Batman (album)
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Released June 21, 1989
Recorded June 1988 – March 1989
Studio Paisley Park Studios
Genre
Rock pop funk soul synthpop minimal orchestral dance
Length 42:52
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Prince
Batman is the eleventh studio album by American recording artist Prince and the soundtrack album to the 1989 film Batman. It was released on June 21, 1989 by Warner Bros. Records. 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 multi-platinum successful cross-media enterprise by Warner Bros., in the vein of Purple Rain. The album was No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart for six consecutive weeks. It has sold over eleven million copies worldwide. 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.”
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 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. On 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 performed a number of the album’s tracks in concert over the years. A 2005 special edition DVD of the Batman film contains Prince’s related videos as a bonus feature (although “Partyman” is still edited down from the original longer version, much to the chagrin of fans). Wedged between Lovesexy and Graffiti Bridge, the soundtrack serves as Prince’s final album contribution of the 1980s.
Track listing
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. “The Future” Prince 4:07
2. “Electric Chair” Prince 4:08
3. “The Arms of Orion” (with Sheena Easton) Prince, Sheena Easton 5:02
4. “Partyman” Prince 3:11
5. “Vicki Waiting” Prince 4:52
6. “Trust” Prince 4:24
7. “Lemon Crush” Prince 4:15
8. “Scandalous!” Prince, John L. Nelson 6:15
9. “Batdance” Prince 6:13
Personnel
Prince – lead vocals and various instruments
Eric Leeds – saxophone
Atlanta Bliss – trumpet
Sounds of Blackness – choir
Sheena Easton – co-lead vocals
Clare Fischer – orchestration
Source: PrinceVault.com
Singles and Hot 100 chart placings
“Batdance” (#1 US, #1 US R&B, #2 UK)
“Batdance” (edit)
“200 Balloons”
“Batdance” (The Batmix) (maxi-single)
“Batdance” (Vicki Vale Mix) (maxi-single)
“Partyman” (#18 US, #5 US R&B, #14 UK)
“Partyman”
“Feel U Up”
“The Purple Party Mix” (maxi-single)
“Partyman” (music mix) (maxi-single)
“Partyman” (video mix) (maxi-single)
“The Arms of Orion”
“The Arms of Orion” with Sheena Easton (#36 US, #27 UK)
“I Love U in Me”
“Scandalous!” (US) (#5 US R&B)
“Scandalous!”
“When 2 R in Love”
“The Crime” (“The Scandalous Sex Suite” maxi-single)
“The Passion” (“The Scandalous Sex Suite” maxi-single)
“The Rapture” (“The Scandalous Sex Suite” maxi-single)
“Sex” (“The Scandalous Sex Suite” maxi-single)
“The Future” (UK/Germany)
“The Future” (Remix)
“Electric Chair” (Remix)