Rest In Purple : The Top 10 Prince Songs

Up until Christmas of 1984 the only albums I owned were Kiss, Ozzy, Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister, the first album that I owned which was not metal...yes even before Bowie for me was Prince's "Purple Rain". While this doesn't hit me as hard as Bowie, since "Crystal Ball" was the last Prince album I was really spell bound by I still caught him a couple of times in concert and continued to be one of the best if not the best guitarist I have seen live. Rather than rattling on about what he did for music or who he was I'll let his music do the talking and give you my top ten Prince Songs. Given the Purple One's rigid control of his songs, in some cases the original versions of these songs could not always be captured, so we are going for covers in some cases.

10- Something in the Water Does Not Compute

Off "1999" in any arrangement this song works, though the new wave funk of the album version is always the best in my book.
  9-"Thieves in the Temple"

The vocals and the groove are what push this to the top of the heap. The beat is pretty heavy. This was when he started getting into more conventional pop ad became less guitar oriented. 8-Raspberry Beret

 Around the World in a Day was heralded as his Sgt.Peppers as the follow up to Purple Rain the bar could not be any higher. Lighter in tone than "Purple Rain" it sounds a little dated, it's impossible for me not to get this one stuck in my head when I hear it, as it stuck with me over the years.


  7-" I could Never Take the Place of Your Man"

 One of his more straight up rock n roll songs, he was one of the few soul/funk artists who could convincingly cross over into rock and really rock.

  6- "When U Were Mine"

Sure "Nothing Compares 2 U" could easily be on this list, but lets face even the songs Prince wrote for other people be it Joan Osborne, Kate Bush, TLC or Sinead O' Conner feel like Prince covers because they have his finger prints all over them and when he decided to play them after the fact they became Prince songs.

 

  5-"the Cross"

 Off of Sign O the Time, It might be surprising one of his Jesus songs, made my list, but I never considering him going from masturbating with a magazine to saving my soul being too preachy in this context nor did I ever take it that seriously,I was always like you are going to get all church on me after I just saw you in a blouse and a jock strap? Any way Chino from the Deftones had his side project Crosses ironically cover this.

 


  4- "Anna Stesia "


 The best song off of "Lovesexy", this live version finds him really killing it and showcases his under rated guitar playing that all of you mother humpers are now on Facebook saying you have always been a fan of since he died.
 


  3- "Darling Nikki"


 This was some down and dirty next level shit , I had no clue what masturbating was or what lil Nikki was starting to grind, but the intention behind his words reminded me of when Ginger would whisper naughty things in Gilligan's ear. Even teaming up with Cee-Loo Green this is not something that the Foo-Fighters could really capture, but this version is worth hearing. "

  > 2- If I Was Your Girlfriend Androgyny was his thing as much as it was Bowie's and that fact wasn't conveyed any more convincingly than on this song, which is another example of his immaculate song writing.





2- "If I Was Your Girlfriend" 

Androgyny was his thing as much as it was Bowie's and that fact wasn't conveyed any more convincingly than on this song, which is another example of his immaculate song writing.While the cover below carries strong elements of the original these girls can't capture Prince's raw sex magick that oozes from his voice.




  1- "When Doves Cry"

It might seem cliche that number one is off Purple Rain, but that album is in my top 10 albums of all time and while the bulk of his work is strong up until he started bat-dancing, "Purple Rain" can't be touched. This song is what first caught my attention and has everything I could want from him from the wildly passionate guitar playing to his falsetto.

Dalek : "Asphalt For Eden"

Here is the 7th album by this hip-hop duo, I would call them experimental, but they are doing it right and everyone else is lazy.They come on strong with a dark dense sound, that might be argued to offer a shoe gaze take on hip- hop, but Massive Attack already does that. They continue to get darker on "Guaranteed Struggle". The Mc has skills, but unlike mainstream hip hop where the backing track is often uninteresting the lyrics sit back in the music in a manner that has more in common with punk or metal production that pop music. "Masked Laughter" offers a more space age atmosphere. This gives the song a dreamier sense of melody to set the frustrated lyrical flow against. There is a dirtier abrasion to the more upbeat lyrical flow of "Critical".  Except for the chorus it feels more free-styled in the verses.

