Pandemonium (The Time album)
Encyclopedia
Pandemonium is a 1990 album by The Time
. Much like the three previous albums, the album consists of music in the funk
-pop
or ballad
genre, although this album breaks the 6-song album tradition. Originally, the album began life as Corporate World, with nearly all of the material written and performed by Prince
with Morris Day
and Jerome Benton
providing vocals. However, due to Warner Bros. Records
orders that the original band be involved, more songs were written and performed with various band members. Jesse Johnson
adds a rock and roll
-influenced sound to several tracks, while Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis provide their songwriting skills. The album is a tie-in with the film Graffiti Bridge
and several songs from the album appear in the film.
The album was certified Gold by the RIAA and "Jerk Out
" became one of the band's biggest singles. The second single, "Chocolate
" didn't fare as well.
. The title track "Corporate World" also remains unreleased; another danceable number with a positive message, much like "It's Your World" from Pandemonium. The opening track for the album was to be "Murph Drag", a dance later mentioned in the song "My Summertime Thang". It uses the "Fellas, I'm back" chant later used in the title track of "Pandemonium". (An edited version of "Murph Drag" was later released on Prince's website.) Four songs made it onto the Graffiti Bridge
soundtrack. "Shake!" and "Love Machine" were slightly edited. "Release It" was identical to the Graffiti Bridge version, however "The Latest Fashion" is quite different: not a battle between Prince and Day, and totally different music. The tracks that survived to Pandemonium ("Data Bank", "Donald Trump (Black Version)" and "My Summertime Thang") were all edited.
When the tracklist was changed for Pandemonium, Prince pulled out two more outtake
s from his vault: "Jerk Out" and "Chocolate". "Jerk Out" was originally intended for What Time Is It? but shelved and later revisited for the group Mazarati
before finally being rerecorded for Pandemonium. "Chocolate" was an outtake from Ice Cream Castle
, based partially on "Cloreen Baconskin", a Prince/Morris Day jam later released on Prince's Crystal Ball; a version is circulating with Prince on vocals. Some of his vocals even made it into the release version as a waiter arguing with Day. The remaining tracks on Pandemonium were written by various members of the band. One of the tracks, "Sometimes I Get Lonely", painted a very distinct picture of the signature slow jams that the production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis would be known for in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Time (band)
The Time is a funk and dance-pop ensemble formed in 1981. They are close Prince associates and arguably the most successful artists who have worked with him.-Prince, Formation and Success:...
. Much like the three previous albums, the album consists of music in the funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
-pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
or ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
genre, although this album breaks the 6-song album tradition. Originally, the album began life as Corporate World, with nearly all of the material written and performed 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...
with Morris Day
Morris Day
Morris E. Day is an American musician and composer. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.-1970s and 1980s:...
and Jerome Benton
Jerome Benton
Jerome Benton is an American musical performer, backup dancer and comedic actor. He can be seen in music videos by Janet Jackson and Prince, but he is best known for his association with The Time....
providing vocals. However, due to 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...
orders that the original band be involved, more songs were written and performed with various band members. Jesse Johnson
Jesse Johnson (musician)
Jesse Woods Johnson is a musician best known as the guitarist in the original lineup of The Time....
adds a rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
-influenced sound to several tracks, while Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis provide their songwriting skills. The album is a tie-in with the film Graffiti Bridge
Graffiti Bridge (film)
Graffiti Bridge is a 1990 drama/musical written, directed, and starring Prince. It is a sequel to his first film, Purple Rain, though notorious for its relatively low quality and poor performance at the box-office...
and several songs from the album appear in the film.
The album was certified Gold by the RIAA and "Jerk Out
Jerk Out
"Jerk Out" is a song from The Time's 1990 album Pandemonium. The song was originally recorded in December 1981 by Prince at his home studio during sessions for What Time Is It?. Prince originally performed all instruments and vocals and this recording remains unreleased. Prince reworked the...
" became one of the band's biggest singles. The second single, "Chocolate
Chocolate (The Time song)
"Chocolate" is a song from The Time's 1990 album Pandemonium. The song was originally recorded in mid-April, 1983 by Prince at Sunset Sound studios during sessions for Ice Cream Castle. Prince originally performed all instruments and vocals and this recording remains unreleased, but circulates...
" didn't fare as well.
Album origin: Corporate World
When Prince decided to use The Time in Graffiti Bridge, he once again composed an album for them, performing all the music as well as most background vocals. The album was to be called Corporate World and was quite a different album from Pandemonium. Two songs were never released: "9 Lives" features a female chorus and was initially meant for Prince's dancer/vocalist Cat GloverCat Glover
Catherine Vernice Glover born in Chicago, IL is a professional choreographer, dancer and singer.She originally hit the mainstream in television alongside her dance partner Patrick Allen in the duo known simply as "Pat & Cat" on the hit major talent show Star Search hosted by Ed McMahon...
