by Michael P Coleman
Dig, if you will, a picture:
It was the dawn of the summer of 1984, and the world was engulfed in Thriller mania. No one in pop music could touch the post Motown 25, newly nosed, jheri-curled Michael Jackson. No one.
Or so we thought.
In late June of that year, The Artist Then, Now and Forever Known As Prince released the soundtrack to Purple Rain, a semi-autobiographical, semi-forgettable feature film that solidified the notion that his highness’ acting would never earn him an Oscar. However, the film’s live musical performances were electric, and the movie’s soundtrack was incendiary.
From the lead single, a funkfest called “When Doves Cry,” to the album’s closing title track, Prince put the King of Pop on notice, and some say shut him down. The soundtrack shot straight to the top of the Billboard album chart.
To mark the one year anniversary of Prince’s untimely death, Warner Bros has released a remastered, expanded edition of the Purple Rain soundtrack. While I’m not usually a fan of cash grabs like this, this one left me dancing out of Starbucks after I wrote this.
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