| Purple Rain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album /soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | June 25, 1984 (1984-06-25) | |||
| Recorded | May 1983 – March 1984 | |||
| Venue | First Avenue (Minneapolis) | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:55 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Prince and the Revolution | |||
| Prince chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Purple Rain | ||||
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Purple Rain is the sixthstudio album by the American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalistPrince. It was released on June 25, 1984, byWarner Bros. Records as thesoundtrack album to the 1984film of the same name.Purple Rain was musically denser than Prince's previous albums, emphasizing full band performances, and multiple layers of guitars, keyboards, electronicsynthesizer effects,drum machines, and other instruments. Much of the album has a grandiose, synthesized, andpsychedelic substance to the production and performances.
The music onPurple Rain is generally regarded as the mostpop-oriented of Prince's career, though a number of elements point towards the more experimental records Prince would release afterPurple Rain. The album drew some controversy. Network executives thought the sexual nature in themusic video for the album's lead single "When Doves Cry" was too explicit for television. The risqué lyrics of "Darling Nikki" also raised complaints fromTipper Gore and theParents Music Resource Center and contributed to the implementation ofParental Advisory stickers and imprints on album covers.
Despite this,Purple Rain was an enormous success, spending 24 consecutive weeks atop of theBillboard 200 and being present on the chart for a total of 167 weeks. "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" reached number one on theBillboard Hot 100, while "Purple Rain" and "I Would Die 4 U" were top 10 hits. A widespread critical success, critics noted the innovation and experimentation on the album, such as the synthesis of electronic elements with organic instrumentation, as well as the consolidation ofrock andR&B. By 1996, the album was certified13× platinum by theRIAA.
Purple Rain is Prince's commercial peak, with total sales standing at 25 million copies worldwide, making it one of thebest-selling albums of all time. Prince and the Revolution received aGrammy Award nomination forAlbum of the Year and won theBest Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal andBest Score Soundtrack for Visual Media awards. Regularly ranked among the greatest albums of all time,Purple Rain was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame and added to theLibrary of Congress'National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
While Prince's previous albums were primarily solo recordings by Prince,Purple Rain contained the credits "produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince andthe Revolution", though he had teased the name two years earlier on1999, writing "and the Revolution" backwards on the album cover. The album was mostly written and recorded between May 1983 and March 1984, with "Baby I'm a Star" dating to 1981. The last three songs on the album ("I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm A Star" and the title track "Purple Rain") were recorded live at the 3 August 1983First Avenue show inMinneapolis, although overdubs and edits took place on all three in September 1983; this marked Prince's first album to include live recordings.[2]
Regarding the meaning of "Purple Rain", both Mikel Toombs ofThe San Diego Union and Bob Kostanczuk of thePost-Tribune have written that Prince took the title "Purple Rain" from lyrics in theAmerica song "Ventura Highway".[3][4] Asked to explain the phrase "purple rain" in "Ventura Highway", Gerry Beckley responded: "You got me."[5] However, Prince explained the meaning of "Purple Rain" as follows: "When there's blood in the sky – red and blue = purple ... purple rain pertains to the end of the world and being with the one you love and letting your faith/god guide you through the purple rain."[6]
"Purple Rain" was originally written as acountry song and intended to be a collaboration withStevie Nicks.[7] According to Nicks, she received a 10-minute instrumental version of the song from Prince with a request to write the lyrics, but felt overwhelmed. She said: "I listened to it and I just got scared. I called him back and said, 'I can't do it. I wish I could. It's too much for me.'"[8] At a rehearsal, Prince then asked his backing band to try the song: "I want to try something before we go home. It's mellow." According to the Revolution memberLisa Coleman, Prince then changed the song after the Revolution'sWendy Melvoin started playing guitar chords to accompany the song: "He was excited to hear it voiced differently. It took it out of that country feeling. Then we all started playing it a bit harder and taking it more seriously. We played it for six hours straight and by the end of that day we had it mostly written and arranged."[7]