The balance of atmosphere and groove is well struck on the instrumental "6db", though it still feels like more of an interlude rather than an actual song. The use of samples works well as an introduction to "Control". There is a surreal murkiness casting it's cloud over the sonic sea of "It Just Is". This could be a Jesu song until the rapping comes in and sets atop of it more like spoken word than having anything in common with Drake of well even Common. It's a raw prose that cares little for hooks and thus creates a more abstract chorus.I'll give this one a 9.5 as all the chances it takes pretty much pays off, the instrumental is not required listening that has to make the journey over onto my iPod, but hip hop needs more of this forward thinking attitude when it comes keeping things fresh instead of the plastic sheen most of it is mass produced with today.

Dälek - Guaranteed Struggle (OFFICIAL VIDEO) from deadverse recordings on Vimeo.

Behexen : "the Poisonous Path"

These guys are the real deal when it comes to Finnish black metal or any black metal for that matter. The album hits you with a dark blast that blurred past me and it wasn't until the second song that I really began to tune into this. They have been around since 96 and have ties to most notably Sargeist, who almost all of the members have played in but also bands like Horna, Nightbringer and Kult ov Azazel. They seem to prefer playing at the more thrashing speed of "Cave of the Dark Dreams" which also finds them conforming more closely to the sound brandished by a hundred other black metal bands. They come across as being heavier on the more deliberate " A Sword of Promethean Fire". The vocals are a lower more death metal rasp. They tune lower than your average black metal band so this is fitting. Two minutes in they erupt into blasting and lose this groove. The gang like chant that chimes in add a cool snarl to the song. They keep up the pace for "Umbra Luciferi". Its dense and dark with the cavernous boom of death metal, but relies on sheer heaviness alone.

The album continues to race and ramble down the same left hand path it began on with monochrome shades of leather. There are some punches and accents that stand out more than others. The chorus on some songs are more defined than others. If you have ever complained about Watain being too melodic or not cvlt enough for you then this should not overwhelm you. That is not to say they do not develop any melodic tendencies as they do occur in an atmospheric context.They care more about speed, but are capable of chasing that dragon without resorting soley to blast beats. The beatings continue until morale is improved "Chalice of Abysmal Water" only flirting with the darker melodic black metal chord voicing. They continue to dig deeper into the more musical abyss on "Pentagram of the Black Earth".  They throw this to the hot winds of the underworld on "Gallows of Inversion" which is more of a blast fest. It is more along the blackened death metal side of black metal to me, but these guys came to be at a time when those lines were not fully drawn. By the time we get to the last song it's understood that these guys are good at what they do, but I'm lost as to who they are with their own original sound, however it's as good as color by numbers black metal gets so I'll give it a 6.5.

Up From the Underground - Vivi Vex

Here I am prying my mind open with a crow bar and asking  is this future of goth? It's no mystery it has known many incarnations even in the genre's golden years during the 80s. Goth describes a feeling and not a sound. Industrial music the more abrasive punk blooded cousin of goth has acquired a rather incestuous relationship with goth along with metal and in some cases all three have bee mixed up like a flavor of Ben & Jerry's that only comes out in October. Goth is in a pretty good place now, the post-punk rival, darker shades of edm and the rising popularity of acts like Chelsea Wolfe and Youth Code keeps the casket from closing. As the sands in the hour glass turn with the days of our lives the generation of goth I grew up with  makes less frequent trips to the club to ensure that "Headhunter" is still being played. Spotify be damned, there is a whole generation with no clue who the hell Front 242 is and Combichrist holds that place in their hearts. These club kids are now growing up and into prominence in the scene. Vivi Vex is a product of this. So giving this project a shot is me allowing goth to continue on even if it looks and sounds different than what I grew up on.

