Report to Commissioner Gordon on the Batman Soundtrack.

There's something well, quirky about this CD. Don't get me wrong, this ranks among one of Prince's best efforts. It's just that it sounds like he cranked this one out in three/four weeks compared to the material he spends more time on. Then again, the man eats, drinks, sleeps, dreams, and bleeds music.

In each song, he lists the lead vocal as one of the main characters from the movie: Batman, the Joker, Vicki Vale, and Bruce Wayne. There's also a character called Gemini, half of him representing good, the other half representing evil, who makes his only appearance in the ultra-kickin' track "Batdance", but it's a significant appearance.

Holy Frozen Smile! The best lead vocalist here is the Joker. "Electric Chair", "Partyman", and "Trust". The thumping bass and rough guitar on "Electric Chair" is comparable to the Joker's dark side. The latter two are just fun, reflecting the villain's playful side. I mean face it, who was the more interesting character in the movie? When the villain steals the show from the hero, there's gotta be something wrong, right? Or is it just Jack Nicholson's superiority as an actor compared to Michael Keaton? As a result, the Joker's songs are more playful, being the twisted libertine he is, while Batman's songs are more somber, brooding, and romantic (check out "Scandalous").

"The Arms Of Orion" is his second vocal collaboration with Sheena Easton and both parties got the best with this wonderful ballad.

"Lemon Crush" has a little bit of the funk reminiscent of The Time. "Scandalous" is another lovely ballad done in his falsetto voice. It has the dishonor of being played over the closing credits of the movie, at which time the stop button is pressed on the VCR or DVD.

The raucous guitar and techno beat of "Batdance" is a summary of the movie, both in movie soundbites and to some extent of some of the earlier songs, such as "The Future" and "Electric Chair". The song explodes with chaos and violence at the end until Prince himself says "Stop", ending the song abruptly. Genius of the man!

End of Report. Please call me at the Bat Cave if there are any questions.

Not to be confused with Danny Elfman's instrumental release for the same movie, this soundtrack for the first Batman, is one of the best movie soundtracks ever released. Prince created a soundtrack that moves with the movie. It is not just a compilation of songs that you hear in the background of a movie, like many soundtracks that are hastily put together. This CD is full of dialogue from the movie and from Prince's imagination. Prince put a lot of heart, soul and funk into this recording.

Songs:
THE FUTURE is the opening song that sets the stage for the dark future that The Joker has in mind for Gothem. It full of techno, synthesized sounds that are held together with Prince's rhythm guitar.
ELECTRIC CHAIR comes out with hard guitar riffs by one of the greatest guitarist in the pop/rock world.
THE ARMS OF ORION - What a pretty song. It is sung as a duet between Bruce Wayne (Prince) and Vicki Vale (Sheena Easton). It is a soft, sad love song that is held together by the beautiful piano and a string section.
PARTYMAN - What more can I say except to quote Jack, "Gentlemen, let's broaden our minds!" Everyone listening to this can picture Jack Nicholson as the Joker strutting thru the museum with his henchmen and a boombox. Very Funky.
VICKI'S WAITING - Another dance track. The song is about Batman wondering if and when he should tell Vicki Vale that he is Bruce Wayne.
TRUST - Another upbeat dance track that was used when the Joker is riding on his float in a parade through downtown Gothem.
LEMON CRUSH - Club tune. The only song I can not envision in the Batman movie. Still a good tune.
SCANDALOUS - Love or Sex? Everyone who is a Prince fan knows this is one of his songs (Insatiable, Damn U, Do Me Baby, The Beautiful Ones, and Adore) that is great for romancing with the one you love. Great Song!
BATDANCE - Great Finale. Prince starts the songs with 3 loud guitar riffs, then the Joker speaks. He weaves Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, and Jack Nicholson into this song that incorporates all aspects of the movie.

This soundtrack has a soul of its own.

