Purple Rain

5/10 Too much nonsense

I saw prince once. It wasn’t great. He was an hour late, he played his own music during the warmup which obviously lasted an extra hour. Then he played Alicia Keys introducing him at the rock and roll hall of fame where she basically called him the second coming the sound was terrible and tickets were expensive. Other than that it was fine. 🙂 This album for me was better than sign of the times which was the previous album at least it has a few good songs on it. Otherwise the style of this music from the 80’s mostly just sounds extremely dated. 2.5 but I’m rounding down because of my concert experience. Probably not fair but oh well neither was starting the show an hour late.

I really wanted to like this album, I had not listened much to Prince before so I had high expectations, it was just.... ok.

It's funny for this album to pop up now; I was thinking a couple days ago about how I have literally never listened to Prince and was curious what makes him such a popular artist. I've always assumed it had more to do with his persona and showmanship than his actual music. While I knew he was considered a good guitar player, I was not expecting virtuoso-esque licks in his songs. Regardless, I am definitely still not vibing with it. I have never been a fan of 80's synth/pop, and this is pretty much fits the bill. Weird to me that Foo Fighters covered a prince song. Not really a fan of either, just interesting. I do not understand how Purple Rain is a popular song. I want to give this a 2 star rating because of my own personal tastes, but this leads me to the thought of how my rating system is going to operate across these albums..... I have to also consider cultural significance and , so I'll probably give it a 3 instead.

C Let’s Go Crazy - 3 Take Me With U - 2 The Beautiful Ones - 2 The Computer Blue - 3 Darling Nikki - 3 When Doves Cry - 2 I Would Die 4 U - 1 Baby I’m A Star - 2 Purple Rain - 3 I expected much more from the supposed musical genius of Prince (he can play 27 instruments).

Not my type

Wow this might be one of the most overrated pieces of music ever. Never gotten into it but I used to think it’s because I never gave it the time and attention it deserves. Not the case, this is just generic over the top overly dramatic pompous eighties pop with a bit of good guitar throw in. This guy is not a top anything guitarists the songs are meh and the production is blechs. It’s two stars but I’m giving it one because of the hype.

Couldn't finish this one. I like Prince as a musician, but the album started off weird, then went to this shrieking that made me wince. I was determined to keep at it, but when it got to “Darling Nikki” I had to stop because of the sexually explicit lyrics. Might go back and listen to the title track though.

nope, nope, nope! I didn’t get this album in the 80’s …. and I still can’t find much to enjoy! (chorus of let’s go crazy and when doves cry - although it does go on a bit- are the only listenable moments!) Purple Rain is an album that actually hurts my ears to listen too!

Really did not get the appeal of this one. It was somehow over the top and boring at the same time.

Fake Michael Jackson

Only decent song was When Doves Cry. Most is boring. The mouth noises are very annoying.

I don't get Prince. I don't get why he's such a huge deal. Glad for people who get it, but this is EXTREMELY not for me.

Darling Nicky is partly responsible for the PMRC and the "Explicit Lyrics" on records. I also think that there is a good amount of people who did not vote for Al Gore because his wife Tipper was part of the PMRC.

I love when it's this simple. One of the greatest (rock?) albums of all time. Move over Beethoven (or the Beatles)...Prince is in town. 5 "this old white dude is dancing" stars.

5/10

I may be bias since I'm from Minnesota but this is a perfect album. Every song is iconic leading up to that legendary title track. Undoubtably one of the greatest of all time. Favorite track: Purple Rain

loveee it

Sorry excuse for a mustache. Good music though.

Prince's creme de la creme, purple rain is just as funky, synthy and 80s as you could ask for!!!

One of the easiest 5/5 I'll ever give. Best tracks: Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, Let's Go Crazy, Darling Nikki

Gitówa

klasyczek

Wszystko tu pięknie gra. Klasa.

Dearly beloved, We are gathered here today To give 5 stars to Prince, For making a 9 minute song Feel too short.

wow. just wow. that little man was REALLY horny.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life… We were lucky enough to see The Purple One live at Malahide Castle, Dublin in 2011, in what turned out to be his last ever Irish gig. It was a scorching hot summer’s day at the end of July, and the excitement levels were at fever pitch. We'd been to concerts in Malahide in the past, but never like this. We were left waiting outside the venue for a long, long time. Eventually, we were allowed in, but only to a small section, fenced off from the main stage area with tall, solid hoarding. Wondering what was going on, we waited. And waited. We could hear the band sound check for what seemed like an age. I've since learned that Prince had fired his entire production crew that morning, and had, at the very last minute, recruited some locals to act as his new crew. They had only a few hours to prepare. Apparently the new guitar tech was frantically searching Google images on his phone to try to see if he could figure out how Prince’s guitar pedal chain should be set up. And then when Prince arrived on stage, at exactly the time we had been funneled into the makeshift “waiting area”, he announced to the crew that he wanted to rehearse. And nobody was allowed to see him rehearse. So, we were treated to a full rehearsal, listening from behind the tall barriers, wondering what the hell was going on. “Does that sound alright out there?” a familiar voice called out after the last song of the rehearsal, and the crowd went nuts. He had us before the gig even started. It was such a bizarre story that someone made a radio documentary about it. But the general consensus among the crowd wasn't impatience. We were all in agreement: it wouldn't be a Prince gig without a crazy story. Two and a half hours later than scheduled, we were admitted to the main venue. And it was worth the wait. Prince took to the stage and declared “Let's party!” One of the first songs he played at that gig was the opener of this album, “Let's Go Crazy”. And we did. The absolute energy of that track is unmatched by anything else. And with some of the most amazing guitar fills too. The song ends with one of my all-time favorite guitar moments in music. The rest of the band jolts to an abrupt stop, and all that’s left is Prince playing one of the most amazing guitar solos you’ll ever hear. I think of Prince as the second coming of Jimi Hendrix. Like Hendrix, Prince is a naturalistic player treating his guitar as if it's another limb that he has complete control over. He might not always be considered in the same conversations about the best guitarists of all time, but that's just because he often buries his playing in layers of funky madness. He's absolutely one of the best we've ever seen on this planet, and it's on show plainly and at its best here at the end of “Let's Go Crazy”. Whenever this song comes on the radio, I have to stop whatever I'm doing to fully appreciate this incredible moment of perfect musicianship. It’s my atheist angelus moment. His solo at the end of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is the other best example. If you’ve seen it, you’ll know what I mean. If you haven’t, stop what you’re doing and look it up right this second. It was at a George Harrison tribute performance with George’s son Dhani, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Steve Winwood. Much to the absolute delight of Dhani, Prince dominates all the other players with an incredible solo at the end, at one stage falling backwards off the stage, only to be propped up by a burly tech. And then at the end of the solo, with a knowing smirk on his face, he throws his guitar above his head into the air… and it never comes back down. It’s not just his incredible guitar skills that are on show throughout this album. His incredible voice is too. Prince can go from falsetto to baritone with ease. But it’s those high-pitched screams, staying perfectly in tune, towards the end of songs like “Computer Blue” or “The Beautiful Ones” in particular that showcase his unbelievably powerful vocal chops perfectly. This album is a masterpiece. It's by far my favourite Prince album, where he perfected that blend of his unique style with great melodies. These songs are accessible without compromise. They're still uniquely Prince. I think of that concert in Malahide whenever I hear this album. Maybe because I was listening to this album quite a lot back then, or maybe because he played so many of the best songs from this album that night, that it felt a bit like a “Purple Rain” tour. It was everything you'd want from a Prince gig. Blazing guitar solos with that iconic tele, outrageous outfits, funky madness, awe-struck members of the crowd on stage dancing, and so much more. But it's the final song of the main set, the final song on this album, that stays with me: the iconic “Purple Rain”. Purple confetti flying through the air during the glorious guitar solo at the end of the song. The Purple One effortlessly shredding across his fretboard as the sky above us was filled with purple rain.

I don‘t think words can express how amazing this album is. A definitive record in music history. Maybe the best thing to come out of the 80s.

Purple Rain is Purple Rain. A masterpiece. Princes rock n roll was unique, funky and emotional. Fantastic album and a must listen

Such a fun album and story. Love, heartbreak, upbeat tunes? Yes yes and yes. Simply wonderful!

10/10 AGUANTE PRINCE

Do I need to even write anything? If you can appreciate one of the foremost songwriter/musicians to ever walk the planet then you need to find something else to do other than listen to music.

How do you fault this? Ridiculously funky musical and fun.

He’s so genius I love it !!

