Rebuilding Rob

Wow, this is a tough one! Music is so subjective. There are so many different genres to choose from. To make matters even more complicated, one or two really great songs does not a great album make. Also, the reality is that streaming services have changed the way that I listen to music. I enjoy the “entire album experience“ but it has become something of a lost art. Music is available on demand, as opposed to whatever disk is in your CD player.

When I initially sat down to create this post earlier today, I wanted to name my favorite five or even 10 albums of all time. I could easily come up with such a list. But every time I sit down to write, my mind kept racing back to one album…

Prince & The Revolution – Purple Rain Soundtrack

It’s widely accepted that Purple Rain was the biggest album, commercially speaking, of Prince’s career. Instead of getting some random song stuck in my head, there are days where I get the entire Purple Rain soundtrack running through my brain.

“Lets Go Crazy” – this might be the perfect “track one“ song to an album. It is one of Prince’s mega-hits, so it will always received radio airplay. “Let’s go crazy” takes you on a journey, musically, speaking. It is probably the hardest rocking song on the album but it sets the tone for the rest of the album. Its no surprise that “…Crazy” opens the Purple Rain movie.

“Take me with U” – I’m surprised that the song wasn’t a bigger hit then it became. I know that it was released as a single back in the day, but I personally don’t remember hearing it receive much airplay. This one is something of a bubbly love song, with Apollonia on back up vocals.

“The Beautiful Ones” – the obligatory “Prince Schwanky love song” of the album. There’s a genuine power to Prince’s screams near the end of the song. It’s the kind of pain that can only be born out of love.

“Computer Blue”- I love every song on this album, but computer blue is probably my least favorite song. It has a great beat, and a really amazing guitar solo, Having said that, the song plays a key part in the movie. That alone makes it note worthy. Like so many other tracks on the album, there is no dead air between this, and…

“Darling Nikki”- This song was THE flashpoint for Tipper Gore and the PMRC’s “explicit lyrics” label campaign. . …Nikki is anything but lovey-dovey. This is a consummate Prince sex song, in all of its dirty, raunchy, racy, explicit glory.

“When doves Cry”- the biggest commercial hit of the album. It was the first song to go number one from the soundtrack. Great lyrics, a great beat. Prince wrote and recorded this entire song himself. It is something of a musical anomaly, in that it contains no bass.

“I would die 4 U” – the first of 3 tracks recorded live on the album. Very upbeat. The song did receive radio airplay back in the day, but it wasn’t as big of a hit as “…Doves” or, “…Crazy”. Like other parts of the album, one song bleeds into the next. Once you have listened to the entire album, it is difficult to separate “Die…” from…

“Baby I’m a Star” – if “…Doves” is a song about the lengths that someone will go to for the personally love, then this song is all about self love, positive affirmation, and confidence. By this point in his career, Prince already established himself as having a… unique, eccentric… personality. “Baby I’m a Star” seems to be the very thing you would have Prince shouting to the world.

“Purple Rain” – the 8 minute magnum opus. This song was originally intended to be a country song. Prince reached out to Stevie Nicks to have her perform the vocals. Thank God, she politely declined. For my money, this might be Prince’s greatest song. If you listen to the guitar solo and instrumental outro at the end of the song and don’t feel any emotion, you probably aren’t human. All of the wonderful possibility and emotions of this magnificent concept called music is encapsulated in song’s final 3 minutes. Sadly, the radio version of “Purple” deletes the final 3 minutes – effective neutering it.

Interesting facts about the album: I would die 4 U, baby I’m a star and Purple Rain were all recorded live. Prince was the first entertainer to have the number one single, the number one album, and the number one movie in America all in the same week.

Since Prince’s death, subsequent deluxe anniversary releases of this album have included additional tracks both the sides and other music heard in the movie, including the seven minute dance remix of “let’s go crazy”.

What is your all-time favorite album?

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:

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• The Boy Who Looked at His Feet
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