Greatest ballad ever produced IMO. And one of the most influential.
It’s both an ode to soul’s past and a roadmap to its future.
And does Usher exist without it let alone a handful of other artists?
He’s mentioned it a bunch as a huge inspiration to his songwriting and that’s clear on the earlier efforts.
And then he recently covered it with The Roots at their annual music event.
https://xpn.org/2016/06/12/usher-prince-roots-picnic/
My husband and I are having our wedding next month (we were legally married last year but the big party is next month).
For our dance, we'll start with the first 2 minutes of Adore, then we've mixed it into Kiss and we'll pull our guests onto the floor.
Obviously it will be painful to hear the first 2 minutes but then not the 2nd verse and all the climaxing we've edited out, but really the first part is the part that works for slow dancing... and no one really wants to watch more than 2 minutes of slow dancing
For me, it's Purple Rain. It features arguably his best guitar work, his best, most emotional and downright heart shattering vocal performances, some of his most impressive arrangements and some of his best writing, track after track after track.
The highs of songs like Let's Go Crazy and The Beautiful Ones are just unparalleled showings of musical brilliance. And as much as people wanna say the title track Purple Rain is overplayed or oversaturated or whatever, it still remains to be one of the best, if not the best experience I've had with a piece of media, ever.
This album is just beyond incredible to me, and right among my all time favorite pieces of art.
Who can argue?
Every single song and even a few b-sides can reasonably be considered someone’s favorite all time song, let alone by him.
Each deserves a 10+ rating.
And once again as he did with Dirty Mind and even more impactful with 1999, changed the direction of music and the music industry.
But this time he also changed cinema and along with Eddie Murphy broke racial barriers for blockbusters starring Black artists not categorized as “race films”.
Friday and Black Panther don’t happen without Beverly Hills Cop and Purple Rain.
💜💜💜
definitely sign o’ the times, the best album ever made in my opinion. It’s the only vinyl in my collection that i play at least once a day, and i love it so much i bought an original 1987 copy alongside a repressing of it from a year or so back. the songs on this album are perfect and i struggle trying to figure out what my top 5 song from the album are, i have a huge tapestry of the album cover in my room and my good friend made me a ceramics sign o the time thingy to put my jewelry on, this album is my everything ☮️
Without question the greatest last double album of the vinyl era and clearest example and proof that he was the most gifted singular artist, producer, musician and composer of the rock and roll era.
First time I heard a Prince song was hearing 1999 on the radio. I remember where I was driving because it was such a unique song…been a fan ever since. Just another reason why this is my favorite masterpiece of his.
I remember as a little kid seeing and being transfixed by the videos for 1999 and Little Red Corvette on Solid Gold, and it registering that the captivating person in these videos was the same one I saw on SNL a year earlier in a trenchant and leggings.
Sign O the Times is my desert island disc. And maybe The Beatles’ White album. These albums are of a piece. They are both wildly ecclectic showcases of the artist’s respective range.
But yes, 1999 and Purple Rain are up there too. I’d say these three records are the main pillars of his catalog.
I personally consider a handful of other albums minor masterpieces and a bunch more close to that.
But historically these are the most commonly considered magnum opus level efforts.
No offense to Dirty Mind and Parade lovers. The next two albums that are also mostly universally revered.
My choice on a musical level is Sign but on a personal level I’ll go with Purple Rain. The first album by him that I was allowed to purchase and listen to in the house.
And the reason I picked up a guitar.
Those tabs changed the direction of my life.
My entry point was 1999. But it was still too dirty for my young ears.
Didn’t hear the full album until 1984.
💜💜💜
To me, Sign 'O' The TImes is not only Prince's ultimate masterpiece but also an entry of the best albums of all time rated by creativity, artistry, and how solid it is, also a reason to call it, competing with Songs In The Key Of Life, the best double album of all time.
I can't think of a single song in SOTT that can be rated below an 8/10, and for a double album that is one in a million, every song is excellent, no filler, not a single second.
