OK.... now this is interesting. I'm off to listen the Batman album now.

My oh my. What's going on now?

My mind is as open as my ears.

Who needs sonar?

Thank you Thank you Thank you!

BATMAN IS INCREDIBLE, yes!

I always marvel that people put down this album ...

Imagine how easy it would be to do some silly album for a movie based on a comic series.

But Prince didn't make some throwaway rubbish.

Check "The Future."

"I've seen the future and it will be." The word choices for this song are odd and the lyrics are very uniquely arranged ... and the hypnotic voice ... as if he's in a trance relaying info about the future from the gods... I put this up there with Anna Stesia when it comes to sounding otherworldly. (and my favorite throwback to this song is in his verson of Everyday is a Winding Road when Prince said the hitchhiker "wanted to know if I could realily see the future." This is NOT in Sheryl's version. I so love that Prince put that in . Totally nostalgic, totally Kewl.)

There is no other song in the world like The Future.

Also, Electric Chair, Lemon Crush, Vicki Waiting ... these are all oddly crafted and delivered songs with their own syntax. Quite unique. I like in Vicki Waiting when he considers if he wants to be a dad by saying "is my character enough to be one that deserves a copy made." That's an awesome way of saying this.

I want Prince to write like this again!!!

Because of the odd music, beats, writing, and delivery. BATMAN IS QUITE A UNIQUE MOOD ALBUM.
Awesome.

Yep, interesting. Never really paid much attention to this album...



... but yeah, it does have some interesting bits. The Future is very beguiling indeed. Overall I find it a bit hectic though.

ThataintFunky said:

Thank you for saying this because with the exception of Lemon Crush...I thought the Batman album was REAL BAD. As compared to his earlier stuff...which I guess folks aren't listening to...Batman was horrible.

LEMON CRUSH is the best song on the album, then ELECTRIC CHAIR, then THE ARMS OF ORION, then SCANDALOUS.

areyes99 said:

I agree. Batman is Excellent! I like all the songs. It really annoys me when I see 'the arms of orion' on peoples 'worst prince song' lists. It's not one of his best but it is sure as fuck not one of his worst. Thematically it works. I think people who criticize this album are taking Prince too seriously. It's a fun album.

This album is pretty ordinary.

Arms of Orion is in the worst 5 Prince songs ever. It's a stinker.

There is some other filler on there too.

On the positive side I think that Electric Chair, The Future, Vicki Waiting, Scandalous and Partyman are good tracks.

This album is in the lower 25% of his albums with NPS, For You, Chaos & Disorder, Rave etc.

This is the first subject on the org that has made me reply, I have been a fan for 22 years, and Batman is one of my all time fav's. Arm's of Orion got me through a tough time while missing someone who was far away. Prince always writes from the heart and I always feel a connection to his songs. The Batman soundtrack may not be his best, but it is worth listening to and a must for any Prince collection. Emancipation, The Gold expierence, and Parade do it for me! BTW- I will be at Staples Center on may 28th!.....just 25 more days till I get to see him in person!! My night will be made if he sings "sometimes it snows in april" .....fingers are crossed for this one.....

peace.

bkw said:

Nope! Prince and Sheena worked well together. It's no 'U Got the Look', but I can name dozens of songs from his 90's output that are worse. I personally determine how good a song is by how many times I play it. Arms of Orion is not my favourite on Batman but I never hit the skip button. I can't say that about a lot of the songs on Emancipation, NPS, Crystal Ball, and Rave. Batman is a very solid entertaining album.

i love batman. listened to it today. batdance is the only song that never really did it for me. it never quite seemed like a prince song. although the way he uses lines from the movie was ingenious. i thought i remember hearing that jack nicholson was a prince fan and had some pull in getting prince to do the soundtrack...i think tim burton wanted to use some older material or something.

I have a deep-rooted hated for Batman... well, not exactly, but I was disappointed that this project got him off track from continuing in the spirit of Lovesexy, which he does pick up somewhat with Graffiti Bridge and then drops it entirely in favor of commercialism.

I thought it was such a Breakthrough Album . Quite Different for a Soundtrack. I think it should have won out over Danny Elfman's SCORE from the MOVIE. Prince's Music was Original and he had Top Ten hits.

