It's probably been said about a million times before, but one thing I like about this record is that Prince couldn't help himself and ended up taking the Batman characters and made a Prince-style concept album that can easily exist as its own thing apart from the movie.
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Tuesday, 20 June 2017 19:37 (seven years ago) link
otm
i wish someone would make a batman movie that attempts to incarnate what the burton movie would have been had it used the prince records as its bible
― or at night (Jon not Jon), Tuesday, 20 June 2017 19:43 (seven years ago) link
Jack Nicholson as Vicki Vale.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 20 June 2017 19:43 (seven years ago) link
It's funny, because all of these songs are sung "in character", and 'Scandalous' is meant to be "sung" by "Batman", and you watch the movie and you just can't reconcile the song with the character as played on-screen by Michael Keaton. It's like Prince has decided to cast himself as Batman on the record and then just ran with it.
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Tuesday, 20 June 2017 19:57 (seven years ago) link
also she later married david sylvian, right? this was not known to me until recently.
still married !
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 20 June 2017 20:04 (seven years ago) link
She also had two daughters, Ameera and Isobel, with English singer and musician David Sylvian, whom she married in 1992 and divorced twelve years later.
― new noise, Tuesday, 20 June 2017 20:15 (seven years ago) link
oh my bad heh
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 20 June 2017 20:16 (seven years ago) link
http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/21303846/sn/1538020043/name/n_a
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Tuesday, 20 June 2017 21:06 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY_xsUpABiQ
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Tuesday, 20 June 2017 21:18 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udVFCpg5OnU
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Tuesday, 20 June 2017 21:28 (seven years ago) link
I really don't understand why Prince fans hate 'The Arms of Orion' so much, I think it's a really beautiful song - really well-written, gorgeous melody and highly memorable. They can't all be funk jams! I still disagree with Tuomas and think 'Scandalous' is one of the highlights of the record, as good as anything he did in the '80s and one of my favourite Prince slow jams.
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Wednesday, 21 June 2017 11:18 (seven years ago) link
graffiti bridge? oh yes please prince take a bunch of killer outtakes from '86-'88 and rerecord most of them to sound way shittier and then release those versions, thanks
(of course he didn't rerecord "joy in repetition", oh hey "joy in repetition" is the best song on the album, what a shocker)
― Frank Ocean is the Ultimate Solution (rushomancy), Thursday, 22 June 2017 02:25 (seven years ago) link
yeah, I don't really get the hate for "Orion". It's a nice Prince slowjam - on the cheezy side of Prince, sure, but it's part of his work from the start ! - and certainly not the worst song on the album."Scandalous" is clearly upthere with his best stuff. It could have been on any album since 1999 and not be out of place.
― AlXTC from Paris, Thursday, 22 June 2017 07:57 (seven years ago) link
Have you hear the new "single" available on spotify for the remastered "Purple Rain" ?It's called "Father's song".
― AlXTC from Paris, Thursday, 22 June 2017 07:59 (seven years ago) link
I'm looking back through the Prince artist poll we had on here, and it's crazy that none of the highlights of this album placed.
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Thursday, 22 June 2017 22:42 (seven years ago) link
I was on hiatus or something when that poll happened. I think I'd need "Electric Chair" on my ballot
― or at night (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 22 June 2017 22:43 (seven years ago) link
Maybe it would be worth giving it its own poll...
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Thursday, 22 June 2017 22:51 (seven years ago) link
Listened to both Lovesexy and this back-to-back tonight and man, Prince was still on fire in 1988-1989. I know the common line is that he started to go downhill after Sign o' the Times, but I genuinely put both Lovesexy and Batman up there with his finest work.
When I listen to Graffiti Bridge or Diamonds and Pearls I wonder what the fuck happened. While there's no denying the talents in the NPG, and Prince never truly lost his ability to write great songs, it feels like he seemingly lost his good judgement and ability to make consistently great decisions. His sense of quality control just seemed to go all to hell and the productions just aren't as interesting.
