Board 8 > Rank the Tracks 116: Prince - Purple Rain (+ Sabaton/Kero Kero Bonito results)

(+) Yeah! (+)

rwlh's week:
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
vs.
Hisayoshi Ogura - G-Darius Original Arcade Score
vs.
Bjork - Vespertine

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_2
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_3

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points. For albums with greater than 15 tracks, everything ranked below #15 will be given 0 points and the scale for the top 15 will be the same as a 15-track album. For albums with more than 20 tracks, you only have to list your top 15 (with 16-20, I still like having the average rank listed)
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Sunday, May 28 at 4:00 PM Central Time; the future week poll will close earlier, when I am putting up the next topic
7. You can sign up to be added to the user cycle (a new user will be added to the end of the current cycle as long as there are four weeks remaining) - the next person on the list will choose 3 albums which the other users will vote on for the next topic.
7a. To ensure people are being given an actual choice, the three nominated albums must be by different artists. You can otherwise stick to a similar sound or era.
7b. The tiebreaker for these polls will be whichever is listed first in the poll options - make sure to deliver the results in order of your own preference (which will hopefully have the added benefit of influencing people toward your first choice if they can't decide).
7c. I have added a tiered vote structure - the least popular album will be removed and its backup votes distributed to the other two entrants.
8. Starting with the next cycle, every four weeks will be a competitive week where those listed choose a single album to face off against others.
9. Skits and tracks under 40 seconds will be excluded from the rankings unless argued otherwise

Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain track list:
1. Let's Go Crazy
2. Take Me with U
3. The Beautiful Ones
4. Computer Blue
5. Darling Nikki
6. When Doves Cry
7. I Would Die 4 U
8. Baby I'm a Star
9. Purple Rain

Current cycle:
5/28: ChichiriMuyo (Stabbing Westward - Darkest Days)
6/4: BlueCrystalTear (Queen - A Night at the Opera)
6/11: rwlh
6/18: NFUN
6/25: HBJDubs/firefdr/NFUN
7/2: StifledSilence
7/9: MaxGalactica

Future cycle:
7/16: MetalmindStats
7/23: HBJDubs
7/30: Raetsel_Lapin
8/6: competitive week
8/13: Steiner
8/20: Snake5555555555
8/27: Jesse_Custer
9/3: competitive week
9/10: ZaziGuado
9/17: firefdr
9/24: Johnbobb
10/1: competitive week
10/8: VeryInsane
10/15: FoolFantastic
10/22: Seanchan
10/29: competitive week
11/5: Giggsalot
11/12: RyoCaliente
11/19: darkx
11/26: competitive week
12/3: neonreaper
12/10: Great_Paul
12/17: jcgamer107
12/24: competitive week

Sabaton - The War to End All Wars results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
Johnbobb (18)
Great_Paul (22)
Raetsel_Lapin (26)
MaxGalactica (28)
HBJDubs (30)
neonreaper (30)
MarkS2222222222 (36)
Seanchan (40)

General Album Comments

Steiner: I'm intrigued to listen to this album as my dealings with Sabaton involve me and my friends asking 'who are all these people who love sabaton?!' any time we go to mainland europe and find them headlining festivals - for whatever reason they're pretty low profile in the UK but when I went to France or Germany these were enormous. I see that in the time since I fell off power metal, Sabaton became the stalwarts, and are respected for the depths of historical knowledge they bring to their lyrics

Johnbobb: listened to this album three times today, it rocks

Seanchan: Sometimes you know 15 seconds in that an album is going to be for you. I heard the instrumentation and I was intrigued, then the vocals kicked in and I knew. I was very much enjoying my first listen, though I noticed something that annoyed me a bit. Almost every song, with minor variation is: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus, chorus. Now I'm sure a lot of albums are formulaic in structure but even I noticed it here, and it kind of brought the album down a bit I think.

Raetsel_Lapin: I like this album, but I found it to be one of the hardest to rank. There's no really strong tracks that I love, but a lot of tracks that I like which results in my top 7 feeling a bit arbitrary... I could throw on any of those tracks and be equally happy, so I'm not as confident about the order as I'd like even after five listens.

