''Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience'' is the debut album by American hip hop group

P.M. Dawn P.M. Dawn was an American hip hop and R&B act that formed in 1988 by the brothers Attrell Cordes (known by his stage name Prince Be, sometimes credited as Prince Be the Nocturnal) and Jarrett Cordes (known as DJ Minutemix) in Jersey City, New J ...

. It was recorded at Berwick Street Studios and Gee Street Studios in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The album features

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

vocals and

stream-of-consciousness In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. The term was coined by Daniel Oliver in 1840 in ''First Li ...

raps by Prince Be and unconventional samples by producer DJ Minutemix. ''Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross'' was released by

Gee Street Records Gee Street Records was a British hip hop record label started by Jon Baker in 1985. The label's name came from its original location, a converted warehouse on Gee Street (off Old Street) in London, EC1. Between 1980 and 1984, label head Ba ...

in September 1991 to rave reviews from music critics. It became an immediate commercial success with the help of its single "

Set Adrift on Memory Bliss "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" is a song by American hip-hop group P.M. Dawn, released in August 1991 as the second single from their debut album, '' Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience'' (1991). It is built around ...

", which was also praised by critics. The album produced four hits and sold 850,000 copies by 1993. ''Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross'' has sold one million copies.

Background

In 1989, P.M. Dawn's debut single "Ode to a Forgetful Mind" was released by

Warlock Records Warlock Records is a record label based in New York City that was founded in 1985 by Adam Levy (born 1962), whose father was record producer Morris Levy. Artists that recorded for Warlock Records include Jungle Brothers, Royal House, Skinny Boys ...

, but it went unnoticed. The label that released the single in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, found greater success. Gee Street mixed and marketed the song so that it earned considerable attention from music reviewers, and P.M. Dawn found themselves courted not just by Gee Street's head, John Baker, but also by most of the major record labels in the UK. Gee Street brought the group to

in 1990 to record tracks for an album, however, the label found itself facing bankruptcy during the recording. The entire Gee Street operation—along with P.M. Dawn's contract—was sold to the highest bidder, Island Records. Island issued a few more singles in the UK before releasing ''Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience'' as P.M. Dawn's debut album.

Singles

''Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross'' featured the international hit "

", which sampled the

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...

song "

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

", and featured a cameo by Spandau Ballet singer

Tony Hadley Anthony Patrick Hadley (born 2 June 1960) is an English pop singer. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the new wave band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley returned to the ban ...

in the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

of the song. "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" hit No. 1 the week of November 30, 1991, and holds the distinction of being the first No. 1 song on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart following the introduction of Nielsen SoundScan to the singles charts. The song also reached No. 3 in the United Kingdom. "

Paper Doll Paper dolls are figures cut out of paper or thin card, with separate clothes, also made of paper, that are usually held onto the dolls by paper folding tabs. They may be a figure of a person, animal or inanimate object. Paper dolls have been ine ...

", which was one of the early singles Island released in the UK to test the waters for the band, was released in the US as a follow-up to "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", and peaked at No. 28 in early 1992. "Paper Doll" is said well over 100 times in the song, which makes it second only to M.C. Hammer's "

Pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

", which holds the record for the most times a title is repeated in an American top-40 hit (147). "Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine", for which a music video was also produced, is featured as the opening song in the 1992 film ''

Encino Man ''Encino Man'' (known as ''California Man'' in France, Finland, Sweden, Great Britain, Asia, South Africa, and New Zealand) is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Les Mayfield in his directorial debut. The film stars Sean Astin, with a supp ...

'' but does not feature on the film's retail soundtrack.

Critical reception

''Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross'' received rave reviews from critics. In ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'', Robert Christgau wrote that Prince Be's escapist raps were skilled, thoughtful, and eccentric, while the music's varied synthesis was the most intelligently conceived since

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. T ...

: "It's got total outreach—moving effortlessly from speech to song, the quiet storm of sweet hooks and soft beats surprises like prime

Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guiar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a ne ...

