I bought the first Mazarati album on Ebay last week and I am thrilled to finally have it on CD. I am interested to know exactly what tracks Prince either wrote or had a musical involvement in. I know he wrote and produced "100 MPH" but wondered about him and tracks like "Strawberry Lover", "Just That Kind Of Lady" and "Players Ball".

If anyone can shed more light I'd appreciate it.

For years,it was assumed that he was only involved with the track "100 MPH".But I think he also had something to do with "Strawberry Lover" and "I Guess It's All Over".I'm sure somebody else has all the details.

DavidEye said:

Prince re-wrote the lyrics to "Strawberry Lover" (It was originally called 'Fear The Shadow') and he also re-wrote the lyrics to "I Guess It's All Over" which was originally called 'We Did Things Our Way'

and of course, he wrote and produced 100MPH. Mazarati also recorded a version of "Jerk Out" produced and written by Prince, but it wasnt included on the album and was later given to The Time.

Militant said:

see? I knew someone would have all the details

thanks Militant!

Militant said:

I recall reading a article about Brownmark in one of the black teen rags, where
he flat-out says that only he and Prince with Terry Casey on vocals recorded the album.

This would suggest that none the actual band members played on the album.
I'm pretty sure Prince did most if not all of the guitar work.

Can anyone out there verify or clarify this?


-KSTRAT-

kstrat said:

"That album is just me,Prince and Terry.Mazarati wasn't even a band when we recorded it"---BrownMark,in a 1987 Black Beat interview


so yeah,I don't think the actual bandmembers played on the album at all.Most likely,BrownMark and Prince did the music,then used Terry on the lead vocals.

DavidEye said:

Well that was the formula for the first 2 Time albums: they were done by Prince and Morris Day. The Time didnt actually play on their own albums until the 3rd one.

kstrat said:

How can you just make up something and ask people to clarify it? Brownmark played. Prince had very little to do with this project. He didn't play guitar on it. People underestimate Mark Brown. A couple of other cats from the PP camp did some session work on that album but if they don't say who they are in an interview, I'm certainly not gonna. Prince wanted very little to do with Mazarati. I believe he was intimidated. He tried to sabotage the project by giving them that look during a time where it was unacceptable for the audience they were pitching to (right when rap was starting to take off). He had major battles with Mark over Mazarati. Mark was treating the project with care because he wanted to prove himself as a producer; Prince didn't seem to want them to do the funk/rock thing. Maybe because it wasn't his idea. That, plus Prince wasn't big on other outside production projects (Jimmy & Terry flashbacks, maybe?) After a while, Prince said fuck it and told Mark its his thing - handle it. The funny thing was Prince still had final say in what passed and what didn't. Outside of "100 mph", Prince (by his own choice) actually had very little to do with Mazarati. At that time, everything that came out of MPLS that was black HAD to have Prince's name on it to jump off, though. That's why his name was attached to Mazarati. Lots of artists have one producer come in and produce one song on their project. It usually doesn't make that artist permanently associated with that producer - unless he is Prince.
[Edited 7/31/05 14:59pm]

BlaqueKnight said:

Why are you accusing me making up anything? Let me clarify my statement by saying,....to "my" ear the guitar work sounds like Prince's playing. In particular the solo's from "Stawberry Lover" and "Players ball", as well as the steel string acoustic work on "I guess it's all over". Again I stated "I'm" sure. Speculation aside, if you know for a fact that Prince didn't play not one note or lick. I stand corrected.

Besides, I was seeking confirmation of Prince's involvement with the project as a whole. Your comments are well taken, but they still don't explain Mark Brown's statement in the 1987 interview.

Anyhoo..This album is almost 20 years old, at this point what would be the harm in acknowledging/naming the other musicians involved in the recording sessions.


Peace....

KSTRAT
[Edited 8/1/05 10:02am]
[Edited 8/1/05 10:03am]

kstrat said:

Well, you're speculating. I actually KNOW. It wasn't Prince. Prince re-wrote a couple of LINES in a couple of songs, but that's about it.
Prince dropped "100 mph" and called it a day. Mark wanted to do the whole thing without Prince and Prince more or less said "f*ck it, then" to BrownMark and let him have at it. Later on, Prince would send notes to Mark to change things at the last minute before performances, etc. He was watching. Maybe waiting for failure? Not sure. It came to a point where Mark started doing it, too. Emulating his mentor I guess.
If you listen closely to "Player's Ball", you could tell that its not Prince. Most of the solo work is fingerpicking and pulloffs, which Prince RARELY does. He barely ever did it back then. It wasn't Prince on guitar.
Mark didn't say HOW MUCH Prince contributed in that interview. He still worked for Prince and if he wanted any support for his project, he knew he had damn well better mention Prince. Prince didn't play that sh*t when it came to credit. He was (is?) a credit hog.

kstrat said:

That's P on guitar.

BlaqueKnight said:

I'm going on the word from Andre, who told me that it was P on guitar. I agree to an extent that it doesn't really sound like P on "Player's Ball". But, I always thought that P was trying to not sound like himself, like he tried to sound like Jessie on "777-9311". Blaque, I do feel that's P on "I Guess It's All Over", the acoustic solo. Just cuz Andre told me, I don't say that it's gospel. The riff to "Strawberry Lover" sounds like something Mark would have wrote just from his time of playing with P. Again, the solo to that song is like "Player's Ball". It's kinda iffy sounding. I always thought that.

