''Batman'' is the eleventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American recording artist

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

and the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

to the 1989 film ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

''. It was released on June 20, 1989, by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. As a

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

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 revival. The result was yet another multi platinum successful cross media enterprise by Warner Bros., in the vein of '' Purple Rain''. The album stayed at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 for six consecutive weeks, being his first number one album since ''

Around the World in a Day ''Around the World in a Day'' is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the second release where his backing band The Revolution is billed. It was released on April 22, 1985, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. R ...

'', while its lead single, "Batdance", became his first number one song since "

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

". It is certified

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA).

Production

The album was recorded in six weeks, from mid February to late March 1989, and Prince used three tracks recorded earlier: "Electric Chair", " Scandalous!", and "Vicki Waiting" (originally known as "Anna Waiting", named for his then girlfriend Anna Fantastic). Originally, the songs "

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

" and "

Baby I'm a Star "Baby I'm a Star" is a song written and recorded by American musician Prince from his album '' Purple Rain''. It is also the B-side on the "Take Me with U" single. Release "Baby I'm a Star" has been played live many times since its inception an ...

" from earlier albums were slated to be used in the film, but Prince instead recorded an entire album's worth of material with

samples and lyrics. In a 2001 ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' interview, Prince revealed that the project was initially supposed to be a collaboration between himself and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

: "Did you know that the album was supposed to be a duet between Michael Jackson and me? He as Batman, me as the Joker?" Prince would have sung

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

songs for the villains, while Michael Jackson would have sung

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

for the heroes. This never came to fruition as Jackson was busy with his

Bad World Tour Bad was the first solo concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson, launched in support of his seventh studio album '' Bad'' (1987). Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts for over 4.4 million fans across ...

and already signed with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

(the label he had been with since 1975), while the film was a

production. The album was performed entirely by Prince, with a few exceptions:

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

duets with Prince on "

The Arms of Orion "The Arms of Orion" is a 1989 song by Prince and Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television progra ...

", "Trust" features a sampled

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

part by

Eric Leeds Eric Leeds is an American saxophone player, mostly known for his work with Prince. He has recorded mostly music in the pop and funk genres, but is a studied jazz musician.Cole, George.Eric Leeds: Interviews: The Last Miles: The Music of Miles D ...

and

Atlanta Bliss Matthew "Atlanta Bliss" Blistan (born c. 1952) is an American jazz trumpeter. He is best known for his work with Prince from 1985–1991. He won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for the 1986 single "Kiss" by P ...

, and " The Future" features strings by

Clare Fischer Douglas Clare Fischer (October 22, 1928 – January 26, 2012) was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. After graduating from Michigan State University (from which, five decades later, he would receive an honorary doctorate ...

sampled from the then unreleased 1986 track "Crystal Ball" and samples of the

Sounds of Blackness Sounds of Blackness is a vocal and instrumental ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota who perform music from several genres music including gospel, R&B, soul, and jazz. The group scored several hits on the ''Billboard'' R&B and Hot Dan ...

choir. "

Batdance "Batdance" is a song by American musician Prince, from the 1989 ''Batman'' soundtrack. Helped by the film's popularity, the song reached number one in the US, becoming Prince's fourth American number-one single and his first number-one hit sinc ...

" includes a sample of Prince's technician Matthew Larson, and "

Partyman "Partyman" is a song by American musician Prince from his 1989 ''Batman'' album, and the follow-up to his number one hit, " Batdance". The song is one of the few on the album to be prominently featured in the film, accompanying the scene in which ...