Loved

I mean, it's a classic

What is there to say? Classic

5 Listened to this a while ago and though it was an ok album with a few great songs but the whole thing really clicked this time round, i totally get the hype now

classic

5/5 classic, nobody does it like Prince

10/10 I love all songs on this album so so much

Full of big time hits

fuck

I've been on a journey with Prince lately, listening to his discography front to back, making a playlist of anything I like even a little bit. About a month ago Purple Rain came up, I hadn't listened in full in decades. First listen I thought, wow this has quite a few stinkers for such a classic album. Second listen I thought, well they aren't stinkers but still probably skips. Now listening a 3rd time a month later, where'd the skips go? No skips. Darling Nikki is my least favourite but not enough to skip. I Would Die 4 U is my favourite on the album and might be my favourite Prince song. Before today's fresh listen I thought I would be rating it a 4 but it's a solid 5.

It’s prince

it's purple rain. 5.

I've somehow never really listened to Prince before... I have heard one or two in passing, one of which being the lead track from this album, but I have never really listened to anything properly. What an album to listen to for my first impression of Prince. I really was never interested in him as an artist, thinking from stories that he was quite ignorant, and it just rubbed me the wrong way. But to be honest, I'd be egotistical with that talent too. He was an incredibly talented artist, and based on this album, I am going to listen to another Prince album straight away. It's quite ironic that this is the album I got generated today, as I had gone out and actually bought a Prince compilation CD yesterday, planning on giving him a listen. After this album, I'm 100% going to. I can see why there was tension between him and MJ in the industry. Although I will die on the hill that nobody was or can be as talented as Michael Jackson, I have to acknowledge how much of a genius Prince was at the same time. Favourite lyric: 'I never wanted to be your weekend lover, I only wanted to be some kind of friend.' ('Purple Rain') Favourites: When Doves Cry Purple Rain Darling Nikki

++*: Let's Go Crazy, Purple Rain ++: Take Me with U, The Beautiful Ones, Computer Blue, Darling Nikki, When Doves Cry, I Would Die 4 You, Baby I'm a Star 10/10

Great classic

1,7,8曲目すき

If we got two of the top five albums of the 1980s back to back…Would that be cool? The track sequencing is so Prince. Let's go crazy is a no-brainer opening track. But then he zags with take me with you, the beautiful ones, computer blue, and Darling Nikki. Then you flip to the B side and get when doves cry, I would die 4 you, baby I'm a star, and purple rain. What a fantastic little weirdo!

This is the definition of a five star album.

Not a bad track on the album, absolutely fantastic. It also allowed us to known that Tipper Gore and by extension, her husband were giant skidmarks on the underwear of the world and still somehow probably a better choice than who he ran against. One of the best of all time, no doubt. I see this as the peak of The Purple One's power, before the excesses of the Paisley Park period.

incredibly produced and flows extremely well, purple rain might be one of the greatest album closers of all time. beautiful beautiful stuff

Very important album in my life. Upon going to play it tonight the CD was missing from its case so I think it was in my first car's stereo when it died. Anyway, it's perfect.

You / I would die for you / Darling if you want me to / You / I would die for you

Love this album.

OMG! This album was mind-blowing when I first heard it decades ago. It is still amazing. One of the best albums ever made and prince could never match it, neither before nor after. This is pure art and I am confident it will have the staying power of Mozart or Beethoven. Favorite song: ALL OF THEM. 10/10 if you somehow have not heard this, stop everything you are doing now and find a way to listen to it.

CLASSIC.

from top to bottom, this is a must listen too album at least once, twice a year

its amazing

This was certainly borderline between 4 and 5, but the number of hits (and how good they are) is what makes it so great.

Overall: 4.54 (rounded to 5) Consistency: 4.67 Originality: 4 Enjoyment: 5 Virtuosity: 4.5 1. Let's Go Crazy - 5 2. Take Me With U - 4 3. The Beautiful Ones - 5 4. Computer Blue - 3 5. Darling Nikki - 5 6. When Doves Cry - 5 7. I Would Die For U - 5 8. Baby I'm a Star - 5 9. Purple Rain - 5

This is one of the benefits of this project. I spent years ignoring Prince and just not getting it. This is nothing short of 5 stars. Incredible really. Amazing production, great arrangements and the best musicianship.

I have a greater respect for Prince now than when this album came out. However, I can't hear these songs without being taken back to my sophomore year of high school. The songs, production, etc., are all really well done. I have a feeling that most of the rankings by people of a certain age will be based on how you felt about life back in 1984.

Let’s go crazy!! An amazing introductory track to this album, really hypes you up for the rest of the listen. The guitar solo at the end was also fantastic. Take me with u was great and I absolutely loved the Beautiful People. I really loved the instrumental. Computer Blue was just musically amazing. Especially nearing the end it has so many cool moments. It was also slightly sci fi too which was great. Darling Nikki almost had indie rock vibes to it which was a ton of fun! When Doves Cry is obviously an absolute classic, it’s not a track I particularly love, but it is fantastic. I would die 4 u again had such great instrumentals. Baby im a star was so much fun. Obviously to close, purple rain is awesome. A great overall track. 5/5 ⭐️, if mostly for how fantastic the instrumental is. 145/1089

As everything done by Prince, the greatest guitar player after Hendrix, this album rocks from start to finish.

A masterpiece!

So many bangers, it plays like a greatest hits. What a funky, filthy genius.

I love everything about this album. The energy and musicality brought here has little to no competition for me. It succeeds at all the sounds it fuses, but if categorizing this as a pop record, I can’t think of another that I’ve heard that matches it. I only enjoy it more now than when I first heard it a couple years ago. The closer is one of the first tracks I would think of if asked for music magic. Timeless. Not a bad word to say about this, making it the easiest to score yet. 2 re-listens Favorite Tracks: Title Track, Let’s Go Crazy, When Doves Cry, The Beautiful Ones, I Would Die 4 U

Expectation: -> Iconic. A lock for 5? Tbd. After listening: -> This is first full listen through in 10+ years and only 2nd or 3rd time ever. Yet first four songs on my ranking are pretty well burned to brain like a CD. Went into this with an open mind as I'm not mad about Prince. Not sure how this isn't a 5 for everybody. Track ranking: Purple Doves Crazy Die Nikki Beautiful Star Take Computer

Miles and miles better than sign of the times oh my god

This was the first Prince album I ever bought on the strength of When Doves Cry. At first I wasn't sure but it has grown over the years. Maybe not his best album but close.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> the Beatles Another album I didn't need to related to, but still I did because I will never tire of it. An absolute masterpiece from start to finish. This is one of the, if not straight up the, greatest albums of all fucking time. Now I'm going to watch the movie.

Det är fan svinbra.

Inject this straight into my veins

Wat een vet album!! Prince is helemaal langs mij heen gegaan, maar dit is echt vet.

I don’t love every single track but it’s hard not to give this five stars.

Easily one of the greatest 80’s and Pop albums in general, its one of those ethereal, romantic and body-moving experiences everyone needs to try. Rip to one of the greatest to ever do it. Standouts are The Beautiful Ones, When Doves Cry and of course Purple Rain.

That ain’t lake Minnetonka

Fantastic album, what else is there left to say, probably one of the best albums of the 80s. Prince is immune to making bad albums

Rating: 4 Ouvir purple rain pela primeira vez foi transcendental. O fechamento do álbum ficou incrível. Transição I Will soe for you para Baby I’m a Star

Simplemente increíble que el hiciera toda la producción

Love Prince and love this album. One of the best album opening tracks ever and one of the best closing tracks ever. “Computer Blue” grew on me over years of listening to the album. Baby I’m a Star is a lot of fun. Not a stinker on the album. Even my dad who hated most stuff I listened to thought Purple Rain was a great song.

I adore this song smmmm

Computer blue. Purple rain. Skol vikes

Another perfect album. Every song could have been a single, every one perfectly flows into the next. Just a banger from start to finish

You know I think this was a 4 but I know I’m going to come back to this album because the start and the finish are so strong with amazing transitions between the tracks. So since this is the first listen of many, I’ll give it a 5.

