An ocean of violets in bloom

Continuing my trip up Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time...

...with another album I've never listened to (this is going to be a surprising common phrase for the rest of the list) and, with admittedly little knowledge, one I was surprised to see quite so high

#8: Purple Rain - Prince And The Revolution (1984) 

“I think Purple Rain is the most avant-garde, ‘purple’ thing I’ve ever done,” Prince told Ebony in 1986. He was still a rising star with only a couple of hits when he got the audacious idea to make a movie based on his life, and make his next LP the movie’s soundtrack. When it was released in 1984, he became the first artist to have the Number One song, album, and movie in North America.

But Purple Rain was so much more than a huge movie soundtrack: It was a testament to Prince’s dream of creating a utopian Top 40, a place where funk, psychedelia, heavy-metal shredding, huge ballads, and daring experimentalism could coexist. “Listening to Purple Rain now, it’s kind of like a Beatles album,” keyboardist Matt Fink of the Revolution told Rolling Stone shortly after Prince’s death in 2016. “Every song is just so brilliant in its own way — all so unique and different.”

I'd always understood that everyone thought Sign O The Times was his undisputed masterpiece, so I was somewhat perplexed to see this as his "best" album.  But - when I actually thought about it, the highest number of tracks from His Purple Majesty that I knew (and liked) were from this era - so it's not impossible this is his best album, is it?  Despite never having listened to the whole album, I was expecting to like it but wasn't sure how comfortable I was going to be with its place in the top 10.  It probably won't surprise you to hear I've never seen the film - but that doesn't mean there isn't a part of me that isn't the slightest bit curious to see how bad it is.  Once again, I'm going to tempt you with the fantastic track-by-track breakdown before I give you my overall verdict...

1. "Let's Go Crazy"
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life".  Well, no-one is going to argue this is a great track are they?  But if they are, then they probably shouldn't.  Because it's a great track, with some impressive guitar work at the end.
2. "Take Me With U"
A track I'd completely forgotten about, but there's nothing wrong with it - even if you have the slightest suspicion he knocked it out it 5 minutes.  The man had enough to talent to do such a thing after all (and, for the avoidance of doubt, I don't)
3. "The Beautiful Ones"
Not a track I knew at all but boy does it sound it good over headphones.  I'm not sure it entirely hangs together - but it certainly sounds good anyway.
4. "Computer Blue"
I'm sorry - I was so scared by Wendy and Lisa in the bizarre beginning ("Wendy? Yes Lisa. Is the water warm enough? Yes Lisa") that I didn't really listen to this.  But the bits I did hear are VERY 80s - we're together in electric dreams, I can tell you.
5. "Darling Nikki"
That Prince was a naughty boy and no mistake.  But it's still a fine track - and it sounds very fine over headphones.  There's some weird Twin Peaks backwards shit at the end though.
6. "When Doves Cry"
Is this the finest track by anyone ever?  To be honest, it could be.  And, oh yeah, I like it.  It also has some amazing guitar and synth work on it - and you don't need to tell you who did it all.
7. "I Would Die 4 U"
And this is hardly a shabby track.  Not my favourite though - but that's only because this album allows me to be super-picky.
8. "Baby I'm A Star"
It's funky and it's fine.  I can't claim it attracted my attention as much as some tracks, but it wasn't a track I knew so that's probably to be expected.
9. "Purple Rain"
Yeah, I guess this is an OK track :-)

And, in the words of my Thriller review "What?  Only 9 tracks?" - although in the case of this album I'd just assumed it was the usual soundtrack bollocks that went on for years.  But (AGAIN!) I'm wrong.  Coming in at a very tight 44 minutes, this is pleasingly compact - particularly when compared with Sign O' The Times.  And whilst some of the tracks didn't quite hold my attention, there's no doubting the skill involved in making some very fine noises and it doesn't really have a dud track on it - although for me everything pales into comparison next to "When Doves Cry", which I love, love, love.  So, I was very happy to have finally listened to the whole thing and whilst I doubt it''s ever going to make my top 10, I'm happy enough for other people to have included it in the top 10 here.

Wikipedia doesn't have an awful lot to say about the album really, although it does remind me that "When Doves Cry" famously doesn't have a bassline - which I know but always forget.  Most of the rest of it relates to how well the album was received both critically and commercially.  And boy did it go down well in the US - #1 for 24 (twenty four!) consecutive weeks.  Additionally, "Prince also joined Elvis Presley and The Beatles in being the only artists to have the number-one album, single and film in the US all at the same time".  The difference in commercial performance with the UK couldn't be more stark - it peaked at #7 over here, which seems weird because we were very driven by US output back then (of course, it never happens these days!).  However, it's not like it failed over here - it was very much a slow burner, taking 35 weeks to get to #7 and staying on the charts for 86 weeks in the end (and sadly, it got to #4 in the UK in 2016 after his untimely death).  All in all, it's sold over 25 million copies globally - which is more than a few copies to say the least.

His Wikipedia entry is vast and doesn't lend itself to random extracts, so I'll just quote this somewhat dry, but accurate statement - "As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant style and showmanship".  I don't think anyone can argue with that statement.  2016 wasn't a kind year for music fans and, as with David Bowie and George Michael, plenty of stories were told after his death about what a jolly decent chap he was - he certainly lived a full life, but it would have been nice to have had a few more years of him being around..  "Customers also listened to" the usual 80s random selection - George Michael, The Eurythmics, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna and A-ha.  Maybe not quite as random as some, but still pretty random.

So this was our fourth and final visit with the man - four entries feels maybe slightly generous although I think I'd be happy enough to swap Dirty Mind out for Parade (if only to include "Kiss" on the list).  I can see that the people that argue Sign O' The Times is the greater album have a point, but for me this was a far more enjoyable experience with higher highs and far less lows, so I was very happy to have had the opportunity to listen to it and am perfectly happy with its presence in the top 10.

#9 - His last chance to convert me
#7 - Someone we've not seen before