" features the vocal performance of then girlfriend Anna Garcia (credited as Anna Fantastic). All dialogue sampled on Prince's ''Batman'' album is taken directly from a

workprint A workprint is a rough version of a motion picture, used by the film editor(s) during the editing process. Such copies generally contain original recorded sound that will later be re-dubbed, stock footage as placeholders for missing shots or speci ...

of ''Batman'' and therefore lacks

ADR ADR or adr may refer to: Computing * Asynchronous DRAM refresh, an approach for persistent memory found in some Intel Xeon processors * The adr microformat, part of the hCard microformat * Architectural decision record * Action–domain–respond ...

and foley. This is especially noticeable in the beginning of the first track, "The Future", with dialogue of

Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in ''Beetlejuice'' ( ...

speaking as Batman. In the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

, the lyrics of each song are associated with one of the characters in the film: "The Future" and "Scandalous" are credited to Batman; while "Electric Chair" and "Trust" are credited to the Joker. "Vicki Waiting" is sung from the perspective of Bruce Wayne, while "Lemon Crush" comes from

Vicki Vale Victoria Vale (usually called "Vicki" or "Vickie") is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the character debuted in ' ...

; the two characters share the duet, "The Arms of Orion". "Partyman" was inspired by Prince's first meeting with

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

(out-of-character) on-set. "Batdance", whose lyrics consist mostly of samples from the film, is credited to all aforementioned parties, as well as Gemini, Prince's Batman centric

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

that resembles Batman villain

Two-Face Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batman's ...

—Prince on the right half of the body and the Joker on the left. Prince himself is credited with singing two lines of the album as himself: "Who do you trust if you can't trust

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

? Who can you trust—who can ya? Nobody" in "Trust"; and the word "STOP!" which ends "Batdance" and the album proper (though the "STOP!" is actually a

sound bite A sound bite or soundbite is a short clip of speech or music extracted from a longer piece of audio, often used to promote or exemplify the full length piece. In the context of journalism, a sound bite is characterized by a short phrase or sentence ...

of Michael Keaton, directly from the film where he tells the

Batmobile The Batmobile is the fictional car driven by the superhero Batman. Housed in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is both a heavily armored tactical assault vehicle and a personalized custom-built pursuit a ...

to stop). The ''Batman'' era also marked a change in Prince's appearance; he switched out the elaborate costumes,

polka dot Red polka dots on a yellow background Girl wearing polka dot dress Polish ceramics German ceramics Polka dot is a pattern consisting of an array of large filled circles of the same size. Polka dots are commonly seen on children's clothing, ...

s and

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

from ''

Lovesexy ''Lovesexy'' is the tenth studio album by American recording artist Prince. The album was released on May 10, 1988 by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded in just seven weeks, from mid-December 1987 to late Janua ...

'' for much simpler attire, usually donning dark blue/black clothing and "Batman" boots. The artist's hair was fully straightened from his signature wavy curls, as shown in the "Batdance" video.

Reception

In 2016, film critic

Matt Zoller Seitz Matt Zoller Seitz (born December 26, 1968) is an American film and television critic, author and film-maker. Career Matt Zoller Seitz is editor-at-large at RogerEbert.com, and the television critic for '' New York'' magazine and Vulture.com, as ...

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". In 2019, a Symposium took place to discuss the album.

Ownership complexities

Prince had to agree to sign the publishing rights to the songs used in the film over to

; 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 ''The Hits/The B-Sides'' is a box set by American recording artist Prince. It was released on September 10, 1993, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album is a comprehensive three- disc set consisting of many of his hit single ...

'' collection. On concert

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

s 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 The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

of the ''Batman'' film contains Prince's related videos as a bonus feature (although the video for "Partyman" is an edited down version of the original seven-minute long video).

Track listing

All songs written by

, except where noted.

Personnel

– lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion *

– saxophone (6) *

– trumpet (6) *

– choir (1) *

– co-lead vocals (3) *

– orchestration (1)

Singles and Hot 100 chart placings

" (#1 US, #1 US R&B, #2 UK) #"Batdance" (edit) #"200 Balloons" #"Batdance" (The Batmix) (maxi single) #"Batdance" (Vicki Vale Mix) (maxi single) *"

" (#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" 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)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

*
Batman
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

* {{Authority control 1989 soundtrack albums 1980s film soundtrack albums Albums produced by Prince (musician) Batman (1989 film series) Batman film soundtracks Prince (musician) albums Prince (musician) soundtracks Warner Records soundtracks 1989 albums Albums recorded in a home studio Warner Records albums