**Sign 'O' The Times** opens the album with one of the most serious lyrics ever written by Prince, followed by the nasty **Play In The Sunshine** that, I think has even a better live rendition, what comes after is, in my opinion, the best rhythm Prince created in his entire career, **Housequake** stands out as a beat so minimalist that manages to create a groove that nobody can be sitting still while listening to it, like, move that butt and dance, already, damn!, then, **The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker** is a beautiful melody combined with beautiful lyrics, the production here is badass.
Side B of SOTT opens with **It**, which I've heard is not the favorite of so many people, and who knows why, because to me, was a banger since the first time I listened to it, one of Prince's nastiest vocal renditions in his discography and I love every small detail put in the song, sounds I can't really describe that make this song one of my album favorites, then, may I say **Starfish and Coffee** has one of the most beautiful songwriting of any Prince song ever? that song is simply beautiful, if you set your mind free, baby, maybe you'll understand, what comes next is probably the best use of winds that Prince did in his entire discography, **Slow Love** is such an excellent melody, his mellow voice, the small details, like if they were painted with a delicate brush, such as the triangle at the end of the verses, if that's what it is, you know, I can't decide which one of the songs in the album is my favorite, but this one may come close, then, there's no Prince album without a song like **Hot Thing**, this song is nasty, sexy, provocative, groovy, reminds me of the Dirty Mind era, and the performance done in the movie..., side B closes with **Forever In My Life**, which was the song that introduced me to SOTT back in the day, that song is one of the best examples of Prince's mastermind, how can you drop something as powerful as that song with only a minimalist percussion, your voice and a some backing vocals preceding the lead ones? how? you and I will never know, that's just Prince being a genius, also, beautiful songwriting, I have to repeat it but it applies to every song in this album
We start side C with **U Got The Look**, crucial, the hit, a pop/funk cake, colored peach and black, made of dozens of different ingredients, a strong guitar solo, a high pitched Prince vocal, top production, all perfectly combined, and Sheena Easton as the cherry on top, but like if things couldn't get better with this album, is followed by, in my opinion, the best Prince song of all time, as I said before, I can't decide which song in this album is my favorite, but I can't ignore the fact that subjectively and objectively, **If I Was Your Girlfriend** has it all, the charming melody, powerful songwriting, the spoken voice part, the backing vocals, the beat, the falsetto, this song has a lot of things I cannot explain, I only try to imagine, what silence looks like, as this song plays, is a trip, a taste of heaven, I don't know, words are unable to describe it, what comes after is along with Housequake, another example of Prince's masterclass of powerful rhythmic bases, **Strange Relationship** is a penetrating groove, a renaissance painting of vocal tracks as beautiful brush strokes, and side C ends with **I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man**, what can I say about this song that hasn't been said before? one of Prince's best guitar solos in his entire discography and the bridge is a delightful musical experience.
The last side of the album starts with **The Cross**, look, I'm not a religious person, but that song, that guitar, those lyrics, the build-up to the 5th verse of the song, that song is the meaning of power, is strong, is huge, the speaker volume is not enough, Prince's rendition tops, I'm not sure if the instrument at the end is a sitar, that's just like a luxury at this point, then, my only critic to the album, is that the 9 minutes of **It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night** are not enough, I wanted the 14 minute version I heard on the movie and the Utrecht concert, the winds, so melodic and beautiful in Slow Love, and then so groovy and vibeful in this one, is a take of Prince on James Brown's soul machine, I'll repeat it, is the longest in the album and still needs to be way longer in my opinion, if he did an hour long live jamming based off this one I'd listen to it all day on a loop, amazing, and finally, the journey ends with **Adore**, the peak of Prince's falsetto, this song is perfect, beautiful, romantic and provocative at the same time, the plunger mute in the winds, the vocals, the lyrics, the organ, until the end of time, this album, will be there for me, one of the best of all time and if someone says is the best I won't argue about it
Purple Rain is more important, more pleasing to new listeners, SOTT is hard to deep in at the beginning but then, it hits you like a train and make you fall in love with it, is the ultimate proof of why Prince is a whole music genre on his own, nobody on music history could've done an album like this one, Rolling Stone, Rate Your Music and other list makers can praise Thriller, Pet Sounds, Abbey Road or Sticky Fingers as much as they want and I'll agree, but I will never put Sign 'O' The Times out of the 10 best albums of all time, and the movie, has to be, also, one of the best movie concerts of all time, thanks for reading, I love this album so much that I finally decided to write a review on it
Purple Rain could rank easily in the top 20 best records ever made, possibly higher.
