Review Summary: Forgive me for the length of the review, as it needed detail to describe the equally good and bad parts. While not necessairly a good launching pad to get into Prince world, it still holds some of his best material, ever. Just ignore the non-Prince songs.
IF ONLY I could travel in a time machine back to 1990 to beg Prince not to make the film, Graffiti Bridge. 1989 was a year of highs again as Prince hit the charts with a force with the Batman soundtrack. Perhaps it was a boost in confidence for him (as if he didn’t already have plenty); as it seemed like Prince himself felt he could do no wrong. He couldn't have been further away from the truth, as this film was sandblasted with awful reviews, even from Prince Fans. It barely gets away with the old cliché "so bad, it's good", as some parts in the film are completely hysterical, due to the cheese sandwich script, and downright terrible movie props. This bridge, with graffiti on it, is a paper Mache disaster that could fit in a single guy's studio apartment.
GB is a somewhat "sequel" to Purple Rain, as Prince plays The Kid, and Morris Day and The Time come back again. These are the only two plot points that even remotely resemble anything from Purple Rain. The film is set up like a musical, with none of the tracks really going along with the movie itself (Most of the music is great, as I will explain later). It is merely just a collection of Prince Songs put into certain scene sequences. What was he thinking?
Entirely written by Prince himself, he sent the script over to Madonna as he had hoped she would play the lead female role, Aura. In a hilarious story, Madonna told Prince straight-up "this script is a piece of ****". Of course this didn’t stop Prince, let alone hurt his ego, as he stubbornly pushed on. Aura eventually was played by Ingrid Chavez, Prince’s protégée at the time. Her role in the film is a "spiritual angel" (what?) that plays as a mutual friend between Prince and Morris. As in Purple Rain, Prince and Morris are fighting once again, but this time it’s over ownership to Prince’s nightclub, Glam Slam. Aura sits around this bridge all day (when really, it was a cheap prop that is still most likely in Paisley Park studios), and writes dull poetry, as P and Morris try to win her heart (Guess who gets it?)
Look, let me stop here. I’m writing a review on the album, not the movie. As for the album, it is excellent, if only in spades. Prince decided to use the compact disc format of 74 minutes, and loaded a single disc of great songs (that he sings), and near terrible songs (that other people sing). A track total of seventeen songs, it becomes quite clear this would have worked much better with less tracks on it, or just releasing the songs Prince performs on. What’s more appalling is that the other songs (done mostly by The Time, and even Mavis Staples!) are borderline horrendous. Not to even mention these songs were written by Prince!
I feel as though I’m giving you a bad view of this. Let us now get to the songs. To make it easier, I will break down which songs are sung by whom:
1. Can’t Stop This Feeling I got (Prince)
2. New Power Generation (Prince)
3. Release It (The Time)
4. The Question of U (Prince)
5. Elephants & Flowers (Prince)
6. Round and Round (Tevin Campbell, remember him?)
7. We Can Funk (Prince with the almighty George Clinton)
8. Joy In Repetition (Prince)
9. Love Machine (The Time, with some female named Elisa.)
10. Tick, Tick, Bang (Prince)
11. Shake (The Time)
12. Thieves in the Temple (Prince)
13. The Latest Fashion (The Time with Prince, but mostly The Time)
14. Melody Cool (Mavis Staples)
15. Still Would Stand all Time (Prince)
16. Graffiti Bridge (Prince with Staples, and Campbell)
17. New Power Generation Pt. 2 (Prince with a few other knuckleheads)
Now, for The Time. The Time as you may know was put-together by Prince to release his darker, more unfriendly pop songs with a man as cocky as Prince named Morris Day that was the lead singer. The Time got overwhelmingly positive press, and they wanted to get away from Prince. I can’t blame them as Prince wrote, composed, and performed all of their music. To make a long story short, Morris Day split from the Prince Camp and came back for this movie and soundtrack with a reunited Time. Prince writes the music for them again, but this time it fails, slightly. Release It, Love Machine, and The Latest Fashion are some of the most lackluster songs by The Time and Prince. That’s not to say they are awful as they certainly are not. But, maybe we as Prince Fans have gotten highly spoiled over the years as these songs just don’t cut the musTURD.
