If it is his best, it wouldn't be by a mile. The overall quality of 1999 and Sign O the Times would have to be consider closer in quality than a mile. Maybe a few feet...

I like Sign the best because it is Prince at his most fearless. Purple Rain is what he is capable of doing every album but for whatever reason hasn't. It takes his musical genius and reins it in so that is laser-focused. To me that has always been one of P's weaknesses is that there is too much going on in his mind and subsequently in some of his material. Overproduction, lack of editing, just someone to tell him "P, do we really want to let Tony M rap for three minutes on this?" Purple Rain, whether it was the Revolution who reined him in or the production, it was just Prince at his absolute TIGHTEST. All of his musical skills and pop sensibility directed into one place...a great place as it turns out that made a major impact.

Sign O the Times is a Prince experiementation that just plain worked. It is organized chaos. It is Prince trying on a lot of musical hats and they all fit. (Well, the "Slow Love" hat didn't fit too well...) It is Prince as his most creative, at his most inspired. It is a Prince of instincts before his instincts started to fail him. I do not believe any other artist in the music business could have duplicated the wonder of Sign but on a really really really good day that might be able to come up with a reasonable fascimile of Purple Rain.

Purple Rain is the Mona Lisa of his albums...Sign is his Picasso.

GottaLetitgo said:

I like your interptretation.

to me, i think what would have made it THEE MOST PERFECT album in the world,
would have been leaving take me with you off the album, for the longer version of computer blue, and about a 5-min version of i would die for you.

all in all this is one of the best prince albums but not perfect for me.

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Sorry but there is just NO WAY that I can think of Purple Rain as being his best album. I think it sounds really dated. It does have some of favourite Prince songs on it, though: When Doves Cry, Let's Go Crazy, Beautiful Ones, Take Me With U, Purple Rain. But I think Sign O' The Times is a far, far better album. Definitely Prince at his peak. So many amazing songs and so much variation in genre. And loads of my favourite Prince songs are on here: the title track, Adore, Strange Relationship, Starfish and Coffee (stunning!!), U Got The Look, If I Was Your Girlfriend. Lyrically and musically it kicks PR to the ground - just look out at the title track, If I was Ur Girlfriend, Adore. All three of those are so stunning musically and lyrically. And that's before you even think about how the album represents just one man in a studio. Awesome stuff.


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GottaLetitgo said:

I would have said that Sign O' The Times is his Les Demoiselles D'Avignon!

CCCP said:

Yep, me too. SOTT is a masterpiece.

Purple Rain is very good, but it doesn't match SOTT.

No. But it is an album i can easily listen to all the way through. A true classic.

GottaLetitgo said:

I don't buy that. That sounds like something a Paisley Park worker would say as an excuse.

If he was really capable of making an album as great and tight as Purple Rain, there's no way he'd intentionally hold back. Every song on it is one of a kind and more inspired than what he's recorded since.

He's tried to create a single to match When Doves Cry, but hasn't been able to (with the rare exception of Kiss, maybe), tried to create an epic closer that's as iconic and defintive as Purple Rain, but hasn't been able to, and he's certainly failed at numerous attempts to match Purple Rain's popularity.

Purple Rain is NOT what he's capable of doing every album. He was completely inspired during this time, and just completely in the zone. Jaw-dropping musical brilliance and his finger on the pulse of every casual listener. He was totally on fire.

GottaLetitgo said:

I agree. Purple Rain is the culmination of all the styles he was breaking new ground with, except this time it's perfected and squeezed into one tight, concise package.

GottaLetitgo said:

To me, SOTT is Prince trying every style to slightly watered down results.

There's the commercially guaranteed pop song (U Got the Look), the pop song that asks for everyone to really let go and live while they still can (PITS), the romantic ballad (Slow Love), the guitar-driven song (ICNTTPOYM), the epic closer (Adore), etc.

Now, some of these are great songs, but I think he'd already perfected each of their themes/goals on Purple Rain already. SOTT has more, but you get less.

Dude, Purple Rain is the BEST ALBLUMS OF ALL TIME!

That's right....I SAID ALBLUMS!

Pruple rain was critically acclaimed the best soundtrack EVER made.

MrPalmisano said:

not. it's been in a ton of top 10/50/100 lists of best albums of all time, sure, but nowhere has it been deemed "best ever". even then, there's other soundtrack albums that should be held in higher regard than pr.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Which ones and why?

Yes. I agree Purple Rain is Prince's apex album.

It may not be my personal favorite ...I love so many Prince albums ... but subtract it from the Prince catalog and Prince's genius is not illustrated anywhere else with as much concentrated charisma and skill.

I mean this album is such a powerfully coordinated punch, the genius is PRONOUNCED. It makes it all look so easy.

EVERYTHING hits. How rare is that?!

SOTT or 1999.

SOTT edges it out in my opinion...Prince covers more musical ground in the first four songs alone on SOTT than most artists cover in their entire careers. And he does so almost flawlessly and seemlessly.

Purple Rain is more easily accessible, however...but I don't necessarily equate "accessible" to "better".

It's close, i love Purple Rain, like you said a near perfect album.

