Releases...1993
Prince |
Associates |
| Prince - The Hits/The B-Sides | |||
Producer: Prince
Highest Pop Chart Position: The Hits 1 -
46(US) 5(UK) |
Notes | ||
| Whenever a record
company decides to put out a greatest hits compilation, it usually signifies a number of
disturbing reasons... One signal being that the company and the artist(s) are about to end
their relationship. Disagreements between Warners and Prince were at the time beginning to
surface and made increasingly public. Granted, by this time a Prince compilation was long overdue, but it was also widely understood that Prince was against releasing compilation albums of any his work. Politics aside, this set did represent a good example of his prolific volume of work, 3 CD's were required to cover his musical career in any real depth. The idea being that CD-1 covered his PG-rated material, CD-2 a little more risqué and CD-3 his famous B-sides. It would have been nice from a fans point-of-view to have had the full versions of all the tracks contained on the CD (most were edited down - 7"single released versions), but it's understandable to edit down in order to showcase as much music and different styles of the man as possible. One of the main purposes of compilations is to introduce new people who are perhaps unfamiliar with an artist back catalogue of work, to an overview of past career highlights. The job was achieved in that respect. Most fans will already have most of what's on the CD's apart from the new tracks "Pink Cashmere", "Pope", "Peach", "Power Fantastic" and a few rare b-sides. For the CD quality of the b-sides alone, this set is well worth the purchase. Standout Tracks: Take your pick! Experience Rating: Great compilation marred only by the editing of some tracks (9/10) |
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| Single Releases: Peach [UK chart position No.14 Oct 93], Pink Cashmere (Promo only), Controversy [UK chart position No.5 Dec 93] | |||
| Jacob Armen - Drum Fever | |||
Producer: Jacob Armen
|
Notes | ||
| Another display of the amazing
diversity and daringness and eclectic nature of the Paisley Park label. This is an
hybrid of Jazz/Rock/Latin instrumentals with Jacob's flashy (sometimes
overbearing) drumming on top. Imaging a Sheila E drum solo lasting
48mins, with backing from a heavy rock band in the first half and a big
jazz band in the next...is the only way this reviewer can describe this
album. Don't get me wrong, Jacob's an amazing drummer. This album
shows off his talents and does have some inventive moments... but at the
end of it all I just needed an aspirin for my pounding head...! This has the accolade of being the last ever CD issued on the Paisley Park label before Warners pulled the plug and officially closed it down in Feb. 1993. Few copies escaped onto the market before being withdrawn, making this the rarest and most sort after item to be found on the Paisley Park label (it was then later re-issued on the NPG label in 1995 with limited distribution by German company Edel to parts of Europe only). Standout Tracks: Gothic Metal, El Mambo Tigre, Crash Of The Planet Earth. Paisley Involvement: Low Experience Rating: One for all the drum freaks out there.... (6/10) |
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| Single Releases: None | |||
| Tevin Campbell - I'm Ready | |||
Producers: Babyface, Daryl Simmons, Narada Michael Walden, Paisley Park
|
Notes | ||
| Often touted as
"the next Michael Jackson", Quincy Jones's young protégé Tevin Campbell had an
R&B hit with "Round And Round" from Prince's flop movie Graffiti
Bridge.
On the strength of that song
Quincy decided to use Prince (along with other producers) for Tevin's next album.
The story goes that Prince wanted to write and produce the whole album, but only
four of his tracks were selected. The best two being the brilliantly funky "Paris
1798430" and the sexy risqué centerpiece
of the album "Shhh"- most played
track off the album which was promo-ed to radio but never saw official release. Prince's
own version of the track can be found on The Gold Experience album.
Overall a pretty strong album
from Tevin with the Babyface produced ballads gaining most attention.