"Take Me with U" was written for theApollonia 6 albumApollonia 6 (1984), but later enlisted forPurple Rain.[9] The inclusion of that song necessitated cuts to thesuite-like "Computer Blue", the full version of which did not earn an official release, although a portion of the second section can be heard in thefilm of the same name, in a sequence where Prince walks in on the men of the Revolution rehearsing. The risqué lyrics of "Darling Nikki" contributed to the use ofParental Advisory stickers and imprints on album covers that were the record label's answer to complaints fromTipper Gore and theParents Music Resource Center (PMRC).[10][11][12]
Prince wrote and composed the album's lead single "When Doves Cry" after all the other tracks were complete onPurple Rain. In addition to providing vocals, he played all instruments on the track. With there being nobass line, the song's production is noted for being unconventionally bare in comparison to1980s pop hits. Prince said there originally was a bass line but, after a conversation with singerJill Jones, he decided the song was too conventional with it included.[13]
Like Prince's previous albums, nearly all tracks onPurple Rain were written by him.Purple Rain was musically denser than Prince's previous albums, emphasizing full band performances, and multiple layers of guitars, keyboards, electronicsynthesizer effects,drum machines, and other instruments. As a soundtrack record, much of the music had a grandiose, synthesized, and even – by some evaluations – apsychedelic sheen to the production and performances. The music onPurple Rain is generally regarded as the mostpop-oriented of Prince's career, though a number of elements point towards the more experimental records Prince would release afterPurple Rain. Apollonia 6 memberApollonia recalled that after watching thePurple Rain cinematographic takes, she told Prince, "You know you're going to get anOscar for this movie – not for the acting, but for the music."[14]
The Revolution memberDoctor Fink toldPopMatters in 2009 the recording of the album was "a very creative time ... There was a lot of influence and input from band members towards what [Prince] was doing. He was always open to anybody trying to contribute creatively to the process of writing ... But Prince was the main lyricist and melody maker for all the songs ... and never took any lyrical content from people."[15] Melvoin toldMojo in 1997 the band members were "absolute musical equals in the sense that Prince respected us, and allowed us to contribute to the music without any interference ... I think the secret to our working relationship was that we were very non-possessive about our ideas, as opposed to some other people that have worked with him."[15]
Revolution members Fink, Coleman, and Melvoin helped write the album's fourth track "Computer Blue". Doctor Fink, who wrote a keyboard bass line for the track, said he "started playing that main bass groove which later became 'Computer Blue'. So the band [the Revolution] started grooving on it, and Prince started coming up with some stuff, then we recorded a rough version and he took it into the studio and just incorporated it all and made it fly that way. Wendy [Melvoin] and Lisa [Coleman] did some of the stuff on it. Prince borrowed the bridge/portal section from the then-unreleased Father's Song,[16] by his father jazz musicianJohn L. Nelson, who had given him some music over the years to play around with. So the song was a real mixture of different people and influences."[15]
The full band appears on six tracks: "Let's Go Crazy", "Take Me With U", "Computer Blue", "I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm A Star" and "Purple Rain" while the remaining three tracks are essentially solo performances by Prince. Apollonia sings co-lead on "Take Me With U". Three of the tracks include a string section arranged by Coleman and Prince which were conducted by Coleman and Melvoin: "Take Me With U", "Baby I'm A Star", and "Purple Rain". The string players are violin and viola playerNovi Novog and cellists David Coleman and Suzie Katayama.[2][17]
Prince configured at least two unique track listings ofPurple Rain prior to setting the final running order.[18] November 7, 1983 and March 23, 1984, configurations are listed below. The early configuration included "Wednesday" (a song by Prince with Jill Jones) and "Father's Song". The latter was replaced by "When Doves Cry". Edits to "Let's Go Crazy" and "Computer Blue" were introduced in order to include "Take Me with U" in the final running configuration. The full length version of "Let's Go Crazy", as it can be seen in the movie, would later be released as "Special Dance Mix" on 12" maxi-single.
November 7, 1983 configuration
| March 23, 1984 configuration
|
The album cover was photographed at the Warner Bros Studio Backlot in California. The area known as Hennesy St, designed to look like a New York tenement area, was the location of the balcony where the album photo was taken.
