world album.

Yeah, the WATW LP version is very much superior to the live version he threw on the Hits/B-Sides release.

Oh really? Hm. Never on cd, I assume?

shame that there was never a live album of the PR album

the live versions of the title song from that era are always better than the album version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-O-LsD7czo&feature=youtu.be&t=2885

Damn, I love Baby I'm a Star

shame that there was never a live album of the PR album

the bulk of "purple rain" /is/ a live album, albeit one sweetened with a lot of studio overdubbing

that was recorded for -- and specifically written for, if i'm not mistaken -- the we are the world album.

really? i had always read that it was an outtake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World_%28album%29

(I don't know why I remembered this being a double LP, and there's some pretty random-ass filler on there.)

the bulk of "purple rain" /is/ a live album, albeit one sweetened with a lot of studio overdubbing

i know that. its not a live album.

'I Would Die 4 U'

That vocal performance at the end of 'The Beautiful Ones' = goosebumps.

Feel like we should Poll Prince's best screeches ("The Beautiful Ones," "Darling Nikki," "Gett Off") at some point.

Happy 40th. The Quietus is resharing my 30th anniversary piece so once again:

https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/anniversary/prince-purple-rain-review-anniversary/