Being a Prince fan since 1982, believe it or not I never have gotten a Time album.

It just came to me while I am waiting for Prince's Latest Album to be released.. WHY dont I buy the Time's old albums.

Can everyone please RANK all of the Time's Albums in Order & tell us why you like it

Thank You

1) 'What Time Is It' (1982)---their masterpiece! This album contains funk classics like "777-9311","Wild and Loose" and "The Walk".It also contains their best slow jam: "Gigolos Get Lonely Too".The last track "I Don't Wanna Leave You" is another highlight.Every song here ranks right up there with the best songs on Prince's '1999' album.If you decide to have only one Time album in your collection,make sure it's this one!


2) 'The Time' (1981)---"Get It Up" and "The Stick".Nuff said!


3) 'Ice Cream Castles' (1984)---although this album isn't as strong as the first two,it still contains several gems,namely "My Drawers" and "Jungle Love".


4) 'Pandemonium' (1990)---this is the least satisfying Time album imo.But there are some great songs here---"It's Your World","Jerkout" and the slowjam "Sometimes I Get Lonely" are top-notch,and "Chocolate" is alot of fun as well.But I can never get through the whole album without skipping over some tracks.




...
[Edited 3/3/05 2:04am]

What Time Is It?I love this album cuz it is more nitty gritty. It has the WE DONT LIKE NEW WAVE thingie I love so much.

The Time= the first album I got. I just could not believe Prince was so blatantly to the fore of things.

Ice Cream Castles is an album that does not sound on top of things. Sure, two great singles, but the rest....

Pandemonium does not seem to age gracefully as the first two albums. The reworkings of Databank and Chocolate are even lame. Like Candy Dulfer said; these recordings are inferior to the original ones.
[Edited 3/3/05 2:10am]

ElectricBlue said:

What Time Is It *****1/2
The Time ****
Pandemonium ***
Ice Cream Castles ***

I believe Pandemonium is stronger than Ice Cream Castles because though it featured Jungle Love & The Bird it seemed cut & paste and didnt FEEL like the previous Time albukms...as though it was forced. U can tell Morris didnt dig Ice Cream Castles or Chili Sauce, or If The Kid Cant Make U Come. Though My Drawers is hot!

Maybe cuz it only had 5 songs on it.

I agree that Pandemonium does sound dated, but I feel its a more exciting record. Pandemonium, Jerk Out, Blondie, Skillet and Chocolate are good songs. I dont know..maybe they are the same... lol.

the exact chronological order they were all released, except have the self-titled joint and what time is it? swap places.

paisleypark4 said:

You guys are all wrong. This is the definitive Time list:

1. What Time Is It? - Prince really got the Time's identity down perfectly with this one. His recordings on this album are really the blueprint for all future Time records. Plus the guys look more like themselves on the cover.

2. Pandemonium - The first Time album where everyone in the band actually PLAYS on the album. No more replacing Prince's voice with Morris over Prince's completed tracks. This is the only 'real' Time LP ever released. Jesse, Jimmy & Terry make some great contributions with the rock-oriented "Blondie" and "Skillet" which broadens their sound from their standard minneapolis pimp-funk.

3. The Time - There are some great tracks on this one like "Get It Up" and "Cool" (both top 10 R&B hits back in the day), but this is basically Prince trying out a new sound then substituting Morris vocals over his leads. You can still hear Prince singing background on many tracks which always kills the illusion for me of this being a 'Time' record. Also the attitude and look aren't fully realized yet (i.e. Jimmy Jam's afro on the front cover).

4. Ice Cream Castle - What if half of your favorite sports team went on strike and were replaced by scabs? Sure, they would still win a few games ("Jungle Love", "The Bird"), but would they really be as good? Nope.

5. It's About Time (Morris Day) - The live tracks on this album by the current incarnation of The Time aren't bad really. Actually they sound pretty good. I just wish they were the full versions and the audience noise wasn't edited out so it could've sounded like you were listening to a real concert. That would have been great. Ignore the remaining solo studio tracks by Morris.

Pandemonium is my fav by a long way.....I love "My drawers" too.

The other 2 are good though.

I love "donald trump (black version)".....

You shoudl get them in chornological order.

What time is it?might be a tad better than the debut, but they go well inorder.

Pandenomium is not that great. Jerk Out and Chocolate are the only standouts.

And what the hell does Candy mean original version of Chocolate is better? it's the same song just with Prince's vocals. and I think Morris sounds better on it.

BTW I coudl swear they were playing one of these tracks before the show started at the MSG last night of Musicology in NY when The Time opened and Sheila showed up.