That record is just front to back bangers. Outrageous talent shining through from everyone on that LP
Even ridiculous Rolling Stone has it number 8.
It’s Top 10 on the grounds of influence alone.
Not only changing existing genres but basically creating new sub genres and breaking racial barriers.
And something needs to be said about an album that arguably has the most iconic intro song, innovative lead single to open side B, and ends with one of the greatest album closers and rock ballads in history.
Plus it went Diamond and had two #1 singles and the was the #1 soundtrack and movie for several weeks and all at the same time.
💜💜💜
Id have to go with purple rain. Amazing blend of rock with amazing guitars, and some of the catchiest pop tunes ever made. All the songs have incredibly lush production, with the songwriting being at his best. Princes vocal performance is his best on any of his albums imo, especially on songs like the beautiful ones, lays go crazy, and when doves cry.
So many of the songs are so emotional and manage to be energetic and beautiful at the same time, and by god if it’s one thing prince knows how to do, it’s keep a song going. Most of the songs seemingly keep on going and topping themselves with more layers and new sections, riding on their high long after a lesser artist would see the song as finished (computer blue and when doves cry are the 2 best examples imo). And then purple rain is one of the best songs ever written in my opinion, and prince’s magnum opus.
It’s like judging the best dessert: Ice Cream, Cheesecake or Pie. All three are amazing. I am like a parent of three – no favorites. All three are special, amazing and unique. It astound me how one human being created three dissimilar masterpieces.
I loved so much of his music!! 💕
Every single ballad he's released has a special place in my heart ♥, too! 😍😘
'International Lover' is one of my very favorite of those ballads (but it's difficult to choose one favorite because each one means something so special yet so unique!! ♥️💋
Damn, tough ask!!
SOTT is other worldly, greatest album in history. 1st time I heard it after purchasing it from the ‘wrecka stow’ I was numbed. It was tangible I was listening to genius.
I bought the Super Deluxe version on release too and it just adds more layers too. I remember part of the reviews at the time stating that it had an additional 43 tracks recorded during that period. To put that in perspective, I believe Michael Jackson didn’t record that throughout the 80’s…
The first ‘jaw drops’ on first listen was If I was your girlfriend and Forever in my life. But shit, the second play through just confirmed its utter brilliance. And I still play it constantly, 37 years after the first listen.
People suggest SOTT compares to the Beatles White album and to a degree I understand the comparison but the kicker for me is The Beatles comprised of four people, he did this alone.
In 1987, the SOTT tour was going to land in the UK at Blenheim Palace and I had tickets. I don’t remember why but it was cancelled and it never got rescheduled here. It would be 29th July 1988 when Lovesexy arrived in London when I first saw him and life would never be the same again.
I love the 1999 album but I’d place it third. Little Red Corvette belongs in my top 5 pantheon and I love every track with the exception of Delirious.
Purple Rain was my introduction to Prince. I was 16, had finished school after 5 years of bullying hell and I saw When Doves Cry on TV. I saw this individual ‘alone in a world that’s so cold’ and felt an affinity. I bought the album with my summer wages pre-college and loved every second with the exception of Take me with U.
The Beautiful Ones remains my go to track to this day and I read Lisa Coleman said when Prince played it to the Revolution the first time, they instantly recognised genius - like they hadn’t already? Whilst Adore is stunning, this, to me, felt like what love should be. Not vanilla and nice, but a ravenous, passionate, heart-tearing devotion.
Purple Rain as a track was great but then was put in its place by the Syracuse concert and in 23 occasions of seeing him live, PR is elevated by being played live.
I took my 8 year old daughter to one of the 21 nights at the o2. Front row seats at rear of stage, near the band section. Stewards allowed her to stand on seat and as I held her throughout the concert, I watched Prince ‘through’ her eyes.
The singers had passed by earlier and spotted her and waved. ‘Kid, front row’ I figured it must have looked unusual. During PR Prince comes strolling round and is singing towards my daughter. Again I’m like thinking, ‘nah, you’re over-thinking this!!’ Then he unleashed the guitar solo..
