I've been going over my associated artists collection, and this album has never sat right with me, so to speak. This, to me, is their weakest album. It sounds like the basic, over-produced sound of the early 90s. I mean, even the "half-time"s album (as they were reffered to during the purple rain era) is better.
Was it that Prince didn't have enough or too much involvement or what? To have all the original guys toghether (ESPECIALLY Jimmy Jam & Terry) and produce such a poor album just baffles me.
It's still nice to listen to and has somewhat of the minneapolis sound, but I think they could've put out something so much better.
[This message was edited Wed Jun 25 17:19:26 PDT 2003 by lovebizzare]

I liked the first 2 tracks, plus 'Blondie', 'Skillet' and 'Chocolate'

The rest sounds like nearly any other act Jam and Lewis were producing at the time, nothing else really stands out that much (Ok, some of the tracks I mentioned above also sound like that, but I still like 'em )

I agree with you,this is definitely the least satisfying Time album.There's not too much to get excited about.There are some strong songs here..."Jerkout" is a classic Time jam,"It's Your World" is funky as hell,the slow jam "Sometimes I Get Lonely" is great,and the title track really should have been the second single.


But the rest of the album sounds un-focused and messy.Unconvincing rock numbers like "Blondie" and "Skillet" don't really work.Shockingly,even some of Prince's contributions ("My Summertime Thang" and "Data Bank") are nothing more than throwaway jams."Chocolate" is alot of fun,but it really should have came out in 1982,when it was recorded.By 1990,it sounded really dated and pedestrian.

OK so "Dreamland", "Pandemonium", "Jerk out", "Blondie", "Skillet", "Chocolate", "It's your world", "Sometimes I get lonely" are all
cool songs...WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH THE ALBUM??

Pandemonium left my collection many years ago

in 1990 something went horribly wrong in Prince's world - not exactly sure what it was.

agotajonesmartha said:

There's nothing 'wrong' with the album, per se, it just sounds like most of the contrived, over-produced r&b albums of the early 90s. It's a decent effort, but if you compare it to their earlier albums you'll see that they were capable of so much more. Alone, this album stands as a pretty decent effort, but compared to the past work, it is quite a let down. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just weak.

lovebizzare said:

Exactly!

lovebizzare said:

Well any real differenceis that this is the Time album that Prince had the least to do with. The best TIme albums are te ones that Prince practically did alone with Morris - lets face it. I love the Time and they were the best funk band in the world but as Prince goes, so goes the Time - period.

Pandemonium would have worked better as follows IMO:

1. Dreamland
2. Pandemonium
3. Sexy Socialites
4. Jerk Out
5. Blondie
6. Release It
7. Chocolate
8. Cooking Class
9. Skillet
10. Love Machine
11. Sometimes I Get Lonely
12. The Latest Fashion
13. Shake!
14. My Summertime Thang

WonderU said:

Good track list, I agree. though I, personally, would leave 'shake' off, that song "leaves a bad taste in my mouth"

lovebizzare said:

I don't hate Shake but I was trying to get it off of Graffiti Bridge

WonderU said:

oh, fair enough,

I found Pandemonium decent. NOt great. JERK-out,chocolate,
pandemonium were SOLID jams...everything else was fair to
mediocre...

however if my memory serves me right prince began this
album with morris and jerome (sans the other time members)
and probably intended it to be like all the other albums
that came before (ie. solo prince albums with morris singing
lead and jerome adding dialouge) but when everybody else
arrived TERRY,JIMMY,monte,jesse,jellbean...he sort of eased
off being THE main man...and allowed the othet members to
have some imput.

if i were a betting man i'd bet half of the album are
the original prince/morris/jerome tracks and the others
have the TIME guys involved.

jerk-out was originally a MAZARATi track (that they didn't
like...prince used some of the original tracks,too.
marazati has said that he kept their backing vocals on
the TIme's version! (which pissed them off!)

i think he added JESSE's guitar and other stuff later on.

in conclusion it was a patch-work album made to promote
the time'S REUNIOn...they did several LIVE dates and
SNL before they split for good.
(i still look at their PERformance on SNL doing JERkout &
chOcolate...mannn they were SMOkin'!

those boys were quite a BAND..morris,terry and jerome
have me cracking up the entire time!

and then my boy JESSE!
he looked different than all fo the other GUYS (he was heavier) he chewed gum the entire performance,looked sort
of detached-bored...but his guitar playing was LOUD,funky
and FIERY!

i got a question: would JUNGLE LOVE and THE BIRD sounded
even better in P-rain if terry & jimmy had been there?

youngca..."if the kid can't make you come"

youngca said:

Yes,Prince began this album with Morris and Jerome in the summer of 1989.The three of them came up with an entire album called 'Corporate World' and it was scheduled to be released on November 14,1989.A first single was chosen ("9 Lives") but the album was postponed when the other original members decided they wanted to be involved after all.So,they began recording a batch of new songs,resulting in the 1990 album 'Pandemonium'.Hee is the original tracklist for the 'Corporate World' project (which is being discussed in another thread,btw)...


