FEATURE:
Dearly Beloved…
IN THIS PHOTO: Prince in 1984
The Epic Let’s Go Crazy, and the Possibilities of a Purple Rain Fortieth Anniversary Release
_________
I realise that I have…
used the title of this Prince song in two consecutive features. I put together an ultimate playlist titled ‘Let’s Go Crazy’. The epic opener from 1984’s Purple Rain, I wanted to spend some more time with my favourite Prince song. There are a couple of reasons. I will do some further Prince features ahead of what would have been his sixty-fifth birthday in June. On 21st April, it will be seven years since we lost the legend. One of the most gifted and influential musicians ever, I was eager to pay tribute to him. I wanted to explain and explore my love of Let’s Go Crazy, but I also wonder whether there will be a fortieth anniversary edition of the Purple Rain album next year. Logically, there were two songs that could have opened Purple Rain. When Doves Cry would have been the other choice. It is great that Let’s Go Crazy leads us in. I think the opening words are the perfect way open it. Almost a prayer and sermon, Prince is almost a pastor when he says “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…”.
The running order was going to be different to what actually appeared in 1984. A November 1983 configuration had Father's Song closing the album. Purple Rain’s title track opened the second side. Thinking about it, how could any song follow Purple Rain?! It is the natural swansong; in the same way nothing could get close to Let’s Go Crazy as the opening song! In my final Prince feature marking seven years since his passing, I will speculate and wonder whether we will get a biopic or musical film about his life and incredible legacy. There was one announced in 2018, but I don’t think it ever saw the light of day. There have been documentaries, but nothing like a huge film or multi-part tribute to the great man. Before I move to Purple Rain, I am going to drop in some information about a song that, to me, is the ultimate Prince cut. The Prince Vault website provides details about this spellbinding and explosive Purple Rain introduction:
“Let’s Go Crazy is the first track on Prince’s sixth album Purple Rain, the first album to be credited to Prince and the Revolution. One month after the album’s release, Let’s Go Crazy was released as the album’s second single, becoming his second US number one single (following When Doves Cry). The track is also featured in the movie Purple Rain.
The basic idea for the song/riff (that according to Prince photographer and friend Allen Beaulieu was something he came up with while jamming with Prince in the fall of 1982) was committed to tape in a session on 18 May 1983 at the Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
Before a proper studio recording was made, Prince and the Revolution recorded the song live on 3 August 1983 at First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota (at the same concert where I Would Die 4 U, Baby I’m A Star and Purple Rain were also recorded).
Basic tracking of the version released on Purple Rain, took place on 7 August 1983 (four days after its live-recording at First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, a day before Computer Blue) at the The Warehouse in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. This version would be edited down for the album (the full version was released on the 12" version of the single). In 1993, the track was included as the eighth track on Prince’s first compilation album The Hits 1 (also included as the first disc of The Hits / The B-Sides).
In 2001, the track was included as the fifth track on the compilation album The Very Best Of Prince.
In 2006, the Special Dance Mix (in fact the non-edited, full length track) was included as the first track on the second disc of the compilation album Ultimate.
On 31 March 2013 a slowed down, 6:37 studio rehearsal of Let’s Go Crazy was streamed on Madison Dubé Vimeo account and promoted by 3rdEyeGirl Twitter account.
The full-length version was included as the first track on the 7 November 1983 and 23 March 1984 configurations of the album, but this was edited down for the final 14 April 1984 configuration to make room for the inclusion of Take Me With U.
The Special Dance Mix was included as the seventh track on the first disc of an early configuration of the compilation album Ultimate before the album was reworked for release”.
Apocalyptic, loose, sexy, electric, and mysterious, in terms of lyrics, there is a bit of everything in Let’s Go Crazy. Some of the imagery Prince summons does make you wonder! Some of my favourite lines are “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”. What is the story behind the biblical Let’s Go Crazy? Far Out Magazine investigated last July:
“When we think of Prince, we think of a multi-disciplined genius who could write, produce, play all manner of instruments and dance just as good as any of his backing entourage. Bringing Prince to the forefront of our minds, so too we undeniably think of sex, given his overtly sexual style; we think of bedroom-friendly music, and we view the man, in his own famous words, as a ‘Sexy Motherfucker’.
