3rdeyedude said:

I loved Batman. It was also the time I realized that Prince was capable of writing a horrible song (Arms of Orion).

I thought he had to do that shit, it was written for someone who couldn't sing.

KoolEaze said:

Isn't it because if the Prince/Batman experience that Burton now has an added clause in his movies where he is solely in charge of the soundtrack, which is why the majority are done by Danny Elfman.

I quite like the Batman album, thought the songs had the same eccentric tone as the movie, and at that time it was nice to hear songs that were that bit different to what was being released in the mainstream.
I really love the video for Batdance!!!

But I think the album really should have been called Ode to Anna, her being the main inspiration for a lot of the songs.

Cuddles said:

I thought Sheena Easton wrote that song a few years earlier, which is why she duets on it!

riocoolnes said:

In Princeland, Batman is like one of the most subjective albums between Prince fans and either has u loving it or hating it. As far as a soundtrack to a movie the album sucks but as an album it's quite good. To me the song Batdance sums up the album quite well. You either see the album as a clusterfuck or a well put together album of many different vibes that gell together. Also, part of the song rocks, then it slows to this weird unfitting groove. Songs like Partyman, vicki waiting, and the future could stand with the rest of Prince's catalouge and are great additions. Batdance and the electric chair are good at first listen songs but unfortunately don' t age well.

When ranking Prince albums i often forget to include Batman and notice that the album has kinda been erased from Prince's repitoire except for the occasional performance of Partyman. Personally, I prefer the album to Lovesexy and Graffiti. But Prefer Diamonds and Pearls and the Symbol album to batman. To me the album is good but musically it fails to asert Prince as a Genius. Allmusic sums up the album nicely "ven with these highlights, there are no true classics on the record, and it tends to evaporate in the memory after it's finished -- there's no doubt it spent six weeks at the top of the charts because of the blockbuster film. Still, Batman sounds fine while it's playing". But however a 2.5 star rating out of 5 is a bit low and my opinion 3.5 is in order.

How do you guys see the album? How does it compare to his other work and his work at the time? How do non Prince fans react wen show them the album?Why are fans and critics so divided on the album?

1.Wtf? Were you even alive in 1989? The album fulfills every requirement for a soundtrack that existed.

2. Why don't you take your bias out of the equation before asking my opinion?

The maxi singles save this project. I rarely listen to the album, i'd rather listen to the remixes and b-sides from this era. I remember getting this album on cassette and vinyl on the release day and being disappointed on first couple of listens. Kind of stuck with me.

6/10.

Wildboy said:

As a rule of thumb, I think people who are bothered by Prince's pure pop efforts dislike this album. That being said I LOVE IT! I agree that it's superior to Lovesexy and FAR superior to GB. I actually feel like the music on Batman has more in common with the Black Album/Funk Bible then anything on Lovesexy or GB.

My only gripe is Arms of Orion lol. I just wish Rave and Pink Cashmere had found their ways onto this release some how. A lot of times I'll play this hybrid Rave/Batman/Black Album tracklist:

Le Grind

The Future

Electric Chair

Partyman

Love Song

200 Balloons

Vicki Waiting

Sex

When 2 R in Love

Trust

Scandalous

Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic

Pick Cashmere

Feel U Up

Do you think those trax fit with the movie?

Marrk said:

The maxi singles save this project. I rarely listen to the album, i'd rather listen to the remixes and b-sides from this era. I remember getting this album on cassette and vinyl on the release day and being disappointed on first couple of listens. Kind of stuck with me.

6/10.

I agree with most of what you said. I thought it was a good album when I got it in 89, but over time, I find the album seems to fall short. I think the songs are good (overall), but as an album/soundtrack, it just doesn't hold up.

I totally agree that the maxi singles save the project. Especially the "Partyman" remixes, "Scandalous Sex Suite"....those are 2 of my favs from that era.

naffi said:

Cuddles said:

I thought he had to do that shit, it was written for someone who couldn't sing.

I thought Sheena Easton wrote that song a few years earlier, which is why she duets on it!

She did in a recent interview,she revealed that she wrote the lyrics.Prince liked what she came up with and decided to include it on the Batman album (as a duet).