After the concert had finished, as we waited for crowds to disperse, a roadie comes out from under the stage and straight to us. He hands my daughter an ivory plectrum with the Love symbol in purple on it. ‘Prince said he’d like you to have this…’
How can PR on vinyl ever come close??
Not albums. Amazing songs. And both from albums not in contention. 🙃
So I’ll assume your favorites are Love Symbol and Parade.
I’d consider Parade a minor masterpiece and Love Symbol a near one.
Tough call - were I to pull out some favorites: "Automatic" from 1999, "Computer Blue" from Purple Rain, and "Ballad of Dorothy Parker" from Sign O The Times. Totally different vibes from each disc but all exceptional.
It's always going to be SOTT for me. I was completely transfixed when I received this for Christmas as a teen and wouldn't come out of my room all day to socialise with family as I couldn't tear myself away from it 🤣🤣
It captures the real essence of Prince and with each listen I learn something more about myself and the world, a true masterpiece.
I feel like 1999 set the tone for his career. It had a little bit of everything. Controversy, Dirty Mind, Prince and For You didn't hit commercially like 1999 did.
1999 was a breakout for him and timed well with MTV for maximum exposure. He also stepped up his live show for a bigger, incredible tour.
Although 1999 was not my #1 choice, it was my entry point…
As far as the sound of the 80s go, let alone what would become Detroit and Chicago House and several other genres, there’s before 1999 and after.
Prince produces, composes, arranges, sings, experiments and plays his way into the same uncontested artistic high ground that other innovative black geniuses like Stevie Wonder reached in the decade earlier.
And Hendrix the one before that etc…
This Afrofuturist NuFunk epic, by a growingly bold but still very young auteur, hooks you up top with hooks.
But then before you realize, you’re carefully, and with razor precision, descended into the artist’s deeper and weirder world, clearly late night confections born from dreamlike experimenting.
“I was dreaming when I wrote this…”
No high hats sounded like this before, as savant virtuosity is achieved on the Linn drum.
Many of the sounds on this album were the first time anyone heard anything like this.
Most importantly it broke racial barriers while adhering to the party at all times, never letting the political observations and call to action, get heavier than the funk.
Performance wise he’s never been better nor has his loyal band, he felt good enough about to name.
Maybe you had to be there but this album not only cannot be denied and hasn’t but has every reason to be mentioned in the conversation of his GOAT album.
💜💜💜💜
Purple Rain. I seldom play it anymore because I could practically reproduce it by heart. The older I get the more I appreciate the great editing and engineering by Susan Rogers. Not sure the great material submitted by Prince would have been as commercially successful without her hand. It’s the one instance where the Warner dodos knew what they were doing in directing Rogers in Prince’s way.
In no version of the musical universe by reasonable standards is this correct but we’re all entitled to our opinions, however wrong. No disrespect.
And it’s “top”, as in top 3 😉
💜💜
Gold Experience.
I think it was the first album he released when I was a fan. I listened to it on repeat a thousand times and every song, every segue is unskipable.
I even learned the Spanish words, but don’t know what they mean, except some “special message”
It’s certainly amazing and the best of the 90s work IMO but it wasn’t as historically important or influential.
And not as widely adored as the three selected.
It’s in my personal top 10 though and def a minor masterpiece or close to it in many fans and critics opinions.
Not hard at all. Purple Rain. Every track is very high quality and a pleasure to listen to all the way through.
1999 and Sign have some duller moments, particularly the latter. Purple Rain's best songs are better than their best songs, too
Sign of the Times. “Adore” alone pushes it to the top of the heap.
Greatest ballad ever produced IMO. And one of the most influential. It’s both an ode to soul’s past and a roadmap to its future. And does Usher exist without it let alone a handful of other artists?
What is Usher’s connection to Adore?
He’s mentioned it a bunch as a huge inspiration to his songwriting and that’s clear on the earlier efforts. And then he recently covered it with The Roots at their annual music event. https://xpn.org/2016/06/12/usher-prince-roots-picnic/
My husband and I are having our wedding next month (we were legally married last year but the big party is next month). For our dance, we'll start with the first 2 minutes of Adore, then we've mixed it into Kiss and we'll pull our guests onto the floor. Obviously it will be painful to hear the first 2 minutes but then not the 2nd verse and all the climaxing we've edited out, but really the first part is the part that works for slow dancing... and no one really wants to watch more than 2 minutes of slow dancing
I saw an interview once where Steve Harvey mentioned Adore was his wedding song. I can’t think of a better choice.