ThePurple Rain Tour began at theJoe Louis Arena in Detroit in November 1984. In addition to Prince and the Revolution, the Purple Rain Tour featured Apollonia 6, andSheila E. and her band. The tour opened with the album's opener, "Let's Go Crazy". Three singles from1999 (1982) followed: "Delirious", "1999" and "Little Red Corvette". An instrumental interlude of "Yankee Doodle" usually introduced another song from1999, "Free". The B-side "God" was often played, followed by a usual sequence of "Computer Blue", "Darling Nikki", "The Beautiful Ones" and "When Doves Cry". As encores, the remainingPurple Rain songs closed the concert, "I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm a Star" and "Purple Rain".[19]
The tour spanned 98 shows, ending in April 1985,[20] and sold 1.7 million tickets.[14] Prince and the Revolution played the final date of the tour, to an audience of 55,000 in Miami'sOrange Bowl. Prince ended the show saying, "I have to go now. I don't know when I'll be back. I want you to know that God loves you. He loves us all." Two weeks after the end of the tour,Around the World in a Day (1985) was released, which officially brought an end to Prince'sPurple Rain era.[14] The tour was considered byRolling Stone as "groundbreaking in many ways" because it introduced Prince's most "elaborate" sets and featured occasional cameos from Bruce Springsteen andMadonna, which confirmed Prince's place as "pop's most commanding star" during thePurple Rain era.[20]
Purple Rain's lead single "When Doves Cry" was Prince's firstBillboard Hot 100 number-one single, staying there for five weeks, and was also a worldwide hit. It was ranked number one on theBillboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1984. Themusic video, directed by Prince himself, was premiered onMTV in June 1984. The video sparked controversy among network executives, who thought its sexual nature was too explicit for television.
The second single "Let's Go Crazy" became Prince's second number-one hit on theBillboard Hot 100. Common to much of Prince's writing, the song is thought to be exhortation to followChristian ethics, with the "De-elevator" of the lyrics being a metaphor for theDevil.[21]
Apower ballad and a combination ofrock,R&B,gospel, andorchestral music, "Purple Rain" reached number 2 on theBillboard Hot 100 and stayed there for two weeks.[22] "I Would Die 4 U", the fourth and finalBillboard Hot 100 top 10 hit fromPurple Rain, reaching number eight on the chart. The album's final single, "Take Me with U", was released on January 25, 1985.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 100/100 (2015 edition)[23] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [24] |
| Blender |  [25] |
| Chicago Sun-Times | [26] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A−[27] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[28] |
| The Guardian | [29] |
| Mojo | [30] |
| Pitchfork | 10/10[31] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [32] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10[33] |
Purple Rain was well received by contemporary critics.Kurt Loder, writing forRolling Stone in 1984, compared Prince toJimi Hendrix and praised him for merging "black and white styles": "The spirit of Jimi Hendrix must surely smile down on Prince Rogers Nelson. Like Hendrix, Prince seems to have tapped into some extraterrestrial musical dimension where black and white styles are merely different aspects of the same funky thing. Prince's rock & roll is as authentic and compelling as his soul and his extremism is endearing in a era of play-it-safe record production and formulaic hit mongering."[34]
At the end of 1984,Purple Rain was voted the second best album of the year in thePazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics nationwide, published byThe Village Voice. However, the newspaper's chief critic and poll creatorRobert Christgau was less impressed by the album, saying that while it is "quirky, dangerous, [and] unabashedly pop", it is also plagued by "despair" and, "for Prince ... ingratiatingly unsolipsistic",[35] although he would later call it "seriously gorgeous".[36]
Prince and the Revolution won a 1984Grammy Award forPurple Rain, forBest Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group,[37] the four composers (Nelson, Coleman, Prince, and Melvoin) wonBest Score Soundtrack for Visual Media,[38] and the album was nominated forAlbum of the Year. Prince won a third Grammy that year forBest R&B Song forChaka Khan's cover of "I Feel for You".Purple Rain also won anOscar forBest Original Song Score in 1985.[38]Purple Rain posthumously wonTop Soundtrack at theAmerican Music Awards in 2016.[39]
Retrospective appraisals have also been positive. Music critics noted the innovative and experimental aspects of the soundtrack's music, most famously on the spare, bass-less "When Doves Cry".[40] Other aspects of the music, especially its synthesis of electronic elements with organic instrumentation and full-band performances (some, as noted above, recorded live) along with its landmark consolidation of rock and R&B, were identified by critics as distinguishing, even experimental factors.[24]
Stephen Erlewine ofAllMusic wrote thatPurple Rain finds Prince "consolidating his funk and R&B roots while moving boldly into pop, rock, and heavy metal", as well as "push[ing] heavily intopsychedelia" under the influence of the Revolution.[24] Erlewine identifies the record's nine songs as "uncompromising ... forays into pop" and "stylistic experiments", echoing general sentiment thatPurple Rain's music represented Prince at his most popular without forsaking his experimental bent.[24] In a retrospective review, Kenneth Partridge, writing forBillboard, described the album's opening track, "Let's Go Crazy", as "arguably the best intro in pop history".[41]
