When it comes to the Minneapolis sound, most folks might believe the entire history begins and ends with the musical genius known as Prince. While it’s obvious the multitalented artist will always be main symbol of Twin Cities artistic success, the recently released Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound successfully serves as an introduction to the local aural attitudes and funky grooves that influenced, inspired and later included, the master himself.
Complied by former Wax Poetics editor Jon Kirby, Purple Snow is impressive even before one gets playing the 30-song set. With its beautiful packaging (featuring 30,000-word liner notes and dozens of back in the day photos by the late Charles Chambliss—a local shutterbug whose archives were donated to the Minnesota Historical Society), the collection is beyond impressive.