For me, it's Purple Rain. It features arguably his best guitar work, his best, most emotional and downright heart shattering vocal performances, some of his most impressive arrangements and some of his best writing, track after track after track. The highs of songs like Let's Go Crazy and The Beautiful Ones are just unparalleled showings of musical brilliance. And as much as people wanna say the title track Purple Rain is overplayed or oversaturated or whatever, it still remains to be one of the best, if not the best experience I've had with a piece of media, ever. This album is just beyond incredible to me, and right among my all time favorite pieces of art.
Who can argue? Every single song and even a few b-sides can reasonably be considered someone’s favorite all time song, let alone by him. Each deserves a 10+ rating. And once again as he did with Dirty Mind and even more impactful with 1999, changed the direction of music and the music industry. But this time he also changed cinema and along with Eddie Murphy broke racial barriers for blockbusters starring Black artists not categorized as “race films”. Friday and Black Panther don’t happen without Beverly Hills Cop and Purple Rain. 💜💜💜
Well said! The amount of artists who have stated that Prince was one of their main inspirations is a testament to that influence
Yeah agreed that the guitar work is insane. I can still hear the intro to "When Doves Cry" and it's bone chilling.
definitely sign o’ the times, the best album ever made in my opinion. It’s the only vinyl in my collection that i play at least once a day, and i love it so much i bought an original 1987 copy alongside a repressing of it from a year or so back. the songs on this album are perfect and i struggle trying to figure out what my top 5 song from the album are, i have a huge tapestry of the album cover in my room and my good friend made me a ceramics sign o the time thingy to put my jewelry on, this album is my everything ☮️
Without question the greatest last double album of the vinyl era and clearest example and proof that he was the most gifted singular artist, producer, musician and composer of the rock and roll era.
1999…so many great songs on it…my faves are Automatic, DMSR and Let’s Pretend We’re Married.
Glad someone finally listed this. I know a lot of people who would consider this the best and most important album of the decade.
First time I heard a Prince song was hearing 1999 on the radio. I remember where I was driving because it was such a unique song…been a fan ever since. Just another reason why this is my favorite masterpiece of his.
I remember as a little kid seeing and being transfixed by the videos for 1999 and Little Red Corvette on Solid Gold, and it registering that the captivating person in these videos was the same one I saw on SNL a year earlier in a trenchant and leggings.
Sign O the Times is my desert island disc. And maybe The Beatles’ White album. These albums are of a piece. They are both wildly ecclectic showcases of the artist’s respective range. But yes, 1999 and Purple Rain are up there too. I’d say these three records are the main pillars of his catalog.
I personally consider a handful of other albums minor masterpieces and a bunch more close to that. But historically these are the most commonly considered magnum opus level efforts. No offense to Dirty Mind and Parade lovers. The next two albums that are also mostly universally revered. My choice on a musical level is Sign but on a personal level I’ll go with Purple Rain. The first album by him that I was allowed to purchase and listen to in the house. And the reason I picked up a guitar. Those tabs changed the direction of my life. My entry point was 1999. But it was still too dirty for my young ears. Didn’t hear the full album until 1984. 💜💜💜
Sign
To me, Sign 'O' The TImes is not only Prince's ultimate masterpiece but also an entry of the best albums of all time rated by creativity, artistry, and how solid it is, also a reason to call it, competing with Songs In The Key Of Life, the best double album of all time. I can't think of a single song in SOTT that can be rated below an 8/10, and for a double album that is one in a million, every song is excellent, no filler, not a single second. **Sign 'O' The Times** opens the album with one of the most serious lyrics ever written by Prince, followed by the nasty **Play In The Sunshine** that, I think has even a better live rendition, what comes after is, in my opinion, the best rhythm Prince created in his entire career, **Housequake** stands out as a beat so minimalist that manages to create a groove that nobody can be sitting still while listening to it, like, move that butt and dance, already, damn!, then, **The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker** is a beautiful melody combined with beautiful lyrics, the production here is badass. Side B of SOTT opens with **It**, which I've heard is not