Batman

Batman
Soundtrack by Prince
Released	June 20, 1989
Recorded	June 1988–March 1989 Paisley Park Studios
Genre	Pop, Rock, Funk
Length	42:29
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Prince
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Entertainment Weekly (B-) link IGN (7.7/10) link Mojo (favorable) link Q link Rolling Stone link
Prince chronology
Lovesexy (1988) Batman (1989) Graffiti Bridge (1990)

Batman: Motion Picture Soundtrack is an album for the 1989 film Batman by musical artist 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 was yet another successful cross-media enterprise by Warner Bros, in the vein of Purple Rain.

Production

The album was quickly recorded in six weeks—from mid-February to late March 1989—and 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 the vocal performance of then girlfriend Anna Garcia^[1] (credited as Anna Fantastic)^[2][3]. All dialogue sampled on Prince's Batman album is taken directly from a workprint of Batman and therefore lacks ADR and foley. This is especially noticeable in the beginning of the first track, "The Future", with dialogue of Michael Keaton speaking as Batman.

Ownership complexities

Ownership of the "Batman" franchise is notoriously complex. Prince had to agree to sign the publishing rights to the songs used in the movie over to Warner Bros., therefore, Prince's hit singles from this album were not permitted to appear on any of his hits compilations, only the B-side singles "200 Balloons", "Feel U Up", and "I Love U in Me". Even on the concert T-shirts which listed all of Prince's album titles to date the song "Scandalous" appeared in place of the album Batman. Despite this, Prince has performed a number of the album's tracks in concert over the years. A 2005 special edition DVD 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.

Critical reception

Critically, the album was not particularly well-received at the time, with many reviewers labeling it as mechanical and dull, and suggesting 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. However, other reviewers contended that Prince's funk-oriented songs such as "Partyman" and "Trust" offered a unique dichotomy to Danny Elfman's heavy, orchestral compositions.

Charts

Track listing

Side One

1. "The Future" – 4:09
2. "Electric Chair" – 4:09
3. "The Arms of Orion" (Prince, Sheena Easton) – 5:03
4. "Partyman" – 3:12
5. "Vicki Waiting" – 4:52

Side Two

1. "Trust" – 4:24
2. "Lemon Crush" – 4:15
3. "Scandalous" (Prince, John L. Nelson) – 6:16
4. "Batdance" – 6:14

Credits

• Eric Leeds - horns
• Atlanta Bliss - horns
• Sheena Easton - vocals on "The Arms of Orion"
• The Sounds of Blackness - choir
  • The Clare Fischer Orchestra
  • All choir, horn and orchestra parts were sampled and re-arranged by Prince
• Special guest presence by: Jack Nicholson (The Joker), Michael Keaton (Batman) and Kim Basinger (Vicky Vale) on "The Future", "Vicki Waiting", "Partyman" and "Batdance".
• Recorded and Mixed by Chuck Zwicky, Eddie Miller and Femi Jiya, assisted by David Freidlander and Heidi Hanschu

Singles and Hot 100 chart placings

• "Batdance" (#1 U.S., #1 R&B, #2 UK)

1. "Batdance (The Batmix)" (maxi-single)
2. "Batdance (Vicki Vale Mix)" (maxi-single)
3. "200 Balloons"

• "Partyman" (#18 U.S., #5 R&B, #14 UK)

1. "Partyman"
2. "Feel U Up"
3. "The Purple Party Mix" (maxi-single)
4. "Partyman Music Mix" (maxi-single)
5. "Partyman Video Mix" (maxi-single)

• "The Arms of Orion"

1. "The Arms of Orion" W/Sheena Easton (#36 U.S., #27 UK)
2. "I Love U in Me"

• "Scandalous" (U.S.) (#5 U.S. R&B)

1. "Scandalous"
2. "When 2 R In Love"
3. "The Crime" ("The Scandalous Sex Suite" maxi-single)
4. "The Passion" ("The Scandalous Sex Suite" maxi-single)
5. "The Rapture" ("The Scandalous Sex Suite" maxi-single)
6. "Sex" "The Scandalous Sex Suite" maxi-single

• "The Future" (UK/Germany)

1. "The Future" (remix)
2. "Electric Chair" (remix)

Unreleased song information

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"Dance with the Devil"

One of the main songs slated for inclusion on Prince's Batman album was the 7:54 "Dance with the Devil". The song was pulled at the last minute and replaced with an edited version of the chaotic "Batdance", reportedly because Prince deemed "Dance with the Devil" to be too dark. Those who have heard "Dance with the Devil" praise it. The minimalistic electric piano-driven song can best be described as moody and brooding — with Prince's typical seductive lyrics. "Dance with the Devil" samples Jack Nicholson's dialogue as The Joker, as well as the sound of falling rain. "Dance with the Devil" is officially unreleased; however, it is circulating amongst tape traders.

"Batdance"

An alternate, 8:55 version of "Batdance" is also circulating within amongst tape traders. The song is notable for showcasing scenes with dialogue cut from the final version of Batman.

References