Purple Rain by a country mile. SOTT lacks the excitment that after all the years I still feel when listening to PR.

SOTT. Purple Rain isn't even in my top 5 Prince albums. Purple Rain got the world into Prince, and I'm glad it did because it gave him a longer career, but it is the most contrived and calculated of all of the 80's albums. Computer Blue/Darling Nikki/When Doves Cry is the best part of the album for me, along with Take Me With You. But the rest I really could do without, even though I like the songs.

I have said for years that Purple Rain is the perfect album. What I mean by that is it should be the prototype of how to produce and sequence an album. The ordering is just how it should be....the song lengths are just right, the sound is great.....IF you want to break out as a pop star. It is the perfect little pop album. But in my opinion NOT his best.

KlyphIsBackAgain said:

SOTT. Purple Rain isn't even in my top 5 Prince albums. Purple Rain got the world into Prince, and I'm glad it did because it gave him a longer career, but it is the most contrived and calculated of all of the 80's albums. Computer Blue/Darling Nikki/When Doves Cry is the best part of the album for me, along with Take Me With You. But the rest I really could do without, even though I like the songs.

I have said for years that Purple Rain is the perfect album. What I mean by that is it should be the prototype of how to produce and sequence an album. The ordering is just how it should be....the song lengths are just right, the sound is great.....IF you want to break out as a pop star. It is the perfect little pop album. But in my opinion NOT his best.

This may be considered absolute blasphemy here but it's absolutely spot on

digitalelectric said:

Which do you prefer and why? While SOTT gets more love critically, it pales in comparison to PR, imho. [Edited 3/28/11 1:13am]

Purple Rain

1. Let's Go Crazy - 10/10

2. Take Me With U - 8/10

3. The Beautiful Ones - 10/10

4. Computer Blue - 8/10

5. Darling Nikki - 6/10

6. When Doves Cry - 10/10

7. I Would Die 4 U - 8/10

8. Baby I'm A Star - 9/10

9. Purple Rain - 9/10

Total 78/90 = 89% Excellent A

Sign O The Times

1. Sign O The Times - 10/10

2. Play In The Sunshine - 9/10

3. Housequake - 10/10

4. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker - 8/10

5. It - 9/10

6. Starfish And Coffee - 9/10

7. Slow Love - 8/10

8. Hot Thing - 9/10

9. Forever In My Life - 10/10

10. U Got The Look - 9/10

11. If I Was Your Girlfriend - 10/10

12. Strange Relationship - 10/10

13. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man - 10/10

14. The Cross - 9/10

15. It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night - 10/10

16. Adore - 11/10

Total 150/160 = 94% Exceptional A+

Have used 802's template, sorry just saves me typing all the song titles out!

Purple Rain - Pros, Catchy Music, Hit packed, great movie to go with it, great rock sound.

Cons, Too short, too white sounding, been played to death as they were his biggest and most crossed over songs, a lot of non fans quote this as their only Prince album. Darling Nikki quite a weak track and seems out of place.

SOTT - Pro's, Much longer, greater variety of musical styles, more accomplished playing (Not just rock guitars), contains my favourite song - Adore, More critically acclaimed, mature sounds, deep lyrics and musical arrangements, adventorous styles of music, A lot more black sounding and soulful, along with some white guiatr stuff thrown in.

Cons - If any, maybe too adventorous for some, some lesser songs like Dorthy Parker, spread over 2 discs (Could be squeezed on to one), just a shadow of the original 3CD Crystal Ball/Dream Factory set. Still these are trifles.

Overall I take SOTT as a better album as its more accomplished and the work of the true Musician Prince was, he was more mature and focussed and the songs were better written. Whereas Purple Rain was more the album of a Rock Star rather than a true Musician. I think you can compare him to Bruce Springsteen with Purple Rain, but SOTT is more like a Miles Davis moment if you get what I mean.

digitalelectric said:

Which do you prefer and why? While SOTT gets more love critically, it pales in comparison to PR, imho. [Edited 3/28/11 1:13am]

Purple Rain and because I know that there were over 100+ tracks written and produced at that time, compared to S.O.T.T. which we know was a combination of Crystal Ball and Dream Factory. If I'm correct.

SOTT...but both are classic, both are prince's best, both are two of the greatest albums ever. but SOTT kills PR in showing diversity. also, 'It' is one of my favorite songs. never knew it was so disparaged until i came to this website.

SOTT hands down.

After SOTT, my fave albums are The Black Album, Parade, Lovesexy, 1999, TRC, Dirty Mind...

And only after all of those would come Purple Rain.

Purple Rain. While SOTT has some better standout songs I Purple Rain is just one of those rare perfect rock albums that I can just listen to beginning to end and never want to skip a track. But I could skip at least a third of SOTT and not even notice.

They've both got a certain appeal, but I've gotta go with SOTT. It's got superior musicianship, more sophisticated compositions and a more complex range of emotions than PR's facile lust.rage.regret.repeat.

[Edited 4/8/11 7:49am]

802 said:

SOTT. Because you can immerse yourself in it like a good book.

Sure it has weak spots (only two; Slow Love and Its gonna be a BN) but they only make the highs higher. SOTT feels like a musical Journey.

I love Purple Rain, but it feels like its missing something. Constrained by the medium of vinyl rather than a completed piece of work. Whenever I play it, I have to play my own extended version to really enjoy it. I need the full lets go crazy and I need the b-sides. I like to soak in the era.

I also think that PR is slightly lazy.Maybe because of filming commitiments. I think side one of PR is as perfect as a side can get, but on side two, WDC aside, I feel like I'm listening to a wrap party rather than a crafted piece.

It doesn't help that Purple Rain the song has never been a favourite. Overplayed, and as sales around the world show, the weaker of the first three singles by a mile. Nice track, buy over rated.

Where the title track to SOTT is like nothing that has ever come before or after it. So if a newbie asked me where to start tomorrow, I would say, "Sign O the Times will mess with you mind, hurry before its too late!"

purple rain! it's epic, the songs flow, i don't skip any, love the big drama & passion in his voice, iconic image, purple rain the embodiment of perfectness, the movie cult status & i liked his bedroom

I would rather watch Sign O'The Times over Purple Rain.