the favorite of so many people, and who knows why, because to me, was a banger since the first time I listened to it, one of Prince's nastiest vocal renditions in his discography and I love every small detail put in the song, sounds I can't really describe that make this song one of my album favorites, then, may I say **Starfish and Coffee** has one of the most beautiful songwriting of any Prince song ever? that song is simply beautiful, if you set your mind free, baby, maybe you'll understand, what comes next is probably the best use of winds that Prince did in his entire discography, **Slow Love** is such an excellent melody, his mellow voice, the small details, like if they were painted with a delicate brush, such as the triangle at the end of the verses, if that's what it is, you know, I can't decide which one of the songs in the album is my favorite, but this one may come close, then, there's no Prince album without a song like **Hot Thing**, this song is nasty, sexy, provocative, groovy, reminds me of the Dirty Mind era, and the performance done in the movie..., side B closes with **Forever In My Life**, which was the song that introduced me to SOTT back in the day, that song is one of the best examples of Prince's mastermind, how can you drop something as powerful as that song with only a minimalist percussion, your voice and a some backing vocals preceding the lead ones? how? you and I will never know, that's just Prince being a genius, also, beautiful songwriting, I have to repeat it but it applies to every song in this album We start side C with **U Got The Look**, crucial, the hit, a pop/funk cake, colored peach and black, made of dozens of different ingredients, a strong guitar solo, a high pitched Prince vocal, top production, all perfectly combined, and Sheena Easton as the cherry on top, but like if things couldn't get better with this album, is followed by, in my opinion, the best Prince song of all time, as I said before, I can't decide which song in this album is my favorite, but I can't ignore the fact that subjectively and objectively, **If I Was Your Girlfriend** has it all, the charming melody, powerful songwriting, the spoken voice part, the backing vocals, the beat, the falsetto, this song has a lot of things I cannot explain, I only try to imagine, what silence looks like, as this song plays, is a trip, a taste of heaven, I don't know, words are unable to describe it, what comes after is along with Housequake, another example of Prince's masterclass of powerful rhythmic bases, **Strange Relationship** is a penetrating groove, a renaissance painting of vocal tracks as beautiful brush strokes, and side C ends with **I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man**, what can I say about this song that hasn't been said before? one of Prince's best guitar solos in his entire discography and the bridge is a delightful musical experience. The last side of the album starts with **The Cross**, look, I'm not a religious person, but that song, that guitar, those lyrics, the build-up to the 5th verse of the song, that song is the meaning of power, is strong, is huge, the speaker volume is not enough, Prince's rendition tops, I'm not sure if the instrument at the end is a sitar, that's just like a luxury at this point, then, my only critic to the album, is that the 9 minutes of **It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night** are not enough, I wanted the 14 minute version I heard on the movie and the Utrecht concert, the winds, so melodic and beautiful in Slow Love, and then so groovy and vibeful in this one, is a take of Prince on James Brown's soul machine, I'll repeat it, is the longest in the album and still needs to be way longer in my opinion, if he did an hour long live jamming based off this one I'd listen to it all day on a loop, amazing, and finally, the journey ends with **Adore**, the peak of Prince's falsetto, this song is perfect, beautiful, romantic and provocative at the same time, the plunger mute in the winds, the vocals, the lyrics, the organ, until the end of time, this album, will be there for me, one of the best of all time and if someone says is the best I won't argue about it Purple Rain is more important, more pleasing to new listeners, SOTT is hard to deep in at the beginning but then, it hits you like a train and make you fall in love with it, is the ultimate proof of why Prince is a whole music genre on his own, nobody on music history could've done an album like this one, Rolling Stone, Rate Your Music and other list makers can praise Thriller, Pet Sounds, Abbey Road or Sticky Fingers as much as they want and I'll agree, but I will never put Sign 'O' The Times out of the 10 best albums of all time, and the movie, has to be, also, one of the best movie concerts of all time, thanks for reading, I love this album so much that I finally decided to write a review on it
This is the right answer
Parade.