Seanchan: A very solid album with no bad songs...but also no super strong songs either. It all kind of just blends all together after a while and so this is a pretty arbitrary ranking of songs.

HBJDubs: I love Sabaton. This album doesn't have a standout track like most of their albums but everything here is great so I'm not complaining.

MaxGalactica: I did enjoy this album for the most part. Great instrumentals, great melodies, and great guitar solos. The vocals were a bit difficult to take seriously though, because they made me think of pirates. Versailles suddenly being in a major key after all the songs in minor was pretty odd, but it makes sense considering the context. Top 3 on my ranking are songs I'd go back to. Good album

neonreaper: I like other Sabaton albums a bit more but I have a soft spot in my heart for their stuff. There's nothing here that really stands out as "this is the song everyone is gonna like" so I'm curious to see what the rankings are. In a vacuum I would guess Christmas Truce and Lady of the Dark are the top 2.

Narrators - I'm so glad they decided to make a version of the album without one (for the most part). I don't really get why bands spend time on this stuff aside from maybe a live version.

The War to End All Wars track ranking

11. Versailles (Track #11)
Score: 30 (Average Rank: 8.25/11)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin, HBJDubs, neonreaper (#11)

10. Hellfighters (Track #6)
Score: 34 (Average Rank: 8/11)
Biggest Fan(s): MarkS2222222222 (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb, Great_Paul, MaxGalactica (#11)

9. Sarajevo (Track #1)
Score: 36 (Average Rank: 7.5/11)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin, Seanchan (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): MarkS2222222222 (#11)

8. Race to the Sea (Track #7)
Score: 49 (Average Rank: 6.5/11)
Biggest Fan(s): neonreaper (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan, MaxGalactica (#10)

7. Stormtroopers (Track #2)
Score: 49 (Average Rank: 6/11)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb, neonreaper (#10)

6. Soldier of Heaven (Track #5)
Score: 53 (Average Rank: 5.88/11)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb, MaxGalactica (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Great_Paul, HBJDubs (#10)

5. Dreadnought (Track #3)
Score: 60 (Average Rank: 5.38/11)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Great_Paul, Seanchan (#9)

4. The Valley of Death (Track #9)
Score: 66 (Average Rank: 4.63/11)
Biggest Fan(s): MarkS2222222222 (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan, neonreaper (#8)

3. The Unkillable Soldier (Track #4)
Score: 68 (Average Rank: 4.63/11)
Biggest Fan(s): MaxGalactica (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin, HBJDubs (#9)

2. Lady of the Dark (Track #8)
Score: 69 (Average Rank: 4.5/11)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#11)

Raetsel_Lapin: I think this is the only track where I strongly prefer the History version over the standard. I just really like the story.

1. Christmas Truce (Track #10)
Score: 70 (Average Rank: 4.75/11)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb, Great_Paul, Seanchan (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): MaxGalactica (#9)

Johnbobb: this is my new go-to for any christmas playlist

Kero Kero Bonito - Bonito Generation results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
MaxGalactica (20)
FoolFantastic (22)
Raetsel_Lapin (26)
Seanchan (26)
hotdogturtle (28)
jcgamer107 (38)
Johnbobb (40)
HBJDubs (46)
ChichiriMuyo (52)

General Album Comments

Seanchan: Not sure I was really feeling it. The album felt kind of...simple? I don't know. Something about it was kind of videogame-y or just had me saying "yeah, I could see why GFAQs users might like this". It's a tough place to be when, in just this cycle, we've covered Grimes and Caroline Polachek.

MaxGalactica: Cute album. It is a bit on the simplistic side, so it's not really something that wowed me at any point, but it was fun to listen to.

Johnbobb: what a goofy album

jcgamer107: While my two favorite Kero Kero Bonito songs are found elsewhere, Bonito Generation is a really fun & easy listen, clocking in at under 40 minutes start to finish. Half the songs on this album could be summer radio hits, so it's hard to sort. Most of KKB's catalog is very danceable in a live setting - got to see them about 4 years ago and it was a blast.

Seanchan: Simple, saccharine, amateur. Those are some of the words that came to mind as I was trying to figure out why this album was rubbing me the wrong way.