 When I first gave a listen to to the new single by Vivi Vex, the resistance to change began because it really sounds a lot like a soundtrack to a post- apocalyptic video game.   Vivian Vex aka Vivi Vex is the leader of has a crust industrial group called the "Rust Punk Tribe". With a collaborative album coming the first single was released last week entitled ""Outlet" like the rest of the album to come it features some guest musicians here most notably Sin Quirin from the most recent era of Ministry plays guitar on the song "Outlet". Quirin has had his hands in a little bit of every from playing with American Head Charge and a new project called Supermaniac, he later dipped his toes in EDM by releasing some aggro tech tracks and this music has much more in common with that. Micheal Lubert of Distortion of Events adds to the sound manipulation. Quirin's tone is very distinct but is dialed pretty far back in the mix.I think there is potential here but it falls in a weird purgatory between being edm and industrial, without vocals there is not much to really pull me in on merit of the beats alone. I'll say I might take this "rust punk" thing over the turquoise Tumblr versions of goth from girls who have no clue who Skinny Puppy or the Cocteau Twins are and actually just like the look and listen to Kayne West.

Nothing : " Tired of Tomorrow"

It's important to listen to the band's second album in sequential context rather than on a shuffle for a few songs when you first hear it. Failing to do so will give you spoilers in regards to the changes in their sound you might not want. Though by not hearing the opener "Fever Queen" there is a little more truth in advertising in regards to what you are actually going to get. "Fever Queen" has more of a pound to it's drone than the bulk of these day dream lullabies are going to muster. "The Dead Are Dumb" is very well put together and unlike the opener, the vocals are sedate, but not as sugar smitten with out the extra layer of harmonies. The more grunge tinged sound eluded to on the first album returns on the first single they released earlier in the year, the more uptempo "Vertigo Flowers". The drummer is well showcased on this song. It almost sounds like a more care free version of Hum. The production is a little over the top in terms of how clean all the tones are. It does pay off to give them an almost Pink Floyd like tone in the solo like section of the previous here, but when it comes to getting heavier sonically, the lushness twinkling more than it sweeps you away.

 The first moment that really rocks and connects with me is "ACD". There is almost a emo feel to the vocal melody, not Sunny Day emo more like Appleseed Cast or Mineral's more post-rock moments, if they were coiled into a more solid grunge groove.The shift in slicker production does benefit the drum sound that opens "Nineteen Ninety Heaven". They come back with a more solid drive behind "Curse of the Sun". Though this puts them in the neighborhood of Sliversun Pickups and Smashing Pumpkins, with the turn around on one riff almost sounding like Collective Soul.This album is without a doubt more accessible then "Guilty Of Everything". Some of the more shoe gazey and experimental guitar tones surface on this song, so it's a well balanced compromise. I remember when "Eaten By Worms" came out weeks ago, but wanted to hear the album as a whole so didn't check it out and I normally avoid pre-release singles. I want to hear the album or ironically nothing. This one is straight ahead alternative rock, that sounds like if Elliot Smith was covering "Creep" with the Catherine Wheel. They do add some noise around the edges when the song builds up to give it more sonic punch.
 It's time to dive back into to clouds of cotton candy on "Everyone is Happy" even super sweet textures here are more easily digested after a couple of listens. There is an increased presence of piano.This gives it a more post-rock pop texture. The guitars are perfectly recorded so that evens the score a great deal to make up for some of the changes.The winning drum sound once again leads the way into "Our Plague". There is a more pop sense to the song writing employed in this song but bathed in such stoned apathy that you almost don't notice. They step back onto the distortion in the final two minutes. The album's most questionable moment comes on the last song which is piano and vocals that are up close on the mic yet barely there, it reminds me of all the things I don't like about Smashing Pumpkins. It's the only song that won't make it cover onto the iPod, so I'll round this up to an 8.5, which puts it behind their first album. There is some growth in how they capture the sounds and this is a more subtle album. It might still grow on me over the course of the summer .

