BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1989
“Batdance” is the ninth and final track on Prince’s eleventh album Batman (the motion picture soundtrack to the Tim Burton film Batman), and, two weeks prior to the album’s release, Batdance was released as the album’s first single, becoming Prince’s fourth number-one hit, and his first to achieve the feat of topping all 3 American charts since “Kiss” in 1986.
The B-side is “200 Balloons”, which was recorded for the film and serves as the musical blueprint for the main portion of “Batdance”. The song was rejected for the film by Tim Burton and replaced with “Trust”. The lyrics of “200 Balloons” reference the scene which it was created for to a greater degree than the replacement track, which is only connected to the scene by the Joker asking “Who do you trust?” after the song ends. Prince did little more than replace the lyrics of “200 Balloons” in its transition into “Batdance”. Only musical portions survived the transition, but full lyrics showed up in “The Batmix” (turn your head to the east, I be coming from the west). “200 Balloons” also contains samples of “House in Order” and “Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic”; the latter was another song submitted for inclusion in the movie, but rejected (it was replaced by “Partyman”).
SIDE A:
Batdance (The Batmix) 7:16
Producer [Additional Production], Remix – Mark Moore, William Orbit
SIDE B:
Batdance (Vicki Vale™ Mix Mix) 5:55
Producer [Additional Production], Remix – Mark Moore, William Orbit
200 Balloons 5:07
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Batdance | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #1 |
| 1989 | Batdance | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | #1 |
| 1989 | Batdance | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #1 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Bros. Records – 9 21257-0, Warner Bros. Records – 0-21257
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Funk / Soul
Style: House, Pop Rock, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Producer, Arranged By, Composed By, Performer – Prince
NOTES:
Original version of “Batdance” available on the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Soundtrack album BATMAN,™ a Warner Bros. Film.
Made in U.S.A.
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Username: btg
Password: burningtheground
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Ooh, more Prince rarities! Thanks for more audio treasures, PaulT 😉
Prince got at the time, caught up in the general wider audience expecting a movie with an album after Purple Rain’s massive success. Sign O The Times film, as spectacular and ambitious as it was didn’t resonate very well even though Prince had brought back stylistic elements of the Purple Rain era to tell his tale of rising above dystopia and urban, big city, inner city misery. Lovesexy was a contrast to that, the crossing of the line, the other side, but again, the messages were lost, too nebulous for the general public to follow along and the album and… Read more »
Thanks for sharing.
It’s funny — I was really, really disappointed by this album when it originally came out. After Prince’s fantastic run of albums during the 1980s, this one seemed pretty awful to me at the time. Looking back, I find that I actually like the album quite a lot now, and I especially love these remixes and the remixes of the other songs that were given the 12″ treatment. Thanks for posting this one!
OMG!! Thanks for this one!
Super, gracias Pault
De Nada Carlos 🙂
Oooooh i have never heard 200 Balloons and now im giddy as a schoolgirl.
Thanks Paul !
You’re welcome.
I have this 12″ release too but your pristine digital transfers are most welcome.
Thanks Paul 🙂
Thank you Marcus 🙂
Happy October first Paul!! My favorite month for my favorite holiday, Halloween! What a perfect way to launch the orange and black season with Prince’s “Batdance.” Thank you for re-introducing this one to us Paul. I miss Prince so very much and there really has been an up-swing for releasing his back catalog. I’m so glad you may be bringing Prince back to Burning The Ground. You make everything sound grander than it actually is, in my opinion. This is a great tribute to the Purple One.
Jeff
Happy October first, Jeff. I love this time of year when the moon sits a little lower and the nights get longer. Enjoy the record 🙂
This is one of those crazy songs by beloved Prince. Thanks a lot for this treasure (I lost the 12″ on a “friend’s” bag loooong time ago).
You’re welcome, Alberto 🙂