Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound is a 2013 compilation album released by The Numero Group that chronicles the history of Minneapolis funk music scene.[2] The album took two years to develop by Jon Kirby who traveled to find obscure recordings in Minneapolis and interview various artists and people of the era.
| Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Compilation album by Various artists | |
| Released | December 3, 2013 |
| Length | 140:30[1] |
| Label | The Numero Group |
| Producer | Rob Sevier, Ken Shipley, Jon Kirby |
| Compiler | Jon Kirby |
Production
editPurple Snow was compiled by former Wax Poetics editor Jon Kirby.[3] The project took two years to develop and involved Kirby travelling from Numero Group's office in Chicago to Minneapolis.[3] His research also included making phone calls, writing letters with his first meeting being with a woman named Kim Johnson who was in a group called Best Kept Secret who warned that creating this album would be extremely difficult.[3]
13 of the 32 tracks were originally unreleased.,[4] while some of the singles that had tracks included on the release were originally only pressed to 500 copies, and sold to church groups and older high school friends.[3] Others, such as André Cymone's "Somebody Said" were unreleased, which were in a shoebox for decades.[3] Kirby specifically spoke about the help of Charles Chambliss photographs from the era, which assisted in his research, explaining that "A lot of the people I talked to had forgotten about their stuff. But when I reminded them by showing them pictures or mentioning names, they would remember all kinds of stories. It was an amazing experience."[3]
Release
editPurple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound was released by The Numero Group on December 3, 2013.[1][5][6] The album was released on double compact disc and four vinyl box set.[7] The album included liner notes in a hardbound, full-color book.[7] Kirby's liner notes for the album were later nominated for Best Album Notes at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.[8]
Reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 83/100[9] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Pitchfork | (8.4/10)[2] |
| NME | [4] |
| Spin | [5] |
On Metacritic, the album received an 83 out of 100 average rating indicating "Universal acclaim" from an average of 10 critics.[9]
Track listing
editCD version
edit| No. | Title | Performers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "If You See Me" | 94 East | 5:44 |
| 2. | "Taste Of Love" | Aura | 3:29 |
| 3. | "I Love You" | Herman Jones | 4:17 |
| 4. | "Oh Lover" | Orville Shannon | 3:03 |
| 5. | "I'm Under Your Spell" | Mind & Matter | 3:28 |
| 6. | "Waiting For The Moment" | Haze | 3:27 |
| 7. | "Get It On" | The Prophets Of Peace | 3:10 |
| 8. | "Expense" | Dwayne White & The Cohesion Band | 3:46 |
| 9. | "Sunshine Lady" | Mind & Matter | 4:09 |
| 10. | "Higher" | The Lewis Connection | 6:58 |
| 11. | "It's The Things That You Do" | Flyte Tyme | 4:49 |
| 12. | "Ladie" | Herman Jones | 4:55 |
| 13. | "You're All I Need" | Michael Dixon & J.O.Y. | 3:48 |
| 14. | "Stone Lover" | Music, Love & Funk | 7:13 |
| 15. | "Cohesion" | Dwayne White & The Cohesion Band | 2:51 |
| 16. | "I Do Love My Lady" | Haze | 4:06 |
| 17. | "Got To Be Something Here" | The Lewis Connection | 4:17 |
| No. | Title | Performers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Have Love At Home" | Walter Lewis & The Blue Stars | 5:20 |
| 2. | "I Got You On My Mind" | Flyte Tyme | 5:06 |
| 3. | "Can You Deal With It" | Quiet Storm | 4:34 |
| 4. | "Quick" | Steven | 3:22 |
| 5. | "If You Love Me" | The Stylle Band | 3:03 |
| 6. | "I've Got My Eyes On You" | The Girls | 4:03 |
| 7. | "Should I Or Should I Not?" | Sue Ann Carwell | 3:17 |
| 8. | "Do You Dare" | Alexander O'Neal | 6:06 |
| 9. | "Contagious" | Ronnie Robbins | 4:48 |
| 10. | "Borrowed Time" | Alexander O'Neal | 4:36 |
| 11. | "One Life To Live" | Orville Shannon | 3:05 |
| 12. | "Somebody Said" | André Cymone | 4:23 |
| 13. | "Do It Baby Do It" | Walter Lewis & The Blue Stars | 4:25 |
| 14. | "Together" | Rockie Robbins | 5:00 |
| 15. | "No One Else Can Do It To Me Baby" | Mind & Matter | 7:00 |
References
edit- ^ a b c Kellman, Andy. "Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ a b Patrin, Nate (November 25, 2013). "Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Gonzales, Michael A. (April 18, 2014). "Prince Ain't the Only Minneapolis Sound". Ebony. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ a b Cardew, Ben. "Various - 'Purple Snow:Forecasting The Minneapolis Sound'". NME. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ a b Gubbels, Jason (December 3, 2013). "Numero Group's 'Purple Snow' Captures the Pre-Prince Weirdness of Minneapolis Funk and Soul". Spin. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ "Numero Group". The Numero Group. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ a b Adams, Gregory (August 1, 2013). "Numero Group Detail Prince-Featuring Comp 'Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound'". Exclaim!.
- ^ Greenburg, Zack O'Malley (December 5, 2014). "Grammy Nominees 2015: The Full List". Forbes. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ a b "Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound". Metacritic. Retrieved October 6, 2019.