Another easy one, as I lived through the rise of Prince and the huge explosion that was Purple Rain. This was the sixth and arguably the best album of Prince’s career. According to Wikipedia, on this album, the music was denser and more layered. And though this was more pop-oriented than his other albums, there were flashes of where Prince would go in the future. And after listening to it again with fresh ears, there was a lot of cool experimentation going on, though dated it may sound. The album was controversial, but Prince was controversial. Hell, he had a song called Contrversy. The album sold over 25 million copies, had five hit singles, won Grammys, was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry, among other accolades. I must admit, I’m not sure I have listened to the whole album from front to back. Looking at the track list, there are several songs that I can’t recall right off. I’m amazed that there are only nine tracks on the original album. Praise be. Track 1 is Let’s Go Crazy, one of my favorite Prince songs, and it’s one of those songs that gives you a peek at just how great he was on the guitar. His performance on the song While My Guitar Gently Weeps at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame really blew the lid off how great he was on guitar, but on Purple Rain, I had no idea. This was the second single off the album, and it went to number one on the Billboard charts. It has that iconic intro with the keyboards and Prince welcoming the listener to the album and telling them to have faith and stay strong when the devil tries to get you down. It's like he's opening the first night of revival. It’s funny, many of Prince’s songs are about sex, but he was a spiritual man. He sang about sex, but how do we know it wasn’t monogamous sex? He also sang about God and faith. I think his faith really did interfere with his music sometimes. It’s hard to be a huge rock star and stay a faithful Christian, I’m sure. But none of us is perfect. This guitar solo at the end is just… heavenly. What a way to open an album. There aren’t many better opening songs. Track 2 is called Take Me With U and I have no memory of it. It starts out very percussive, then settles into a nice Prince-like melody. Wikipedia told me this is the first Prince album not all written and recorded by himself. As in, he played all the instruments, for the most part, on the previous albums. This was more of a Prince and the Revolution album. This song is a duet with Apollonia. Remember Apollonia? Prince tried his hardest to make her a star. She either didn’t have or maybe subconsciously didn’t want it. Supposedly, the duet was supposed to be with Vanity. Remember Vanity? Seems like it was the same deal with her as Apollonia. This song is okay, Apollonia is fine, but you can see how it’s not on the same level as the hits. It was the B-side of Let’s Go Crazy. Track 3 is The Beautiful Ones, another track I don’t remember. This song, however, has something. It sounds like Prince, with the electric drums and the synths. If there’s one knock against Prince, it’s that a lot of his songs sound like the decade they were recorded in. Most of the songs on this album scream the 1980s. It makes me wonder if I still love these songs because they’re great or if it’s all nostalgia? This was a nice slow jam about Prince trying to woo a girl. I keep forgetting this album was actually a soundtrack for the Purple Rain movie. I never watched that movie. I just figured it was garbage. I wonder if it's a hoot now? Track 4 is Computer Blue, which has writing credits for John L. Nelson, Wendy & Lisa, and the illustrious Dr. Fink. Wendy & Lisa were Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. Coleman played keyboards and piano in the Revolution, and Melvoin played guitar. Dr. Fink also played keyboards in the Revolution, and John L. Nelson’s stage name was Prince Rogers, and he was Prince’s dad. The song has that familiar Prince groove. This is more of a dance track. Oooh, there's a really nice guitar riff that appears about midway through the song. Apparently, the song was around 14 minutes long, but edited down to fit on the album. The middle section of the song morphs into a song Prince’s dad wrote called Father’s Song. This was a fun song. I loved it. Track 5 is Darling Nikki and this song caused some controversy. I think it was the verse about where Prince met Nikki and what she was doing at the time. Of course, Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center thought music with dirty words was going to corrupt and bring down the morals of our children. It would be incredible if that were our only problem back then. Much like today, politicians have all of us idiots focused on problems that don't even affect us day to day, yet gas prices, grocery prices, blowing trillions on foreign wars.... I digress. We should have banned politicians. I love that the PMRC thought putting a sticker on an album saying it contained filthy language would stop people from buying those albums. As a kid, I actively hunted for those albums with stickers. That’s the stuff they don’t want you to hear, so it must be good. Again, I digress. The music and the way Prince sings give off a nursery rhyme vibe. It’s weird. It’s sung kind of innocently, yet the lyrics are overly sexual. I guess Tipper had never heard such dirty words before. My favorite part of the iciocy that was the PMRC is they wanted to ban Frank Zappa's song, My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama, for offensive lyrics. The song is an instrumental, there are no lyrics. Hmmmm, kind of sounds like maybe the PMRC members didn't really even listen to what was deemed offensive. Like maybe it was just another thing to keep people distracted from, I don't know, Iran-Contra? This song is weird, and it's one of the Prince songs that doesn’t sound so dated. It’s very synth-heavy, and the guitar has an effect on it that makes it even sound like it’s a synth. The song is raw. It sounds like they were all in the studio together and just cranked the song out. Love the production. There’s also a hidden, backward message at the end. I wonder if Tipper heard it? It says, “Hello, how are you? I'm fine, 'cause I know that the Lord is coming soon Coming, coming soon.” That Prince is a slippery one. Just when you think he’s going to hell, he takes you to heaven. Track 6 is When Doves Cry and I remember hearing this for the first time and thinking, " What in the holy crapballs is this?” I love the opening line, “Dig, if you will, a picture.” I dig. Now this is a song that sounds like the 80s to me. I think it’s the percussion. Those old 80s electronic drums didn’t age well. It may be that it was all over the radio at the time, too. This was the first single off the album and became Prince’s first number-one single on Billboard. The music video had Prince taking a bath or something like that. Of course, the video caused controversy. I wish I could have shown those who were offended by the video videos to come in the late 80s and 90s. I’m looking at you Cherry Pie and Here I Go Again, just to name a few. I always thought the video was just goofy. I think it was the adults who were more corrupted by it than any teenager or child. Great song, though not my favorite on the album. Track 7 is I Would Die 4 U and was the fourth single off the album. I dig this song, and I don’t know why. It’s for sure a dance song, but it’s also pop. I think it also holds up over the long run. I won’t say I can’t guess what decade it was recorded in, but it doesn’t scream 80s to me. Apparently, radio DJs would often play I Would Die 4 U and follow it with Track 8, Baby, I’m a Star. I never knew that. The song is a nice pop song, leading us into the close of the album. Oooh, it does kind of flow right into Baby, I’m a Star. Track 8 is, in fact, Baby I’m a Star, and I’m not sure I’ve heard this. It isn’t anything really special, but again, it doesn’t sound dated. Prince is singing his arse off on this song. Apparently, it was a live staple, and he performed it during his Super Bowl Halftime performance. I missed it because I was watching an alternate halftime performance by Johnny Paycheck, Vern Gosdin, and Oliver North. Just a solid Prince song. Track 9 is Purple Rain, the reason we’re all here all these years later. I love this song. It was the third single from the album and reached number 2 before stalling out. It got back up to number 4 after Prince died. The song is almost a slow blues jam. It definitely has a sad feel to it, and even more so after Prince’s death. Now that I get back into the groove,the song is more like a slow gospel music jam at the end of the church service. Prince just slays the guitar on this track. I’m not even sure it registered to me that it was Prince playing the guitar. I just kind of looked at him as a singer. But I was 10, an idiot. Beautiful song and in my top five favorite Prince jams. I love how Prince decides to end the song in a Beatles-esque way. Another fun fact I didn’t know is that the last three songs of the album were recorded live in concert and added to the album with a few overdubs and edits. You can hear the crowd at the end of Purple Rain, but that part usually isn’t played on the radio. These songs almost feel like the soundtrack to my 10th and 11th years on the planet. Even though some of the songs on the album didn’t measure up, there are so many all-time classics that it doesn't matter. Most songs are going to be inferior to Let’s Go Crazy, When Doves Cry, I Would Die 4 U, and Purple Rain. Listen to this album. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s an all-timer.

Rate: 9/10.

Dios

Love it, i just love prince

An all-timer - bold, exciting and still so fresh. Favourite track: Purple Rain

When Doves Cry is so danceable I never even noticed it doesn't have a fucking bassline in it. Welp not a single skip and every song seems to be a banger. It's Purple Rain, what do you expect?

Perfect album

Peak 80s, what’s there to knock about this album?

5/6 Classic. Every song is a banger. I only wish the song "I Would Die For You" was a little longer.

One of the greatest albums. Absolutely love every song on here Rating: 10/10 Favorite Song: baby I’m a start

favs: the beautiful ones when doves cry purple rain

My fault for not listening to this one before Will I listen to again: 100%

Prince at his best

Indisputable 5 star album. Anyone who says otherwise is doing so to seem edgy. But you can't out-edgy Prince.

This weird guy can sure write some classics tunes.

This soundtrack earned Prince an Academy Award, cemented his legend as a pop culture icon, and is so good it's practically a greatest hits collection.

Top 10 Album all time

We all know I love Prince! I'm giving it a 5, but it is NOT my favorite album of his.

So good! 💜

Weirdly Purple Rain at the end is such a different vibe to the rest of this album, but it still really works.

Ridiculous album to be honest, this is what peak maximumlism should sound like. Outstanding

As automatic a 5 star entry as there is on this list. Hard to overstate just how huge and awesome this is. Massive hits, but still artistically outstanding. This album could just be the guitar solo from “Purple Rain” and I’d give it a five. Essential in every way.

A very unique and good album. 5 stars or A-.