For me the songwriting alone signals Pince's involvement. Tracks like "Player's Ball", "Lonely Girl" and "Strawberry Lover"are really excellent songs and sound like Prince's penmanship. Still it is VERY clear how good Mark Brown is, just listen to the bass playin on "Just That Kinda Lady","Suzy" and the prodcution on "Lonely Girl On Bourbon St"

I also agree with Blackguitarist that it sounds like Prince on guitar on a few of the jams. Interestingly "Player's Ball" sounds like a Prince song, played in majority and produced by Mark Brown with guitar parts and solo by Prince.

Either way it is an excellent album -better than I remember it to be back in '85. Terry Casey is a great singer and this album is definitely in my Top 10 Paisely records.

Sydney said:

From my understanding, the whole Mazarati project was a collaborative effort between P and Mark Brown and everthing else just fell into place.

with all this confusion over who wrote what and who played on what,it's no wonder that "I Guess It's All Over" was originally titled "We Did Things Our Way"


Perhaps BrownMark was trying to tell us something? He has said that,when he discovered this band in 1984,he had to actually "hide" them from Prince.He wanted to write and produce for them without Prince's assistance.

DavidEye said:

The CD sounds just like some more Prince shit! If Prince didn't care 4 the project then why waste time with them, especially if he was jealous of a band that really didn't exist at the time of the recording. They were going 2b responsible 4 'Jerk Out', 'Kiss' & '100 MPH'. Maybe Prince wanted the world 2 think Brownmark was better than he was and that's why it was a Brownmark production. Remember back then that Prince gave album credits 2 his proteges. Why would this project b any different.

BlaqueKnight said:

Good post BlaqueKnight! Can I also add that when Mazarati was doing the local bar scene. BrownMark when working with the band had to go under an alias known as "The Shadow" He actually wore a mask to disguise himself during an interview. Rumor has it that he did this so that Prince would'nt find out what he was doing. Which failed miserably because MPLS is a very small town. Word gets around quick.

1st brownmark and sir terry go waay back. thye made a pact whomever made it first would help the other one out. Mark looked out. He groomed the band and what not. Keep in mind the Purple Rain tour last 6+ months,in addition to the Prince recordings,and family stuff Mark had obligations. To cut down on recording costs only Prince,Mark and Terry did the album. to expensive to fly the rest of the band back and forth.

So the album is tight cause it's Mark,Prince(on the songs he did) and terry. I don't know how tight the band really was.where they rank in the mpls band history....probably last due to lack footage onb them. that utcm party performance was ok. Maybe we can get Brownmark to do a questionaire here to shed some insight.

JQuad said:

I remember the UTCM performance. Their dance steps looked like they ripped off the Time with the jumping jacks etc. From the information you've given. It's sounds like after Prince, B-Mark and Terry recorded the songs.The band spent about a year playing the local clubs like "The Bowery" The Cabooze and 1st Ave. (Where I'd go to see them. Mark was often working the soundboard) Before finally releasing the record. From what I heard, Prince got pissed when certain members missed a gig at the Minnesota State Fair. He kicked them off the Paisley Park label and wanted nothing else to do with them.

ThePunisher said:

That's interesting. Just goes to show the difference between them and the Time. All they had to do was rehearse and learn the tunes. Prince at that point wasn't probably dealing with folks who weren't hungry. Plus judging from what others have said about that utcm performance their stage show lacked. But hey all these ?'s and more can be answered once we get the "brownmark" interview to happen.

the b side to 100mph...."don't leave me baby" was tight. it should've been on the album. Brownmark's bass line id tight on that joint.

JQuad said:

One of my favorite songs on the album was "Stroke". Whenever they would perform that song in concert, they would jump in the air with their fists raised high and yell "STROKE!" It was pretty funny to see. Come to think of it. That song would've been more suited for the Time. I liked "Suzy" too. But the lyrics "Your Voice Is So Sexy, But It Sounds Just Like A Man To Me" . I definitely hope Prince didn't put that one in there!!

JQuad said:

I always thought that was a bullshit excuse."Too expensive to fly the rest of the band back and forth??" Hell,bands like Earth Wind and Fire,P-Funk,The Bar Kays,Cameo,etc had more members than Mazarati,and they still managed to have all the members in the studio,contributing to the songs.Also,in 1985/86,Prince was one of the richest pop stars in the businness.Obviously,money wasn't a problem for him,lol.

I love Mazarati's 1st CD. I don't care 4 any of Brownmark's CDs. So, maybe Prince did have a little more 2do with this project than just '100 MPH'. And I don't think Prince would want for Bownmark 2 fail, atleast not on Paisley Park.

JQuad said:

"Don't Leave Me Baby" was later included on Mazarati's second album.

Why would P be intimidated by Mazerati or be scared of them?

I got their album when it came out but never got that into it.

I saw a very poor quality video of them with Sheila guesting, and they didn't seem lke all that.

P scared of the Time.... ok..... but worried about Mazz?? sounds fishy.

Mazarati sounds like a Sheila E. & Jesse Johnson with a twist of Prince and Morris Day