Article title: Prince’s Batman soundtrack is not the embarrassment it’s reputed to be

I have never found the soundtrack to be an embarrassment

luv4u said:

Article title: Prince’s Batman soundtrack is not the embarrassment it’s reputed to be

I have never found the soundtrack to be an embarrassment

The soundtrack, which went to #1, was never considered an embarrassment. In fact after the failure of Lovesexy, it was thought of as a mini-comeback, or at least a return to form. That Lovesexy was head and shoulders above the Batman soundtrack is not in dispute, but Lovesexy continued a trend of declining album and singles sales for Prince, and Batman reversed that. Batdance was (musically) beneath him, though it too was very popular and thus difficult to criticise as the soundtrack was there to help promote the movie and it did its job.

There really isn't much to argue except that the writer of the blog posting is a tool.

Who said it was and an embarrassment in the 1st place? I love this album

The Batman album contains some of Princes best basic & raw efforts that sitll combine to set a groove worth moving to, a beat worth dancing to and some lyrics worth listening to...three elements that seem to evade much of his recent music. I personally have always enjoyed and preferred his less prodcued work and Batman falls within that spectrum. Albums such as Gold Experience were essentially over-produced to my liking yet Batman suffers none of this, ironically despite it being a largely sample based album with many audio snippets from the movie. The tone of his guitar solo's spanned across the album are as close to the sensation of hearing him live as possible on record. "Batdance" itself contains one of my all time favourite guitar solo's. Embarassment?..."ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha h...STOP"

Watch when they're trying to kill zombies by throwing objects, as well as bad records.
Blame Shaun of the Dead for the public view on Batman

gotta admit I had a pretty good laugh myself. Cause compared to his earlier albums, it was NOT a masterpiece. And for album nerds Batman is probably a bit too much approaching the general public with it's radio friendly polished danceable hit effort. I like some of the songs, but Scandalous is the only song I think is worth a classic album.

The Shaun of the Dead scene pretty much covers the general opinion on Batman!

I suppose Batdance is kind of gimmicky, but I think the reputation as a novelty record is way overstated - It goes through several sections, it's funky, great guitar work, recalls other tracks on the LP, ties it in with the film and still sounds totally Prince, who the hell else could do a movie theme like that?

And the album itself comtains some great songs too - wrong singles again - Partyman, great track but nothing groundbreaking for Prince. Arms Of Orion and Scandalous, wasted single slots - The Future, Electric Chair, Vicki Waiting - those are your singles.

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I remember that back then, around me, Batdance was perceived as a groundbreaking experiment, a work of genius in the vein of M/A/R/R/S' Pump Up The Volume and S'Express' Theme but with that very agressive Prince madness added to the mix. Not everyone liked it because it wasn't that easy to like if your ears weren't educated, but everyone admitted that it was not your average pop song.

The rest of the album I don't know: this was the beginning of a "Prince ain't what he used to be" consensus that grew dramatically over the years (to the point where you have a new melodramatic "That's it, I'm done with being a fan" and another new melodramatic "Prince is over" thread every bloody week on this forum), so yeah it wasn't received as warmly as, say, Sign "O" The Times. But to say it was perceived as an "embarrassment" is ridiculous.

On the other hand, just like Diamonds And Pearls, Batman helped Prince gain a whole new audience. I got hooked on Prince thanks to it, and for the 12 years-old I was back then it was the wildest music I had ever heard.

I think Batdance was the last time that Prince's first single of the year sounded nothing like anything I'd ever heard before. I've always liked it, and it contains one of my favourite guitar solos.

The time when the genius was gone.

I dug it in 1989.............and still do.

I actually played it today and I realized why I do it so rarely. I like "The Arms of Orion" and "Scandalous" but the rest is pretty much in the annoying category to me, especially "Batdance".

Lianachan said:

I am glad that Burton was open to having Prince do a soundtrack. I think it was due to Nicholson being such a huge fan of his music. It wasn't as intimately tied to Burton's vision of the film, it kind of existed alongside as a separate piece, but in a way they are more intimately tied than most of the star-studded "soundtracks" nowadays. I think it had more than just a commercial tie-in angle going on. If there ever is a re-issue, I think it should definitely include outtakes Dance With the Devil and 200 Balloons, along with the remixes, live performances.

kenkamken said:

I am glad that Burton was open to having Prince do a soundtrack. I think it was due to Nicholson being such a huge fan of his music. It wasn't as intimately tied to Burton's vision of the film, it kind of existed alongside as a separate piece, but in a way they are more intimately tied than most of the star-studded "soundtracks" nowadays. I think it had more than just a commercial tie-in angle going on. If there ever is a re-issue, I think it should definitely include outtakes Dance With the Devil and 200 Balloons, along with the remixes, live performances.

exactly. that's how i feel about it too.

i kind of wish prince would have made another soundtrack or grabbed a few more chances

to write some songs for films. they would have been great vehicles for his songs when he

was going his indi route on the internet and lost his connection to the larger crowds a bit.

it would be cool to have him score an entire movie. it would be interesting to see what he'd

come up with.

like johnny greenwood does, or trent and aticus recently did or wendy and lisa.

though i guess prince would feel that scoring a movie was somehow 'work for hire' and not

something he would be interested in. shame though.

another soundtrack would still be very cool too. it would give him a different angle to make

an album. since it would be, like the batman soundtrack, a prince album in essence, but with

a twist. it might give him enough distance from his usual methods of compiling an album to

actually come up with something rather different again from what he's been doing recently.

LiveToTell86 said:

I actually played it today and I realized why I do it so rarely. I like "The Arms of Orion" and "Scandalous" but the rest is pretty much in the annoying category to me, especially "Batdance".

You like my two least favorite songs on the LP (I hate Arms Of Orion), and are annoyed by all the songs I like.

This is why I always say that with Prince, less is NOT more. It's good that he put out so much material. People like to say if he'd released as little as MJ all the albums would be masterpieces. But, maybe what I like wouldn't have been released. Maybe what you like wouldn't have been released. The more he puts out, the more likely we'll all get what we want...

In my not-so-humble opinion, of course..

Batman was the first Prince CD I ever bought. And it was the BatCan to boot!

Played it over and over on my new Pioneer CD Player, and though it was the greatest thing on earth.

It was a very exciting time to be a fan, as the single reached the top of the charts and promotion for the movie and ST was HUGE compared to the previous album.

Arms Of Orion and Crush are low points but the rest of the album is awesome to go back and listen to.

And lets not forget the performance of Electric Chair on SNL.

Compared to the bile that Prince is vomiting out these days, the Batman album is a work of genius.

The Future and Scandalous are still stunning. The vocal on Scandalous is one of his best.

Why he released Arms of Orion as a single still baffles me. The end of the song is cool, but the rest is turgid. At least we got I Love U in Me as a B-side.

Dazza said:

At least we got I Love U in Me as a B-side.

Yes!

The b-sides and remixes from this period are great. Sex, Feel U Up, Love U In Me etc...quality.

[Edited 10/12/12 10:04am]

for me it's all about "electric chair"

and the extended remixes for both electric chair and the future. awesomeness!

I am just hear to stroke POOK's fur.

Hello monkey man