'' is an unreleased Studio Album by Prince and The Revolution from 1986. The album was planned to consist of 2 LPs and cover a broad range of musical styles.
''Dream Factory'' began life in late 1985 after the '' Parade '' album was completed. Much like preceding albums '' Around The World In A Day '' and ''Parade'', ''Dream Factory'' was written by Prince in collaboration with Wendy And Lisa but to an even greater degree. The album started as a single set of nine songs, but evolved quickly to a double album with a large body of tracks being considered or rejected. A final configuration of the album was finished and Mastered , but just before the album was to be released The Revolution dissolved amidst personal and professional tensions (Wendy and Lisa claim they had grown tired of"non-musicians" often being incorporated into The Revolution line-up amongst other things); Prince then shelved the highly-collaborative album in his infamous "vault" in a desire to return to his "one-man-band" ways of recording.
'']]
Prince decided after additional recording sessions to combine various tracks from ''Dream Factory'', ''", "Slow Love", "Starfish & Coffee", " I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man ", " Sign "☮" The Times " and "The Cross", though several were edited to some degree.
# "Visions" – 2:14
# "Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A" – 0:49
# "Dream Factory" – 2:38
# "Train" – 4:19
# "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" – 4:02
# "It" – 5:09
# " Strange Relationship " – 4:25
# "Slow Love" – 4:18
# "Starfish & Coffee" – 2:47
# "Interlude" – 0:59
# " I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man " – 6:51
# " Sign "☮" The Times " – 3:41
# "Crystal Ball" – 9:29
# "A Place in Heaven" – 2:43
# "Last Heart" – 2:59
# "Witness 4 the Prosecution" – 3:58
# "Movie Star" – 4:26
# "The Cross" – 4:42
# "All My Dreams" – 7:09
Aside from the ''Sign "☮" the Times'' album, many of the ''Dream Factory'' tracks have since been released in some form or another.
- In 1989, Mavis Staples released her version of "Train" on her album ''Time Waits for No One''.
- A sequence of four tracks were considered for an early version of ''Dream Factory'': "Girl O' My Dreams", "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got", "We Can Funk" and "Data Bank". In 1990, three of these saw the light of day. The '' Graffiti Bridge '' album contained reworkings of "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got" and "We Can Funk". The Time 's '' Pandemonium '' album featured their version of "Data Bank", which was more of a complete song than Prince's jam-like track. A year later, ''Graffiti Bridge'' contributor T.C. Ellis , a Minneapolis Rapper , released his ''True Confessions'' album which had his reworking of "Girl O' My Dreams".
- In 1993, a track considered for one of the ''Dream Factory'' configurations, "Power Fantastic", was released on '' The Hits/The B-Sides '', although without the jazzy instrumental intro.
- In 1998, Prince revived the concept of ''Crystal Ball'' with the release of a 3-CD Album Of The Same Name . Four ''Dream Factory'' tracks were included: "Dream Factory", "Crystal Ball", "Last Heart", and "Movie Star" (though some of the tracks were edited versions).
- Prince later announced that he was considering working on an album of material originally recorded by The Revolution to be called ''Roadhouse Garden''. One of the mentioned tracks was "Witness 4 the Prosecution". The album has yet to materialize though.
- "" is a delicate Classical piano piece, performed by Lisa.
- "" is a short segment of "A Place in Heaven" played in reverse, featuring a humorous intro to the title track of an underaged Wendy and Lisa trying to enter a bar.
- "" features Prince sped-up Camille-like vocals in a highly funky number featuring numerous unique synth tones and effects.
- Prince's version of "" contains an unusual Drum Machine pattern to mimic the sound of a train engine, as well as synthesized train whistles. The upbeat track is classic Soul Music with falsetto vocals by Prince and some warm Brass by Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss .
- "" is performed in Prince's normal vocals (rather than as 'Camille') with backups by Wendy and Lisa. The Sitar is more noticeable in the mix as well as a more heavy drum machine loop.
- "" is a short jazzy Guitar solo by Wendy.
- "" is slightly longer than the released cut, with a bit of the bluesy guitar section before the main solo.
- "" is an edit, different from both the released single edit and album versions.
- "" lacks the extensive sound effects and strings on the released version, has a shorter intro and a spoken segment in a female voice dubbed as the "Purple Underground" speech amongst fans. This version of the song also does not contain the modern production and overdubs of the released version.
- "" is a simple drum machine cymbal pattern with piano, Harpsichord and vocals by Lisa. The fairly serious lyrics are offset by the whimsical music.
- "" is a bluesy rock number by Prince, supported by funky horn stabs and a Gospel -like chorus by Wendy and Lisa.
- "" is nearly identical to the released version but with a few more seconds of instrumentation and outro conversation. The released version also contains a newly added sample of " Jam Of The Year ".
- "" is a ''Parade'' leftover with Prince using an altered vocal that sounded like he was using an old microphone. Wendy and Lisa provide backups. The second part of the song has Prince in a slowed vocal over a jazzy arrangement. Part of this section was used in the ''Crystal Ball'' cut, "'''Acknowledge Me'''".
|
