I've been led astray by the greatest song ever recorded

"The greatest song ever recorded" is of course a matter of personal taste but for me it is Prince's Purple Rain. I have always loved it, all 8 minutes and 41 seconds of it.

I get in a horrible rage if DJs fail to play the whole track on the radio. It's basically a religious expereince for me to see it played live and when I get the chance to perform it I am rarely happier to be playing the drums. But it seems after all these years I have been duped.

The end of the track famously has a live audience pleading for more but I had always assumed that was an addition to the studio process, not so. A new (to me) video has shone light on the track having ACTUALLY been recorded live and then only later had edits and overdubs added to it to make it album ready.

Suddenly I find myself completely re-evaluating my favourite song of all time and finding I love it even more! Tonal qualities in the vocal reproduction. A reassessment of why the drums were always a bit "live" sounding (duh!) and an explanation for the feel of the groove. Guitar feedback which I always thought was "live in the studio" it now seems comes from genuine rock and roll, on stage moments.

It's not often you get to totally rethink something that has lived with you so long, it can very often lead to a bit of heartache and shattered illusions. I'm happy to say though that in this case I couldn't be happier. The first shower of Purple Rain it seems has ended only to be replaced by a full on downpour.

Take a look for yourself and see what you think, the embedded link is at the bottom of the page.