SPIN Magazine Releasing a Tribute Album for Prince's "Purple Rain" Movie

Seems SPIN is having bands cover tracks from "Purple Rain" for the 25th anniversary of the film's release, and making it free for subscribers this month. Bands involved are The Twilight Singers, Fol Chen, Of Montreal, and those maniacal Texas punks, The Riverboat Gamblers. Caught them at SXSW this year, and it was something rather extraordinary, if only for the energy of the lead singer alone. If you need one reason to get a SPIN subscription, The Riverboat Gamblers covering His Purple Highness should be all you need.

For this summer's 25th anniversary of Prince's classic movie and album Purple Rain, SPIN is excited to announce the release of Purplish Rain, a tribute album made up of nine tracks commissioned by the editors of SPIN.

The entire album will be available as a free download for SPIN magazine readers and subscribers via SPIN.com starting June 23.

Purplish Rain was produced to accompany the July cover story, an oral history of Purple Rain, for which contributing writer Brian Raftery spoke to most of the key people involved in the creation of the movie and album.

Full tracklist for Purplish Rain:

1. "Let's Go Crazy" RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS
2. "Take Me With U" SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS
3. "The Beautiful Ones" FOL CHEN
4. "Computer Blue" OF MONTREAL
5. "Darling Nikki" CHAIRLIFT
6. "When Doves Cry" THE TWILIGHT SINGERS
7. "I Would Die 4 U" MARIACHI EL BRONX
8. "Baby I'm a Star" CRAIG WEDREN
9. "Purple Rain" LAVENDER DIAMOND

2009: The Year of 9878967 Prince Records

Hey kids, I'm back from the Great White North. Hope y'all had a lovely holiday.

Onto Prince...you gotta wonder, did this cat ever sleep? He's actually putting out three records in 2009, not 9878967, but someone's been a very busy [purple] bee up there in Minneapolis (take THAT Ryan Adams). One of the records is supposed to include a cover of "Crimson and Clover" and another, a guest appearance by Q-Tip.

Prince is planning to release three new albums in 2009 without the assistance of a record label, according to an interview with the Los Angeles Times. A "major retailer" is in talks with the artist to release the music physically, while a new Prince Web site will sell it in digital form.

The two new Prince albums are the tentatively titled "MPLSOUND" and "Lotus Flower." He was also heavily involved in an album titled "Elixir" from his protege, Bria Valente. "We got sick of waiting for Sade to make a new album," he said of that project.

As for "MPLSOUND," recorded at Prince's Paisley Park compound in Minneapolis, the Times describes at "electro-flavored" and full of "trippy, experimental pop songs." Q-Tip guests on one track.

"Lotus Flower" is more guitar-driven, an approach Prince says he came to after touring as the guitarist in singer Tamar Davis' band in 2006. Tracks include "Dreamer," a cover of Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crimson & Clover," "Colonized Mind" and "Wall of Berlin."

Prince's last studio album, "Planet Earth," was first released as a free covermount with the U.K. newspaper the Mail on Sunday in July 2007. It was subsequently issued worldwide by Columbia Records.(Source)