What is the longest rendition of ‘Purple Rain’ Prince ever played?
In a list of the biggest anthems of all time, ‘Purple Rain’ would score high. It doesn’t matter that no one has a clue what Purple Rain is; somehow, the life-affirming sentiment of utter devotion held within the lyrics has transcended as a timeless classic and the most defining track from an artist who has plenty of them. It was so defining of Prince’s artistry that it was forever his finale song, often stretching it out longer and longer to keep hungry audiences hooked for more.
Prince was no stranger to long songs. As a ferocious artist who wrote, performed and produced all his own recordings, no one could or ever would attempt to tell him to keep it short and sweet. And with that much talent, who could ever complain when a track rolled on and on, way past the usual radio-friendly mark into sprawling ten or 20-minute-long epics?
On his record, it’s rare to find a track under the three-minute mark. He was never an artist who kept things concise, favouring length outros and extended guitar solos. That’s part of what makes him such a miraculous artist, as he managed to somehow turn these lengthy tracks that never compromised his artistry into radio hits, too, able to straddle the worlds of mainstream success and creative integrity.
‘Purple Rain’ is a perfect example of that. It’s one of the most beloved rock anthems ever written, remaining a massive commercial success, but it also felt like a true artistic opus for Prince. It was the title track written for his semi-autobiographical 1984 film, standing as the emotional climax of the movie. To the artist, it represented all things pure and powerful as he explained, “When there’s blood in the sky… red and blue = purple. Purple rain pertains to the end of the world and being with the one you love and letting your faith/God guide you through the purple rain.”
His love for the track was proved time and time again with each iconic live performance. At every Prince gig, ‘Purple Rain’ was delivered as an incredible, moving moment that neither the audience nor the artist seemed to want to end. As he extended the song into a longer and longer structure, sometimes that finale could have lasted for what would have been a whole half of a gig to other artists. But what was the longest rendition he played?
How long is ‘Purple Rain’?
In its original 1984 recorded version, ‘Purple Rain’ is already an epic. It is eight minutes and 40 seconds long, the longest track on the album by a long way. There was also a shortened seven inch radio version cut down to four minutes, as well as a slightly extended version with a few extra seconds, both on the Purple Rain deluxe album.
Originally, the track was supposed to be a country song. At first, it wasn’t even supposed to be recorded or released by Prince as he wanted to give it to Stevie Nicks. But upon hearing the power of the track, the Fleetwood Mac singer didn’t feel up to the task. “I listened to it, and I just got scared. I called him back and said, ‘I can’t do it. I wish I could. It’s too much for me’”, she said. The version she received was even longer than the original, sitting as a 10-minute-long instrumental.
What’s the longest rendition of ‘Purple Rain’ Prince ever played?
There was no stopping Prince when he was on stage. He seemed not to be able to help himself by extending his tracks out into even longer forms, with bigger solos, longer outros, and elongated jam sections, where his band all proved their power with the Purple One at the helm. But no song got that treatment quite like ‘Purple Rain’.
There have been countless amazing live performances of the song. His rendition at the Superbowl during an actual rainstorm is incredibly special, but it is perhaps the shortest version of the song he ever played, cut down to only three minutes due to the weather and timing constraints.
At his Live At Paisley Park recorded event, the track was stretched to 11 minutes, but on average, his typical live version of the track played at gigs across the globe seems to be 12 minutes long.
However, there were plenty of times when he went far beyond that. One of the longest was also one of the first times he ever played the track. In 1983, at a show at First Avenue in Minneapolis, the club featured in his film, his version of the song stretched to 14 minutes.
The longest recorded rendition of ‘Purple Rain’ was in 1985, at Prince and the Revolution’s iconic performance in Syracuse. Captured in a concert film, the band were on the road promoting the album, and Prince was undeniably at his artistic best. The entire setlist for the gig is a high-octane race of his hits, all extended into epics. There’s a ten-minute version of ‘Baby I’m A Star’, a seven-minute long ‘The Beautiful Ones’ and then ‘Purple Rain’, which nearly enough takes up an entire side of the vinyl recording.
At the show, his rendition of ‘Purple Rain’ is 18 minutes and 24 seconds long, standing as the longest recorded version of the track, extended with an epic, atmospheric outro as Prince is carried away with the music.