Then I figured it out. This album feels like the soundtrack to some lost Disney Channel show, where the lead singer is the quirky Japanese girl that goes to live it England and gets up to some G/PG related high jinks with her 2 new best friends. (Just to be clear, I know the singer is originally from Japan and then lived in England.) Most of these songs feel like things she'd burst out singing, one per episode, while some slightly bewildered students or family members look on.

jcgamer107 (responding to Seanchan): .....I mean if you extrapolated the Lipslap video into an actual show, then I'd agree, but for the album as a whole I think you're selling it very short

HBJDubs: "Simple, saccharine, amateur." I think that's a good description! I do like the album though; there's no cream rising to the top but it was a cool listen regardless.

ChichiriMuyo: As others have said, it's goofy, cute, and simple. However, the lyrics for most songs are pretty universally relatable. Also I love that the Japanese rapping is at a speed where the only things I'm not understanding are words I just don't know. "I speak in different languages and people get what I mean" indeed.

FoolFantastic: Had a lot of fun with this one; not quite hyper-pop but something adjacent. It may seem simple, but I don't know many other artists that embrace such a simple sound, especially this effectively.

Bonito Generation track ranking

12. Hey Parents (Track #12)
Score: 32 (Average Rank: 9.44/12)
Biggest Fan(s): ChichiriMuyo, FoolFantastic (#8)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#11)

11. Paintbrush (Track #9)
Score: 36 (Average Rank: 9.11/12)
Biggest Fan(s): ChichiriMuyo (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb, hotdogturtle, Seanchan, FoolFantastic (#12)

10. Graduation (Track #3)
Score: 50 (Average Rank: 8/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb, HBJDubs (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): ChichiriMuyo (#12)

jcgamer107: 0:43 lap complete. 2:06 goes hard.

9. Heard a Song (Track #2)
Score: 51 (Average Rank: 7.78/12)
Biggest Fan(s): ChichiriMuyo (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): jcgamer107 (#12)

jcgamer107: my lowest-rated song is still like a 7/10

8. Waking Up (Track #1)
Score: 57 (Average Rank: 7/12)
Biggest Fan(s): FoolFantastic (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin, HBJDubs (#12)

7. Try Me (Track #8)
Score: 64 (Average Rank: 6.33/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic (#11)

6. Fish Bowl (Track #4)
Score: 71 (Average Rank: 5.89/12)
Biggest Fan(s): jcgamer107 (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): MaxGalactica (#12)

jcgamer107: I think this is the song Sarah is singing about in 'Heard a Song' - I had the part at 0:50 stuck in my head for a while before I was able to go back and find the song it was from. Could easily be twice as long, but like many great songs, leaves you wanting more.

hotdogturtle: This song doesn't feel like a typical "short song" to me. It feels like a full length song that's just missing a minute or two from the end. Listening to it, I can try to pretend that it's longer and isn't about to abruptly end. This made it the hardest song to rank. I do like what's there and in this case I'm not letting its duration hold it back, even though I wish it kept going past 1:45. (I debated ranking it even higher, although the songs that I ranked above it deserve those spots too)

5. Picture This (Track #11)
Score: 74 (Average Rank: 5.56/12)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): ChichiriMuyo (#10)

4. Break (Track #6)
Score: 76 (Average Rank: 4.78/12)
Biggest Fan(s): ChichiriMuyo (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#7)

jcgamer107: much like their music, a simple but great video idea

3. Lipslap (Track #7)
Score: 77 (Average Rank: 5.67/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb, hotdogturtle (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs, ChichiriMuyo (#11)

jcgamer107: another good video, I would watch this sitcom

2. Trampoline (Track #10)
Score: 85 (Average Rank: 4.56/12)
Biggest Fan(s): MaxGalactica, FoolFantastic (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): jcgamer107 (#8)

jcgamer107: crazy that this isn't even in my top half, it has hit single written all over it

1. Big City (Track #5)
Score: 92 (Average Rank: 3.89/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): hotdogturtle (#7)

jcgamer107: the very first KKB song I ever heard. Pretty much heard it by accident - my friend was playing 'Minimall radio' on Spotify/Pandora/something (an all-girl band formerly called 'Titty Hall' who used to do Tally Hall covers) and this song came on. I was hooked immediately.

Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica > Bjork - Vespertine > Hisayoshi Ogura - G-Darius Original Arcade Score

One of those cases where I probably prefer the Bjork album but I really like the idea of exposing more people to Oneohtrix Point Never

The fact the title track is only my fourth favorite on Purple Rain should say enough. It took me years to fully appreciate Prince, but I loved this particular album front to back the first time I listened.

my ranking:
When Doves Cry
Let's Go Crazy
I Would Die 4 U
Purple Rain
Darling Nikki
The Beautiful Ones
Take Me with U
Computer Blue
Baby I'm a Star

I will actually get to this one. PROMISE.

FoolFantastic posted...

1. Big City (Track #5)
Biggest Detractor(s): hotdogturtle (#7)

Woah lol, that's still pretty high for being the lowest ranking. I actually had this song a lot higher at first, but as usually happens when I do rankings, it kept getting pushed down when I revisited other songs and decided that they all needed to be higher. #7 isn't even the point on my list where I stop liking the songs yet.

Oh I didn't realize my poll was going up right away. Some thoughts on these albums:

Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica is a very unique album. RYM has it listed as "plunderphonics," a genre that involves sampling other music or audio and making a new song out of it. Many songs on this album are full of chopped up 80s commercials, but they're presented in a way that makes them almost unrecognizable (Youtube is full of videos identifying these samples, almost like it's a puzzle). The album is full of big, swelling synths that are somewhat New Agey in execution at times and run the gamut of emotions; I swear I experience so many different feelings every time I listen to this. It's truly unlike anything else I've heard.

Sample track: Sleep Dealer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P26hNg4n3Hs

-

I nominated Hisayoshi Ogura - G-Darius Original Arcade Score because there was talk of running a game soundtrack and G-Darius is one of my favorites, and it's fairly short to boot. The Darius series is know for "weird" melodies and soundscapes. G-Darius is very industrial, with lots of factory noises and, like OPN, vocal samples. Most of the songs loop pretty quickly; an exception is KIMERA II, my favorite from the game, and a VGMC retiree. If G-Darius gets picked, I'll provide a link to the topic upload - Zuntata has historically taken down unofficial uploads. Also, as an aside, if you pick G-Darius, you'll probably see an uptick in participation for that topic - I imagine a lot of the VGM crew will be drawn in.

Sample track: KIMERA II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VuXFeSWgwE

-

Finally, Bjork - Vespertine is an album I know basically nothing about except that Bjork is an artist I've always wanted to seek out more music from. Vespertine is her highest rated album on RYM, coming in at #24 on their all-time chart. I wanted a female artist since from what I can tell they're somewhat underrepresented in this series (which reflects the music industry as a whole).

Sample track - Hidden Place
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zUINtEf94A

-

My preferences: Replica > G-Darius > Vespertine

Thanks for letting me participate!

Vespertine > G-Darius > Replica

Bjork seems like someone we should cover.

That Replica song sounds awful; like The Avalanches album we covered but way worse.

G-Darius > Vespertine > Replica

Vespertine > G-Darius > Replica

Replica sounds like something that I would enjoy, but also I imagine it being very hard to rank songs that (I expect) all sound fairly different. I'd rather listen to it on my own time and not have to stress ranking it (and I probably will, now that I'm aware of it).

G-Darius is something that I've usually enjoyed from my time in VGMC, but I didn't expect it to be chosen as the first VG representative in this topic series. I wouldn't mind if it were chosen but I also wouldn't miss it if it's not.

Somehow Bjork ended up being the most traditional of the three options this week, so she gets my vote for this.

Vespertine > G-Darius > Replica

I'm voting Vespertine mostly because Pagan Poetry is one of the best songs ever conceived (not that the rest of the album is bad or anything). I really like the other two albums here too. Would be happy to see any of them show up.

Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica > Hisayoshi Ogura - G-Darius Original Arcade Score > Bjork - Vespertine

-

1: Purple Rain
2: Let's Go Crazy
3: When Doves Cry
4: Computer Blue
5: I Would Die 4 U
6: Take Me with U
7: Darling Nikki
8: The Beautiful Ones
9: Baby I'm a Star

Good album, lots of hit singles that live up to the hype and at least one new (to me) discovery that was rather enjoyable. I'm glad we covered this.

