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Parade
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Parade (album)





Album Information

  Name Parade
  Type Soundtrack
  Artist Prince
  Cover Prince_Paradejpg
  Released March 31 , 1986
  Recorded Washington Avenue Warehouse ( Mpls ) and Sunset Sound April – December 1985
  Genre Pop , Rock , Funk , Jazz
  Length 42:18
  Label Paisley Park / Warner Bros Records <br><small>25395<small />
  Producer Prince
  "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Robert_Christgau" class="copylinks">Robert Christgau (A-) link
  Last Album '' Around The World In A Day ''<br />(1985)
  This Album '''''Parade'''''<br />(1986)
  Next Album '' Sign “O” The Times ''<br />(1987)


'''''Parade: Music from the Motion Picture "'' to 1985's '' Around The World In A Day '' gave way to slicked-back hair and dress suits. Even though the single " Kiss " was a number one hit, the album as a whole was not well-received in the U.S. Europe, however, embraced the album and for the first time in Prince's career, European album sales eclipsed those in the U.S. This was Prince's final album released with The Revolution .

The first four tracks were recorded in sequence with Prince laying down the drum track to all four from memory. They can almost be considered a Suite , having a very continuous feel and unusual instrumentation. " Girls & Boys " is the first Funk track on the album. It features an unusual duck-like keyboard sound, Saxophone by Eric Leeds and a French -spoken Monologue . It's also notable for the first known case pseudo- Rapping by Prince. "Life Can Be So Nice" features drums by Sheila E. and cuts suddenly to the serene Instrumental "Venus de Milo".

Side 2 starts with the lush " Mountains " and leads into the very unusual "Do U Lie?", sounding like a something from a classic French street Crooner . Next is the minimalist funk track " Kiss ", the album's biggest hit. It immediately leads into " Anotherloverholenyohead ", a funky dance track. The album finishes with the sad ballad, "Sometimes It Snows in April" which has become a fan-favorite.

The album was for the most part a solo effort from Prince aside for the full band's input on "Mountains". Wendy And Lisa are co-credited with writing the music for "Mountains" and "Sometimes It Snows in April", and singing backup on many tracks. John L. Nelson , Prince's father, is credited as co-composer on "Christopher Tracy's Parade" and "Under The Cherry Moon". Several other contributions are, also, featured throughout the album. Clare Fischer composed and arranged the orchestra heard on many tracks. Eric Leeds and Sheila E. provide some instrumentation and/or singing on various tracks. Prince's then-fiancée Susannah Melvoin (Wendy's identical twin sister) provides backing vocals on several tracks and their brother, Jonathan Melvoin plays the drums on "Do U Lie?". Prince's wardrobist, Marie France provides the French vocals in "Girls & Boys".


CHARTS



TRACK LISTING

# "Christopher Tracy's Parade" (John L. Nelson, Prince) – 2:11
# "New Position" – 2:20
# "I Wonder U" – 1:39
# "Under the Cherry Moon" (Nelson, Prince) – 2:57
# " Girls & Boys " – 5:29
# "Life Can Be So Nice" – 3:13
# "Venus de Milo" – 1:55
# " Mountains " – 3:57
# "Do U Lie?" – 2:44
# " Kiss " – 3:37
# " Anotherloverholenyohead " – 4:00
# "Sometimes It Snows in April" – 6:48


SINGLES AND HOT 100 CHART PLACINGS


  • " Kiss " (#1 U.S., #1 R&B, #6 UK)

  • # "Kiss"

# "♥ or $"



  • " Mountains " (#23 U.S., #15 R&B, #45 UK)

  • # "Mountains"

# "Alexa de Paris"




# "Under the Cherry Moon"
# " Erotic City " — ''12" version only''
# "She's Always In My Hair" — ''double 7" version only''
# " 17 Days " — ''double 7" version only''




# "Girls & Boys" — ''U.S. version only''
# " I Wanna Be Your Lover " — ''UK version only''




TRIVIA

  • "Chistopher Tracy's Parade" was originally titled "Little Girl Wendy's Parade" and is referenced in the song " Kiss ".

  • "New Position" was a 1982 track pulled from Prince's vault and re-recorded from scratch for ''Parade''.

  • The album is Prince's first to use a full Orchestra , featuring arrangements by Jazz Composer Clare Fischer .

  • Several unreleased songs from the ''Parade'' sessions, including "Old Friends 4 Sale", "In All My Dreams" and "There's Others Here with Us", have become fan favorites. These tracks entered collector's hands via the very well known bootleg "Charade", which also includes other unreleased and unfinished recordings from the era.

  • The song " Kiss " was a simple demo given to the band Mazarati for their debut album. After hearing their rearrangement of the song, Prince reclaimed the track, made a few changes and had an instant hit. Prince retained Mazarati's backing vocals, for which they were given credit.

  • While "Parade" is the last official release with The Revolution, a followup called '' Dream Factory '' was recorded. It's release was canceled when Prince disbanded the group.



EXTERNAL LINKS