Prince – Purple Rain
Scott Gregory
We only have a couple rules here at the Sonic Collective on how we pick albums;
- it has to be at least 5 years old
- it can be of any genre (I guess that’s more of an affirmation than a rule)
- Has to be an original album (no greatest hits, soundtracks or compilations)
BUT – It can be a soundtrack if it’s entirely original material, composed and compiled for this purpose.
I’m glad we made this caveat, because there’s an album that’s considered one of the greatest of all time, usually ranked first or second behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller for best album of the 80s. It’s a soundtrack to an album of the same name.
The Sonic Collective’s album for January 2018 is Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution.
The sixth studio album and the first to feature The Revolution, it’s sold over 25 million albums worldwide and is the third best-selling soundtrack behind Whitney Houston’s the Bodyguard and The Bee Gee’s Saturday Night fever.
But, let’s take a moment and reflect on the fact that Meatloaf’s Bat out of Hell, has outsold all three of them. That’s RIGHT. Greg, I miss you.
I’ve put together a little gameplan for this pick to try and really get the most out of this album.
I’ve heard all of Prince’s singles, but never listened to a full album. Apparently this is a real departure from his earlier work, so I think I’m going to start off by listening to the first five Prince albums for context before getting into this album.
After listening to the album a couple times I think I’ll go and watch the movie again. It’s been easily a decade so I can’t even remember most of it, but it’ll be fun to see where the album matches up with the scenes and themes in the movie.
Whether you go all the down the rabbit hole or just want to give the album a couple listens, I hope you join us at the end of January to discuss Prince and the Revolution’s Purple Rain. Cheers.
Purple Rain the album on Wikipedia
Purple Rain the movie on IMDB
This month I really wanted to feature a female artist and continue the unintentional theme of musicians that came onto the scene and threw everything in the air. Tore up the charts and pop culture at the same time.
Recorded in 1970, it’s the band’s first live album, featuring the entire original lineup of Roger Daltrey, Pete Townsend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon. Arguably one of the best live bands in the world, I know I really love them, I’m comfortable Live at Leeds will hold its own against the already amazing live albums we’ve already covered.
Album link on iTunes
When first looking it up, I didn’t expect the album to have only 8 tracks, and for half of them to be singles. It made me all the more curious how the entire thing would come together. Will the new songs weave my favourite singles in to a greater story previously unknown? What emotional journey might await?
Chantal Kreviazuk is one of Canada’s most-prolific singer/songwriters of the last 20 years. A classically trained pianist and vocalist, she’s written songs for the likes of Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, Carrie Underwood, Drake and Pitbull. Her own albums have received critical acclaim, including the double-platinum second one: Colour Moving and Still.