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

, only it's never brittle or arch." '' Spin'' magazine's Jonathan Bernstein said P.M. Dawn had effortlessly consolidated artistic and commercial sounds with a combination of substantial rap, lushly appealing music, and impressive vocal arrangements on their debut record, which he wrote "comes out of nowhere and ends up on the front stoop soundtrack of the summer." James Bernard from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' felt that Prince Be's melodic, innovative lyrics and DJ Minutemix's unconventional sounds sounded sincere without being sappy, while drawing on influences from Jimi Hendrix and Prince without having either artist's sexual laments.

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

, writing in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'', found the songs memorable, artful, and infused with the silly raps of De La Soul, the compelling dance grooves of

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

, and the atmospheric

acid rock Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelic subculture. Named after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the style is generally defined by heavy, d ...

of Lenny Kravitz. ''Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross'' was voted the fifth best album of the year in ''The Village Voice''s annual

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...

critics poll for 1991. Christgau, the poll's creator, ranked it third on his own list. It was also named the tenth best album of 1991 by ''Spin'' magazine, and by

Robert Hilburn Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As critic and music editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays and profiles appeared in publications around the wor ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''. In his year-end list for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'',

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.Q'' magazine called ''Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross'' a beautiful, unconventional album that expanded the creative possibilities of hip hop and featured songs that "had little or nothing to do with the 'hood, but everything to do with Utopia".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's Steve Huey said that the album was a "startling reimagination" of hip hop's possibilities, even though it was not "embraced by the entire hip hop community." He felt that it still sounds radically innovative as proof that pop, R&B, and hip hop styles could be merged for creative rather than commercial purposes. In ''

The Encyclopedia of Popular Music ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Kno ...

'',

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

wrote that the album showed P.M. Dawn growing "out of the De La Soul comparisons that had previously plagued them" and becoming "one of the most concise, creative forces in rap/dance." Alex Remington of ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' said that it was "definitely a rap album, albeit one unlike anything released in the years to come ... Heard today, the album sounds like a time capsule from a more expansive era, and it stands the test of time." In 1999, Ned Raggett of '' Freaky Trigger'' ranked it at number 28 in a list of the best albums of the 1990s.

Track listing

All songs written by

Attrell Cordes Attrell Stephen Cordes, Jr. (May 15, 1970 – June 17, 2016), also known by the stage name Prince Be, was an American rapper, musician, singer and record producer. Cordes was the lead vocalist of the hip hop group P.M. Dawn, which he formed in ...

, except where noted. ;Sample credits * "Intro" contains a sample of "Imp's Welcome" performed by Chick Corea. * "Paper Doll" contains a sample of "Angola, Louisiana" performed by Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson. This was not noted in the album's liner notes at the time of the album's pressing. * "To Serenade a Rainbow" contains a sample of "Child of the Earth" performed by

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

and a sample of " Din Daa Daa" performed by

George Kranz George Kranz is a German dance music singer and percussionist. He is best known for his song "Trommeltanz", otherwise known as " Din Daa Daa". The song hit No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1984 and then returned to the chart in a ...

. * "Comatose" contains a sample of "Thankful and Thoughtful" performed by

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi ...

and a sample of "

I Walk on Guilded Splinters "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" (sometimes "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" or "Walk on Gilded Splinters") is a song written by Mac Rebennack using his pseudonym of Dr. John Creaux. It first appeared as the closing track of his debut album ''Gris-Gris'' ...

" performed by

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

. * "A Watcher's Point of View (Don't 'Cha Think)" contains a sample of "Feelin' Down Farther" performed by

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

. * "Even After I Die" contains a sample of "Garden of the Moon" performed by

Dennis Coffey Dennis James Coffey (born November 11, 1940) is an American guitarist. He was a studio musician for many soul and R&B recordings, and is well known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single " Scorpio". Biography Coffey learned to play guitar at the ...

. * "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" contains a sample of "

" performed by

. * "If I Wuz U" contains a sample of "Pocket Calculator" performed by Kraftwerk.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. * Cally – art direction * Andy Earl – photography * Scott Harding – engineering * Frankie Laine – photography (assistant) * P.M. Dawn – production * John Sherwood – engineering * Tyrell (The Computer Wiz) – engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience 1991 debut albums Gee Street Records albums P.M. Dawn albums Island Records albums