"Murph Drag"
"9 Lives"
"Donald Trump (Black Version)"
"Love Machine"
"Data Bank"
"Shake!"
"Corporate World"
"The Latest Fashion"
"Release It"
"My Summertime Thang"



I really think this album is stronger and more consistent than the 'Pandemonium' project,which,at times,is messy and unfocused.Prince wrote and produced the entire 'Corporate World' album,and as such,it sounds like a *real* Time album (let's face it,he is responsible for their greatest musical moments).Once the other members got involved and began composing their own songs,the magic was lost.'Pandemonium' has some great songs but there are also several tracks that sound formulaic and bland.It's admirable that Prince was willing to step aside and allow them to create their own music,but the end results aren't all that impressive or memorable.

love this album.
Blondie is my jam!
there r some duds like Donald Trump (black version)
but it is very funky & a great summertime thang.

DavidEye said:

thanks d-eye. i think i checked out the other thread which
went into this in more detail.

The biggest fault I have with Pandemonium is that The Time broke away from their "typical formula" for making Time albums:

Pandemonium should have been SIX songs, not 67, like they ended up having on the album (even though I don't count "segues" like "sexy socialites" as "actual songs".. For them, having that many songs on 1 album clearly dilutes the "strength" of the album as a whole. Pandemonium should have been

Jerk Out
Chocolate
Blondie
1 GOOD "ballad"
& 2 other tracks


If they ever release that mythical "old dogs new tricks" album, I can only hope it will have SIX GOOD SONGS on it instead of 2-3 good songs plus 18 mediocre or weak tracks..

mltijchr said:

You know what? That's how I feel too.The first three Time albums only had six tracks on each one,that's their formula and perhaps they should have stuck with it.But,by 1990,the CD format was taking charge and that means more music was expected on a CD.But,using the old formula,I would liked for the album to contain these six songs...



"Murph Drag" (10 minutes long)
"Jerkout" (10 minutes long)
"Sometimes I Get Lonely" (6 minutes long)
"9 Lives" (9 minutes long)
"Love Machine" (10 minutes long)
"It's Your World" (7 minutes long)


I extended the lenghts of these songs,because The Time was all about long,extended jams (think "777-9311").That was something they were known for.


>>>
[This message was edited Wed Jul 2 2:45:20 PDT 2003 by DavidEye]

LaMont said:

Ignorant as usual. Lisa is all over The Time's second album, for instance. Prince didn't do them on his own, there was plenty of input from other Revolution members.

mltijchr said:

http://groups.google.com/...c1.aol.com

and you might also wanna read this:

http://groups.google.com/...%404ax.com

BartVanHemelen said:

Bart, you've let the side down.

Firstly, the first link is a blank.

Secondly, you attack LaMonts comment that "The best Time albums are the ones that Prince practically did alone with Morris", as being rubbish, in that "The Revolution are all over it".

Yet in your "bio" you state "it had Prince writing, producing and playing most of the material, again under his guise of Jamie Starr - just like old times"

Make your mind up.

Face facts, "What Time Is it?" had as much Revolution input as "1999", that being, bit parts. LaMont said "practically", so where do you get off with "Ignorant as usual". Look in the mirror.

Thirdly, you say The Latest Fashion was "completely reworked using the melody of "My Summertime Thang", and has only the title and some lyrics in common with the original recording".

Rubbish. The original, and the second mix were always close the "official" version. True they were based around "My Summertime Thang", but all the 4 versions of "The Latest Fashion" circlulating were based on the same tune and principles.

SquirrelMeat said:

Weird, seems I can't directly link to posts by that guy. Start here and read the posts by Rhastus:

http://groups.google.com/...%404ax.com

and also see this for a short review of the album:

http://groups.google.com/...o1.aol.com

SquirrelMeat said:

The bio is old and outdated.

SquirrelMeat said:[quote]Face facts, "What Time Is it?" had as much Revolution input as "1999", that being, bit parts.

I was mistaken, it is the first Time album that has lots of input:


[This message was edited Wed Jul 9 0:19:36 PDT 2003 by BartVanHemelen]