Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 100 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, representing a varied cross-section of films and musical genres. Click “Next Soundtrack” below to explore each soundtrack in the list or for easier navigation, view the full introduction & soundtrack index here.
Batman
Warner Bros. (1989)
Selected by Andy Healy
So…when is a soundtrack album not a soundtrack album? That’s the question with Batman, the 1989 album from Prince. As the story goes, initially the concept for Tim Burton’s Batman reboot was to have Prince contribute a collection of songs for one side of the album and Michael Jackson to contribute the other. A nice idea in funk-pop concept, but that idea soon fell by the wayside (and let’s face it, Jackson took his time to release anything, unlike the always prolific Prince.)
So as Prince dug in and started writing, he took the unique approach of writing songs from the perspective of the characters and sampled lines from the actors to enhance the tie-in. This led to songs like the gloomy funk of “The Future” being attributed to Batman, while his alter-ego Bruce Wayne is all seductive on “Arms of Orion” and contemplative on the skittish “Vicki Waiting.” Elsewhere, the Joker is allowed to run amok with the amped up “Electric Chair,” the manic funk of “Party Man” and the hyped up jam “Trust.”
It all comes together in the mega-beta-mix of “Batdance,” which even loops in the songs Prince originally wrote for the movie (“Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic” and “200 Balloons”).
Whilst Prince’s actual contributions that appeared in the movie were slight by comparison, and the official score was done by wunderkind Danny Elfman, this quasi-soundtrack album still manages to encapsulate the darkness and madness of Burton’s vision with a much funkier edge.
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