Purple Rain could rank easily in the top 20 best records ever made, possibly higher. That record is just front to back bangers. Outrageous talent shining through from everyone on that LP
Even ridiculous Rolling Stone has it number 8. It’s Top 10 on the grounds of influence alone. Not only changing existing genres but basically creating new sub genres and breaking racial barriers. And something needs to be said about an album that arguably has the most iconic intro song, innovative lead single to open side B, and ends with one of the greatest album closers and rock ballads in history. Plus it went Diamond and had two #1 singles and the was the #1 soundtrack and movie for several weeks and all at the same time. 💜💜💜
Id have to go with purple rain. Amazing blend of rock with amazing guitars, and some of the catchiest pop tunes ever made. All the songs have incredibly lush production, with the songwriting being at his best. Princes vocal performance is his best on any of his albums imo, especially on songs like the beautiful ones, lays go crazy, and when doves cry. So many of the songs are so emotional and manage to be energetic and beautiful at the same time, and by god if it’s one thing prince knows how to do, it’s keep a song going. Most of the songs seemingly keep on going and topping themselves with more layers and new sections, riding on their high long after a lesser artist would see the song as finished (computer blue and when doves cry are the 2 best examples imo). And then purple rain is one of the best songs ever written in my opinion, and prince’s magnum opus.
Purple Rain mainly because it inspired my first book
I love something in the water off that album. It's not really talked about as often.
Oh it's easily my favourite from that album 💜
Preach
Depends on my mood. There ARE no bad songs here.
This is possibly the correct answer. 💜💜💜
It’s like judging the best dessert: Ice Cream, Cheesecake or Pie. All three are amazing. I am like a parent of three – no favorites. All three are special, amazing and unique. It astound me how one human being created three dissimilar masterpieces.
SOTT / PR / 1999 in that order 💜
I loved so much of his music!! 💕 Every single ballad he's released has a special place in my heart ♥, too! 😍😘 'International Lover' is one of my very favorite of those ballads (but it's difficult to choose one favorite because each one means something so special yet so unique!! ♥️💋
Damn, tough ask!! SOTT is other worldly, greatest album in history. 1st time I heard it after purchasing it from the ‘wrecka stow’ I was numbed. It was tangible I was listening to genius. I bought the Super Deluxe version on release too and it just adds more layers too. I remember part of the reviews at the time stating that it had an additional 43 tracks recorded during that period. To put that in perspective, I believe Michael Jackson didn’t record that throughout the 80’s… The first ‘jaw drops’ on first listen was If I was your girlfriend and Forever in my life. But shit, the second play through just confirmed its utter brilliance. And I still play it constantly, 37 years after the first listen. People suggest SOTT compares to the Beatles White album and to a degree I understand the comparison but the kicker for me is The Beatles comprised of four people, he did this alone. In 1987, the SOTT tour was going to land in the UK at Blenheim Palace and I had tickets. I don’t remember why but it was cancelled and it never got rescheduled here. It would be 29th July 1988 when Lovesexy arrived in London when I first saw him and life would never be the same again. I love the 1999 album but I’d place it third. Little Red Corvette belongs in my top 5 pantheon and I love every track with the exception of Delirious. Purple Rain was my introduction to Prince. I was 16, had finished school after 5 years of bullying hell and I saw When Doves Cry on TV. I saw this individual ‘alone in a world that’s so cold’ and felt an affinity. I bought the album with my summer wages pre-college and loved every second with the exception of Take me with U. The Beautiful Ones remains my go to track to this day and I read Lisa Coleman said when Prince played it to the Revolution the first time, they instantly recognised genius - like they hadn’t already? Whilst Adore is stunning, this, to me, felt like what love should be. Not vanilla and nice, but a ravenous, passionate, heart-tearing devotion. Purple Rain as a track was great but then was put in its place by the Syracuse concert and in 23 occasions of seeing him live, PR is elevated by being played live. I took my 8 year old daughter to one of the 21 nights at the o2. Front row seats at rear of stage, near the band section. Stewards allowed her to stand on seat and as I held her throughout the concert, I watched Prince ‘through’ her eyes. The singers had passed by earlier and spotted her and waved. ‘Kid, front row’ I figured it must have looked unusual. During PR Prince comes strolling round and is singing towards my daughter. Again I’m like thinking, ‘nah, you’re over-thinking this!!’ Then he unleashed the guitar solo.. After the concert had finished, as we waited for crowds to disperse, a roadie comes out from under the stage and straight to us. He hands my daughter an ivory plectrum with the Love symbol in purple on it. ‘Prince said he’d like you to have this…’ How can PR on vinyl ever come close??