. The title track "Corporate World" also remains unreleased; another danceable number with a positive message, much like "It's Your World" from Pandemonium. The opening track for the album was to be "Murph Drag", a dance later mentioned in the song "My Summertime Thang". It uses the "Fellas, I'm back" chant later used in the title track of "Pandemonium". (An edited version of "Murph Drag" was later released on Prince's website.) Four songs made it onto the Graffiti Bridge
Graffiti Bridge (album)
Graffiti Bridge is the twelfth studio album by Prince and the soundtrack to the 1990 film Graffiti Bridge.The album was much better received in sales than the film, reaching #6 in the US and #1 in the UK. Nearly every song on the record was written by Prince despite the handful of artists...
soundtrack. "Shake!" and "Love Machine" were slightly edited. "Release It" was identical to the Graffiti Bridge version, however "The Latest Fashion" is quite different: not a battle between Prince and Day, and totally different music. The tracks that survived to Pandemonium ("Data Bank", "Donald Trump (Black Version)" and "My Summertime Thang") were all edited.
When the tracklist was changed for Pandemonium, Prince pulled out two more outtake
Outtake
An outtake is a portion of a work that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DVD reissues of many albums and films as bonus tracks or features, in film often, but not...
s from his vault: "Jerk Out" and "Chocolate". "Jerk Out" was originally intended for What Time Is It? but shelved and later revisited for the group Mazarati
Mazarati
Mazarati was an American R&B band formed in the mid-1980s by former Prince and The Revolution bassist Brown Mark. Originally hailing from Minneapolis, they are now defunct as a group. The band's sole hit was a song called "100 MPH", which was written and co-produced by Prince.-Debut at Paisley...
before finally being rerecorded for Pandemonium. "Chocolate" was an outtake from Ice Cream Castle
Ice Cream Castle
Ice Cream Castle is a 1984 album by The Time. Much like the two previous albums, the album consists of six tracks in the funk-pop or ballad genre and it was produced and arranged by Prince as "The Starr ★ Company"...
, based partially on "Cloreen Baconskin", a Prince/Morris Day jam later released on Prince's Crystal Ball; a version is circulating with Prince on vocals. Some of his vocals even made it into the release version as a waiter arguing with Day. The remaining tracks on Pandemonium were written by various members of the band. One of the tracks, "Sometimes I Get Lonely", painted a very distinct picture of the signature slow jams that the production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis would be known for in the 1980s and 1990s.
Track listing
- "Dreamland" – 3:08
- "Pandemonium" – 4:11
- "Sexy Socialites" – 0:23
- "Jerk OutJerk Out"Jerk Out" is a song from The Time's 1990 album Pandemonium. The song was originally recorded in December 1981 by Prince at his home studio during sessions for What Time Is It?. Prince originally performed all instruments and vocals and this recording remains unreleased. Prince reworked the...
" – 6:49 - "Yount" – 0:22
- "Blondie" – 6:27
- "Donald Trump (Black Version)" – 4:33
- "ChocolateChocolate (The Time song)"Chocolate" is a song from The Time's 1990 album Pandemonium. The song was originally recorded in mid-April, 1983 by Prince at Sunset Sound studios during sessions for Ice Cream Castle. Prince originally performed all instruments and vocals and this recording remains unreleased, but circulates...
" – 7:31 - "Cooking Class" – 0:42
- "Skillet" – 6:11
- "It's Your World" – 5:25
- "Sometimes I Get Lonely" – 6:15
- "Data Bank" – 5:36
- "My Summertime Thang" – 6:52
- "Pretty Little Women" – 0:46
Singles and chart placings
- "Jerk OutJerk Out"Jerk Out" is a song from The Time's 1990 album Pandemonium. The song was originally recorded in December 1981 by Prince at his home studio during sessions for What Time Is It?. Prince originally performed all instruments and vocals and this recording remains unreleased. Prince reworked the...
" (#1 R&B, #9 Pop)
- "Jerk Out"
- "Mo' Jerk Out" – 7" single
- "Get It Up" – 12" single
- "Jerk Out" (Sexy Mix) – 12" single
- "Jerk Out" (Sexy Edit) – 12" single
- "Jerk Out" (A Capella) – 12" single
- "Jerk Out" (Sexy Dub) – 12" single
- "Jerk Out" (Sexy Instrumental) – 12" single
- "ChocolateChocolate (The Time song)"Chocolate" is a song from The Time's 1990 album Pandemonium. The song was originally recorded in mid-April, 1983 by Prince at Sunset Sound studios during sessions for Ice Cream Castle. Prince originally performed all instruments and vocals and this recording remains unreleased, but circulates...
" (#44 R&B)
- "Chocolate"
- "My Drawers"
- "Chocolate" (12 Inch Remix) – 12" single
- "Chocolate" (Tootsie Roll Club Mix) – 12" single
- "Chocolate" (Instrumental) – 12" single
- "Chocolate" (Percapella) – 12" single