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Batman
Warner Bros. Records
Having wanted to include 1999 and Baby I’m A Star in his new movie Batman, director Tim Burton asked Prince to re-record these songs or provide entirely new replacements for the soundtrack.
He had a vision for what the music should sound like … he had captured the mood of the film perfectly.
Following his meeting with Burton at Pinewood Studios in London, Prince wrote two replacement tracks, Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic and 200 Balloons, but recorded an entire album instead – neither of the new songs appearing on the final album. Much of the album was written during the Japan leg of the Lovesexy Tour, which he could not wait to wrap up and return to Paisley Park Studios to record. Batman is an entirely solo project, and became at the time of its release the fastest selling album in history, selling 1 million copies in its first week – eventually million in total.
Batman became Prince’s biggest success since Purple Rain, being certified double Plantinum by the RIAA, yet despite this licensing constraints with the character’s trademark dictate no songs from the Batman soundtrack can be included in other compilation releases. The album is considered to have revived Prince’s career in America due to the muted success of the previous release, Lovesexy.
Performers
- All Instruments
- Prince
- Choir
- Sounds Of Blackness The Future
- Orchestration
- Clare Fischer The Future
- Saxophone
- Eric Leeds
- Trumpet
- Atlanta Bliss
Data
- Producer
- Prince
- Label
- Warner Bros. Records
- Distributor
- Warner Bros. Records
- Cover Art
- Anton Furst and Tom Recchion
- Released
- 30 years ago, on 19 June 1989
- Running Time
- 42:34
- US Chart Peak
- 1
- UK Chart Peak
- 1
- Prince Album
- #11
Tracklist
- The Future (4:08) 1
- Electric Chair (4:13)
- The Arms Of Orion [duet with Sheena Easton] (5:03)
- Partyman (3:11) 1
- Vicki Waiting (4:47)
- Trust (4:24)
- Lemon Crush (4:15)
- Scandalous! [feat. Kim Basinger] (6:15) 1
- Batdance (6:13) 1
Singles from Batman
Batdance
Warners Bros. Records
- Released
- 6 June 1989
- US Chart Peak
- 1
- UK Chart Peak
- 2
- Batdance (6:13)
- Batdance [Vicky Vale Mix] (5:55)
- 200 Balloons (5:05)
Partyman
Warners Bros. Records
- Released
- 18 August 1989
- US Chart Peak
- 18
- UK Chart Peak
- 14
- Partyman [The Purple Party Mix] (6:02)
- Partyman [Partyman Music Mix] (4:31)
- Partyman [The Video Mix Edit] (5:40)
- Feel U Up [Short Stroke] (3:44)
The Arms Of Orion
Warners Bros. Records
- Released
- 17 October 1989
- US Chart Peak
- 36
- UK Chart Peak
- 27
- The Arms Of Orion [duet with Sheena Easton] (5:03)
- I Love U In Me (4:12)
- The Arms Of Orion [Edit] [duet with Sheena Easton] (3:52)
Scandalous!
Warners Bros. Records
- Released
- 28 November 1989
- US Chart Peak
- -
- UK Chart Peak
- -
- Scandalous! [Edit] [feat. Kim Basinger] (4:12)
- When 2 R In Love (3:58)
The Scandalous Sex Suite
Warners Bros. Records
- Released
- 1 December 1989
- US Chart Peak
- -
- UK Chart Peak
- -
- The Crime [feat. Kim Basinger] (6:24)
- The Passion [feat. Kim Basinger] (6:17)
- The Rapture [feat. Kim Basinger] (6:39)
- Sex (7:02)
- When 2 R In Love (4:02)
- Partyman [The Purple Party Mix] (5:58)
- Partyman [Music Mix] (4:34)
- Partyman [Video Mix] (6:12)
- Feel U Up [Short Stroke] (3:45)
The Future
Warners Bros. Records
- Released
- 18 May 1990
- US Chart Peak
- No Release
- UK Chart Peak
- -
- The Future [Remix] (6:25)
- Electric Chair [Remix] (5:36)
Supporting tour
Batman – review
Overlook this album at your peril. It never ceases to surprise that Batman (the sound track) hails from the 1980s. This is the album Prince recorded entirely on his own and thank god that he did. The quality of Batman is its diversity; fusing funk (The Future, Vicki Waiting, Partyman and Electric Chair) with sensitivity (Arms of Orion and Scandalous). Topped off by the terrific all-time sampler classic Batdance, which includes some of the strongest guitar Prince put on a record, bass too is excellent throughout and hard hitting. Batman is well ahead of its time and will fool you to believe this could date back to the 1980’s at all. Batman didn’t become the fastest selling album of its day for nothing. It is Scandalous! that due to licensing restrictions the album is denied the recognition it deserves on Prince’s later greatest hits releases.
Batman is reviewed by Goldies Parade.
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