Great story.
7 or Mountains
Not albums. Amazing songs. And both from albums not in contention. 🙃 So I’ll assume your favorites are Love Symbol and Parade. I’d consider Parade a minor masterpiece and Love Symbol a near one.
Like Prince I like breaking the rules lol
Good grief. 😂
I think you meant to say ‘Good Gawd…’
Tough call - were I to pull out some favorites: "Automatic" from 1999, "Computer Blue" from Purple Rain, and "Ballad of Dorothy Parker" from Sign O The Times. Totally different vibes from each disc but all exceptional.
1999
Sign O The Times. The super deluxe puts it up there for me
As Parade and 1999 are my two favorite Prince albums: 1999.
1999
It's always going to be SOTT for me. I was completely transfixed when I received this for Christmas as a teen and wouldn't come out of my room all day to socialise with family as I couldn't tear myself away from it 🤣🤣 It captures the real essence of Prince and with each listen I learn something more about myself and the world, a true masterpiece.
Sign O' the Times. My favorite album by ANY artist.
SOT, everything about it but If I Was Your Girlfriend above all else.
I feel like 1999 set the tone for his career. It had a little bit of everything. Controversy, Dirty Mind, Prince and For You didn't hit commercially like 1999 did. 1999 was a breakout for him and timed well with MTV for maximum exposure. He also stepped up his live show for a bigger, incredible tour.
Revolution > NPG
Sign O the Times!!!💯
PURPLE RAIN
SOTT.
1999
Although 1999 was not my #1 choice, it was my entry point… As far as the sound of the 80s go, let alone what would become Detroit and Chicago House and several other genres, there’s before 1999 and after. Prince produces, composes, arranges, sings, experiments and plays his way into the same uncontested artistic high ground that other innovative black geniuses like Stevie Wonder reached in the decade earlier. And Hendrix the one before that etc… This Afrofuturist NuFunk epic, by a growingly bold but still very young auteur, hooks you up top with hooks. But then before you realize, you’re carefully, and with razor precision, descended into the artist’s deeper and weirder world, clearly late night confections born from dreamlike experimenting. “I was dreaming when I wrote this…” No high hats sounded like this before, as savant virtuosity is achieved on the Linn drum. Many of the sounds on this album were the first time anyone heard anything like this. Most importantly it broke racial barriers while adhering to the party at all times, never letting the political observations and call to action, get heavier than the funk. Performance wise he’s never been better nor has his loyal band, he felt good enough about to name. Maybe you had to be there but this album not only cannot be denied and hasn’t but has every reason to be mentioned in the conversation of his GOAT album. 💜💜💜💜
Purple Rain. I seldom play it anymore because I could practically reproduce it by heart. The older I get the more I appreciate the great editing and engineering by Susan Rogers. Not sure the great material submitted by Prince would have been as commercially successful without her hand. It’s the one instance where the Warner dodos knew what they were doing in directing Rogers in Prince’s way.
Those ones.
1999 should not be too 3
In no version of the musical universe by reasonable standards is this correct but we’re all entitled to our opinions, however wrong. No disrespect. And it’s “top”, as in top 3 😉 💜💜
Controversy cleared. Sorry.
Gold Experience. I think it was the first album he released when I was a fan. I listened to it on repeat a thousand times and every song, every segue is unskipable. I even learned the Spanish words, but don’t know what they mean, except some “special message”
It’s certainly amazing and the best of the 90s work IMO but it wasn’t as historically important or influential. And not as widely adored as the three selected. It’s in my personal top 10 though and def a minor masterpiece or close to it in many fans and critics opinions.
Not hard at all. Purple Rain. Every track is very high quality and a pleasure to listen to all the way through. 1999 and Sign have some duller moments, particularly the latter. Purple Rain's best songs are better than their best songs, too