Yet despite the unmistakable sexual themes found in Prince’s music, not to mention within the man himself, we also find something else that has historically conflicted with sex: religion. Yes, sex and religion have something of a troubled relationship, so much so that the Catholic church had for so long found the subject taboo.
Yet, for an artist so undeniably sexy, Prince has always had an unshakeable faith in God. “I like to believe my inspiration comes from God. I’ve always known God is my creator. Without him, nothing works,” he once said. Prince’s faith must have surely come from an early illness. He was born epileptic, yet miraculously his condition was cured. As a child, Prince allegedly told his mother that an angel had told him he would be cured, though Prince has on occasion stated that he cannot remember having that conversation with his mother.
Prince was raised a Seventh-day Adventist, though he later became a Jehovah’s Witness. Both religions are often viewed as being just outside the actual Christian church, though Prince’s undying belief in God is undeniable, especially when we take a closer look at some of his music.
One particular track on which Prince’s faith in Christ is evident is the opener of 1984’s Purple Rain, which opens with the sermon-like line, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life,” as well as a funeral procession-esque organ solo to boot.
Prince revealed in 1997 that the track served as a metaphor for the battle between Christ and Satan. However, it was indeed a metaphor rather than an unobscured reference to his faith, as radio stations did not favour songs which contained religious themes.
“As I wrote it, ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ was about God and the de-elevation of sin,” Prince said. “But the problem was that religion as a subject is taboo in pop music. People think that the records they release have got to be hip, but what I need to do is to tell the truth.”
“I had to change those words up, but the elevator was Satan. I had to change the words up because you couldn’t say God on the radio. And ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ was God to me. It was: Stay happy, stay focused, and you can beat the elevator. Are we gonna let the elevator bring us down? Oh no let’s go!”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Prince performing on stage at the Joe Louis Arena in Chicago on 11th November, 1984/PHOTO CREDIT: Mike Maloney/Mirrorpix/Getty Image
There is always debate as to which album is the ultimate Prince release. Many might say 1987’s Sign o' the Times. That contains classics like the title track, and U Got the Look. That double album is hard to beat. Many might favour 1982’s 1999. I think that Purple Rain is the masterpiece. It was released on 25th June, 1984. It is forty next summer. I wonder whether there are plans already for an anniversary edition. I know that the Deluxe version came out in 2017. Prince died the year previous, but he did see Purple Rain remastered at his Paisley Park Studios in 2015. In 23rd June, 2017, a two-C.D. version came out, augmented with a From the Vault & Previously Unreleased disc. It featured eleven previously unreleased songs or versions, recorded between April 1983 and September 1984. One of the Deluxe Expanded Edition options had a third disc - Single Edits & B-Sides with B-sides, extended versions, and edits from the Purple Rain era. We also got a DVD release of the concert Prince and The Revolution gave on 30th March, 1985 in Syracuse, N.Y. The 1984 album’s legacy is hard to deny. It changed Pop and cemented Prince’s status as a genius and superstar. Purple Rain is ranked among the greatest albums of all time. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and it was added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Purple Rain is a staggering achievement. It was the peak of a particularly impressive run and fertile period for him. Two years after 1999, he released Controversy in 1981. So, in three years, he released three very different and astonishing albums! Maybe we have seen everything from the vaults relating to Purple Rain. As next year is the album’s fortieth, it would be great to have a boxset. A new vinyl set with B-sides, maybe live performances, and the DVD of the film. There must be memories from musicians and those who worked on the album. To celebrate arguably his greatest achievement, I’d like to think that there will be an anniversary reissue. That is a way off. As we have a bittersweet day on 21st April where we remember Prince’s passing seven years to the day; we also remember what an incredible and original artist he was. Even if there have been recordings released from his well-stocked and legendary vault, you know there is a lot more to come. I have been thinking about Let’s Go Crazy and Purple Rain. A magnificent opening track from a faultless album, I think it should get a special anniversary release to mark forty years. It is strange Prince has been gone almost seven years. His brilliance will live on forever. His music is timeless and will always be played and loved. Virtuosic, prolific and hugely important, the powerful and much missed Prince will..
NEVER be equalled.