Is there a moment in rock and roll history with more palpable atmosphere than the opening of "Purple Rain"? Those first few seconds of music truly do sound like a late rainy night an irresistible feeling that Prince manages to stretch out over the course of a truly lovely 8:42 runtime. For me, Prince's catalog has always been hit or miss, but for this one epic track, his greatness is undeniable. Taken from the album of the same name which itself served as the soundtrack for the film of the same name "Purple Rain" owes debts to musical theatre showstoppers, operatic arias, church songs, and 80s power ballads (to name a few), but parlays each style into a musical experience that is entirely self-contained. Even as a song meant for a film, "Purple Rain" is remarkable when taken on its own a fact that has been made evident by the tune's status in Prince's catalog as a signature song. By the time "Purple Rain" reaches its peak moments the soaring falsetto wails at the end of the song it's difficult to recall anything that has ever managed to sound both so euphoric and so full of broken desperation at the same time.