Amazing album. My first time full listen, but I have heard many of the songs before, but they work really well as a whole album. Prince is one of those artist I am meaning to listen to more of. I'm sure this album will get repeat listens and I will probably buy a record of it soon. Favorite Track - Let's Get Crazy Least Favorite Track - The Beautiful Ones ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One pearl after another culminating in Purple Rain.

ourple rain

His sixth album. Rock / Pop. This whole album is excessive, over produced, has too many layers as well as being bat shit crazy and horny as fuck. And I like it ! A quintessentially 80s album if ever there was one. I can't single out just one track. This album works as a whole.

perfecte plaat natuurlijk

I don't think I'm finishing this listen on Friday. Lots of music here! I think I've listened to this album before but don't remember it. I need to listen to more Prince, this rules.

I've always expected this to be an instant favourite for me once I finally got around to listening to it properly. Couldn't get 100% of the way there but it's still doing heaps. That being said there are too many classics for it not to be a 5. Fav tracks: Let's Go Crazy, Darling Nikki, When Doves Cry, I Would Die 4 U. Saved a song: Y RYM: Y (#204)

Man, I loved this album back then. I must've listened to it dozens of times. Not one miss for me.

I see Prince and it's a 🍆💦

Отличный альбом, эссенция восьмидесятых. Очень сексуальная и стильная музыка, красивые музыкальные решения, сочные синтезаторы. Это классно.

Prince obviously one of THE guitar greats Let’s Go Crazy - iconic intro and song in general. Very nostalgic for me. Was EXTREMELY hard to resist getting up to dance to this. I had to re play several times after I finished the album because I love it so much OH NO LETS GO CRAZY Take Me With U - another 80s classic iconic synth and violin? accents. Definitely an essential also had to re listen to this The Beautiful Ones - love the beat very 80s with the reverb. On the slower end very beautiful (pun not intended) not so many lyrics and more of Princes ad libs picks up more at the end. Not one of my favourites but still great. Computer Blue - experimental and, well, computery. Crazy guitar work in the middle. not one I’ve particularly listened to before but glad I have now. Could definitely imagine this in some sort of 80s teen movie. Love how the guitar and synth work together in the last quarter Darling Nikki - love the transition from Computer Blue. Not as flashy so to say as the others (obviously still flashy obviously because it’s prince but just not as much as the others). Nvm it picks up towards the end I take it back. Not a song that particularly stands out to me unfortunately though When Doves Cry - BANGER THE GUITAR AT THE BEGINNING instantly recognisable. Definitely busting out the dad dance moves for this one. The layered vocals tickles me I love them. One of the most recognisable synth parts. Longer than I remember it being but even better because it’s a banger. I Would Die 4 You - VERY synth heavy. YET ANOTHER BANGER bro was genuinely cooking so hard with this album. Definitely gonna be stuck in my head for the next few hours Baby I’m A Star - baby he IS a star fr. Drums are THE main character. Woah love the bridge? Synth solo EATS DOWNNN. Interesting panning of voice lines Purple Rain - best till last amirite. Still kinda traumatised by its use in Stanger Things. Never fails to make me tear up on the first chord insane contrast to the first track. A BELTER for sure. GOD ITS SO POWERFUL. IRS SUCH A SHAME OUR FRIENDSHIP HAD TO END PURPLE RAIN PURPLE RAIN. GOOOOODDDDDDD. Absolute masterpiece guitar work amazing as always from prince. If I weren’t in public listening to this rn I would be on the floor in tears. As I can’t do that I will just stare off into space. Whole album hit after hit. (Love the album cover too 🤭 would definitely love to add it to my record collection). 10000% deserves the hype it gets.

9/10

I watched a baseball video the other day that talked about underrated players and how there's various levels to being underrated; mostly because a subjective rating like that is really an amorphous concept that is based on overlapping group think or fan base milieu's. The narrator of the video said that "whenever anyone asks who is the most underrated baseball player today, just about everyone says "Jose Ramirez". And they are right. But doesn't that kind of reject the idea of him being the most underrated player if everyone thinks that he is underrated?". It's a funny philosophical conundrum. Prince at some times in my life has been someone who I have actually considered just slightly overrated. I've also thought of him as someone who might be underrated. Most people say "Oh Prince is great" when you bring him up in conversation, and at the same time I feel like I don't hear his name mentioned enough when people talk about the true greats of all time or of an era. There's a reverence around his name but yet I don't see many people mention songs of his outside of "Purple Rain". But back to my baseball anecdote, this could just be the social environments and circles that I'm in. I haven't listened to Purple Rain full through in a while; maybe not since he died, seven days short of a decade today. I was working a double that day and everyone at my workplace was dour and overall visibly down. I worked with a super diverse group of people; Caucasians, African Americans, Africans, Haitians, Indians, and more (majority of these people were a good bit older than me too). And across the board they were all sad and talking about Prince; how he was a larger than life personality. I remember one of my best friends there named Barry- an older African American man who lived a tough life in and out of gangs and crime who turned his life around with martial arts and music, and he was crying at a table because Prince was someone who meant so much to him in that period of his life. I felt bad that he was at work when he learned this news. Listening to this album today was a delight. I've written a handful of reviews the past few weeks about how I've been kind of up and down lately and I listened to this full through between 8 and 9am on a Wednesday morning while I sipped a really good coffee and started to prepare for the work day. The songs were as great as they always are when I hear them. Catchy, fun, bombastic, epic, personal, and fucking cool as hell. I really had extra delight in hearing the title track "Purple Rain" and thinking about all of the new age indie guitarists that imitate this spanky clean guitar tone today. I stared at the album art smiling as I listened to the final two and a half minutes of the song with all of it's gorgeous strings, piano, and guitar parts. I love the whistles.. is this outtro partially recorded live? It sounds kind of corny but I really do feel something special in these last few minutes of the album. As this title track edges near the 7 minute mark it's climax is over and there's this feeling like you're about to see the credits roll of an amazing film that you just finished. But then, at 7:07, you get these super dramatic string parts that pull you away from that serene accomplished feeling. I absolutely love it. Looking at the album art while hearing this part I feel like I understand his music on a whole just a little bit more. This seemingly unimportant little easter egg is such a quizzical inclusion, but maybe that's part of his mystique? He doesn't want to end the album with anything typical or straightforward. He wants you to leave with not only "purple rain puuuurple rain" stuck in you head, but also pondering those mysterious final string parts. 5/5. Amazing album. Amazing album cover, maybe one of the more notable ones that I can think of.

It's Prince. There's no way this isn't getting a 5. It's one ok the best (if not the best) albums of the 80s. Not a single bad track on it.

La absoluta cabra, un par de temas no los conocía y me encantaron.

Top album. Best he done.

This album is one of the greatest ever made.

Classic from that horny, talented mofo. Still sounds great. And the closing track is amazing. His guitar and vocals man.

10/10, me encantó “darling niki”. Y como estoy calificando esto como si fuera a comprar vinilos, este 100% lo compraría, gran disco

*1984. 43 minutes. *I'm not sure there's a better opening song than Let's Go Crazy. *Only 9 songs, 43 minutes, but it's stacked. *Let's Go Crazy, Darling Nikki, When Doves Cry, I Would Die for You, Purple Rain. RATING - 8.5/10

holy shit prince is the goat

Yeah its as good as people made it out to be

sensational. prophetic, even.

5/10

Beyond the usual hits, this spin made me appreciate the incredible end-of-run of this album, with I Would Die 4 U through to Purple Rain. Wild tempo up to the close.

I was late to the game with this album. I first heard it in my early 20s right around the time I saw an insane prince cover band in Vegas ( purple reign). I was immediately hooked and still play this album often. Musically brilliant, still my favourite prince album.

An absolute classic album from Prince, definitely one of his best. Excellent - I already have this album in my music collection.

Bitchin’.

Both this album and the movie that accompanied it are classics. Watching the movie and seeing how the soundtrack fits into it adds such a depth to each of the songs. This is one of those albums that I will keep coming back to over and over again the rest of my life.

What a fucking EPIC album!!! No skips. No notes. Fantastic. Currently listening on repeat, makes me wanna dance + boogie sooooo bad! Gosh. All timer for sure.

classic, fire, I like it a lot

Prince is a legend for a reason.

Landmark.

RIP Prince, great album. Possibly best album finisher on any album, find me a better one

Prince was horny!!!

Wildly inventive, creative production choices galore, hugely influential, brilliant musicianship, packed with hooky licks, horny af. And even the cover is iconic. Anything below a five would be a crude underrating. If you were to boil this list down to a selection of 10 albums you must hear before you die, this would have to be on it. Period. If you don’t like Purple Rain, you might want to consult a doctor - just to be on the safe side.