In the United States,Purple Rain debuted at number 11 on theBillboard 200 the week of July 14, 1984.[42][43] After four weeks on chart, it reached number one on August 4, 1984.[44] The album spent 24 consecutive weeks at number one on theBillboard 200 from August 4, 1984, to January 18, 1985, and more than 32 weeks in the top 10, becoming one of the most successful soundtracks ever. Prince also joinedElvis Presley andthe Beatles in being the only artists to have the number-one album, single and film in the US all at the same time.[45]
It traded the number-one position on the chart withBruce Springsteen'sBorn in the U.S.A. twice, during 1984 and 1985.[46]Purple Rain was present on theBillboard 200 for one hundred twenty two weeks. After the advent of theNielsen SoundScan era in 1991, the album sold a further three million copies.[47] By 1996, the album had sold 13 million copies in the United States, making it certified 13× Platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[48]
In the United Kingdom,Purple Rain entered theUK Albums Chart at number 21 on July 21, 1984, after thirty five weeks on the chart it reached and peaked at number seven during the week of March 16, 1985 and stayed there for a week, it fell off to number twelve the next week.[49] The album remained on the chart for 86 weeks.[49] It was certified 2× Platinum by theBPI on May 1, 1990, denoting shipments of 600,000 units. By 1988,Purple Rain had sold 17 million copies worldwide making it one of the most successful albums of the 1980s.[50] Its sales as of 2008 stood at over 25 million copies worldwide.[51] The album is also multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.[52][53]
Purple Rain further established Prince as a figurehead forpop music of the 1980s and is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.[47] In 2010,Purple Rain was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[54] In 2012, the album was added to theLibrary of Congress'sNational Recording Registry list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important".[55] In 2019, the film was selected by theLibrary of Congress for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[56] Writing forPitchfork,Carvell Wallace appraised the album's impact and Prince's musicianship, "WithPurple Rain, Prince bursts forth from the ghetto created by mainstream radio and launches himself directly onto the Mt. Rushmore of American music. He plays rock better than rock musicians, composes better than jazz guys, and performs better than everyone, all without ever abandoning his roots as a funk man, a party leader, a true MC ... for the 24 weeksPurple Rain spent atop the charts in 1984, the black kid from the midwest had managed to become the most accurate expression we had of young America's overabundance of angst, love, horniness, recklessness, idealism, and hope."[31]
Partridge ofBillboard emphasized Prince's popularity during thePurple Rain era, writing,[57]
In 1984, there was only one man in America more popular thanPresidentRonald Reagan. His name was Prince, and he was funky. Had Prince run for president that year, he would have certainly carried his native Minnesota – the only state Ronnie lost – and he probably would've cleaned up most other places. The reason:Purple Rain, his groundbreaking, genre-blurring, utterly genius sixth album. It was a massive seller wherever there were radios and people with pulses.
Described as a "masterpiece" by theGrammy Awards, Ana Yglesias wrote, "Even after his heartbreaking passing, Prince will live on forever in our hearts, through his music, and even on the charts.Purple Rain was inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011, celebrating it as a 'recording of lasting qualitative or historical significance'. ... It is safe to say there will never be another star quite like Prince."[58] ForThe New Yorker, Ben Greenmane wrote, "Purple Rain may or may not be Prince's best record, but it came at the best time, propelling him from ordinary stardom (his previous album1999 put three singles into theBillboard top 20) to supernova status. It created his iconic look (ruffled shirt, purple jacket, motorcycle), formally introduced his most famous backing band (the Revolution), and included the lion's share of the songs most likely to appear in a capsule bio ('When Doves Cry', 'Let's Go Crazy', and the title track)."[46] InRolling Stone's list of The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time,Purple Rain was described as "an epic celebration of everything rock & roll, which means sex and religion and eyeliner and motorcycles and guitars and Lake Minnetonka".[59]
Chris Gerard wrote forPopMatters that "Purple Rain is one of the cornerstone albums not just ofthe 80s, but in all of pop/rock history ... at the core of [Prince's] legacyPurple Rain will always stand as his signature triumph, a monument to his boundless talent and ambition." Gerard also praised "When Doves Cry" for being the "gateway" to the "Purple Rain universe: an album, a major motion picture, and a tour that dominated the pop culture landscape of 1984".[60] Andrew Unterberger ofBillboard gave the album high appraisal, regarding it as one of the greatest albums inpopular music: "Purple Rain is certainly in contention for the most perfect album in rock or pop history, expertly flowing from track to track while delighting, surprising and astounding at each bend. Personal and universal, familiar and challenging, romantic and narcissistic, religious and orgasmic, accessible to all and profoundly weird,Purple Rain rightly remains the cornerstone of Prince's recorded legacy, almost too obvious in its brilliance to even be worth discussing at length."[61]
Jon Bon Jovi, lead singer of the rock bandBon Jovi, observed that "There's every emotion [inPurple Rain] from the ballad to the rocker" and "All the influences were evident, fromHendrix toChic."Lionel Richie praised Prince for making a "very important step" in advancing the concept from creating music videos for songs to making a motion picture for an album.
