Batman (album)
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| Batman | ||
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| Soundtrack by Prince | ||
| Released | June 20, 1989 | |
| Recorded | Paisley Park Studios; June 1988–March 1989 | |
| Genre | Pop, Rock, Funk | |
| Length | 42:29 | |
| Label | Warner Bros. Records | |
| Producer(s) | Prince | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Prince chronology | ||
| Lovesexy (1988) |
Batman (1989) |
Graffiti Bridge (1990) |
Batman is a soundtrack for the film of the same name by Prince. As a Warner Bros. stablemate, Prince's involvement in the soundtrack was designed to leverage the media company's contract-bound talent as well as fulfill the artist's need for a commercial (if not critical) revival. The result: yet another successful cross-media enterprise by Warner Bros. in the vein of Purple Rain.
The album was quickly recorded in six weeks from mid-February to late March 1989, however Prince used three tracks recorded earlier. "Electric Chair" was recorded in June 1988, "Scandalous" in October 1988, and "Vicki Waiting" in December 1988. The album was performed entirely by Prince with a few exceptions. Sheena Easton duets with Prince on "The Arms of Orion". "Trust" features a sampled horn part by Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss. "The Future" features strings by Clare Fischer sampled from the (then unreleased) 1986 track "Crystal Ball". "The Future" also samples the Sounds of Blackness choir. "Batdance" includes a sample of Prince's technician Matthew Larson, and "Partyman" features samples of then girlfriend Anna Garcia (credited as Anna Fantastic) and Paisley Park engineer Femi Jiya.
The whole ownership of the "Batman" franchise is quite complex and the hit singles from this album were not allowed on any of Prince's hits collections. Even on the concert t-shirts which listed all Prince's album titles to date had the song "Scandalous" rather than Batman. Despite this, Prince has performed a number of the album's tracks in concert over the years. (Update: the 2005 2-DVD edition of the Batman movie contains Prince's related videos as a bonus feature.) Wedged between Lovesexy and Graffiti Bridge, the soundtrack serves as Prince's final album contribution of the 1980s.
Critically, the album was not particularly well received at the time, with many reviewers labelling it as mechanical and dull. Indeed many reviewers suggested that Prince was just using the soundtrack as a means of jettisoning some of the excess tracks that had built up in the Paisley Park vaults over the years. Songs like "The Arms Of Orion" and "Lemon Crush" could have been formulated for any other film, not just Batman. Without the support of the movie, it's unlikely that the album would have sold as well as it did, although in 1990 it won a Brit Award for best soundtrack/score. The album also debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 charts and went multi-platinum in the United States.The album sold 11 million copies worldwide
This soundtrack is not to be confused with Danny Elfman's orchestral score for the same movie.
Contents |
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1(6wks) |
| U.S. Billboard R&B Albums | 1(6wks) |
| UK Albums Chart | 1 |
[edit] Track listing
- "The Future" – 4:08
- "Electric Chair" – 4:13
- "The Arms of Orion" – 5:03
- "Partyman" – 3:11
- "Vicki Waiting" – 4:47
- "Trust" – 4:24
- "Lemon Crush" – 4:15
- "Scandalous" – 6:15
- "Batdance" – 6:13
[edit] Singles and Hot 100 chart placings
- "Batdance" (#1 U.S., #1 R&B, #2 UK)
- "Batdance (The Batmix)" (maxi-single)
- "Batdance (Vicki Vale Mix)"(maxi-single)
- "200 Balloons"
- "Partyman" (#18 U.S., #5 R&B, #14 UK)
- "Partyman"
- "Feel U Up"
- "The Purple Party Mix" (maxi-single)
- "Partyman Music Mix" (maxi-single)
- "Partyman Video Mix" (maxi-single)
- "The Arms of Orion" (#36 U.S., #27 UK)
- "I Love U in Me"
- "Scandalous" (U.S.) (#5 U.S. R&B)
- "Scandalous"
- "When 2 R In Love"
- "The Crime" ("The Scandalous Sex Suite" maxi-single)
- "The Passion" ("The Scandalous Sex Suite" maxi-single)
- "The Rapture" ("The Scandalous Sex Suite" maxi-single)
- "Sex" "The Scandalous Sex Suite" maxi-single
- "The Future" (UK/Germany)
- "The Future" (remix)
- "Electric Chair" (remix)
[edit] Trivia
- The theme to the 1960s Batman TV series was one of the first musical pieces Prince learned to play on the piano.
- Tim Burton and Jack Nicholson were both Prince fans and Burton included "1999" and "Baby, I'm a Star" in a rough cut of the film. Intrigued, Prince delivered a whole album of material to Burton with the songs "Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic" and "200 Balloons" to replace his older hits in the film. Burton rejected both, so Prince replaced them with "Partyman" and "Trust", respectively.
- "Partyman" was inspired by the coolness of Jack Nicholson and tailored to his role as The Joker.
- "Batdance" was a replacement for the song "Dance with the Devil" which Prince felt was too dark. A few of the later's lyrics were included in the liner notes for the album. The track's title was taken from a conversation in the movie between the Joker and Vicki Vale, which was also included in "Batdance".
- In the 2004 zombie-themed comedy Shaun of the Dead, the album is one of a group that is used as projectile weaponry against advancing zombies. Two other Prince albums, Purple Rain and Sign "☮" the Times, are spared, however.
- Michael Jackson was originally asked to provide songs for the soundtrack, but turned it down as he was busy with concert arrangements [1].
- The film score by Danny Elfman is a separate album, but contains a reworking of Prince's "Scandalous".
[edit] External links
- Batman lyrics