Prince is Peak, he knows how to do good music. Good album

One of my favourite albums. Every song is a killer, and it has the perfect mix of energy and ballads. As ever with Prince there are incredible guitar solos perfectly mixed in with fantastic vocals and epic songwriting. Love every song but When Doves Cry, Let's Go Crazy and Darling Nikki are my absolute highlights, along with the legendary title track. 10/10

This is the peak of 80s pop-funk-rock. You cannot tell me otherwise. Standout tracks: Let's Go Crazy, When Doves Cry, Purple Rain, Darling Nikki.

lo amoooo

9/10 Prince had a very special combination of talent, passion and relentless drive that resulted in a musician who's like we may never see again. But what is not often discussed is how experimental and boundary pushing he was. Even his most ardent fans would likely agree that his musical output was not always the most consistent, but a significant factor in that was his determination to try new things, innovate and then move on. In the early 80s, that willingness to experiment meshed brilliantly into a run of albums that, while not always perfect, married his ear for pop music, sense of groove and sublime musicianship to create some truly wonderful music. Purple Rain is not a perfect album, but it's really not too far from it. It opens spectacularly with Prince preaching his philosophy to the listener before launching into one of the greatest ever party tunes. He's funky, cheeky and so much fun to listen to, and somehow the sound he creates sound both ludicrously 80s and fresh as a daisy at the same time. I do feel that things lull a little too much out of the back of such a bombastic opening, but after the slight dip of Take Me With U, we get a run that ramps things up and gives us some experiments in sound and production that must have sounded absolutely mental on a pop record in 1984. As it builds, we get some moments of real quality, culminating in the dirty, sexy grit of Darling Nikki. While I get that some of this first half might not be for everyone, I feel there's a great deal of value in the way he blends that playful production experimentation with his pop music sensibility to make some fantastic moments of avante garde pop. When we reach the second side though, wow. It's just exceptional from start to finish. The musicianship is off the scale, it rocks, it grooves and it sucks you in. There are more hooks than a cloak room, the grooves are infectious, and the little wizard just sucks you in with his boundless energy and charisma. That run of When Doves Cry to Baby I'm A Star is relentless, frenetic and so, so cool, but he doesn't skimp on the quirkiness either. And if that isn't enough, he bows out with THAT title track. It's so utterly glorious, evocative and beautifully put together that I could listen to it again and again without ever getting bored. It may be the greatest ballad of all time and it brings together everything that the album has been building into an utterly perfect culmination. It's pretty breathtaking. So is it a perfect record? No. Is it one of the greatest and most important pop records of all time? Yes. And that pretty much sums up the conundrum that was Prince Rogers Nelson. Let's Go Crazy - What an intro. It's wonderfully grandiose and melodramatic before the song proper kicks in and than it's a perfect slice of funk rock pop in a blend that's so uniquely Prince. It's fun, it's bombastic and it absolutely shifts. Great performances all round, great production and stuffed with oodles of charisma. Quite the way to kick off a record. Oh, and the kid ain't bad on the old six string either. Take Me With U - The tempo drops now and we get a slightly more plodding track that suffers a little from following the balls to the wall opener. There are some nice melodic moments in there and some of the strings are really nice, but it is a touch pedestrian. The Beautiful Ones - The pace is still slow now, but there's more to this. It has a nice edge of experimentation to the production and Prince carries the song so well with his vocal delivery and there are some great melodic moments in there. We get a pretty broad range from his vocal too, which is pretty damn impressive. I love some of the synth work on this track and it all builds to a great climax. Computer Blue - The pace and groove picks back up again now and we get a bit more electronic experimentation in the production. This has got a slightly creepy cultish robotic feel to it, in no small part thanks to Wendy and Lisa's intro. But it's a really cool song and it changes lanes quite significantly half way through. Prince was never afraid to take his own path and this is a lovely example. Great musicianship of course, but also an interesting flow and narrative. Darling Nikki - And we flow straight into another slightly experimental and brilliantly grubby little song. This is the song that triggered the movement against explicit content in songs and resulted in the parental advisory stickers coming into use. It's a solid song though that's got a great vibe, some solid playing and so much suitable grit and drive. Horny, filthy and excellent, with some backwards masking at the end about Jesus. So, so Prince. When Doves Cry - From the opening burst of guitar, this song just rips. The beats kick, the melodies are great, the vocal performances are excellent. It's still got an experimental edge to the production, but it's so catchy too. It builds as it goes, but never loses its thread and it's got some great guitar work towards the end too. What an absolutely exceptional song. I Would Die 4 U - A song that simmers and broods. It's so well produced and again has some really great melodic hooks. The synth work is urgent and engaging and Prince weaves this fantasticly layered composition out of relatively few elements. It's a great vibe and another incredibly solid track, that runs straight on to... Baby I'm A Star - This grabs moments from the rest of the album and deftly brings them together. It's another incredibly infectious and engaging song. There's a lot going on here and it pretty brilliantly captures the energy, fun and frantic nature of a Prince live performance. It's got so much groove and talent in the performances and it's leaking charisma out of every pore. Brilliant stuff. Purple Rain - The big one. In for a shout as the greatest ballad of all time, it's dramatic, emotionally delivered and absolutely stuffed full of charisma. The performances across the board drip quality and sell the song perfectly. Excellent string arrangements, an exceptionally evocative vocal performance and then that guitar solo. It's rare that a song lasts over 8 minutes and has me almost immediately reaching to skip it back to the beginning, but this is one. It really does earn every accolade it's ever received. I'm not sure it's possible to close an album more effectively and beautifully than this.

It might not be a perfect album, but it is a perfect Prince album, and that counts for something.

Legend.

J’ai adoré la vibe ! Ça m’a directement mis dans un bon mood

5/10

Cant have Prince without 5 stars

6/5 perfect album no notes Wrong tidal link for the album the real one is https://tidal.com/album/75206892

A+

Gotta love Prince, the fun lil purple ponce, prancing around and pontificating in his lil outfit. This is one of those ones that's classic for a reason tbh, so many bangers here, such incredible flow to the whole thing. Great timez.

I’ve always heard this called one of the best soundtracks ever to one of the worst movies ever. I’ve never seen the movie, but this album is incredible. So many hits, so much funk, such impressive writing…. It’s so well executed all around. It’s Prince at his best.

A magnum opus of a guitar god.

When Doves Cry. I Would Die 4 U. Baby I’m a Star. PURPLE RAIN.

RIP Prince you'd have loved singing horny songs with Sabrina Carpenter.

One of the best records in the history of Pop music. Only hits

de los mejores soundtrack que se hayan hecho para una pelicula, lo malo fue que la pelicula no es buena

Perfect

Brilliant album

Exceptional

I was skeptical, but it really is that good

Rien que pour le mythique purple rain !

This album can not be overrated. Each track is phenomenal. While side B is jam packed with hits side A offers great songwriting musicianship and interesting production

Hvis Beatles fant opp / populariserte poppsychadelicaen, så perfektsjonerte Prince den her. Dette albumet er så latterlig bra. Kanskje tidenes beste avslutter også?

Take Me With U is the perfect pop song. God this album is sooo good and funky and goofy and sensual

I love a freaky mf

I've tried SO many times in my life to appreciate Prince's music and this is the first time I've liked it at all which is wild because now I really like it.

This album is pop perfection. It’s better than thriller as far as cohesiveness is concerned. The production is experimental and lush and it works. There isn’t any album really that sounds like purple rain. This is peak Prince. Classic/10

Five stars feels too low. This album is a spiritual experience that should be listened to again and again.

Musical genius! Complex arrangements.

Amazing! Great album!

For once the Oscars actually picked the best one

Purple Rain is as energetic as popular music gets; hearing "Let's Go Crazy" for the first time was probably the quickest an album ever clicked with me, and Prince rides that dangerous high through adventurous melodies, with a voice that loves loudly and kills softly, all the way out into one of the most powerful rock ballads of all time. Favourite tracks: "Let's Go Crazy", "Take Me With U", "Purple Rain"

Love how the album began. Like the upbeat vibe and guitars. Favs included 'let's go crazy', 'I would die for you', and 'purple rain'. Had to listen to these tracks a 2nd time they were so good. Highly recommend watching his 2007 superbowl halftime show as well.

Legendrerrie

Happy days… the wait for a Prince album has been too long.

You know, they apparently sought out the rights to use 'Stairway to Heaven' to cap off Stranger Things. It would've been epic but it's perfectly fitting and awesome that they ended up with Purple Rain instead. I'm just going to say that Prince's guitar playing -- wide, wide vibrato, sweeping bends and crazy divebombs, on top of all the speed and expression happening, plus that super crunchy fuzz tone -- is absolutely peak form here. This is EVH-level stuff and Prince is deeply underappreciated by a lot of folks in this regard. Anyway, enough from me: 5/5 go listen. The second side alone is an all-timer. First side's a pretty good bonus.