This really doesn't have anything to do with the album but this was the first thread that I ever
started on the Org and I am really excited that it got such a response. It is always interesting to get so many different opinions from knowledgable Prince fans!


LoveGod
LoveLife
LoveSexy
[This message was edited Mon May 3 22:33:52 2004 by areyes99]

Cool, areyes. I used to have an 8x10 of your avatar... way back when. Love that pic.

I also think that it is an excellent album.

However, I believe that Batman is the last great Prince album OF A CERTAIN STYLE.

Batman saw the end of the Prince we knew and loved of the 80s. So I would say it is his last great 80s album. Graffiti Bridge went into different territory with different sounds, some succesful, others not.

Overall all, the Batman album is the last great Prince album of the 80s.

The last great Prince album of his career though was Musicology to me. He's still going strong....and before that NEWS, ONAL and TRC (which I will testify to the end is a work of unmittigated, unrestrained GENIUS. Fuck the naysayers).

.

mrdespues said:

OMG, you are so true.
Batman caps the quintessential Prince years. From Graffiti Bridge on, things were just somehow different. GB is actually the first album where I encountered songs I didn't like.
[This message was edited Mon May 3 23:38:52 2004 by SynthiaRose]

SynthiaRose said:

me too. GB was the first time I went, "oh no...!"

Batman was a great album. Way better than Grafitti Bridge, Lovesexy, and Diamonds and Pearls. I agreee that it was the last great P album of the 80's. Gold, T.R.C. and Emancipation were are also great albums.

I'm kinda torn on this one. At the time (1989), it seemed like a great victory for Prince to be back at the top of the charts with a huge single and a hit album, especially after the American rejection of the Lovesexy album and tour. The Batman project also officially introduced Candy Dulfer and Michael B to the Prince "universe," so it left its lasting marks.

But the movie seemed to dwarf and swallow up Prince, until he almost disappeared. Then it was forgotten in a Batman backlash, as everyone grew sick of the played-out Batman t-shirts and overlong merchandising schemes. Those "Batcan" promos quickly sank into the dustbins of history.

Regardless, it's easy to see why the Batman project appealed to Prince. As mentioned earlier here, "Batman" was the first song Prince learned. And the Batman/Joker duality was a great match for Prince's Gemini nature...you know, the Camille & Spooky Electric stuff vs. the "heavenly" Lovesexy side. As Prince said, "I got 2 sides...and they both friends." This duality is evident on the Batman videos, and Prince's "half & half" makeup in these videos.

Commenting on the music contained within Batman...It definitely sounds a bit antiseptic, like it was vacuum-packed in a jar. It doesn't sound "live" at all, it's a studio pop confection with all the good and bad contained in that term.

I love The Future, for the same reasons stated by SynthiaRose in this thread, excellent analysis. I also dig Electric Chair and the William Orbit remixes of these two gems. It was a treat to see Prince rehearse his new band into the ground to perform Electric Chair on Saturday Night Live's 15th Anniversary Special. This appearance marked Michael B's first trial by fire as the new Prince drummer.

But other moments on Batman bug my ears. For example, the bass line and piano figure on "Lemon Crush" seem to be lifted straight from MJ's "Thriller" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." Also, the drum sound/beat on the album version of "Partyman" is really dissonant; it sounds canned. This was an unfortunate attempt at late 80's New Jack R&B production. (But I LOVE the Video Mix of Partyman and Candy Dulfer's solo...who knew this saxy blonde would be such an integral part of Prince's world 15 years later on the Musicology album & tour?)

Great notes from mrdespues about Batman being the last Prince album of a certain style. This album has an inescapable 80's feel and it was also the last album where Prince gave us a full group of unreleased B-sides. All in all, a mixed bag, but interesting and worthy nonetheless.

I like the maxi singles that were released from this project. (The Future/Electric chair remixes, Partyman and Batdance Maxis and the Scandalous Sex Suite all kick ass)

As for the album itself, i rarely listen to it. After SOTT and Lovesexy, i consider it a huge drop in quality. If 'Me Touch Myself' or 'Dance With The Devil' had made the cut, it might have improved it considerably.