GaryMF said:

I agree. Get them in order. Personally, that's the way I'd rank them myself. The first one is the best, and the second one is almost as good, and then it goes downhill from there -- but all have their gems, of course.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Exactly


I see that most of us seem to agree that 'What Time Is It' is their best work

Jeez, 'Pandemonium' gets no respect around here. I agree that The Time's albums are probably best heard in chronological order. That way you end on a high note with their last release.

I still think my ranking is the best.

1. The Time - This album is my favorite. I love the synths and nastiness of the whole album.

2. What Time Is It? - This one's almost my favorite. I only like "The Time" a little better by a slight hair. This album is the most fun of all The Time's albums and definately funky as hell.

3. Ice Cream Castles - This is a great album but it just lacks something that the other two have. I don't know what, it just lacks something. It must be the lack of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It's a great album but the B Side "Tricky" should have been on this album. That would have made it much better and a lot more fun.

4. Pandemonium - My least favorite of all The Time albums. There are several tracks that I love but this is the only album by The Time that I skip through some of the tracks. Some of the weaker ones should have been left off and the album should have included The Time's tracks from the "Grafitti Bridge" soundtrack. I guess Prince needed something to liven his dead album "Grafitti Bridge" up.

when did Candy say the originals were better? I don't remember her comments but would love to read her thoughts about them

Also, no one has mentioned the unreleased CORPERATE WORLD album. It is pretty good too, but was scrapped for Pandemonium.

also, would Graffiti Bridge be considered a part-TIME album? Some of the strongest songs (RELEASE IT, SHAKE) on that album were TIME songs.

Personally, I think Pandemonium rocks. There are some serious classics on that album (Jerk Out, Skillet, Blondie). Jesse's guitar on Skillet is amazing. The first few TIME albums didn't have Jesse's guitar on them so it was great to actually hear how hot the man can play.

"Gimme little bit o' that pepper, gimme little bit o' that salt, put it in a skillet and cook it, on that stove I bought!"

YOUNT!

vainandy said:

I agree,'Pandemonium' is a mess.There are a few really good songs ("Jerkout" and "It's Your World" are the standout tracks),but there are also alot of filler tracks.Like you suggested,it would have been a good idea to remove some of the weak songs ("Data Bank"..."My Summertime Thang"...."Skillet"),and replace them with the Time tracks that made it onto 'Graffiti Bridge' ("Love Machine"..."Shake"..."Release It").These four songs are superior to most of the songs that made it onto 'Pandemonium'.In addition,"9 Lives" (from the cancelled 1989 'Corporate World' project) would have been a nice addition to the album.

DavidEye said:

I completely disagree with everything you said.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Co-sign.

But, I have to say my favorite is Ice Cream Castle.

Flashpointe said:

...mine, too...

1. What time is it?- Not only my favorite Time album, but my favorite album of all time. 5 of the 6 tracks are classic(including the underated i don't wanna leave you)

picking # 2 was harder

2. pandemonium- I took it cause it has 5 great songs. two that i really love, the rocking Blondie and the Skillet. There is also fluff on here since they have more songs than the standard 6 the rest have.

3. The Time- 4 great songs. I really didn't appreciate this album until I saw the group live. Get it up rocks so much more live and Cool is a freaking 10 minute jam.

4. Ice Cream castles-3 great songs, but I'm really sick of seeing the Bird and jungle Love on every TV apperance they have done in the last 10 years. My Drawers is the underated classic on this one and Ice Cream Castles is my least
favorite time song ever


Others
Corporate World- I can see why this got shelved, with the exception of Murph Drag, most of the tracks are average at best.

Graffitti Bridge tracks- Ok, but I expect better from the Time

WAIT A MINUTE...What about chilli sauce...it is da bomb and what about "IF THE KID CAN'T MAKE YA COME"?


What about "Donald Trump" Black Verison....Classic!

YoungRome said:

well Chilli sauce isn't really a song, just Morris being his pimp self which is always Cool, but does get old after awhile on wax. Same with the kid except it has some nice guitar licks, but I wouldn't rank them as classic

Dt is Ok, but I wouldn't put it up there with Girl, Gigolos or even sometimes I get lonely. Hell I can thing of a couple solo Morris slow jams I would put in front of it

1. What Time Is It?
2. The Time
3. Pandemonium
4. Ice Cream Castles

mrdespues said:

I agree

My favorite Time album -- and the only one I bothered to get on CD -- is What Time Is It?. Damn near perfect.

Echoing the sentiments of a number of other people, my ranking is:
What Time Is It?
The Time
Ice Cream Castles
Pandemonium

I want to thank everyone for their lists

Thank You

HamsterHuey said:

The Time's version of Chocolate is better. Prince's version features his pimp-daddy voice similar to the one on "Cloreen Bacon Skin" and "Tricky". Morris did a much better job vocally. The music on both versions is virtually identical.