A classic

En klassiker och dessutom med personligtaffektionsvärde. Femma!

One of the greatest albums of all time, maybe? How the hell did Prince manage to put so much in there without it feeling like too much? Despite all the directions this album goes musically it still feels focused.

It’s Prince DUH

In case the world was waiting for my take on Purple Rain, it is, as has been well-documented and understood, one of the greatest albums of all time of any genre. Even the songs that are just okay are way better than okay, and the hits are all-time bangers.

tuff as hell!

This is THE prince album.

I thought that Prince was overrated, but I don't think same way anymore. This is pop album with pop sounds but with creativity and integrity of a rock album. This is pop music I knew existed somewhere, but never couldn't find. I dunno if I should rate it 4 or 5... Nah, I'll go with 5, because so far it's a peak pop music I ever listened too. Best tracks: I Would Die For You and especially Darling Nikki (for a song itself, but double bass, lyrics about masturbation and annoying Tipper Gore makes this song even better)

I mean, it's Purple Rain

You're alright, Goofy Grape

Cool funky sexy genius

best pop album ever recorded, maybe best album of all time?

Coming into this reasonably familiar with some of the popular songs (Let’s Go Crazy, When Doves Cry, and Purple Rain), so I was keen to understand the grip this album has on many, it has over a 90 on this website after all. The album starts off with crazy energy, but takes a much softer turn with the next 2 tracks, with The Beautiful Ones being a particular standout, especially the final 1:45 or so. When Doves Cry, as mentioned before, is one of the standouts. Everyone knows it. It’s a classic for a reason, that chorus is so damn catchy. The lack of bass is hardly noticed, something that continues to amaze me. Baby I’m A Star is another banger for me, continuing that infectious energy I felt right from when I pressed play. Then of course, the closer, Purple Rain, is the best song on the album. It’s no debate, it’s also probably one of my favourite songs from the 80s. What it lacks in infectious rocking energy, it makes up for in heart and fucking great guitar work. I get it now. What an album. A classic.

No listen required - this album is a 5 all day long - likely top 20 album all time for me.  Enjoyed it very much back in the day: when Doves Cry first came on the radio, could not get enough. And Purple Rain as closer? Please - top 10 songs of all time. The passion, emotion and energy put into this album is amazing. This was Prince at his absolute best, IMO he never again matched it. 5/5

It’s one of the best albums of all time. It’s amazing.

every time I listen to this record it reminds me why I love music so much. incredible stuff

80's classic, excellent sound form and design

A classic, next.

Never properly listened to Prince before and I have clearly been missing out

Amazing album with lots of hits. Don't sleep on "The Beautiful Ones."

💜💜💜💜💜

Ya lo he escuchado. Gran álbum. Mi favorito de Prince.

Итоговая характеристика альбома 7/10 Purple Rain — это монументальная работа, которую обязан знать каждый уважающий себя любитель музыки. Это альбом-памятник, альбом-эпоха. в данном случае "Я понимаю, почему это гениально. Я слышу талант и вижу масштаб личности. Но эта музыка не резонирует со мной настолько, чтобы стать саундтреком моей жизни. Возможно, мне чужд пафос 80-х, возможно, мне не близок стиль Принса, но я отдаю должное этому культурному феномену"

Iconic, great listen

going into this album I think I'd give it a 4 based on reputation alone, I've heard it before but never sat down and listened to it. Honestly, it was pacing at a 3 for me until the last song, Purple Rain, and then I listened to that song 3 times and decided to revisit the whole album again. This is the first time since Lark's Tongues in Aspic that I have immediately relistened to an album. and it's a 5, even the weaker songs are punched up because Purple Rain is an all time banger.

Exquisite

Godlike

There's not a single misplaced track on this album and you can feel the thought and detail that went into it.

Just brilliant. I tried to tell myself that I was too cool for this and that I disliked the poppy mainstream appeal of it and preferred his more experimental records.. but this is just so good. It does feel a tiny bit less ambitious maybe, but the execution is so spot on. The popular singles are of course amazing, but so many of the less recognisable tracks are really beautiful too. I'll even forgive him his usual ott horniness

I wish we'd seen past all the controversy that is Prince back in the 80's. This album was amazing! Even though this breaks the "no soundtracks" rule, I'm glad it's on the list. The usage of backmasking and environmental sounds is interesting. It's racy enough to be titillating, but not so much that it feels dirty, even with "Darling Nikki". My Rating: 5/5

Wow, what a voice. It's pop adjacent but something entirely more, which is good, because I tend not to enjoy pop. There's so much power and emotion in these songs.

awesome

Arguably the greatest movie soundtrack ever made, maybe the best Prince album, one of the all-time greats. Prince is great. I wish he had put some of the Morris Day songs from the movie on it. No Apollonia either. Darling Nikki....shocking! Prince is the herald of Neo-Soul. When Doves Cry is a great song, great music (all Prince), great lyrics (ask the Milhouses). From When Doves Cry to the end of the album is one of the great four song runs of all time. I normally hate really long songs, particularly to end an album. Purple Rain is the exception that proves the rule. Purple Rain is my favorite Prince song.

As someone who isn't a huge fan of Prince (nothing against him, just not artist I'm super familiar with beyond radio hits) and someone who definitely does NOT love the 80s, it's no surprise that I've never listened Purple Rain despite it being considered an all-time classic. It's quite hard to argue this album doesn't live up to the hype. It opens with a certified banger in "Let's Go Crazy" and then I might expect it to lose some momentum with four unknown songs before the timeless "When Doves Cry" but three of them were really good, if not a little bit weird. Then it's just another string of great tunes, most I was already familiar with. I imagine there not being much of a debate when this released as to whether side 1 or 2 was better. This album just goes so hard in the second half. Am I now a Prince fan and going to listen to Purple Rain on the regular? Doubtful, but I can definitely appreciate this album now, and I can see why it's considered an all-time great.

😮‍💨

Incredible. Reminded me a lot of Bowie’s ‘Young Americans’ but with a 80s twist. Loved the instrumentation, synth used very well and the guitar solos were simply epic. Not a bad track and every track had its own different sub-style.

The first mildly astonishing fact about Prince is that he was actually called Prince. Not a stage name like Elvis Costello (born Declan MacManus) or Chuck D. (Carlton Ridenhour), but Prince Rogers Nelson, born in 1958 in Minneapolis. Sometimes reality shows an unexpected flair for branding. Asked two simple questions—what’s his most rock-oriented album, and what’s his best?—the algorithm answered twice: Purple Rain. For once, the machine wasn’t bluffing. This is rock. Not in the denim-and-beer sense, but as a genuine fusion: the album achieves what One Nation Under a Groove by Funkadelic flirted with but never quite consummated—a convincing symbiosis of rock and funk. Or, less delicately, a seamless conversation between Black and white musical traditions. Prince had already mastered the funk template; here he injects stadium-sized guitar heroics without sacrificing groove. He is routinely described as one of the greatest guitarists ever. The more ardent members of the congregation will happily promote him to greatest drummer, keyboardist, producer, shoelace-tier and possibly municipal planner as well. Let’s remain calm. He was a very good guitarist—just not obviously superior to Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck or John McLaughlin. That said: the opening note(s) of the solo in “Purple Rain”—a simple D–F dyad, two-thirds of a D minor chord—remain one of the most recognisable gestures in pop history. Not complex. Just perfect. A masterclass in restraint before lift-off. Elsewhere, the album repeatedly wrong-foots me. “The Beautiful Ones” begins in precisely the falsetto-funk register I tend to endure rather than enjoy, only to pivot into a cathartic rock outro where the scream replaces the squeal and the guitar finally earns its keep. “When Doves Cry” drives like a rock anthem despite being almost entirely synthetic. “Let’s Go Crazy” is practically orthodox rock, albeit filtered through purple neon. And yet this is not a guitar album. It is a monument to machines: Yamaha electric pianos, Oberheim and DX7 synths, Memorymoog, Linn drum machines. So much of it comes out of a box, and somehow it breathes. That may be Prince’s quietest triumph as producer: the electronic drums often sound startlingly alive. (We will draw a discreet veil over the percussive hiccuping of “Take Me with U.”) Even the backing vocals—usually my personal kryptonite—behave themselves. Occasionally they even contribute something approaching charm. Microscopic charm, but still. Is it flawless? No. “Baby, I’m a Star” is all calories and no nutrition; “Darling Nikki” is more notorious than necessary; “Computer Blue” slightly overreaches. A straight musical 9 might be generous. But as a statement—proof that funk and rock can co-exist without either losing its accent—it earns the upward rounding. Of the Prince albums I know, this is the one. The purple summit. And if that conclusion happens to align with artificial intelligence, I choose to interpret that not as surrender, but as corroboration.