I like the rather crude joke on "Vicki vale"! U know then she replies "Vicki didn't laugh at all"! What a surprise!.....


When I was young, I didn't quite understand the joke, but when I picked up the song years later (it had been years since I heard it), I understood it and it still is funny! Though maybe only certain people would find that funny, did u?

I have always thought Batman was an okay album with some good trax (The Future, Electric Chair, Partyman, Scandalous) but the rest is mediocre (by Prince's standards) or just plan BAD (Arms of Orion IS IMHO one of the 5 worst Prince songs ever released).

Jasziah said:

Gotta agree with ya there. Batman was a commercial shot in the arm for Prince and came at the right time (from that point of view) but if Batman had not come along then he would have finished work on Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (not the 1999 album) that would have continued where Lovesexy left off. I think it would have been awesome! We would have got trax like "God Is Alive" some of the trax that ended up on Grafitti Bridge but as a Prince only release.


[This message was edited Tue May 4 6:07:51 2004 by jaypotton]

oops double post!
[This message was edited Tue May 4 6:06:33 2004 by jaypotton]

I've seen the future and it will b!

Coincidentally I bought BATMAN last week on cd, and as my vinyl has been boxed up for 7 yrs, I hadn't heard it in a while and was pleasantly surprised.

Having said that, it was the album that first dissapointed me. I remember buying it and running home to play it (accidentally on 45 rpm! and not noticing until second listen- cool) and not being amazed for the first time. Yes, I was comparing it to the 'classics' but who wouldn't have - it sneaked in the door right behind them, and it was the first album I had heard from him that didn't contain one song that made me think 'wow!!'. His last really great album would probably be LOVESEXY for me (although I think in hindsight that it was also a real drop from SOTT).

However, I have been enoying it this week - The Future is a very cool song that I always liked, Electric Chair is fun and I love the guitar and vocal at the end. Vicki Waiting is one of my faves here, Scandalous has a great vocal, but I always hated Partyman - horrible albiet with a wonderful video. The rest is fun enough, but I still don't hear a great piece of music on here. GB isn't one of my faves either but it did contain a few great songs alongside some very depressing ones. My two penneth.

areyes99 said:

I disagree with this wholeheartedly. I think plenty of Prince's albums are "just good, not masterpieces" and I wouldn't compare them to SOTT or "Lovesexy". For instance, I think "Musicology" is great. Is it in a category with "Parade" or "The Gold Experience"? No, but its still darned good. I honestly think "Batman" was a bunch of throwaway tracks that he really didn't care much for.

As for the whole "commercial" argument, that doesn't wash with me either. I don't care if he does commercial stuff, as long as he doesn't compromise himself artistically (again, look at "Musicology". A solid commercial effort, and I have no problem with that). I'm also a huge fan of the Batman character, so it certainly wasn't becasue he was doing the soundtrack. In fact, before I heard the album I was absolutely thrilled that Prince was doing the music for the film. P was going to be doing the music for a live-action film of my favorite comic character? How could I not be excited.

As for the argument that P was trying to appease WB, well I agree with you there. Originally, he wasn't planning on doing an album that year. He jumped at the chance to do the film, because he liked the character. One thing I do know, many of the songs he originally submitted were rejected by Tim Burton ("Rave UN2 The Joy Fantastic", "200 Balloons" and " Batman Theme" were all rejected). I think Prince may have submitted dreck like "Lemon Crush" when he didn't get the songs he wanted on there.

Ultimately, I just think the disc is a waste. Its boring, uneventful and so far below Prince's ablilities that I'm amazed anyone likes it at all.

I recently popped in a cassette tape that our fellow orger Chewymusic put together. It was a great listen. It had clips of the movie intergrated with 12" mixes of the songs and b sides.
I Always thought 'Electric chair' was the best song, but I love you in me, the future, partyman 12 " and Vicki waiting are all fun songs. Almost forgot 'Sex'!
Great song !!

for me, fact is that every release has its history and special appeal.
every prince-album has something to offer, and batman is a cool one to listen to on a sunny day, when you are not to worried.
even chaos and disorder, SOTT and NPS are cool dudes when you're in that desperate need for what those particular albums has to offer (you). (bad spelling, I suppose)

mrdespues said:

me three.