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20,000 Vinyl LPs 139: Prince ~ Batman

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Styrous®

Prince ~ Batman

vinyl LP album cover

Batman is the eleventh studio album by American recording artist Prince and the soundtrack album to the 1989 film by director Tim Burton, Batman. It was released almost thirty years ago on June 20, 1989 by Warner Bros. Records. Lord, I can't believe it's been thirty years! The album was No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart for six consecutive weeks. It has sold over eleven million copies worldwide. The film was a landmark cinematic release.       

Prince ~ Batman

vinyl LP album back cover

In a 2001 Rolling Stone interview, Prince revealed that the project was initially supposed to be a collaboration between himself and Michael Jackson:

"Did you know that the album was supposed to be a duet between Michael Jackson and me? He as Batman, me as the Joker?" 

Prince would have sung funk songs for the villains, while Michael Jackson would have sung ballads for the heroes. This never came to fruition as Jackson was busy with the Bad World Tour and signed with Epic Records, while the film was a Warner Bros. production.         

All dialogue sampled on the Prince 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.       

Prince ~ Batman

vinyl LP album back cover detail

Batman also marked a change in Prince's appearance; he switched out frilly clothing, polka dots, lace, and controversial attire for a much darker and simpler attire, usually donning dark blue/black clothing and "Batman" boots. The artist's hair was also completely straightened from wavy curls, as shown in the "Batdance" video (link below).                 

Ownership of the Batman franchise is complex. Prince had to agree to sign the publishing rights to the songs used in the film over to Warner Bros.; Prince's hit singles from this album were not permitted to appear on any of his hits compilations until the 2016 release of 4Ever, which included Batdance. Only the B-sides 200 Balloons, Feel U Up, and I Love U in Me appeared on his 1993 The Hits/The B-Sides collection.              

Prince ~ Batman
vinyl LP record sleeve


from the Princevault

Prince began recording songs for the album in mid-February 1989, immediately after returning from the Lovesexy Tour, and he previewed eleven songs in late February, including Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic and 200 Balloons, intended to replace 1999 and Baby I'm A Star respectively), and Batman Theme.    

He worked on the album further in March 1989, recording Partyman and Trust (to replace Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic and 200 Balloons respectively). Dance With The Devil was recorded for the album, but Prince considered the song to be too dark and replaced it with Batdance, which was the last song recorded for the album.      

While the bulk of the album was recorded between mid-February and the end of March 1989, Electric Chair was recorded in June 1988, and Scandalous in October 1988. In addition, Vicki Waiting was a revamped version of Anna Waiting, initially recorded in December 1988.    

  

Prince ~ Batman
vinyl LP record sleeve detail




Prince ~ Batman
vinyl LP record sleeve detail

According to Variety (link below), Michael Keaton may forever be associated with Prince in some fans’ minds because the movie star and the pop star both worked on 1989’s Batman — the actor starring as the caped crusader and the musician performing the song Batdance, which became a No. 1 hit.          

Prince ~ Batman
Lyrics

vinyl LP record sleeve 

Prince ~ Batman
Lyrics

vinyl LP record sleeve details

In 2016, film critic Matt Zoller Seitz praised Prince's songs and music videos for Batman, more so than the film itself, stating that his songs "suggest a goofy, perverse, sensuous, somewhat introverted Batman film that so far we've never gotten from anyone", and arguing that Prince's music videos "are more psychologically perceptive than any of the Batman films."       

Prince ~ Batman
vinyl LP record, side 1

Prince ~ Batman
vinyl LP record, side 2

         

Tracklist:

Side 1:
A1 - The Future - 4:08
A2 - Electric Chair, Mixed By Chris Lord-Alge - 4:13
A3 - The Arms Of Orion, Composed By, Performer – Prince, Sheena Easton Guest [Special Guest Presence] – Sheena Easton - 5:03
A4 - Partyman, Guest [Special Guest Presence] – Anna Fantastic, Femi Jiya - 3:11
A5 - Vicki Waiting - 4:47

Side 2:
B1 - Trust - 4:24
B2 - Lemon Crush - 4:15
B3 - Scandalous, Composed By John L. Nelson, Prince - 6:15
B4 - Batdance, Guest [Special Guest Presence] – Matthew Larson - 6:13

