it has just occurred to me that "vicki waiting" is absolutely fantastic. i have known this for a long time, but tonight everything came together and it was revealed to me in all its solidity and self-assured creamy excellence.

the burbling bassline, the clipped little keyboard hook, the backing vocals during the "talk of children still frightens me" section. it is one of prince's best mid-paced unclassifiables, often overlooked i think.

yes, "vicki waiting" makes life even better, of this i am sure.

anyone agree or disagree? or even (~shudder~) not care?

One of the best tunes on a weak and rushed album.

oh, the best tune by some way, i think. solid prince.

I agree,but I really dig "Electric Chair"too.

Yeah I dig 'Vicki Waiting' alot too. I must have bought Prince's 'Batman' at least 4 times on cassette by now and finally on CD in the last couple of years.

I dug 'Vicki Waiting' too because of the way he put that song together and also the lyrics, in particular his "talk of children, still frighten me" line and did he deserve a copy made etc. I thought that was interesting.

Also I dug this song because it seems usually (and this may open up a can of worms), but usually it seems the girl keeps the guy waiting, and in this song, he keeps Vicki waiting. Knowing she was interested and she would call, etc and since he knew all that, yet and still, he kept her waiting. I just thought that was a flip from how it can be out here with male and female dating, calling etc.

Peace!

definitely a strangely deep song. "sometimes a pistol takes the place of her body/ sometimes her body's here". and yes, the whole bit about having children- "is my character enough to be/ one that deserves a copy made"; fascinating stuff.

it's a very unusual song, dark and different and thoughtful. i forgot to mention the guitar work, incidentally, which is *sweet*.

GeMiNiSFuNkYJaMs said:

Interesting point, I agree. But remember that on this album each song is supposedly sung "by" or from the point of view of a different character in the movie. The liner notes state:

The Future -- Lead vocal by Batman
Electric Chair -- Lead vocal by the Joker
The Arms of Orion -- Due by Vicki Vale and Bruce Wayne (it breaks out who sings each verse)
Partyman -- Lead vocal by the Joker
Vicki Waiting -- Lead vocal by Bruce Wayne
Trust -- Lead vocal by the Joker
Lemon Crush -- Lead vocal by Vicki Vale
Scandalous -- Lead vocal by Batman
Batdance -- Lead vocals by the Joker, Gemini, Vicki Vale, Bruce Wayne and Batman

Bruce keeps Vicki waiting while he goes out and fights crime. He's not exactly sure if he's ready for children yet and he holds his pistol as he runs through the streets of Gotham instead of holding Vicki.

The album was put together very quickly. I think I remember hearing something like 9 days start to finish? I think it's pretty damn good considering that:

he was under a deadline to create it
the music/lyrics had to conform to the theme of the movie
he incorporated the storyline and characterizations into the music
he worked based on the rushes he'd seen at Pinewood in London after spending a day or so there
the director the movie, Tim Burton, didn't want him involved in the first place

All in all, I like this album start to finish. The only real clunker on here for me is Arms of Orion. I always hit the skip button on that one! I love Prince, but when he decides to get maudlin and schlockey, he goes all the way!

tiger2 said:

I agree. Besides the instrumentation,the lyrics that say "talk of children still frighten me, is my character enough 2 b, one that deserves a copy made, this one day, I hope to see" was intriguing coming from him even if he was supposed to be in Bruce Waynes point of view.

man, the batman album is the reason i became a prince-fan. the album's filled with great songs. ok, so arms of orion isn't all that and batdance and lemon crush (to me) are alright at best, but the rest is excellent work:

the future, electric chair, partyman, trust, vicki waiting, scandalous.. phew.

maybe not such a smart thing to say on the org, but for me batman is a much more interesting album than lovesexy; by far.

-----

gentlemen, let's broaden our minds. laurens?

That's not right. Both Tim Burton and Jack Nichelson (sp?) are fans of Prince and wanted him to make songs for the movie.

It's my fave on that album, GREAT song! That beat is irresistable...

Batman had a pistol?

:::::Vicki didn't laugh at all:::::

You haven't really heard 'Electric Chair' unless you've heard the unreleased 'extended version' of this track.

The guitar solo at the end rocks!

?
[This message was edited Tue Feb 25 23:49:22 PST 2003 by IstenSzek]

calldapplwondery83 said:

Tim Burton may be a fan of Prince, but he gave an interview stating that he felt Prince's sound was all wrong for his vision of the movie. Jack Nicholson was the one who pushed for Prince to write music for the movie and Tim was kinda pushed into accepting and using some of it due to political pressures from the movie's star (Jack) and Warner Brothers (the $$$). But Tim felt it was somewhat disruptive to the vibe of the movie and the atmosphere he was trying to create.

HalluRain said:

If I remember correctly, I think that was after the fact when the album was finished.

RoseOfSharon said:

Well, I guess you'd have to chalk it up to creative license!

Come to think of it, he did have that little shooter thing he used to anchor the cable he rode straight up under cover of a smoke bomb or two.....

Supernova said:

True.

Yes Vickie Waiting is a fantastic song! I love it!

A guilty pleasure of mine is watching "Batman" on video (I've forgotten all about DVD, *jotting note to self...*) for the casino scene that features an extended version of Vicki Waiting. Some killer guitar work on that one. He should've released that song, 12" and all.

Anyone ever found an audio copy of the 12" itself?

Have u all read the annafantastic interview the track use to be called annawaiting. anna was old girlfreind prince use to date
i think her web page is annafantastic.com

Prince's vocals on "Vicki Waiting" are fantastic, especially at the end...some of Prince's better songs seem to cener around storytelling(Joy In Repetition, Ballad Of Dorothy Parker, Vicki Waiting)...

"talk of children still frighten me, is my character enough 2 b, one that deserves a copy made, this one day, I hope to see" was intriguing coming from him even if he was supposed to be in Bruce Waynes point of view.

I always felt there was alot of Prince in this song...And the truth is, there's alot of me...I remember feeling this way at 20 and I still feel this way at almost 32...When does one ever really know?

JAMIESTARR said:

Ouch! That's just mean! I like that records and I would have to say the opposite is true.