This fucking rules. "Let's Go Crazy" and "When Doves Cry" are probably my faves on here but "Take Me With U" "Darling Nikki" and obviously "Purple Rain" are great as well. Also hadn't realized that "Darling Nikki" is the song that made Tipper Gore absolutely lose her shit.

Another artist gone too soon. His music grabs you.

Brilliant start, consistent album, great album tracks, and a memorable performance of the title track to finish. When Doves Cry is perhaps the most important song to come out of the 80s.

I mean, I do hesitate to disrespect the Man from Minnesota. There are some legendary tracks on this album and you have to respect that it was all cut for a movie and "Darling Nikki" is a WILD thing to be singing about at the time. But there are skips and there are tracks that overstay their welcome. I'm giving 5 stars for "Let's Go Crazy" on its own.

Purple Rain is an album that never gets old no matter how many times I listen to it. The songs are groovy and psychedelic and the title track is a great end to album.

Perfect

If you have ears, you know this is a 5/5 album. I've been waiting on this one to show up.

Contiene praticamente tutte le canzoni che conoscevo già

best album oat still

can't hit the five stars fast enough. holy moly is the second side of this album amazing

Couldn't smash the 5 stars fast enough for this one. Prince is one of the few people on a relatively short list that I'd truly call a musical genius, and it's on full display here. Although perhaps not his most sonically adventurous work, the songs are just SO GOOD. It's futuristic, it's funky, it's epic, nearly a perfect package. Kicks off with a bang and barely lets up. Side 2 is just an impeccable run of songs - When Doves Cry and I Would Die 4 U are all time greats, and the transition from the latter into Baby I'm a Star is perfection. The title track is one of my favorite songs of all time, made even more impressive that it was a LIVE RECORDING from First Avenue in Minneapolis. Stunning stuff all around.

Great album, well produced without going over the top. Enjoyed all the songs.

Well shit. Don't threaten me with a good time! I've wanted this album on vinyl for a while, but just never got around to acquiring it until I was inspired to pick it up when I went with my sister and her family to see the Stranger Things finale at the movie theater. I was very fortunate to pick up a US first pressing that was complete and almost flawless except for a deliberate cut-out that, of course, damaged the jacket and the original record sleeve but left the poster and the vinyl in immaculate condition. The record didn't even seem to have been stored very well, but the colors on the jacket are still vibrant. It looks fantastic. Even my 15-year-old son was impressed. This LP was the last record I listened to the night before I learned that it would be my OAD; in fact, it was still on the platter. Serendipity! I used these events as an excuse to bring my copy into work to show my boss, who is also a big music fan and only four or five years older than me. She was jealous of how great my copy looks. I was jealous that she still has her original copy from 1984. As for the album itself, what more can be said? It's a masterpiece from start to finish, blending genres and themes together to create something that feels unique and fresh 40 years after its release. With no skips on the album, each song stands on its own and is even better when heard in context. And the transitions! I don't know why I get so excited as "Let's Go Crazy" swerves into "Take Me With U," but it gets me every time. The album is so easy to listen to that it's easy to forget it also contains some challenging, groundbreaking music. Much of "Computer Blue" substitutes electronic grinding for some instruments, yet I never noticed the effect of that dissonance until recently. "I Would Die 4 U" ticks along to jagged rhythms and distinctive vocal phrasing. Do we need to discuss "Darling Nikki"? I was too young and my family too steeped in fundamentalist Christianity for me to hear Purple Rain when it came out. I only got into the record as an adult, but I was aware of "Darling Nikki's" broader impact due to its inclusion on the PMRC's "filthy fifteen" list. And ok, it's probably not a song for kids. I even skipped it when my son's friend was in the car yesterday. But its reputation, really built around one line at the very beginning of the song, belies how strong a number it is, especially in its musical outro that ends side one. My two favorite songs on the album are "When Doves Cry" and, of course, the majestic title track. We've all heard most of those songs numerous times, but I still don't feel like I've been able to wrap my head around all of the drama they present. Purple Rain stands as a triumph of late-20th-century American pop music that parallels or rises above everything else our culture produced in that period. Five stars.

This is the greatest album of all time. Objectively. Go read Prince's wikipedia page, he was an influence on music as a concept. This is him grasping the everybody's attention in 1984. First artist with the number 1 album, movie, and single at once. Prince is near worshipped in Minnesota. The people talk about encounters with him as if it was Jesus Christ. Nobody ever forgets seeing Prince. I remember the day he died, it was like the entire world had just stopped. There was nothing else anybody cared to talk about. The album starts with 2 bangers, one a party starter amd the other a beautifully done pop song. Speaking of beautiful, the next track has one of the strongest forced attention getters in all of music. The powerful vocal performance really lets me sink all my emotions into the song, and the scene in the movie (which you should go watch) makes it even more emotional, 2 shots, Prince, and the girl he's singing it to. "Computer Blue" follows with more Prince guitar mastery, and a cool instrumental part. I'm still dying to hear the alleged 20+ minute version that exists where Prince played a bunch of distortion, which you can hear snippets of at the end of this track and into "Darling Nikki". And "Darling Nikki" continues the fun with a song about a woman freakier than Prince, and ending that with some badass double bass drumming. This is just the first half, and we haven't even gotten to the number 1 single yet. "When Doves Cry" is incredible. The emptiness of the lyrics matching the bass not being present made this click with everybody, genius move. The next 3 songs were all recorded live at legendary venue First Avenue. It is unbelievable how good they sound, 2 pumped up fun songs, and the most beautiful guitar playing you've ever heard in the title track. Purple Rain I love Prince. Purple Rain is top to bottom, filled with nothing but bangers. Go watch the movie as well, a musical that has the greatest songs ever as it's soundtrack

Legion!! Love Love love ❤️ Prince RIP

The GOAT by the GOAT

An absolute staple of course, this album perfectly encapsulates the sound of the 80s. Every track has something new and unique, combining to make a masterpiece, showing off Prince's absurd musical talent.

Uncomparable

Шик

Yeah it’s a vibe. Simpsons: Yes

Ei mitään turhaa levyllä, pelkkää nautintoa! 5/5

My first experience with this album was a dub that my aunt made for me. It wasn't even a line-to-line dub, she literally played it out of a stereo and recorded it over the air in a separate tape player. I remember the label, with "Purple Rain" scribbled on it in purple sharpie marker. Not sure if it was done to imitate the logo or not but there it was. The quality was of course terrible, but I really enjoyed the album and was happy to have it. I didn't really appreciate it as much then as I do/can now. I was also too young to understand some of the references. I had a very different understanding/interpretation of some of the lyrics for "Darling Nikki", that's for sure. Absolutely a classic -- and the fact that the titular track is an engineered recording of a live performance (look it up)? So good. Stellar.

I never got around to truly enjoying Prince. But he is a hell of an artist and this album is a masterpiece. 10/10 [KEEP]

So literally four days ago we crowned a new champion on my list and I said, word for word, "Seriously this might sit at the top for a while." because Darkness on the Edge of Town is one of my top 25 favourite albums of all time and I figured the chance we get another from that list soon was very unlikely. Unfortunately, Purple Rain is also one of my top 25. I've mentioned him already in a few prior reviews but I can now very bluntly say I love Prince. Insanely egotistical for sure but he was in some fashion a musician genius. Purple Rain... Purple Rain has previously received and will continue to receive incredible amounts of love and it's undoubtably very deserved. Prince was a man that would not stop making music and as such the quality of the music he spat out was varied. While I think a tiny TINY part of Prince's whole discography is "bad" a far greater portion is good and that's an impressive feat for 37 fucking albums in the space of 40 years. Purple Rain however is special. This is easily, and I do mean easily, the most consistent of any Prince album while having some insanely high highs song-writing wise. So much so I would say this is not my favourite Prince album (definitely top 3) but it is almost definitely his best. I once almost fist fought my sister in law after she said there are 4 unnecessary minutes on the song Purple Rain, that is how much I like this album. Let's Go Crazy is an incredible album opener, The Beautiful Ones is a fantastic truly 80s ballad that shows that Prince can SING man. But I will say, even with this being the most consistently "good" Prince album, the second half of this album is fucking loaded. When Doves Cry to Purple Rain is one of the best 4 song runs from the 80s and is an incredible showcase of what Prince can do. When Doves Cry is an insanely tightly written song and it touches on interesting subjects like how our parents affect us, directly or otherwise, I Would Die For You is both a fantastic vocal performance paired with a real showing as a great electronic track. Baby I'm a Star makes me wanna send up and dance literally every time and the title track... Purple Rain is an experience. I genuinely just fade in to the song and once I fade back out there's only 40 seconds left. This song is deeply special and incredibly beautiful, and is one of Prince's highest peaks if not his absolute. I am genuinely internally struggling to decide where I place this, because I think Darkness by Springsteen is a better album overall but... it doesn't have the song Purple Rain on it. I think I'm placing this at second but good lord. Again, top 25 albums of all time for me. You've probably heard it yourself but if you haven't somehow, change that. Best songs: Let's Go Crazy, The Beautiful Ones, When Doves Cry, Baby I'm a Star and above them all, Purple Rain. Worst Songs: N/A Rank compared to everything else so far: 2/66 (above Band On The Run, below Darkness On The Edge of Town)

CLASSIC

One of my all time favs

Хочется уже засрать какой-нибудь альбом, но, к сожалению, рандом не дает такой возможности. Красиво сделанный, красиво придуманный. The Beautiful Ones самая нежнячая песня тут.

