Glam Slam Ulysses was a 1993 musical production by Prince

Prince (musician)

Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

, loosely based on Homer

Homer

In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...

's Odyssey

Odyssey

The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...

, featuring a combination of live performances and video, with thirteen previously unreleased songs.

Each song represented an element from Homer's Odyssey (Ulysses is the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 name for the protagonist, Odysseus

Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....

). The musical received a limited performance at Prince's Glam Slam

Glam Slam

"Glam Slam" is a song by Prince, and the second single from his 1988 album, Lovesexy. The title originates from the sexual quote "Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am". The song has sexual overtones with a spiritual undertone and fits the Lovesexy theme of integrating God and sex. The song is complex...

 nightclub

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

, with a few shows being performed in late August to early September 1993. Carmen Electra

Carmen Electra

Tara Leigh Patrick , professionally known as Carmen Electra, is an American glamour model, actress, television personality, singer, and dancer...

, who was relatively unknown at the time, was a featured dancer in the performance, as was Frank Williams. Jamie King

Jamie King

Jamie King is a creative director and choreographer whose work directing concert tours for pop stars has grossed over two billion dollars...

 provided the choreography.

When Prince first announced to change his name to an unpronounceable symbol on June 7, 1993, he also stated that he would no longer be releasing new albums; instead he was to focus on alternative performances, films, etc., while his record company, Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

, would be able to release albums from Prince's vault of unreleased material to fulfill his contract. The first of these alternative performances would be Glam Slam Ulysses.

Songs

As listed on a flier for the production, the story elements were represented by the following songs:

Story element	Song
The Ship	"Strays of the World"
Lotus Land Lotus tree The lotus tree is a plant that occurs in two stories from Greek mythology:* In Homer's Odyssey, the lotus bore a fruit that caused a pleasant drowsiness and was the only food of an island people called the Lotophagi or Lotus-eaters...	"Dolphin"
The Cyclops Cyclops A cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...	"Interactive"
Circe Circe In Greek mythology, Circe is a minor goddess of magic , described in Homer's Odyssey as "The loveliest of all immortals", living on the island of Aeaea, famous for her part in the adventures of Odysseus.By most accounts, Circe was the daughter of Helios, the god of the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid...	"Pheromone"
Penelope Penelope In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps her suitors at bay in his long absence and is eventually reunited with him....	"Dark"
Hades Hades Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...	"Loose"
The Sirens Siren In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...	"Space Space (song) "Space" is a song by Prince from his 1994 album Come.The B-side of the single is actually the album track. The A-side is the "Universal Love Radio Remix" of "Space", with completely new lyrics.... "
Scylla Scylla In Greek mythology, Scylla was a monster that lived on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite its counterpart Charybdis. The two sides of the strait were within an arrow's range of each other—so close that sailors attempting to avoid Charybdis would pass too close to Scylla and vice...	"What's My Name"
Calypso Calypso (mythology) Calypso was a nymph in Greek mythology, who lived on the island of Ogygia, where she detained Odysseus for a number of years. She is generally said to be the daughter of the Titan Atlas....	"Endorphinemachine"
The Suiters	"Race"
The Trojan Horse Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside...	"Come"
The Homecoming	"Strays of the World"
The Celebration	"Pope"

Legacy

Most of the songs would eventually be released in some form over time. "Pope" was released as part of 1993's The Hits/The B-Sides

The Hits/The B-Sides

-Disc 2 :-Disc 3 :...

compilation. The bulk of the remaining material would be considered for the Come

Come (album)

Come is the fifteenth studio album by Prince, released during his public dispute with his then-record company, Warner Bros.-Evolution of the album:...

album, albeit not all of the planned songs made the final release. Come would end up including the following tracks: "Pheromone", "Dark", "Loose", "Space", "Race" and "Come", though "Dark", "Loose", and "Race" were heavily remixed and "Come" was re-recorded as an entirely new number. Although not listed on the Glam Slam Ulysses track listing, "Orgasm", originally part of "What's My Name" was also included on Come.

"Dolphin" and "Endorphinmachine" would end up being released on The Gold Experience

The Gold Experience

The Gold Experience is the seventeenth studio album by Prince . It was released on September 26, 1995...

in 1995 — both songs would be slightly remixed. "Interactive" was considered at one point, but did not make the final release.

"Interactive", "What's My Name" and "Strays of the World" would eventually be released on Prince's Crystal Ball in 1998, with little changes to the original versions. Also on Crystal Ball were remixes of "Dark" and "Loose" (called "So Dark" and "Get Loose"), as well as a track called "18 & Over", which is essentially a remix of the album version of "Come", but with new lyrics.