When the Purple One Rewrote the Rulebook

At a time when Thriller was still devouring everything in its path and the world was awaiting Madonna’s second album, early reviews dismissed Purple Rain as a soundtrack album lacking obvious hits. They couldn’t have been more wrong. The soundtrack to Prince’s semi-autobiographical film proved to be his most complete and daring pop statement — shifting 14 million units worldwide, spawning five Top Ten singles including two No. 1 hits, and rocketing him from sexed-up star to icon extraordinaire almost overnight.

The key was Prince’s genre-defying sound — abandoning the sleazy synthesized funk of his earlier work for a thrilling hybrid of rock, pop, and soul built on screaming guitars and drum machine-driven tracks. “Let’s Go Crazy” opened the album with religious fervour and breathless energy, “When Doves Cry” stripped the bass entirely and became one of the decade’s defining singles, and “Darling Nikki” was so sexually explicit it directly triggered the creation of Tipper Gore’s parental advisory stickers. The majestic title track — Prince’s unlikely attempt at country-rock — closed the album in a blaze of glory. Purple Rain remains untouchable.

Prince and the Revolution – Purple Rain (1984)