Send "Prince " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Nytimes |
 'Purple Rain,'' which introduces Prince, the rising young rock performer, to theatrical films, is probably the flashiest album cover ever to be released as a movie. However, like many album covers, ''Purple Rain,'' though sometimes arresting to look at, is a cardboard come-on to the record it contains. Prince's soundtrack recording has already become one of the summer's big sellers, while the almost confessional single, ''When Doves Cry,'' is at the top of the charts. The movie, which opens today at the Criterion and other theaters, may also become a hit, but it's of a different caliber entirely. Here is a narrative film with music, shot and edited in the jazzily manic, staccato style favored by every rock documentary since ''Woodstock,'' at the center of which there is the small, slight, somewhat nervous figure of Prince himself. When performing onstage, as he is in much of the film, whether photographed frontally, in profile or silhouetted against a manmade aurora borealis, he can be a riveting spectacle. Off the stage, his screen presence is a pale reflection of the dynamic recording personality. With his mass of carefully tended, black curly locks and his large, dark doe eyes, he looks, in repose, like a poster of Liza Minnelli on which someone has lightly smudged a mustache. When astride his large motorcycle, as he is from time to time, the image suggests one of Jim Henson's special effects from a Muppets movie: Kermit the Frog on a Harley- Davidson. In the depths of depression, pacing back and forth in his dressing room, he expresses all the pent-up rage of a caged mouse. The screenplay, written by Albert Magnoli, the director, and William Blinn, and reported to contain certain autobiographical elements, focuses on the public and private torments of the Kid (Prince), a Minneapolis rocker on the rise. He's a driving young singer obsessed with getting to the top and away from his black father (Clarence Brown 3d), an alcoholic, wife-beating former musician, and his mother, played by the Greek actress Olga Karlatos, another show-biz dropout, who drinks along with dad, whom she can't quite bring herself to leave. Also figuring in the story, which, without the music, would simply be another fantasy about teen-age angst, are Apollonia (Apollonia Kotero), a strikingly beautiful young woman, who not only is a singer but also understands the Kid's need for love; Morris (Morris Day), a cheerfully lecherous, outrageously vain, zoot- suited rock performer, who lusts after stardom and Apollonia, and other members of such Minneapolis groups as Prince's Revolution, Mr. Morris's Time and Miss Kotero's Apollonia 6. Though Prince is somewhat less androgynous than Michael Jackson is, everything about him and the movie suggests cross-overs between opposites, or, at least, compromises between different modes of expression....full text |
| Sputnikmusic |
| Purple Rain, Prince's 6th album, was an album made for the purpose of making Prince into a superstar, and that is exactly what it did (the album hit #1 on the Billboard 200, and #1 on the top R&B/Hip Hop albums in 1984). On this album, Prince blends his R&B and Funk roots with Pop and Rock. He also at times ventures into Psychedelia. The presence of the Revolution as his backing bands gives the songs a sharper, more aggressive feel. This album was very experimental for 1984, and it is still one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded. Let's Go Crazy This song starts off with a droning organ, and Prince "preaching". It is him telling us about the afterlife. Finally drums come in, and the song gets a bit funky. There are some electric guitars, a cool keyboard riff, and the vocals are R&B style. The chorus is the best part of the song, when the background vocals come in to join Prince and sing "I 'aint gonna let the elevator bring us down, let's go crazy". At the 4:00 mark there is a pretty sweet guitar solo. This is a really good upbeat song, with lots of soul in the vocals. 5/5 Take Me With U This song has a bit of a spooky feel to it with the strings at the beginning. Then the drums come in and the song goes to a major key. The vocals are ok, nothing too special. This song is really poppy, and is a love type of song with the lyrics "I don't care what we do, I don't care pretty baby, just take me with you". I think it is a pretty good song, but not great. 