On the soundtrack to Tim Burton's blockbuster hit Batman, Prince perfectly captures the mood and theme of this dark film. The movie looks at Michael Keaton's Batman as the Dark Knight, deep, intense & brooding. The songs on the album about him reflect that mood. "The Future" opens the album on a dark, ominous note and then slides into the frantic "Electric Chair" while "The Arms Of Orion" and "Trust" follow Batman's relationship with Vicki Vale. Prince also captures the manic, crazed persona of Jack Nicholson's Joker in the funky "Partyman". The album's closer "Batdance" is menagerie of film dialogue, funky beats and sound effects that gives the listener as kaleidoscope image of the film. Even though Batman is about a film, it comes across as one of Prince's most personal albums.

Maybe Prince should hire himself out for soundtracks. In a commercial soundtrack, there are external pressures to keep the songs short and listenable, two positive traits absent from Prince's music since "The Gold Experience." Without these influences, Prince tends to submit these massive, multi-disc monstrosities containing 10-minute songs with nonsensical lyrics and gooey, grating melodies.

Anyone who has bought one of these later albums ("Emancipation," "Crystal Ball," etc.) will appreciate the discipline apparently enforced by the conventions of a movie soundtrack. Instead of the rambling tunes that have marked Prince's later work, you get the tight, driven funk of "The Future." And instead of whatever he was doing on "Emancipation," you get the clever lyricism of "Electric Chair," and "Lemon Crush." The best song on the album, "Vicki Waiting," manages to capture a bachelor's conflict between the desire for a long-term relationship and the fear of commitment better than any other song I've ever heard. Even "Batdance," "Trust," and "Partyman," while far from original masterworks, are simply more fun to listen to than nearly anything Prince has done since.

All in all, 4 stars for an underrated album. Here's hoping that, some day, Prince returns to what made this album good.

Prince had reached in a sense, a dry spell in a very creative career when 1989 rolled around. While "Lovesexy" divides fan to this day of being his last "cutting edge" record, it also presented a commerical decline, his first LP to not go platinum in America since his earlier days.

"Batman" which functions as part soundtrack, and part Prince album, was a bookend to a decade where Prince defined popular music. A lean, nine track record with emphasis on groove & melody. Nothing too ambitious, which in a fashion was refreshing. Ever since "Dirty Mind", each subsequent album had bigger & bigger themes musically that were executed. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it is nice to see Prince just want to party. To that effect, "Batman", while dismissed by others, comes off as a record where Prince looks back & applies everything he learned in the decade, but without much major ambition.

From a comic book fans point of view, I thought it was interesting that he paired his own psychosis to Batman's & Joker's on cuts such as the bleak "The Future" (one of Prince's better social commentary cuts) & the elusive bombast of "Partyman". The latter features a Camille like vocal cut. Each song is divided by the characters of the film, from Bruce Wayne, to Vicki Vale, to the Joker, & of course Batman.

Other highlights are the slippery popped out funk of "Trust" with lyrics that to me, really ask an interesting question of what makes someone trust you in a relationship. The searing guitar rock of "Electric Chair" is stunning. The doe-eyed, stripped down number "Scandalous" is sleek & takes it time.

"Vicki Waiting" is cool number, very relaxed, but has a very "wanton" attitude. Lyrically & compositionally it never tries harder than it should, but it seems like it wants to do more. I like how he conveyed that in the lyric & actual music at the same time.

The final cut,"Batdance" a mash-up of film bites & other various songs from the album is mad-cap & furiously funky fun. This song is sung by a character called Gemini, a Batman/Joker composite which Prince played in the video. Some thought it was a play on his own alternative personality Camille.

The only cuts that falls completely flat, is the dreaded duet with Sheena Easton on "Arms of Orion". I normally don't say this, but this song is quite irredeemable. The melody & lyric is just too syrupy & doesn't evoke too much emotion. If it does, it feels canned. This is why "Batman" gets four stars instead of five.

This record became a hugely popular, but caused fans to deem it as a decline in his work. But, if you want a record to just party to by Prince, "Batman" is solid enjoyable fun.