Purple Rain [Deluxe Expanded Edition]
by Prince and the Revolution
  • Record Label: Rhino
  • Release Date: Jun 23, 2017
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 80 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 80
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 80
  3. Negative: 14 out of 80
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  1. alecreyna98
    Jul 24, 2017
    10
    This edition of Purple Rain is essential for any Prince fan, and is even a good pick up place for novices. The remastering is fine, and was even overseen by Prince himself before he passed. Much has been said about the album, and the quality of it, so I will pass on reviewing the original album, but I do enjoy the remastered audio. What makes this deluxe expanded edition worth the buy isThis edition of Purple Rain is essential for any Prince fan, and is even a good pick up place for novices. The remastering is fine, and was even overseen by Prince himself before he passed. Much has been said about the album, and the quality of it, so I will pass on reviewing the original album, but I do enjoy the remastered audio. What makes this deluxe expanded edition worth the buy is the B-Sides / 12 inch mix disc, and the Unreleased "vault" material. B-Sides such as "Erotic City" and "17 Days" are 80s classics, and other B-Sides like "God" and "Another Lonely Christmas" are important in the narrative of Prince's music (and are both of great quality). The extended / 12 inch mixes are something to marvel over, and display Prince's top tier musicianship to the fullest. The long versions of "Let's Go Crazy" and "Erotic City" are the definitive cuts of the track, and the extended instrumental to "God (The Love Theme from Purple Rain)" is pure bliss. The "vault" disc is the disc with the most anticipation surrounding it, and it does not disappoint. Most Prince historians didn't even know their was a studio version of "Electric Intercourse", making it's inclusion in this package the most special, and it is my personal highlight of all the bonus material. All the other songs have been bootlegged in various qualities, but on this bonus disc, they have been remastered and sound better than they have on any of their bootlegs. Prince's original version of "The Dance Electric", the Lisa Coleman led "Our Destiny / Roadhouse Garden", "Wonderful Ass", "Possessed", the original cut of "We Can F***" (before Prince released it years later as "We Can Funk"), the piano instrumental with that influenced "Computer Blue", "Father's Song", and the "Hallway Speech version" of the Purple Rain album track "Computer Blue" are the standouts of the "vault" CD. "Computer Blue Hallway Speech Version" is specifically interesting for those who only knew of the version from the album / movie. The other songs, "Love And Sex", "Velvet Kitty Cat", and "Katrina's Paper Dolls" sound like demos for his aspiring female artists (Apollonia 6, Vanity 6, Sheila E., etc.), and don't sound like completed songs like the other tracks on the album. The DVD included with this edition is also a great reminder of Prince's incredible stage presence. He commands his band with great precision, reminiscent of a James Brown blended with a Bruce Springsteen. His vocals are fantastic live, as is his guitar and piano playing. The encore of "Baby I'm A Star" and the 20-minute "Purple Rain" are the highlights of this DVD, displaying Prince's extreme skill as a band leader and a master of musical improvisation. The theatrics of the concert are peculiar, and sometimes feel to go overboard, but when he gets into the music, that is all forgotten. Overall this deluxe expanded edition of Purple Rain adds on to the masterpiece that is "Purple Rain" therefore making it a great reissue of the album. I would highly recommend this version for long time fans, Prince fanatics, and newcomers. Prince's recording history is so varied that some super fans might not feel that Prince's estate or whoever chose the best bonus cuts for the project, but every cut they chose, aside from the 7 inch edits, are all infamous in Prince's recording catalog, and all are deserving of inclusion on a reissue of this sort. 10/10… Expand
  2. araragik
    Jan 19, 2020
    10
    El mejor soundtrack de la historia, así es. Grande Prince, no te merecemos :"v
  3. DCMusicFan
    Oct 3, 2018
    10
    Prince had an ego the size of Jupiter, but he also had talent the size of Jupiter. What more can be said about The Artist?
  4. All_ButTrU4
    May 1, 2022
    9
    The original album run is a magnificent accomplishment I couldn't bare to fault whilst this essential deluxe expanded edition isn't too bad it fails to justify its extended tracks beyond being fan service. It took me quite some time to get into Prince but once this record clicked you'll be damned not to give him his laurels.
  5. BHADD
    Jun 27, 2022
    0
    Interesting that back in 2017, a year after his passing, they put this set out but called it 'Deluxe' and not 'Super Deluxe'. This is interesting because, in the years following, the Estate put out Super Deluxe 1999 and Super Deluxe Sign O' The Times which are both absolutely amazing and thorough sets of those time periods. So, I can only conclude that the Estate knew back in 2017 thatInteresting that back in 2017, a year after his passing, they put this set out but called it 'Deluxe' and not 'Super Deluxe'. This is interesting because, in the years following, the Estate put out Super Deluxe 1999 and Super Deluxe Sign O' The Times which are both absolutely amazing and thorough sets of those time periods. So, I can only conclude that the Estate knew back in 2017 that they were NOT giving us the Super Deluxe treatment and by calling it 'Deluxe' (only, it was acknowledgement that they were not giving us the full out, thorough, release of the era. The other hint was their tagging of the Purple Rain remaster as the 'Paisley Park remaster'. That also signified that the remaster was not going to be reflective of their work...instead, Prince's work which very likely amounted to him turning the volume up :)… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
100

Universal acclaim - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. The Wire
    Aug 9, 2017
    90
    The meat of the set almost certainly wouldn’t have been released if Prince were still with us. ... They add up to arguably the strongest new set of Prince recordings since Lovesexy. [Aug 2017, p.70]
  2. Record Collector
    Jul 21, 2017
    80
    While this release fails to be definitive, at least it’s a start for a discography that had been long neglected by its creator.
    Read full review
  3. Uncut
    Jul 20, 2017
    90
    Purple Rain sounds incrementally more alive. [Sep 2017, p.51]
See all critic reviews »