3.5/5 The Beautiful Ones This song starts of with some electro pop dark noises, then it is joined by a pulsing keyboard riff, and falsetto dreamy vocals. The vocals are very nicely sung, and the song has a sort of magical feel. It is another poppy type of love song. Instrumentally this is about as minimalistic as the album gets as it has very little percussion, and just the keyboard riff and synth strings as accompaniment. I think this is a pretty good song. 4/5 Computer Blue This song has a very different feel from the previous songs. It has a screaming guitar at the beginning which intros to a funky rock n roll style riff. What is really odd about this song is the vocals, and the effects put on the vocals. They are really strange. There are some strings to accompany a long guitar solo near the middle of the song, until about 30 seconds left when there is one last scream. The guitar solo is really the highlight of the song. This is another good one. 4.5/5 Darling Nikki This song is about sexual escapades with a girl named Nikki. The mood is dark, and the lyrics of the song really stand out. The instruments are a simple guitar riff, and somewhat obnoxious percussion. This is the funkiest song to this point at least, and seems to build up for the first half of the song. Then the last 45 seconds or so is all messing around with the vocals. Background vocals come in, and it sounds like they are playing in reverse. If not then they are just singing in jiberish. Yes, they are in reverse. That really doesn't fit with the rest of the song, but the first part of the song was really great. 4.5/5 When Doves Cry There is a electric guitar riff intro to the song, and then some drums come in playing at a different tempo. The guitar quits, and gives way to a keyboard riff. When Princes vocals come in, it is just him singing with the percussion. The high melody part that comes in during the chorus is nice, but the best part of the song is the vocals right around the chorus. This is in fact my favorite vocal part on the album. Musically, the song is rather repetitive for the first half, but it is so catchy and good that that is ok. Then around the halfway point of the song, there are different vocals, and an electric guitar comes in to add to the percussion. It is clear that the guitar is the focus of this section. Then right before the end, it goes back to what made the first half so great, only he plays around with the vocals, changing them up a bit for the ending. This is probably the best song on the album, and is my favorite. 5/5 I Would Die 4 U This song is mostly percussion driven. There song is really echoey, and really typical of a pop song from this time period. Most of the music is synthesized. It is not bad for a pop song, but the song isn'...full text |
| Music |
| It's always strange to revisit an album that is universally regarded as a classic. And it's even stranger to re-examine one that's just turned 20, yet still sounds fresh, invigorating, and above all cutting edge. Such is the case with Prince's seminal offering Purple Rain, which was originally released back on August 6th, 1984 and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Following on the heels of the uber successful 1999, this album—and the accompanying film—proved once and for all that his purple majesty from Minneapolis was bona fide. No, Prince Nelson Rogers, esq. was not merely a flamboyantly sexual cross between Hendrix and Little Richard, but his own singular talent as guitarist, songwriter, and object of sexual desire. Each and every one of the 9 songs (yes, there's only 9. Why? Because Prince understands the value of crafting a tight album, unlike many of today's pop stars who find it necessary to overload their albums with 17-plus tracks, many of which are nothing more than vapid filler) contained within is a gem, ranging from the rock infused anthem "Let's Go Crazy" to the nastication of "Darling Nikki" and the slow burn slink of "When Doves Cry." Not only is the album rife with classic hits, but it's one of those rare hit pop records that has been masterfully sequenced. In short, every track fits into place like a well-oiled machine, setting a mood and then carrying over to the following track. This is perhaps one of the smoothest flowing albums ever crafted. Period. As if sonically foreshadowing his future Al Green-esque career path (from secular singer to Born Again Christian and then back to a permutation of the two) Prince kicks off the album with mock church organ and an uplifting sermon that commences with the words "Dearly beloved/we r gathered here today/2 get through this thing called life/electric word, life…" before grinding off into a guitar driven chug of fist waving and booty sashaying exuberance. In fact, Prince's six-string ejaculation is what holds the song together (and thankfully his axe wielding prowess will continue to rear it's glorious head throughout the album) cresting in a searing solo that will leave even the stoutest of air guitarists gasping for breath....full text |
Prince lyrics
|
| |||||||||||||||||||