But in my book, SOT wins by a nose.

The two best Prince albums in my opinion

As much of a fan as I am there are only two Prince albums I can listen to straight through without wanting to skip tracks, and they are "Parade" and "Purple Rain". PR is the most "one note" Prince album (all songs are of the same type) but it just feels complete and rounded.

"SOTT" is a classic indeed, but as much as I love it there are two many patchy tracks. If I put the CD on now I'd probably stop the first track after "Starfish and Coffee" and the second after "ICNTTPOYM". When this means seven of the sixteen tracks don't get heard in this house I can't say it is his greatest. Sure, it is probably his most adventurous and varied, but not the greatest.

As for "1999" I've never liked it. Too repetitive, tracks too long, songs too sketchy. Not a fan of that one.

BUT this is all subjective and we all have our own favourites. Someone who discovered Prince in the 90s will probably say "Emancipation" is their favourite. My word, I truly feel for such poor individuals.

I guess I'll get flamed for this, but I don't rate Purple Rain in his top ten.

I guess it all comes down to one's personal criteria. I'm a professional muso and the thing that grabs me about Prince are his sophisticated musicianship and gorgeous arrangements -- especially horns and vox harmonies -- as well as his ability to take a song in a totally unexpected direction with perfectly coherent musicality. While these traits can be found in his work up to and including Purple Rain, they really came to the fore from ATWIAD onwards.

I agree that Purple Rain is stronger than many other albums in terms of coherance, succinctness and an original sound/personality. On the other hand, in terms of the pure artistry of the songwriting/musicianship I think just about every subsequent album surpasses it.

Again it's a matter of criteria and personal taste, and I happen to be forgiving to flawed gems. For instance, I agree with the common perception that the production of Emancipation sounds dated and a little plastic. But I think the songwriting and musicianship especially on disc 2 is miles above anything on Purple Rain. Also, like most, I find the "Bob George" voice and religious theme of The Rainbow Children extremely annoying, but the music is phenomenal and that's enough to make it close to my favourite from the Prince canon.

I'm one of the minority who really dig most of his post-Diamonds and Pearls work. Sure he's been less "cutting edge" over the past decade or so, but my tastes run to timeless musicianship rather than fads. I do also love the post-PR 80s albums so beloved by the hard-core Prince fraternity and to my ears ATWIAD, SOTT and Lovesexy in particular are far superior to Purple Rain.
[Edited 3/4/06 3:12am]

Cheek said:

You twit!


Just kidding.

PurpleKnight said:

'Dansa means 'The Bodyguard', right?

SynthiaRose said:

Wow, you described it amazingly.

I don't think it is his best album. It's not even in my top five.

PR pros:
- The energy on this record is amazing.
- It has a flow from beginning to end.
- It is a very "tight" record - everything seems to fit.

PR cons:
- If you're looking for a variety of styles, this one just isn't your record.
- Many later albums were much more complex.
- PR is too poppy and commercial sometimes.
- In contrast to others, I do think that it has some weaker tracks on it. "Darling Nikki" mainly lives through its explicit lyrics, the music on "I Would Die 4 U" is almost embarassingly simple. It's just not so obvious because of the record's flow.

Just my two cents...

not eye...

To me, PR is the personification of Prince. The scorching guitars, funky synths and drums, sex and religion. It's *classic* Prince. It is a perfect album. I wish he would do it again.

I don't agree.
1."Sign 'O' The Times"
2."1999"
3. "Dirty Mind"
4. "Parade"
5. "Purple Rain"

EmancipationLover said:

Agree with everything except the Darling Nikki comment. I think it's the strongest track musically, and if anything let down by the adolescent bawdiness.

PurpleKnight said:

I think Prince became more interested in showcasing his musical development and diversity than his ability to conceive a "tight" album to be honest. As an entertainer and popstar, Prince may consider Purple Rain his finest moment, but there's no way that as a musician Purple Rain would be among his prouder achievements. I think after he became a megastar and mega-wealthy from its success, he became far more interested in leaving his mark as an "artist". People were using Picasso and Leonardo analogies earlier, but to be honest compared to the sophistication of his later work Purple Rain's simplicity is more like a cartoon.

PurpleKnight you make a great case. It's hard for me to judge because I have only been able to get back to the album recently after way to much overexposure upon it's release. There's no denying that it is a pop masterpiece that hit the public at exactly the right time in his career. It's one of those rare moments in popular culture where all the elements click in a perfect way.

But, I still would have to rank SOTT as his best album. It is so complex, clever, dark, hopeful, beautiful, musically adventurous, ahead of it's time and uncompromised. The wealth, breadth, and diversity of material is astonshing. The complex gospel organ and vocal arrangement of Adore, the gender mindf@ck and brilliant bassline of IIWYG, the visual poetry of Dorothy Parker, and the greatest funk song ever made in Housequake are just the beginning of the landscape.

The bottom line is what other artist has a four album roster like PR, SOTT, 1999 and Parade? No to the Beatles, RS, Marvin Gaye, JB, Sly, Stevie, etc.

GottaLetitgo said:

Best explanation I have ever heard. Thanks, I'm going to use it.