10 Perfect Hit Songs That Are Insanely Long

There has never really been a set definition of what genre Prince really falls into. Throughout his career, the Purple One was far from a one trick pony, and almost any project he made felt like a different venture for him, whether going into the world of jazz or mining the same R&B that he loved so much. The era of Purple Rain was the pop years though, and Mr. Nelson came up with a song that could put most other rock power ballads to shame.

Which is strange because even Prince considered one of his biggest to actually be outside of his wheelhouse. During his time on the road, he had found himself on a bill with Bob Seger and tried to write a ballad that would fit within the mold of what the heartland rocker had started with. In the context of the movie, this becomes one of the last ballads where Prince tries to make amends with his lover, saying that he never meant to cause her any pain and watches as the rain crashes down all over him.

You can call the lyrics beautiful all you want, but the real key to the song’s brilliance is the guitar solo and outro, where Prince practically makes love to his guitar a la Jimi Hendrix and turns in one of the most memorable solos of all time, as the rain falls down all around him. Prince may have made bold leaps since this one song, but the melodrama behind it really tells you everything you need to know about his music. It’s gentle when it needs to be, it’s a bit nasty at times too, but you can’t really imagine life without it either.