― Gholdfish Killah (Turrican), Monday, 23 October 2017 19:21 (six years ago) link
I relistened to this last week too. Tho I still think "Batdance" is no "The Line," the rest of the album has tons of greatness.
― Anne of the Thousand Gays (Eric H.), Monday, 23 October 2017 19:23 (six years ago) link
The bit where Prince is all like "ooh yeah ooh yeah I wanna bust that body" on 'Batdance' still tickles me. I quite like the fact that Prince took full advantage of the situation he was in and created this bizarre Batman concept album that had dick-all to do with the plot of the movie.
― Gholdfish Killah (Turrican), Monday, 23 October 2017 19:41 (six years ago) link
I mean, an artist can't just go ahead and create a bizarre concept album about Batman without, I'd guess, running into all sorts of legal problems - so it's quite something that Prince was in a position where he was allowed to make a record like Batman by presenting it as the soundtrack to the movie. Which it was, but in far more ways it wasn't.
― Gholdfish Killah (Turrican), Monday, 23 October 2017 19:45 (six years ago) link
The "Batdance" breakdown is an eternal jam that I will treasure until the day I die.
― Marcus Hiles Remains Steadfast About Planting Trees.jpg (DJP), Monday, 23 October 2017 19:48 (six years ago) link
I agree that Lovesexy and Batman Sdtk are all peak-Prince afaic. There's no real drop-off in quality til he hits Graffiti Bridge, a strange mishmash of leftovers and guest spots and yeah his production ear and quality control instincts seem to go completely out the window. He subsequently occasionally still hit on decent singles and ideas here and there but everything just got so much sloppier. It's hard to say what really happened and why. Part of it is probably changing technology + R&B landscape and trying to figure out how to adapt to those and still be "Prince", and part of it is obviously the fight with Warner Brothers... maybe that all just drained him, idk.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 23 October 2017 20:35 (six years ago) link
I see I said all this a few months ago
I was about to type a rebuttal. See what I too said a few months ago.
― Anne of the Thousand Gays (Eric H.), Monday, 23 October 2017 20:40 (six years ago) link
Say what you will about the rest of the album. Anyone who hears anything other than top-tier Prince in either "Joy in Repetition" or "The Question of U" is a person whose ears I don't trust in Princely matters.
― Anne of the Thousand Gays (Eric H.), Monday, 23 October 2017 20:42 (six years ago) link
His production ear was still intact. "Joy in Repetition" and "We Can Funk" popped up on The Dream Factory and Crystal Ball in rather different forms.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 23 October 2017 20:43 (six years ago) link
"Joy in Repetition" is the one he didn't re-record (as noted upthread, I think?) and yeah it's great. "We Can Funk" is good too.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 23 October 2017 20:45 (six years ago) link
"Graffiti Bridge" is the point where he transitions to a hit-or-miss artist from unstoppable-genius artist
― Οὖτις, Monday, 23 October 2017 20:46 (six years ago) link
'Joy in Repetition' is a great one, yeah!
I reckon I could easily put together a couple of compilations of '90s Prince stuff that would be wall-to-wall excellent songwriting and well played by the musicians that feature, but the productions wouldn't be as interesting, and he put out a fair amount of filler in the '90s.
Even considering that he put out a couple of double albums in the '80s, his albums started to become overlong post-Batman (with the exception of the uncharacteristically short Chaos and Disorder) ... I can't help but think Love Symbol and even The Gold Experience could have done with tightening up a bit - this is before we get to Emancipation ...
― Gholdfish Killah (Turrican), Monday, 23 October 2017 21:06 (six years ago) link
xp It's an album earlier for me, but hey, we're within a calendar year on where the line falls.
― Anne of the Thousand Gays (Eric H.), Monday, 23 October 2017 21:06 (six years ago) link
Yeah, I'm with Shakey on this one, I'm afraid. Almost everything up until and including Batman is essential Prince, IMO. After that, I start cherry picking from the albums up until and including Emancipation, but then I fall off/lose interest etc.
