1984, USA: il luogo e il tempo di Springsteen, e del suo ritorno col blockbuster “Born in the USA”, culo inguainato dai jeans in copertina. Arriverà al primo posto, certo, ma ci rimarrà per poco a causa dell’arrivo di un inatteso concorrente: a inizio Agosto la Warner pubblica i nuovi 45 minuti di Prince, titolati “Purple Rain”, che accompagnano l’omonima pellicola. Risultato? Prince scalza Springsteen dalla vetta e vi si piazza per molto, molto tempo e il film omonimo entra nell’immaginario collettivo, e frutta al genietto un Oscar per la miglior canzone, “When Doves Cry”. Perché? Perché Prince è riuscito con questo album in cotanta impresa, a scalzare il working-class hero d’America dalle vette delle classifiche?
Perché il suo album è, se possibile, più americano, rock e catchy di quello di Springsteen, pur essendo sperimentale, intarsiato com’è di funk, LSD e new-wave, oltre che personalissimo: vi sono insomma tutte le sue fissazioni, dalla religione al sesso, alle ballad in cui si prostra ai piedi della sua amata. Basti pensare a quel capolavoro che è “When Doves Cry”: un singolo stravenduto, sta-ascoltato eppure senza una linea di basso, e con un intro di chitarra che tutto è fuorché pentatonico, con delle tastiere gelide e melodrammatiche tipiche della new-wave, una struttura sghemba e caracollante e un suono assolutamente scarno e minimale. Eppure, orecchiabilissimo, un successo. E “Take Me With You”? Una ballad psichedelica con le chitarre acustiche in bella mostra, ed una struttura semplice semplice; e poi c’è l’opening track, “Let’s Go Crazy”, ovvero Hendrix lisergico al cubo che incontra i Devo (e pensare che nel film in mezzo alla canzone Prince ci piazza un assolo di pianoforte dissonante); c’è poi l’ariosa, allucinata e strappamutande “The Beautiful Ones”, dove Prince fa sfoggio di tutte le sue qualità canore per regalarci una dichiarazione d’amore assolutamente drammatica; e poi la quasi-strumentale “Computer Blue”, racconto psichedelico dei problemi che Prince ha con un robot (è facile intuire, visto il personaggio) dalle funzioni sessuali. Vi sembra abbastanza? Oppure vi sembra non ci sia abbastanza sesso, sconcezze, pornografia estrema in quest’album del nostro? State pensando “ecco, per entrare nelle case delle allegre famigliole americane, si è auto-censurato… ”. Avete presente le scritte “parental-advisory”? Ecco, “Darling Nikky” ne è la causa. È la storia di un incontro sessuale sconvolgente (“my body will never be the same”) tra Prince ed una prostituta (nella quale addirittura alcuni hanno visto il diavolo) che si sta masturbando nella hall di un hotel, il tutto declamato tra urli e gorgheggi di natura orgasmica. E poi, c’è il funk tiratissimo e stringato di “I Would Die For You”, su un testo dalle pretese sessual-religiose e “Baby I’m A Star”, inno a se stesso e all’arrivo del proprio successo, che convince una volta di più sulla duplice natura di questo album: ennesima tappa sul percorso sperimentale del Principe e macchina sforna-singoli pensata per vendere. A chiudere, un pezzo storico, un omaggio sentito e brividifero al maestro, Jimi Hendrix: la title-track, “Purple Rain”, lunga litania in Do tra archi e pianoforte, con incredibile coda chitarristica. Un pezzo di storia del rock.
C’è tutto, troppo in Purple Rain: 45 minuti che sono un omaggio a due delle influenze più forti del Principe, cioè la psichedelia anni ’60 (vedi l’allora prossimo venturo “Around the World in a Day”) e l’hard-rock-blues di Hendrix, con lo sguardo buttato alla new-wave coi suoi arrangiamenti minimali; il tutto mischiato in modo tale da essere facilmente digirebile al grande pubblico e graditissimo alla critica, roba che riusciva giusto ai Beatles. Un grande album, insomma, un gradino sopra “1999” e “Dirty mind”; forse superato giusto da “Sign ‘O the Times” … Ma questa è un’altra storia…
Elenco tracce testi e video
12 When Doves Cry (00:00)
Dig if you will the picture
Of you and I engaged in a kiss
The sweat of your body covers me
Can you my darling...can you picture this?
Dream if you can
A courtyard
An ocean of violets in bloom
Animals strike curious poses
They feel the heat
The heat between me and you
CHORUS:
How can you just leave me standing?
