The Time The Time album

Warner Bros. Records

album

Jamie Starr’s a thief

Under a clause in his contract he negotiated with Warner Bros Records, Prince formed the spin-off act The Time in 1981, a funk rock group headed by childhood friend Morris Day. Drumming in Prince’ school band Grand Central, The Time was created for Day in return for cowriting Partyup with Prince, a deal which Prince offered the choice of $10,000 cash upfront or forming a band. Day chose the band.

The newly formed band was named The Time and would serve as an outlet for Prince to explore funk rock while his solo career concentrated on New Wave and more artful material. The Time would be more playful, with Morris Day adopting the persona of a money laden gigolo obsessed with women and his appearance.

Prince wrote all the tracks for the band’s self-titled debut album The Time, some co-credited to Prince under his first pseudonym Jamie Starr. Despite not being credited to Prince by name, he performed most of the instruments on the LP. Recording took place in April 1981 in what was also the first sessions at Prince’s Kiowa Trail home studio. Credited on the cover as Time Studio, Kiowa Trail was the ranch he purchased in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen, where soon afterwards Prince would lay down first his solo album Controversy. The Time thereby precedes by two months the release of Prince’s third LP Controversy.

It was only after The Time’s debut album was complete the additional band members were hired. Morris’ recruiting ground was the Minneapolis funk ensemble named Flyte Time. Formed in 1973, the band took its name from a track by jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd titled Flight Time. Many of which had known Prince at high school. Flyte Time’s members enlisted were: Terry Lewis (bass), James “Jimmy Jam” Harris and Monte Moir (keyboards), and Alexander O’Neal assigned to lead vocals. To complete the lineup, Jesse Johnson was bought on as guitarist direct from Day’s previous band Enterprise Band Of Pleasure. Day was on drum duty. Shortly afterwards, O’Neil who did not get on with Prince, was replaced by Day as frontman. This led to the arrival of Garry “Jellybean” Johnson, another transfer from Flyte Time, to take Day’s seat on drums.

The Time was considerably well received critically and commercially, their debut LP selling half a million units in the US, was certified Gold by RIAA on 18 February 1982. The Time was Prince’s debut side project crated in parallel with his own solo career, using the pseudonym Jamie Starr to shield himself should the project flop. This was more a case of hiding in plain sight, as it was almost immediate knowledge amongst fans and music insiders the so-called cigar toting, gold toothed, raspy record producer Jamie Starr was actually Prince in disguise. It was music’s worst kept secret.

Despite its membership of six, The Time as a band don’t actually perform on either of their first two LPs. Albeit Day plays drums, Matt Fink from Prince’s band did the synthesisers parts and Prince played every other instrument on the records. Stylistically The Time was yet another Prince LP, but like his second spin-off act Vanity 6 likewise created in 1981, the projects expanded Prince’s so-called ‘Minneapolis sound’. It became a whole sub genre of music created by one man.

The band was assembled to play The Time’s live shows, to join Prince as opening act on his Controversy Tour in 1981 and the following 1999 Triple Threat Tour of 1983. The Time’s performances were too well received for Prince’s liking and a much storied rivalry with Prince’s band ensued. Feeling sidelined, The Time did their best to out-perform Prince, which cause him considerable frustration. Consequently, The Time became quite the success and spawned four successful albums and several hit singles. The Time endured in American pop culture and their debut lead single Get It Up was covered by TLC in 1993.

After leaving the band, Alexander O’Neal embarked on a solo career, and signed to Epic Records in 1985. He reached his commercial peak in 1987 with the singles Fake (a collaboration with Jam and Lewis) and Criticize (co-written with Jellybean Johnson). 

The Time

Vocals

Morris Day

Drums

Jellybean Johnson

Guitar

Jesse Johnson

Bass Guitar

Terry Lewis

Keyboards

Jimmy Jam

Monte Moir

Performers

Vocals / Drums

Morris Day

All instruments

Prince

Keyboards

Matt "Dr" Fink ^{Get It Up and The Stick}

Data

Producers

Prince (as Jamie Starr) and Morris Day

Label

Warner Bros. Records

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records

Cover/Design

Allen Beaulieu

Released

45 years ago on 29 July 1981

Running Time

42:25

US Chart Peak

50

US R&B Peak

7

UK Chart Peak

Did not chart

Orig. Formats

Tracklist

1. Get It Up [feat. Sue Ann Carwell] (9:05)
2. Girl (5:34)
3. After Hi School (4:20) ³
4. Cool [feat. Lisa Coleman and Sue Ann Carwell] (10:06) ¹
5. Oh, Baby (4:57)
6. The Stick [feat. Lisa Coleman] (8:23) ²

Released as a single

¹ Co-written by Prince and Dez Dickerson.
² Co-written by Prince and Lisa Coleman.
³ Written by Dez Dickerson.

Supporting tour

Controversy Tour

1981/2

• 56 shows from 20 November 1981 to 14 March 1982

The Time album review

Not content on propelling his own career, which was itself on the verge of superstardom, Prince diverged on his first side project, the self-titled debut album for The Time. The album opens with the suggestive Get It Up, a sublime nine-minute synth-laden funk jam that brims with confidence all the way through to it stellar guitar solo. Although the project is labelled The Time, Prince (as Jamie Starr) is playing every instrument and even backing vocals on every track. The Time slows down in the second track Girl, Morris’s singing is fantastic, his cocky gigolo character underrates him as a skilled musician and performer. After Hi School is the only track on The Time Prince did not write, but he still plays all its instruments. This leads into Cool, and at a cool ten minutes it’s The Time’s best track – which Prince fan has not signed C-O-O-L when this is played in concert, it is excellent stuff. Oh, Baby marks the album’s second ballad, and then the proceedings are closed with The Stick – as in “work the stick in my ride” it encapsulates The Time’s place as the best electro funk group music has ever known.

The Time is rated 4 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.