BATDANCE

Okay, I know I just did a big Prince post not too long ago and this track was included in it, but this is a better quality mp3 which has been "loudened-up" a bit. Unfortunately, I can't say this is from the highest quality source, but I'm sure you spectral examining folks out there won't notice the difference. But just in case you were wondering, this version went from an unknown source, to a bootleg 12", to a cassette tape made over 15 years ago, to a tape deck which I used to transfer it to an older computer, to a 192kbps mp3, now to my current machine where I fucked with the compression and pitch a little bit because it wasn't loud enough and it ran a bit too fast. So, by all rights this is not a properly transferred version of this track, but if you look at the spectrals of my source, the aforementioned 15 year old cassette, I'm sure you'll agree not much has been sacrificed. On top of that, the version of this track normally circulating seems to have the very end a bit fucked up, and this version is complete and accurate.

Anyway, onto the story for a minute. Prince, as usual, recorded way too much stuff for the Batman project which had evolved from an album tentatively referred to as "Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic". When he was offered the Batman soundtrack he converted some of the material over and created some new material. "Batdance", if Alan Leeds' notes from "The Hits" compilation are to be believed, was created as a remix for the song "200 Balloons", which was the original b-side to "Batdance". That song had been offered for use in the film during the sequence where the Joker tries to gas Gotham while throwing millions of dollars into the streets, but it was turned down in favor of "Trust". Prince, nonetheless, completed the "Batdance" track which was kind-of a soundtrack megamix as it featured bits and pieces of dialogue from the movie, songs from the album and even more songs that didn't make the cut. Pieces of "Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic" and "We Got The Power" can be heard throughout, as well as a vocal sample of Mavis Staples from an early version of the song "House In Order", or at least that's what I think it is. "Batdance", of course, was loved and gained release as the lead-off track for the album. It was edited down to remove some of the lengthier and unreleased bits, as well as to censor the original "GET THE FUCK UP" line. The original version eventually leaked though and, if you were so inclined, you could now listen to the track as it was and should have been released. I still wish this version had been released for the 12" instead of the William Orbit remixes, but it's pretty hard to make Prince do things other than the way he wants to do them. Supposedly, those versions were created because Prince liked tracks he'd heard by S'express, but we all know how fickle the flavor of the month can be, so now we're left with some fragments from the late 80s.

Anyway, I'm going to do more Prince posts eventually, as well as some posts on his jazz side project, Madhouse. Before those things though, we'll be talking about Juliana Hatfield, the fantastic WordSound label and the Jungle Brothers' "Crazy Wisdom Masters" which, I hate to break it to you, has not leaked in it's entirety. Maybe one day it will, or better yet, maybe one day it will see official release! For now though, please enjoy this little hold-over and I will be posting more goodies soon enough. If anything, at least this post puts Sheryl Crow's ugly-ass face a little further down from the top of the page. For now, peace and love to all of you, props to Kevin Smith (I'm sure any Smithites know what I'm talking about), and a big middle finger to Sheryl Crow. Kevin, this one is for you!

Prince - Batdance (Original Version)