Grafitti Bridge Soundtrack
One of Princes greatest albums in my mind (and ears). I had to buy this (again) as my vinyl doesn't see the daylight anymore, cassettes are a thing of the past and my old CD was simply lost. The soundtrack to Graffiti Bridge was much better received in sales than the movie of the same name, 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 performing, including Tevin Campbell (his first solo hit being Round & Round from Graffiti Bridge), Mavis Staples and The Time (also in Purple Rain). The album produced the hit single "Thieves In the Temple" as well as an anthem in two parts celebrating his newly christened backing band, the New Power Generation. The band would get its first official outing on Prince's next album, Diamonds and Pearls. Though its 17 tracks constituted a double album, the significance of this was paled by the rising popularity of the CD format.
The concept for the album/movie began as early as 1987, or possibly earlier, (soon after the great success of his film and soundtrack Purple Rain in 1984) but kept getting delayed for various reasons. The title track was originally recorded during this period, hence the liner notes listing Sheila E. and Boni Boyer as performers on the track. In fact, nearly the entire album is composed of songs previously recorded tunes that were updated for this release.
"Tick, Tick, Bang" was originally from 1981 and considered for Vanity 6. The update of the song includes an unaccredited drum sample from Jimi Hendrix's "Little Miss Lover". "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got" was from 1982, but later updated in 1986, along with a 1983 track, "We Can Funk" (of note is the melody similar to that of "Purple Rain" during the bridge of "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got". The two may have been Dream Factory out-takes and were both drastically updated for Graffiti Bridge.
"The Question of U" was from 1985, surviving with little updating to the original version. "Joy In Repetition" was a Crystal Ball outtake from 1986 that survived unchanged. Prince even kept the original segue of party noise at the beginning of the song. As mentioned, the title track was updated from the 1987 recording, as well as "Elephants & Flowers" and "The Latest Fashion" (later given to The Time). "Melody Cool" and "Still Would Stand All Time" were considered for an album called Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic in 1988, with the later two performed in some Lovesexy after shows. "Still Would Stand All Time" was also considered for Batman but was replaced by Scandalous. The 4 tracks featuring The Time were originally going to be on their defunct Corporate World album, recorded in 1989, though "The Latest Fashion" shares elements with "My Summertime Thang" from The Time's Pandemonium.
The only truly "new" material recorded for the album was "Round and Round", "New Power Generation" and "Thieves In the Temple", recorded at in January 1990 and included at the last minute. Many outtakes for the album are also in circulation, several of which exist as samples in "New Power Generation, pt. II".
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