Raspberry Beret is a lovely little pop single released by Prince (and the Revolution) in 1985. It's more or less just Prince, some guest musicians on strings, and Wendy and Lisa on backing vocals.
What I love about this song is the pure joyfulness that comes through in the vocals and the production. Prince takes a very simple 4/4 verse chorus verse, layer some strings, vocals, his trademark (of the time) drum machine, guitars, throw in a happy little bridge that pulls it all together and before you know it you've just spent more than 4 minutes taking a funky ride with the charismatic purple one.
It reminds me a lot of what Sly Stone used to do back in the day, Sly had a gift for weaving funk and soul with pop music that could appeal to a wide audience and make them get up and dance (or at least feel a little bit more groovy).
I heard Raspberry Beret on the radio the other day while I was out driving around. The sun was shining, a glorious late summer day. I found myself rolling the windows down, cranking up the stereo and singing along like I used to do back in 1985.
Maybe it's the melody, the story he's telling, the production, or the ooomph on the 2 and 4, but this song just makes me feel happy.
Those wonderful early albums from Prince always seem to have this effect on me.
PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION "Raspberry Beret" from Videodrome Discothèque on Vimeo.
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