Computer Blue: I wish this were the full "Hallway Speech" Version. I do understand why the song was shortened so drastically for the album, but the cuts leave it feeling rather incomplete... that being said, the short version here is good enough that I'm not sure I'd rank the full length version any higher anyway. It'd be hard for me to take just about anything over the likes of "Purple Rain", "Let's Go Crazy", and "When Doves Cry" which shows just how crazy stacked this album is.

Darling Nikki: The main part of the song is too blatantly sexual for my purposes and I generally tune it out... but the outro is intriguing. Apocalyptic backmasked vocals? Water sounds? It's an odd twist that takes the song from "I hate this" territory to "actually this would probably get a decent ranking if this album weren't so stacked". [And before anyone points out that basically everything Prince ever did was incredibly sexual, I am aware. Darling Nikki is just less interesting about it than usual, for me personally.]

The Beautiful Ones: Ehh... I rail against repetition all the time, so it should almost go without saying that I got rather bored with this song quite quickly. I wanted to shut the song off by the 13th time he said "baby" & he manages to cram the word into the song 32 times before it ends. Along with a few "babe"s because of course he does. To be fair, there are some interesting bits as Prince gets progressively more desperate and unhinged in his singing as the song goes on, so the song isn't even half as bad as I'm making it out to be... but it's too little payoff for how tiring I find the first few minutes.

bump

This is one of those albums where I practically knew the order before I listened, but I don't mind the excuse to listen to an all-time great album.

1. I Would Die 4 U - My favorite Prince song, hands down. This album is already stacked, and this puts it over the top for me.
2. When Doves Cry - We get it, Prince, you are the total package. Send everybody home, completely do the entire song yourself, make it one of the best all time. Show off. :p
3. Let's Get Crazy - Great way to start an album, and a movie.
4. Purple Rain - Great way to end an album, and a movie. Could rate higher, but it's much longer than it really needs to be.
5. Baby I'm a Star - I feel like this song is underrated. It's not deep, but it's a lot of fun.
6. Computer Blue - Pure 80s. Love it.
7. Darling Nikki - A fine song. A bit dirty, even for Prince, but the instrumentation matches the lyrics perfectly.
8. The Beautiful Ones - Kinda torn on this one. The beat is awesome, reminds me of Twin Peaks for some reason, but it doesn't quite click for me.
9. Take Me With You - This song has such a dope intro, but I'm not really a fan

G-DARIUS > Oreohattricks > Bjork

Two _Mewtwo albums? Oh no

1. When Doves Cry
2. Purple Rain
3. Computer Blue
4. Baby I'm a Star
5. Darling Nikki
6. I Would Die 4 U
7. Beautiful Ones
8. Take Me With U
9. Let's Go Crazy

When I got my first iPod (nano, so it had no screen), my dad loaded up a lot of music for me. My friend borrowed it and had the pleasure of hearing this song before I did. I imagine it was probably pretty funny watching me trying to explain while trying to figure out what the fuck was going on.

When Doves Cry was also on it and it was probably one of my favorite songs on that thing. I still love that kind of percussion structure and that might be because of this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QygebjLE8OA

Replica > Vespertine > G-Darius

Homogenic or bust >=(

1. When Doves Cry
2. Take Me With U
3. Darling Nikki
4. Purple Rain
5. I Would Die 4 U
6. Let's Go Crazy
7. Computer Blue
8. The Beautiful Ones
9. Baby I'm A Star

1. Let's Go Crazy
2. Baby I'm a Star
3. When Doves Cry
4. Purple Rain
5. I Would Die 4 U
6. Computer Blue
7. Darling Nikki
8. The Beautiful Ones
9. Take Me with U

This one was just fine for me. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. I've never been big on Prince's singles, but those are still the strongest tracks here, with the exception of Baby I'm a Star, which was a nice surprise.

First listen down, with a preliminary ranking as well.

Will do another go on Saturday, most likely; if for some reason I don't get to it, my preliminary ranking will be what I go with.