Alone in a world that's so cold
Maybe I'm just too demanding
Maybe I'm just like my father too bold
Maybe you're just like my mother
She's never satisfied
Why do we scream at each other
This is what it sounds like when doves cry.
Touch if you will my stomach
Feel how it trembles inside
You've got the butterflies all tied up
Don't make me chase you
Even doves have pride
CHORUS:
How can you just leave me standing?
Alone in a world so cold (world so cold)
Maybe I'm just too demanding
Maybe I'm just like my father too bold
Maybe you're just like my mother
She's never satisfied
Why do we scream at each other
This is what it sounds like when doves cry.
22 Purple Rain (00:00)
I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted one time to see you laughing
I only want to see you laughing in the purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
I only want to see you bathing in the purple rain
I never wanted to be your weekend lover
I only wanted to be some kind of friend
baby I could never steal you from another
it's such a shame our friendship had to end
purple rain, purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
I only want to see you underneath the purple rain
honey, I know, I know, I know times are changing
it's time we all reach out for something new, that means you too
you say you want a leader,
but you can't seem to make up your mind
I think you better close it
and let me guide you into the purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
I only want to see you, only want to see you
in the purple rain
41 Riffs, Ruffles And A Revolution: The Impact And Influence Of Purple Rain (00:00)
43 Let's Go Crazy (00:00)
''Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
To get through this thing called LIFE.
Electric word "life"
It means forever and that's a mighty long time
But I'm here to tell you, there's something else
The afterworld.
A world of never-ending happiness
You can always see the sun, day or night.
So when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills
You know the one, Dr. Everything'll-Be-Alright
Instead of asking him how much of your time is left
Ask him how much of your mind, baby
'Cause in this life
Things are much harder than in the afterworld
In this life, you're on your own
And if de-elevator tries to bring you down
Go crazy, punch a higher floor''
If you don't like
The world you're living in
Take a look around you
At least you got friends
I called my old lady
For a friendly word
She just picked up the phone
Dropped it on the floor
"Aah, aah!" is all I heard
I'm not gonna let de-elevator bring us down, oh no, let's go
Let's go crazy, let's get nuts
Let's look for the purple banana
'Til they put us in the truck
Let's go
All excited, but don't know why
Maybe it's 'cause, we're all gonna die
And when we do (when we do)
What's it all for? (what's it all for)
Better live now
Before the grim reaper comes knocking on your door
Tell me baby,
Are we gonna let de-elevator bring us down?
Oh, no, let's go
Let's go crazy, let's get nuts
Let's look for the purple banana
'Til they put us in the truck
Let's go
Come on baby, let's get nuts!
Yeah, crazy
Let's go crazy
Are we gonna let de-elevator bring us down?
Oh, no, let's go
Go Crazy
I said, let's go (crazy)
Dr. Everything'll-Be-Alright
Make everything go wrong
Pills and thrills and daffodils will kill
Hang tough children
He's coming
He's coming
Coming
Take me away
45 When Doves Cry (00:00)
Dig if you will the picture
Of you and I engaged in a kiss
The sweat of your body covers me
Can you my darling...can you picture this?
Dream if you can
A courtyard
An ocean of violets in bloom
Animals strike curious poses
They feel the heat
The heat between me and you
CHORUS:
How can you just leave me standing?
Alone in a world that's so cold
Maybe I'm just too demanding
Maybe I'm just like my father too bold
Maybe you're just like my mother
She's never satisfied
Why do we scream at each other
This is what it sounds like when doves cry.
Touch if you will my stomach
Feel how it trembles inside
You've got the butterflies all tied up
Don't make me chase you
Even doves have pride
CHORUS:
How can you just leave me standing?
Alone in a world so cold (world so cold)
Maybe I'm just too demanding
Maybe I'm just like my father too bold
Maybe you're just like my mother
She's never satisfied
Why do we scream at each other
This is what it sounds like when doves cry.
47 Purple Rain (00:00)
I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted one time to see you laughing
I only want to see you laughing in the purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
I only want to see you bathing in the purple rain
I never wanted to be your weekend lover
I only wanted to be some kind of friend
baby I could never steal you from another
it's such a shame our friendship had to end
purple rain, purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
I only want to see you underneath the purple rain
honey, I know, I know, I know times are changing
it's time we all reach out for something new, that means you too
you say you want a leader,
but you can't seem to make up your mind
I think you better close it
and let me guide you into the purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
purple rain, purple rain
I only want to see you, only want to see you
in the purple rain
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