Lord Vicar : "Gates of Flesh"

Going through my in-box and checking out any and all doom oriented music that might be hiding out there. That is when I this diamond in the rough. Former Reverend Bizarre guitarist Kimi Karki is wandering the graveyards of Finland to conjure up something that is more gloomy than down, in fact it sounds like really depressive stoner rock. On board are former Count Raven vocalist and the drummer from Centurions Ghost. The second song is more rock n roll and not as dark as the smooth opener which drew me in with an almost Katatonia like quality. The darkness rolls in for the interlude "A Shadow of Myself " to pave the way for the next proper song "Breaking the Circle". This one carries more weight to the fuzzed out guitars. The vocals are like a more fluid version of what Lee Dorian does mixed with a little My Dying Bride.

These guys made a concerted effort to keep the songs to around the six minute mark, so if you are like me and done with the whole 13 plus minute droning style of doom that became popular over the course of the past five or six years then you'll find these songs more focused. They capture all the melancholy you could want from doom even touching up the mourning funereal doom like sadness in spots, though the more conventional rock infused beginnings of the genre is where this is bred from. They march on into the moderately more up-tempo "Accidents" that lurches back into a more solemn pace when the verse kicks in."A Woman Out of Snow " finds the vocals doing their best My Dying Bride impersonation for what is more of a ballad, falling closer to Pink Floyd than "Home Sweet Home". This does create a more powerful dynamic for when they kick back in and makes it one of the albums more interesting songs in terms of the colors they paint with here. Rather than go the typical way with the heavier build it's used as a bridge for the solo and the vocals do no return until things die back down.

They close on their most metallic note with "Leper, Leper".  There is a more morose lethargy draped over this song. The vocals are at the forefront of the mix, which in this case takes a little weight off off the riff's impact, I think if they sat back further in the guitars this would not be the case. Here I can understand the argument against clean vocals in metal, though for the bulk of the album they have proven this to not be the case. Overall this album is a solid piece of conventional doom that keeps a solemn course along the post-Sabbath path adorned with gothic finery like something from a Hammer Horror movie so I'll give it an 8.

Basement : "Promise Everything"

Here's a band that walks the line between the grunge of the 90's and indie. There were band's like Sebadoh who were walking that line back in the day and these guys have smoothed some of their awkward edges out to give a slight emo pop sheen to this. The hook in the chorus of "Hanging Around" waves its hands for attention in a more obvious manner than the casual cool of the opener. They reclaim some slacker ambivalence on "Lose Your Grip", however they already set the bar pretty high for themselves on the first song so that is what I am asking them to aim for. Though there is more of an emo introspection on "Aquasun". I think it's the first song that comes close to being as well crafted as the opener. The wall of jangling guitar over powers the drums on this one, but it's alright. They step up their rock game on "Submission". It's pretty simple stuff, but played with just the right energy and conviction.  The singer lets his voice crack to emote more, which is there version of a more aggressive singing style.

They take their foot off the monitor and stare at their Converse on " Oversized".  It gets sugary in a way that sounds like it's a lost Weezer track. "Blinded Bye" is where they started to lose me , which is unfortunate because they do have a lot of potential. But the song was just bland and too middle of the road for me. This is the same quality I don't like about the Foo-Fighters as well. To this band's credit they don't write songs that sound like beer commercials. They gain some traction on "For You the Moon". The guitar riffs feel like they are more thought out than the vocals, but the song has enough momentum to gloss over that. The add a stiffer kick to their brand of emo rock on the title track. The bass is more driving on this one and eventually allows the guitar some room to play around. They dial it back a little for "Halo". It glides along the more emo power ballad landscape that makes this feel like 2002. There ends up being more ballad and less power to this one. These guys are good at what they do, I would like to hear them head in the direction this album started out on , but regardless I'll give this album an 8 as they achieved what they set out to here.