Companies, etc.
    Copyright (c) – DC Comics Inc.
    Record Company – Warner Bros.
    Record Company – Warner Communications
    Record Company – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
    Copyright (c) – DC Comics
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – WEA International Inc.
    Recorded At – Paisley Park Studios
    Mixed At – Paisley Park Studios
    Mixed At – The Grey Room
    Mastered At – Masterdisk
    Published By – Controversy Music
    Published By – Wb Music Corp.
    Published By – Skye Heart Music

Credits:
    Choir – The Sounds Of Blackness Choir*
    Design – Tom Recchion
    Executive-Producer [Album] – Jon Peters (2), Peter Guber
    Guest [Special Guest Presence], Voice – Jack Nicholson (tracks: A1, A4, A5, B4), Kim Basinger (tracks: A1, A4, A5, B4), Michael Keaton (tracks: A1, A4, A5, B4)
    Horns – Atlanta Bliss, Eric Leeds
    Illustration [Logo] – Anton Furst
    Instruments [All Other], Vocals [All Other Voices], Arranged By [All Other Instruments & Voices], Performer – Prince
    Lyrics By – Prince
    Mastered By [DMM] – HW*
    Orchestra – The Clare Fischer Orchestra
    Photography By [Prince] – Jeff Katz (2)
    Producer, Arranged By, Composed By, Performer – Prince
    Production Manager [Executive In Charge Of Album Production] – Gary LeMel
    Recorded By [Assistant], Mixed By [Assistant] – Chuck Zwicky, David Friedlander*, Eddie Miller, Heidi Hanschu
    Recorded By, Mixed By – Femi Jiya, Prince
    Sampler [Samples Re-Arranged & Performed] – Prince
    Supervised By [Music Supervisor] – Michael Dilbeck

Notes:
Soundtrack of the movie "Batman" directed by Tim Burton (1989).

Recorded and mixed at Paisley Park Studios.
'Electric Chair' mixed at the Grey Room.
Mastered at Masterdisk, New York.

Sheena Easton appears courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.

All songs published by Controversy Music/WB Music Corp. ASCAP
except A3 published by Controversy Music ASCAP/Skye Heart Music BMI
and B2 & B4 published by Controversy Music ASCAP

[Lyrics sheet] © 1989 Controversy Music/ASCAP

TM & © 1989 DC Comics Inc.

Warner Bros. A Warner Communications Company
© 1989 Warner Bros. Inc.

Warner Bros. Records Inc., a Warner Communications Company.
© 1989 DC Comics ℗ 1989 Warner Bros. Records Inc. for the U.S. and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the U.S.

A counterpart Batman (Original Motion Picture Score) was also released.
Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Barcode: 0 7599-25936-1 8
    Rights Society (All songs): ASCAP
    Rights Society (A3): BMI
    Matrix / Runout (Side A): 1-25936-A SRI-DMM SPI-I MASTERDISK DMM -HW
    Matrix / Runout (Side B): 1-25936-B SRI-DMM SPI-I MASTERDISK DMM -HW

Prince ‎– Batman™ Motion Picture Soundtrack
Label: Warner Bros. Records ‎– 9 25936-1, Warner Bros. Records ‎– 1-25936
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Funk / Soul, Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack, House, Pop Rock, Synth-pop, Funk

           
         

Viewfinder link:       
         
Prince articles/mentions       

Net links:       
         
MTV News ~ Prince Understood Batman Better Than Anyone    

Comics Alliance ~ Review Of Prince’s Batman         
PrinceVault ~ Batman        
Variety ~ Michael Keaton Remembers Prince     
AV/Music ~ Batman not the embarrassment it’s reputed to be
Pile Rats ~ That time Prince did the soundtrack for Tim Burton's Batman  
Mass Appeal ~    
        When Batman Swooped in to Help Prince’s Career         
We Minored In Film ~           

           4 Things I Didn’t Know About Prince’s Work on Batman

The Hollywood Reporter ~         

        Prince ~ 10 Memorable Movies Featuring His Songs   
Diffuser ~ 365 Prince Songs in a Year   
The Guardian ~  
        Clouds, Batman and high heels: proof that Prince had the look 

Youtube links:       
         
Batdance        
U Got The Look         
Partyman         
Scandalous       
The Arms Of Orion ~ Featuring Sheena Easton       
          
       
       
       
Styrous® ~ Wednesday, June 20, 2018        

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20,000 Vinyl LPs Archive
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