I originally posted this in a wine newsletter in April of 2024.
Prince and the Revolution – Purple Rain Soundtrack
Geoff likes to use the movie La Dolce Vita when writing about Italian wine, which makes sense. For me though, the term reminds me of my father. My Dad wrote a newspaper column titled La Dolce Vita for more than a decade for the Creston Valley Advance / Black Press. The subject of the column was most often wine.
Here is a link to one of his columns from nearly twelve years ago. As you can see, the grape doesn’t fall far from the vine: I come by my love for wine (and whisky) naturally, and possibly genetically, through my parents – especially my dad.
Another thing I stole from my father is some of his taste in music. That is why I have chosen to highlight Prince and The Revolution’s album Purple Rain. The album is a soundtrack for a movie of the same name, which itself is an emotional and quirky showcase for the talent and egotism of the late great Prince himself.
I remember listening to this album on tape as a kid, riding in the back seat of our car, on our regular family trips from Creston to Calgary and other parts of Alberta, where our relatives resided. This Album – along with a few others – I never got tired of hearing. We were probably listening to it on a road trip back in December of 2012 when my dad was thinking about writing his column on how misunderstood and misrepresented Chardonnay can be.
I was too young to understand much of the lyrics and their meaning in Prince’s music at the time, but I would sing along as best I could to Let’s Go Crazy, When Doves Cry, and the titular song Purple Rain which caps the album off. I didn’t realize how pornographic the song Darling Nikki was until I was much older. That track is apparently one of the cited reasons for the creation of the PARENTAL ADVISORY – EXPLICIT LYRICS stickers, which would end up adorning many albums I went on to enjoy as a teenager and adult.
The entire Purple Rain album is heavy on synth and guitar, using both to bombastic effect in melodies and solos throughout. It is no wonder Prince was mentioned as one of the chief influences on Trent Reznor’s/Nine Inch Nails’ first album Pretty Hate Machine. That is another band that has had a tremendous influence on me, and I can see the correlation between Trent Reznor and Prince. Both exhibit a multi-instrumental genius and a singular knack for making music in a style that nobody else can manage to duplicate.
Thank you, Dad – for starting me on my journey through music, wine, and whisky. Pretty much in that order, too. I get a kick out of sharing my love for all three with you.
Oh, and for sharing your love for writing and having an audience for the words that we arrange. There is no other drug like it.
Cheers,
Evan
How can you just leave me standing
Alone in a world that’s so cold? (So cold)
Maybe I’m just too demanding
Maybe I’m just like my father, too bold