Почти дотягивает по уровню до творчества темного принца, то есть автоматически один из лучших альбомов всех времен.

Лучшая песня: When the doves cry Худшая: ? На удивление отличный альбом, ждал худшего после прослушивания раннего творчества Принца.

4.5 очень хорошо и ровно

В этом челендже музыка 80-90-х нравится гораздо больше 00-х. Еще одно доказательство моей нелюбви к 00-м. Интересно, как такие альбомы как этот становились хитами в свое время, для меня достаточно нестандартное звучание для того, как я представляла музыку 80-х

Deserved it's classic status!

Well isn't this record just fantastic. I love the synth, rock, pop, funky, blues, and psych elements all kinda mashed together to create a well layered soundscape. There's a lot going on in a lot of these songs and it all works well. Also 5 stars just because of that amazing title track.

I freaking love this album. Is it a little cheesy? Yes. So what? Its kind of the perfect mesh of r&b, pop, soul and rock. I kind of wish that all pop music was like this. Its campy and melodramatic, but its also soulful and sad. While also being peppy and vibrant. I listen to this album every now and again. Last week, we were jamming it while making dinner and had a blast. Prince is king. This album rocks.

One of the best albums I have listened to. I have it on vinyl and no regrets Computer Blue is my favorite song

When to listen: Feeling 80s. So quintessentially 80s I love this album so much.

no comment. perfection.

5 is not enough stars for this absolute masterpiece. When I listened to this in 1984 (cassette tape) I knew it was something special. It still brings me so much joy and now I have a deeper understanding of it's social, cultural and artistic impact

10/10

*listened before the project* One of the Best of 80s, An absolutely outstanding pop album. He’s always so creative, captivatingly unrestrained and wildly eccentric

5/5

Finally some good goddamn music

good

Purple RAINNN

Prince wrote the book on dynamics.

So many good memories. I could still feel the emotions of the movie and how I used to listen to this album on cassette over and over on my boombox. Prince's piece de resistance, for sure. He had such amazing range, vocally and instrumentally. He was cut from a different cloth.

Masterpiece

opening with let's go crazy and closing with purple rain, holy shit. also, this is pretty obviously a 5-star album from the jump despite never having heard it in its entirety.

Amazing.

Okay I’ve obviously listened to Prince before but this project has brought him to a new light for me. Love the music and every album I’ve had has been a banger.

So many great songs.

Another top to bottom banger. I consider this to be Prince’s best total album.

The thing about growing up in the 80s was that you only heard what was on radio, or on whatever cassettes you had chosen to buy at the record store, or maybe you saw some videos on MuchMusic (I'm Canadian). So the albums you knew, you knew WELL, because you wore out those cassettes, and when you hear them again, you remember EVERYTHING. This is one of those albums for me.

This album/soundtrack is still wonderful. A exhilarating mix of love, yearning, sex, pop, end of the world, death, beauty, lust, and ego swirled into a rambunctious tour-de-force. Alas, the movie itself didn't quite provide the same impact, but it was so cool that the soundtrack was released before the movie so I could just watch the movie almost like a concert. I think this was his best album.

no notes

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Incredible start to a new week. I am very vocal about Purple Rain being my absolute favorite song of all time, but honestly the whole album is incredible. Prince is a genius and I love him.

Despite obsessively loving all of his progeny (one of Frank Ocean’s favorite songs is “When Doves Cry”), I’ve always had trouble getting into Prince. This is one of his albums that I’ve never struggled to throw on, though, and can get lost in easily. I think “I Would Die 4 U” is a masterpiece, and “The Beautiful Ones” might be the best song on this album. Watch the film if you have a chance!

Listened to this before I started this challenge. My favorite album of all time ❤️

This album is great, I really love When Doves Cry.

awesome. i think maybe the first album i ever bought, probably the most easy and comfortable 5 star rating ive thrown up so far. the density of bangers is just crazy. the variety of sounds and vibes that get knocked out of the park is crazy. the title track and closer is crazy (one of those songs that can squeeze a tear outta me with some reliability). I Would Die 4 U is crazy, the Computer Blue breakdown-into-guitar-solo is crazy, When Doves Cry being a number 1 hit single for 5 weeks without a bassline is crazy. Purple Rain though, that's gotta be my favorite

Ориджинал лин

-Beautiful Album!!! Rating: 8/10

It’s perfect.

"Purple Rain" is tight, expertly paced, and contains absolutely no "filler." Having owned this album since its original release during my "Hard Rock and Metal" phase, its tracks are deeply etched in my memory. To find a fresh perspective, I revisited the "deep cuts" first to see if the record still holds up. - "The Beautiful Ones": A moody, wonderful ballad featuring a brilliant vocal performance. - "Computer Blue": Funky and driven by a catchy keyboard riff. The exceptional guitar work is exactly why I, a 1984 metalhead, first gravitated toward Prince. - "Darling Nikki": Infamous and masterly; the vocal delivery remains top-tier. The remainder of the album consists of what are now familiar Prince standards. "Purple Rain" succeeded in making Prince a global superstar because it refused to stay in one lane. It effortlessly traversed multiple genres, from Pop, Funk, R&B, Electronic, and Rock. The album's brevity is also one of its greatest strengths; with only nine tracks, there is no room for error. Prince’s arrangements feel timeless due to the sheer quality of the song writing and the raw, live energy of The Revolution. Brilliant. Stunning. Perfect. Five stars. I miss Prince and his music. Side one 1 "Let's Go Crazy" (5/5) 2 "Take Me with U" (5/5) 3 "The Beautiful Ones" (5/5) 4 "Computer Blue" (5/5) 5 "Darling Nikki" (5/5) Side two 1 "When Doves Cry" (5/5) 2 "I Would Die 4 U" (5/5) 3 "Baby I'm a Star" (5/5) 4 "Purple Rain" (5/5) Total - 45 Average - 5.00 213/1001 119/213 albums reviewed were new to me.

Masterpiece

Una de las canciones más icónicas. El tipo rebalsa de flow.

An all time classic. Its impact on music surpasses genres and is still felt today.

There's a rare genius in writing music like this. Underneath all of the catchy hooks, vibe-worthy rhythms and energetic arrangements lies a precision and intentionality that pervades every note. This is lovingly, painstakingly hand-crafted pop music with not a beat out of place - everything is where it is supposed to be exactly by design. It doesn't show in a bad way though. For all of the exactitude on this record, the music doesn't feel manufactured or forced. This is one of the greatest albums ever made, by a true musical savant. He knows what he wants to create and creates it exactly how he wants it.

Class

an out and out classic

Great and overall round album. Doesn't overstay its welcome and is fun to listen to.

Best soundtrack ever. Prince proving he can do anything. Maybe the best pop album of the eighties. I had like eight copies of this across all formats. Will probably buy more just because. The fucking coolest.

𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯 is one of those albums where the ambition and execution line up so perfectly that it feels untouchable. Prince blends rock, pop, funk and drama with complete confidence, shaping a record that’s both wildly accessible and unmistakably his own. The title track alone is a 5/5 — a towering ballad that builds from gentle longing to stadium-sized catharsis without ever losing its emotional clarity. The rest of the album supports it with sharp songwriting, bold production and performances that make the whole thing feel iconic from start to finish. It’s Prince at his peak.

Need to see the film!

Had no idea how good this album is

This album was amazing. Fit such a wide emotional array in a short run time. Many classics on this album that I had heard on the radio before, but first time listening through, and I was impressed Favorite song: Let’s Go Crazy Ideal listening situation: late night fall/winter drive through a large city Would i Relisten?: absolutely yes

Considered Princes best. I liked it.