Standout Tracks: Can
We Talk, I'm Ready, Paris 1798430, Always In My Heart, Shhh |
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| Single Releases: Can We Talk, Don't Say Goodbye Girl/The Halls Of Desire (remixes), I'm Ready, The Halls Of Desire (Jap CD5 release), Shhh (Radio Promo Only) | |||
| George Clinton - Hey Man... Smell My Finger | |||
Producers: George Clinton, Kerry Gordy, William Bryant III, Foley, DeWayne "Blackbird"
McKnight, Dallas Austin, Prince, Bill Laswell, Garry Shider
|
Notes | ||
| Like Mavis, Clinton
returned in '93 with his second slice of his own brand of mad P-funk for Paisley. A
lot more commercial and satisfying than his previous release for the label, sales of the album were
helped by the hilarious video for the first single "Paint The White House Black"
which had Bill and Hilary Clinton lookalikes getting down in the White
House. George
really found his feet at Paisley with this album, pity that Warners closed down the label
soon after its release. Standout Tracks: Martial Law, Paint The White House Black, Hollywood, Rhythm And Rhyme, If True Love, High In My Hello, Maximumisness Paisley Involvement: Low Experience Rating: Hey Man.... This P-funk shit smells so damn funky!!! (8/10) |
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| Single Releases: Martial Law, Paint The White House Black | |||
| Eric Leeds - Things Left Unsaid | |||
Producers: Gil Goldstien, Eric Leeds, Matt Pierson
|
Notes | ||
| Hornman Eric Leeds
returned with his second solo album for Paisley Park. Whereas his previous album
featured Prince heavily, this album was purely Eric's creation with help from non-Paisley
jazz session musicians/songwriters, resulting in a more traditional mainstream jazz/Latin/fusion type of album
without the quirkiness or inventiveness that Prince can inject into this
type of music. Eric's horn playing is
top class as usual, but there's very little here to distinguish it from the many similar
types of jazz albums of this kind on the market. A pleasant laid-back album nevertheless. Standout Tracks: Isla Mujeres, Things Left Unsaid, Aguadilla Paisley Involvement: Low Experience Rating: Serious chill-out music (7/10) |
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| Single Releases: None | |||
| Mavis Staples - The Voice | |||
Producers: Prince, Ricky Peterson, Danny Madden, Rick Brown, Gordon Williams, Emanuel R. LeBlanc, Michael Stokes, Tom Tucker, Kirk Johnson
|
Notes | ||
| Mavis Staples returned
in '93 with a second slice of husky gospel flavoured funk and soul with The Voice.
An album that was a lot more funkier and less mainstream R&B than the last. Half of the album
had songs that were written by Prince and produced by Ricky Peterson, the other half with
songs by various other writers/produces. Needless to say that the Prince written songs
worked better, particularly the standout track "The Undertaker" Standout Tracks: The Voice, You Will Be Moved, The Undertaker. Paisley Involvement: Medium/High Experience Rating: The Undertaker blows everything else away on this album. (7/10) |
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| Single Releases: The Voice, Blood Is Thicker Than Time, Melody Cool | |||
| Jody Watley - Intimacy | |||
|
Producers:
Andre Cymone, Jody Watley, Jon Nettlesbey, Terry Coffey, David Morales,
Art & Rhythm, Philip Kelsey
|
Notes |
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| On her last collaboration with
Andre Cymone (whom she later revealed that she had been secretly married
to and divorced from) and last album on MCA, Watley finally gets right
what she attempted on her previous album. She hooks up with Art &
Rhythm, who create the best tracks here with a deep soul sound. The
ballads are better, and the house track "Ecstasy" pumps. Cymone’s
tracks are the weakest, evidence that they had lost their collaborative
powers. Jody was finally on to a new (though largely unsuccessful)
direction, from R&B/pop thrush to soul diva. Standout Tracks: Ecstasy, When a Man Loves a Woman, Your Love Keeps Working On Me Paisley Involvement: None Experience Rating: Cymone’s swan song appears to be for the best… (7/10) |
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| Single Releases: Your Love Keeps Working On Me, When A Man Loves A Woman | |||
