From the opening of "Let's Go Crazy" when Prince says "Dearly beloved we are gathered together to get through this thing called life..." you know you are in the world of Prince. Since he's one of the most creative musicians ever, enjoy the ride.
Honestly I've been waiting for a "Purple Rain" (Deluxe Version) for a long time, but realistically I had given up on it ever happening. If Prince hadn't died, I have my doubts that it would have happened now. The loss of Prince will always be felt in the music world, but I'm glad for this release. Now if you're looking for one or more amazing songs that would have fit right in with the original "Purple Rain" that song isn't here. However there are some perfectly good songs, any new music from Prince is always a good thing. The questions are 1) How is it? 2) Do the new songs and revamped songs make this CD worth adding to your collection? 3) Is it worth the relatively hefty price for a 3 disc CD when you can pretty much listen to any song now on your phone? I'm not rating the songs from the original CD as that's been a lot better by others. (Numbers in parenthesis are the length of the song and then the song's rating from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best score.)
Honestly I've been waiting for a "Purple Rain" (Deluxe Version) for a long time, but realistically I had given up on it ever happening. If Prince hadn't died, I have my doubts that it would have happened now. The loss of Prince will always be felt in the music world, but I'm glad for this release. Now if you're looking for one or more amazing songs that would have fit right in with the original "Purple Rain" that song isn't here. However there are some perfectly good songs, any new music from Prince is always a good thing. The questions are 1) How is it? 2) Do the new songs and revamped songs make this CD worth adding to your collection? 3) Is it worth the relatively hefty price for a 3 disc CD when you can pretty much listen to any song now on your phone? I'm not rating the songs from the original CD as that's been a lot better by others. (Numbers in parenthesis are the length of the song and then the song's rating from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best score.)
1) "Lets Go Crazy" (Prince and The Revolution):
2) "Take Me With You"(Prince and The Revolution) :
3) "The Beautiful Ones" (Prince)
4) "Computer Blue" (Prince and The Revolution):
5) "Darling Nikki":
6) "When Doves Cry" (Prince and The Revolution):
7) "I Would Die 4 U" (Prince and The Revolution):
8) "Baby I'm A Star"(Prince and The Revolution):
9) "Purple Rain" (Prince and The Revolution):
This is one of the songs on this CD that starts out well and has some good musical ideas. However it just goes on too long, especially since the last few minutes is very repetitive. This song didn't need to be any longer than 5 minutes. I can't think of a musician who did funky as well as Prince, this song definitely brings the funk. 1) "The Dance Electric" (11:30, 6):
All too often this is the filler type of song that's on reissues. 2) "Love and Sex" (5:01, 4):
The first 5:57 is very similar to the original "Computer Blue", which buoys the song. Then we have another speech by Wendy and Lisa. That's followed by new lyrics, singing and talking from Prince. 3) "Computer Blue (Hallway Speech version)" (12:19, 7):
The deluxe version would have been better served without this song. 4) "Electric Intercourse" (4:57, 3):
The "Our Destiny" portion is some good funk and "Roadhouse Garden" has some more funk. 5) "Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden" (6:25, 6):
Again the ranking would be higher, if the song had a better edit. 6) "Possessed" (1983 version) (7:56, 5)
This song is good as it is, but it would have benefitted from a more judicious cut. 7) "Wonderful Ass" (6:24, 7):
A light frothy little ditty. 8) "Velvet Kitty Cat" (2:43, 7):
9) "Katrina's Paper Dolls" (3:30, 5):
I liked this song better when it was shorter and it was called "We Can Funk". 10) "We Can Fuxk" (10:18, 7)
A nice, gentle piano ballad. 11) "Father's Song" (5:31, 7):
This is one of the songs on this CD that starts out well and has some good musical ideas. However it just goes on too long, especially since the last few minutes is very repetitive. This song didn't need to be any longer than 5 minutes. I can't think of a musician who did funky as well as Prince, this song definitely brings the funk. 1) "The Dance Electric" (11:30, 6):
All too often this is the filler type of song that's on reissues. 2) "Love and Sex" (5:01, 4):
The first 5:57 is very similar to the original "Computer Blue", which buoys the song. Then we have another speech by Wendy and Lisa. That's followed by new lyrics, singing and talking from Prince. 3) "Computer Blue (Hallway Speech version)" (12:19, 7):
The deluxe version would have been better served without this song. 4) "Electric Intercourse" (4:57, 3):
The "Our Destiny" portion is some good funk and "Roadhouse Garden" has some more funk. 5) "Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden" (6:25, 6):
Again the ranking would be higher, if the song had a better edit. 6) "Possessed" (1983 version) (7:56, 5)
This song is good as it is, but it would have benefitted from a more judicious cut. 7) "Wonderful Ass" (6:24, 7):
A light frothy little ditty. 8) "Velvet Kitty Cat" (2:43, 7):
9) "Katrina's Paper Dolls" (3:30, 5):
I liked this song better when it was shorter and it was called "We Can Funk". 10) "We Can Fuxk" (10:18, 7)
A nice, gentle piano ballad. 11) "Father's Song" (5:31, 7):
Single Edits and B Sides
The single version, a couple of minutes shorter than the song that appears on the original soundtrack. 1) "When Doves Cry" (3:48, 10):
Perhaps the best new song on the 3 discs. 2) "17 Days" (3:56, 7):
That iconic intro is shortened and it gets into the song faster, just a great, great song. 3) "Let's Go Crazy" (edit) (3:47, 10)
Just what you would expect of a dance mix. 4) "Let's Go Crazy" (special dance mix) (7:35, 7.5)
A very good song, the funk master strikes again. 5) "Erotic City" (3:56, 8): The Revolution version:
Too much of a good thing. 6) "Erotic City (Make Love Not War Erotic City Come Alive)" (7:23, 6)
7) "Purple Rain" (4:05, 10):
8) "God" (4:02, 5):
This is the instrumental version. 9) "God (Love Theme From Purple Rain)" (7:58, 4):
It's a real gut punch when you find out why the protagonist is having another lonely Christmas.
10) "Another Lonely Christmas" (4:53, 6):
11) "Another Lonely Christmas" (extended version) (6:47, 5):
12) "I Would Die 4 U" (edit) (2: 58, 10):
At 10:18 this is way too long, cutting the song in half would have made it twice as good. The longer the song went on the lower the score became. 13) "I Would Die 4 U" (extended version) (10:18, 3):
Essentially the original version. 14) "Baby I'm A Star" (edit) (2: 49, 10)
Essentially the original version. 15) "Take Me With U" (edit)" (3:43, 10)
1) Is it good? The original CD is one of the best CDs of all-time, for any genre, for any decade, for any taste. It has everything you'd ever want in a CD. 2) Do the new songs and revamped songs make this CD worth adding to your collection? I would say "yes", but that's a guarded yes. Honestly none of the new songs and different versions are needed, unless you are a completist. There are enough interesting songs on this CD to make it worth the while of huge Prince fans and completists. 3) Is it worth the relatively hefty price for a 3 disc CD when you can pretty much listen to any song now on your phone? On amazon you can get the physical CD for $25, the MP3 for $18. Again if you are a huge Prince fan or completist, then yes it's worth your money and your time. If you aren't either of those, this probably isn't the CDs for you. If you're wondering yes I did buy it. I'm a big Prince fan, but don't quite reach the level of a completist. Overall I would give this CD a 7.
themusicaddict
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