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Purple Rain is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time by numerous publications.Rolling Stone rankedPurple Rain number two on its list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s and number eight on its list of the500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[62] In their list of The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time,Purple Rain was ranked second, behindthe Beatles'Help!.[59]Time included it in its list of the All-Time 100 Albums.[63] The album was ranked 18th onVH1'sGreatest Rock and Roll Albums of All Time countdown.[64]The Times rankedPurple Rain at number 15 on its list of the 100 Best Albums of All Time.[65]
In 2007, the editors ofVanity Fair labeled it the best soundtrack of all time, andTempo magazine named it the greatest album of the 1980s.[66] In 2008,Entertainment Weekly rankedPurple Rain at number one on their New Classics list, the top 50 best albums of the previous 25 years.[67] The album was also included in the 2008 edition of1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[68] In 2012,Slant Magazine ranked the album at number two on its list of Best Albums of the 1980s.[69] In 2012,Entertainment Weekly also ranked the album at number two on their list of the 100 Greatest Albums Ever.[70]
In 2018,Pitchfork regarded it as the best album of the 1980s, ranking it at number one on its list of the 200 Best Albums of the 1980s.[71] In 2002, the album had placed at No. 12 on Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the decade list.[72]) InBillboard's list of All 92 Diamond-Certified Albums Ranked From Worst to Best: Critic's Take,Purple Rain was ranked first.[73]Consequence of Sound, in its ranking of the greatest albums of all time, placedPurple Rain at number one.[74] The 2024Apple Music 100 Best Albums poll rankedPurple Rain as number four.[75] In its ranking of the 101 Greatest Film Soundtracks of All Time,Rolling Stone ranked Purple Rain as the number one album.[76]
The album was re-issued on June 23, 2017. It is the first Prince album to be remastered and reissued, and was released in a variety of formats, including a 20-trackDeluxe edition with unreleased bonus tracks and a 35-trackDeluxe Expanded edition with additional B-sides, rarities and a live DVD of the Purple Rain Tour from 1985. The album debuted at number four on theBillboard 200 at with 52,000album-equivalent units earned in its first week. It debuted at number three on theTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, its highest peak in 32 years having previously spent 19 weeks atop the chart in 1984. The album debuted at number one on theTop R&B Albums chart and theVinyl Albums chart.[77]
On June 21, 2024, aDolby Atmos version of the original album was released toApple Music and other streaming services. The new mix of the album was created from the original multi-track master tapes byChris James.[78]On April 25, 2025, this mix would be released on an audiophile Blu-ray, which also included the original 1984 stereo mix in high-definition 24bit / 96kHz audio.[79]
All tracks are written byPrince, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Go Crazy" | 4:39 | |
| 2. | "Take Me with U" | 3:54 | |
| 3. | "The Beautiful Ones" | 5:14 | |
| 4. | "Computer Blue" | Prince,John L. Nelson,Wendy & Lisa,Dr. Fink | 3:59 |
| 5. | "Darling Nikki" | 4:14 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "When Doves Cry" | 5:52 |
| 2. | "I Would Die 4 U" | 2:59 |
| 3. | "Baby I'm a Star" | 4:24 |
| 4. | "Purple Rain" | 8:40 |
The 2017Deluxe edition consists of two discs, the first being a remaster of the original album made in 2015 overseen by Prince himself and a bonus disc of previously unreleased songs called "From the Vault & Previously Unreleased". TheDeluxe Expanded edition consists of two more discs, a disc with all the single edits, maxi-single edits and B-sides from thePurple Rain era and a DVD with a concert from thePurple Rain Tour filmed inSyracuse,New York on March 30, 1985, previously released onhome video in 1985.[81]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Go Crazy" (Prince and the Revolution) | 4:39 |