1) Purple Rain
When Doves Cry
Computer Blue
Let's Go Crazy
I Would Die 4 U
Take Me with U
Baby I'm a Star
The Beautiful Ones
9) Darling Nikki

1. Purple Rain
2. Let's Go Crazy
3. I Would Die 4 U
4. The Beautiful Ones
5. Baby I'm a Star
6. When Doves Cry
7. Computer Blue
8. Take Me with U
9. Darling Nikki

Absolute classic album. The top 3 for me are very definitive favorites, especially Purple Rain, which is one of those songs that makes me sit up every time I hear that first chord. Not as high on When Doves Cry as most people, but it's still a good song. The Beautiful Ones is my pick for most underrated. Absolutely love the otherworldly synths and cool chord progressions in that one. I've been meaning to go through Prince's discography, but I've been putting it off because it's pretty intimidating with the sheer amount of albums he's made.

G-Darius > Vespertine > Replica

The Beautiful Ones
Purple Rain
When Doves Cry
I Would Die 4 U
Darling Nikki
Baby I'm A Star
Let's Go Crazy
Computer Blue
Take Me With U

Could never really get into Prince, but I can't say I ever heard anything bad from him either. The top 4 here are all very good

This week wasn't exactly cooking, but it drew all the various voting. Spoiled for opinions, we are.

Again only reached two listens this week, ack. At least I knew the whole album before, unlike others I've tried to rank recently. And so:

1. I Would Die 4 U - More about Prince's self-concept than the album's most obvious lyrical themes, which has little to do with the pretty happenstance yet highly personal reasons I hold it dear.
2. When Doves Cry - It simply speaks for itself.
3. Lets Go Crazy - To me, maybe one of the most marvelously composed and remarkably fun songs ever, and a perfect match for Purple Rain (the song).
4. Purple Rain - He more than earned an indulgent ending, one which hits more than enough of the right notes.
5. Take Me with U
6. Baby Im a Star - Effervescent, including in its espousal of some of Prince's ideals. We are a star.
7. Darling Nikki
8. The Beautiful Ones - Impressive instrumentation, but I'm iffy about its lyrics.
9. Computer Blue

Love and desire, and the intersection of the two, are topics rather closer to my heart now than, say, a year ago. Prince's singular, passionately sensual perspective particularly speaks to that part of me.

And while we're on the topic of Prince, though it has little to do with Purple Rain in particular, here's a piece that has stuck with me: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/09/the-book-of-prince

Mega_Mana also voted but by PM and I would have forgotten if not for checking for next week's album choices, so I am posting it here

1. I Would Die 4 U
2. When Doves Cry
3. The Beautiful Ones
4. Purple Rain
5. Let's Go Crazy
6. Baby I'm a Star
7. Take Me With U
8. Computer Blue
9. Darling Nikki

Sorry if I'm late - I didn't get time to post this yesterday (let alone get a second listen in). Sorry!

1. Let's Go Crazy - Let's get nuts.
2. Purple Rain - It may be over eight and a half minutes long, but it feels like a full song, and the instrumentation is great.
3. When Doves Cry - An iconic song that would probably be my #1 if it were the shorter single version that didn't have all that screeching and moaning for over a minute.
4. I Would Die 4 U - At least it's short, which is good for a repetitive song like this one.
5. Computer Blue - It's no surprise that the guy who sang about Y2K in 1982 would be singing about computers in 1984. Prince is clearly a time traveler. The techno-funk treatment here seems to indicate that.
6. Darling Nikki - Risque. And yet... will porn end the world? Who knows?
7. Take Me with U - Never been too fond of this one. The strings are the best part. But the vocal layering makes it too sleepy, and I don't think it's supposed to be sleepy.
8. Baby I'm a Star - what ever
9. The Beautiful Ones - I'm more familiar with Mariah's cover than the original. I think I like hers better since it's a duet, which softens the repetition.

For some reason, I thought it was PM. Might be thinking of different topic.

Purple Rain
When Doves Cry
Let's Go Crazy - My memory of this song held it in higher regards than the listen-throughs for this topic.
Take Me With U
I Would Die 4 U
Darling Nikki
Baby I'm A Star
The Beautiful Ones
Computer Blue