― Gholdfish Killah (Turrican), Monday, 23 October 2017 21:16 (six years ago) link
There's good stuff on Musicology and 2131
Black Sweat song/video is incredible
― Οὖτις, Monday, 23 October 2017 21:17 (six years ago) link
there's even a couple decent songs on Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic iirc but it's been awhile
That album (Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic) was a bit of a depressing listen for me, because it felt like the work of an immense talent that just didn't know what the fuck to do with himself anymore.
― Gholdfish Killah (Turrican), Monday, 23 October 2017 21:22 (six years ago) link
thing is - he has a ton of bangers on his last few albums. they work in a really loud club setting rather than an intimate listening situation.. you haven't lived until you've heard clouds or gold standard from "art official age" super loud in a club with a bunch of people dancing . they dont work so well in a car though.
― kurt schwitterz, Monday, 23 October 2017 21:24 (six years ago) link
Art official age is just soooo thin sounding though, I can't imagine feeling it bodily at any volume
― harbinger of failure (Jon not Jon), Monday, 23 October 2017 22:37 (six years ago) link
yah i duno you're wrong heh
― kurt schwitterz, Monday, 23 October 2017 22:38 (six years ago) link
there's always at least one worthwhile song hiding out on any arbitrary non-instrumental prince release, e.g. "chelsea rodgers" on planet earth
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 23 October 2017 22:52 (six years ago) link
and "Lion in Judah"!
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 23 October 2017 23:03 (six years ago) link
Someone should do a POX of post-Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic Prince if there isn't one already. I'd be interested to see how different everyone's selections are.
― Gholdfish Killah (Turrican), Tuesday, 24 October 2017 06:39 (six years ago) link
As for Batman, I'm convinced at this stage that 'Scandalous' and 'The Arms of Orion' are two of the best things he's ever done, and 'The Future', 'Electric Chair', 'Vicki Waiting' and 'Lemon Crush' are all fucking awesome.
― Gholdfish Killah (Turrican), Tuesday, 24 October 2017 06:42 (six years ago) link
Yeah, every time I listen to this album, I like it a little more (I didn't like it at all when it was released but I guess I was too young).Actually the Lovesexy/Black Album/Batman period might be my favourite now since I know these albums a little less than the previous ones.And then he almost totally lost me in the 90s for many reasons... the change in his music is so huge between Batman and Diamonds & Pearls... and it's only 2 years !
― AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 24 October 2017 14:02 (six years ago) link
Everyone go back to Come, that is the lost jewel of the 90s and has monster jams on it.
― Marcus Hiles Remains Steadfast About Planting Trees.jpg (DJP), Tuesday, 24 October 2017 14:30 (six years ago) link
Really ? I've tried to give it a try a few days ago following this thread. I think I made it to the 3rd song or something...What would be the best tracks on it for you ?
― AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 24 October 2017 14:32 (six years ago) link
There were also some posts on a thread about Gold Experience being the gem of his 90s output but I haven't heard it yet.
― AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 24 October 2017 14:35 (six years ago) link
The best songs on Come are "Letitgo", "Papa", the title track, and "Pheromone". Everything except "Orgasm" is IMO great.
The Gold Experience is also a fantastic album.
― Marcus Hiles Remains Steadfast About Planting Trees.jpg (DJP), Tuesday, 24 October 2017 14:54 (six years ago) link
Yeah, if we're talking about the real last truly fantastic Prince album, you can't go any earlier than 1994.
― Anne of the Thousand Gays (Eric H.), Tuesday, 24 October 2017 14:55 (six years ago) link
xpostthanks, I'll listen to these !
― AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 24 October 2017 14:57 (six years ago) link
(I meant 1995, of course.)
― Anne of the Thousand Gays (Eric H.), Tuesday, 24 October 2017 15:02 (six years ago) link