Rhythm - a powerful force bending sound into palpable pressure

1985, most weeknights, 1 AM
“Ok, time to close!” I probably said this phrase several hundred times over the course of my career at Taco Bell, and in many of these instances, that phrase was quickly followed by another, far more exciting declaration blaring from a boom box in the back of the store...dearly beloved, we are gathered here 2day 2 get 2 this thing called life. All of us raised our voices in unison as we began the tedious process of cleansing each night’s messes from our business and chasing gathered tensions from our own minds - behind Prince’s narration, the beat began to work it’s magic within us, breaking us free of the rhythm of work, leaving us free to get a little crazy…

and if the elevator tries to break you down
go crazy
punch a higher floor
time bends and flows anew with rhythm there is nothing more nothing less
----------------------------------------------------

Groove - the sorcery of the skilled musician, a witch’s brew of beats and bass, beguiling the mind, soul and body

Prince’s Purple Rain was an explosive catharsis for my nineteen year-old mind, a revelation of mind-bending sounds and eye-popping ideas that challenged many things I thought I knew about music and life at that point. I did not seek out this revelatory experience - it was brought to me by two of the employees on my night shift who definitely did their best work after we closed the store if they could listen to the music of their choice. For several months, Prince was given pre-eminence on their list; as we worked under the spell of the music, the sights and smells of our familiar surroundings began to give way to the fantasies of youth…

dig if u will the picture…
           a crowded nightclub
u and eye engaged in a kiss
           the dance floor teems with lithe, shadowy figures
the sweat of your body covers me
           feel the rhythm envelop you, having its way with you
can u my darling, can u picture this?
           you are slick with sweat, keeping time with every part of your being
you and the groove are one there is nothing more nothing less
----------------------------------------------------

DMSR – the essence of The Artist himself…a passionate whirlwind of dance, music, sex and romance

Each song on Purple Rain is designed with one singular purpose – to move you (with the possible exception of Take Me With You, a song he wrote for Apollonia to perform for this album – it's the only song I don't really like in the collection).

Songs like I Would Die 4 U and Baby, I'm A Star will move your feet…
Computer Blue and Darling Nikki will move your – well, let's just say they contain inspiring lyrics and leave it at that, OK?
The Beautiful Ones will move you to tears if you let it…
Purple Rain moves the soul – it defies musical gravity, lifting the listener to a new level of auditory and mental consciousness, a perfect storm of sound building and building, wave upon wave until a final guitar solo crashes upon the shore and washes over you again and again

time bends and flows anew with rhythm
there is nothing more nothing less
you and the groove are one
there is nothing more nothing less
nothing more
nothing less

----------------------------------------------------
Prince - Purple Rain
Originally released in 08/06/1984 by Warner Brothers Records
Track listing
Let’s Go Crazy / Take Me With You / The Beautiful Ones / Computer Blue / Darling Nikki / When Doves Cry / I Would Die 4 U / Baby I’m A Star / Purple Rain
----------------------------------------------------
My Top Ten List of albums that molded my musical tastes

#10 Genesis - Genesis
# 9 Rick Springfield - Living In Oz
# 8 Journey - Escape
# 7 Howard Jones - Dream Into Action
# 6 Tears for Fears - Songs From the Big Chair
# 5 Prince - Purple Rain
# 4 Yes - 90125
# 3 Peter Gabriel - So
# 2 The Police - Synchronicity
# 1 U2 - The Joshua Tree

My Top Ten List Criteria Explained...


Recommended: Yes