Moving along swiftly to the other artists (as Prince’s songs will be reviewed in a little bit), Tevin Campbell gives a one-off performance of the song Round and Round. As a toddler, I remember this single on Mtv quite often. It’s a good song, albeit awfully dated. However, Prince is quite a good lyricist, and these lyrics are some of the finest, most positive hes ever done. If I’ve been a bit harsh about the other non-Prince songs, this one is a keeper.
Mavis Staples, honey, baby, we got to talk. Mavis’ song Melody Cool is so bad; to even type it makes me nauseous. Stay away from this song! Please.
Ahh, now for Prince. Cant Stop This Feeling I Got is a song that dates way back to 1981, during the Controversy era. While Graffiti Bridge’s version isn’t so great, the early version is easily available online. I suggest you try to find it, as it is much better. New Power Generation is a fun party-anthem, with Prince boldly introducing his new band to the world. A fine tune, this is one of the better songs that stands away from this album’s criticism.
The Question of U stands as one of Prince’s absolute best songs. The melodies are rich; the percussion is fantastic, and the guitar! Oh. My. God. I’ve always referred to Prince’s guitar playing as “sloppy, and full of soul”, and this my new friends is a prime example of Prince working as a one-man band on all cylinders. The Question of U gets a solid ten out of ten, and for good reason. After that, we get Elephants & Flowers. E&E is a song that while it may appeal to people, it gets a bit too preachy. That’s not to say it’s a bad song as it certainly isn’t, but it’s kind of a bit light compared to the track before it.
We Can Funk is an absolute gem of a song. This was another song that dates back to the mid 80s, with different versions online everywhere (I’ve heard at least three, not including this album’s version). An early version includes a completely different structure, with vocals by Wendy & Lisa. IMHO the version that made Graffiti Bridge is the most superior. You know it won’t be bad when you have George Clinton and Prince performing together. Prince’s vocals really stand out on this, especially towards the end when he completely freaks out with such impassioned vocals. In a continuous sequence with We Can Funk, Joy in Repetition comes out of nowhere. This is also another stellar track, with a poetic, “free-form” approach to the lyrics. This track also boasts a tasteful guitar solo by Prince, which is hailed by many Fans to be one of his best.
Tick, tick, bang is a (dare I say it?) DUD. Here we have yet another song dating back to the 80s that is vastly superior to the GB version. Not to bring up the movie again, but when this song appears in the film, it’s embarrassingly bad, which adds more gas to the flame. As usual, the older version from the 80s of this song is easily available on the internet for you to hear. Go to that instead. Thieves in the Temple was the first lead-off single for the album. Out of all the Prince songs on this record, this is easily the most accessible. In an ironic twist of things, Thieves was the last song written (or the only original song written for the film itself, nobody really knows) for the album/movie, and it is the most well-known.
Still Would Stand all Time was a live song Prince was toying with during the Lovesexy tour after shows, and it was meant to be on the “Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic” album before Prince scrapped the album for the Batman soundtrack. While the live versions circulating on the net are highly excellent, the GB version lacks something. I’m not sure what, but I’m leaning towards “not enough guitar”. It still is the bomb, though. The song Graffiti Bridge is absolutely horrid, and if I ever meet Prince I might tell him that. Oh well, an awful title track to a bad movie. Go figure. Not even Clare Fischer’s strings on the song saves it, and that should tell you something. The reprised New Power Generation pt. 2 that ends the album is really bad, too. On this, it’s primarily just the music with some guy rapping in such a sub-par manner, it’s hysterical. Robin Powers (an annoying Prince Protégée at the time, and Morris’ girl in the movie) does this stupid call-and reply shout in the song. WHY PRINCE?!?!
Id like to apologize for the length of this review, and I thank you for reading it. I felt as though this album needed a full detailed review to understand it’s beautiful, and equally ugly moments. It’s very strange how this album holds some of Prince’s best material ever, and some of his absolute worst. What turned out to be a very eccentric project of sound and vision led to disaster that still echoes to this day. Shame, as this album has great moments. Do yourself a favor: If you decide to check this album out, just make a cd of the Prince songs. They absolutely save this record from the abyss, and this is just a reminder of how Prince can save the day and his ass when it needs to be done.
