January 27, 2011

"The Beautiful Ones"

"The Beautiful Ones" is the third track on Prince and The Revolution's soundtrack album Purple Rain. Produced, arranged, composed, and performed by Prince, the song was recorded at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles by Peggy Mac and David Leonard in early September 1983.


"The Beautiful Ones" is a haunting musical tale of emotional longing and unrequited love. Starting out as a slow falsetto ballad, with Dr. Fink's piano and organ-sounding synthesizers providing a lush backdrop, it gradually builds in volume and intensity, and by the end of the song, Prince is screaming out "Do you want him, or do you want me? 'Cause I want you." The song comes to a quiet close, with Fink's and Bobby Z's drums serving as the closing instrumentation.
(source)

Having never really heard of Prince before seeing Purple Rain in the Galvez Mall's theater that long ago, vanished summer of 1984, this scene (as well as the film) worked a spell on me that has really never been broken.

I'd say that's a Mona Lisa smile, wouldn't you?

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