| 2. | "Take Me with U" (Prince and the Revolution) | 3:54 |
| 3. | "The Beautiful Ones" (Prince) | 5:13 |
| 4. | "Computer Blue" (Prince and the Revolution) | 3:59 |
| 5. | "Darling Nikki" (Prince) | 4:14 |
| 6. | "When Doves Cry" (Prince) | 5:54 |
| 7. | "I Would Die 4 U" (Prince and the Revolution) | 2:49 |
| 8. | "Baby I'm a Star" (Prince and the Revolution) | 4:24 |
| 9. | "Purple Rain" (Prince and the Revolution) | 8:41 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Dance Electric" | 11:29 |
| 2. | "Love and Sex" | 5:00 |
| 3. | "Computer Blue" ("Hallway Speech" Version) | 12:18 |
| 4. | "Electric Intercourse" (Studio Version) | 4:57 |
| 5. | "Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden" | 6:25 |
| 6. | "Possessed" (1984 Version) | 7:56 |
| 7. | "Wonderful Ass" | 6:24 |
| 8. | "Velvet Kitty Cat" | 2:42 |
| 9. | "Katrina's Paper Dolls" | 3:30 |
| 10. | "We Can Fuck" | 10:17 |
| 11. | "Father's Song" | 5:30 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "When Doves Cry" (7" Single Edit) | 3:48 |
| 2. | "17 Days" (B-Side Edit) | 3:55 |
| 3. | "Let's Go Crazy" (7" Single Edit) | 3:50 |
| 4. | "Let's Go Crazy" (Special Dance Mix) | 7:35 |
| 5. | "Erotic City" (7" B-side Edit) | 3:55 |
| 6. | "Erotic City ("Make Love Not War Erotic City Come Alive")" | 7:24 |
| 7. | "Purple Rain" (7" Single Edit) | 4:05 |
| 8. | "God" (7" B-Side Edit) | 4:03 |
| 9. | "God (Love Theme fromPurple Rain)" (Instrumental) | 7:54 |
| 10. | "Another Lonely Christmas" (7" B-Side Edit) | 4:54 |
| 11. | "Another Lonely Christmas" (Extended Version) | 6:47 |
| 12. | "I Would Die 4 U" (7" Single Edit) | 2:58 |
| 13. | "I Would Die 4 U" (Extended Version) | 10:15 |
| 14. | "Baby I'm a Star" (7" B-Side Edit) | 2:55 |
| 15. | "Take Me with U" (7" Single Edit) | 3:44 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Go Crazy" | 5:30 |
| 2. | "Delirious" | 2:45 |
| 3. | "1999" | 4:15 |
| 4. | "Little Red Corvette" | 5:10 |
| 5. | "Take Me with U" | 4:15 |
| 6. | "Do Me, Baby" | 4:40 |
| 7. | "Irresistible Bitch" | 2:00 |
| 8. | "Possessed" | 4:24 |
| 9. | "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" | 5:05 |
| 10. | "Let's Pretend We're Married" | 4:15 |
| 11. | "International Lover" | 1:00 |
| 12. | "God" | 8:30 |
| 13. | "Computer Blue" | 4:30 |
| 14. | "Darling Nikki" | 4:00 |
| 15. | "The Beautiful Ones" | 7:30 |
| 16. | "When Doves Cry" | 8:15 |
| 17. | "I Would Die 4 U" | 3:50 |
| 18. | "Baby I'm a Star" | 10:00 |
| 19. | "Purple Rain" | 18:24 |
Adapted from Michael Aubrecht, Benoît Clerc, Joe Regen, Duane Tudahl, and the album's liner notes.[82][83][84][85]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[141] | 3× Platinum | 210,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[142] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Canada (Music Canada)[143] | 6× Platinum | 600,000^ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[144] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
| France (SNEP)[145] | Platinum | 300,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[146] | 3× Gold | 750,000^ |
| Italy | — | 60,000[147] |
| Japan | — | 197,000[93] |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[148] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[149] | 5× Platinum | 75,000^ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[150] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[151] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[152] | 2× Platinum | 600,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[153] | 13× Platinum | 13,000,000^ |
| Summaries | ||
| Worldwide sales in 2016 | — | 700,000[154] |
| Worldwide | — | 25,000,000[155] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Nathan Brackett, Christian Hoard (2004).The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition. Simon and Schuster.ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)His new album,Purple Rain (Warner Bros.), sold approximately 1.5 million copies its first week in the stores and is presently giving the Jacksons and Springsteen albums a run for their money.
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