Lost/Forgotten Album #268

This week's selection might not be the sixth in a series. Then again, it most probably is.

Those that have seen "Purple Rain" should know who The Time are. If you're one of those that haven't seen that movie, maybe you've seen them in "Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back". If not, maybe you've seen them in another one of those Prince movies.

There's rumors goin' round about the first three albums from The Time. See, supposedly they're actually Prince albums since he maybe might have played all the instruments on those albums (with the exception of geetar on "Ice Cream Castles", at the very least) but left the vocals to Morris Day. I don't think the real story has been officially released, so believe what you will.

"Pandemonium", released in 1990, was the first album from The Time since 1984's "Ice Cream Castle" and featured the original members, including Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam who had left (or been fired) after 1982's "Ice Cream Castle".

The first three albums from The Time had six songs apiece. As you can see by the track listing below, there's much more than six this time around. Of course some people will complain that there's "too many" songs and that the album is too long since it's a tad over an hour long. And then we can't forget about that certain someone who'll complain about this week's selection since it's technically not lost or forgotten because it did reach #18 on the charts.

Of course we wouldn't have heard this on rock radio, even though at least two of the tracks are definitely rockers with Jesse Johnson just tearing up that geetar. But, what do I know?

Allmusic.com time!

The biography:

From their origins as Prince's first pet project to their self-produced funk-rock oeuvre, the Time has been a fascinating and outrageous congregation. Vocalist Morris Day infused his cocky, swaggering personality into dance hits that would make Rufus Thomas envious, and, unlike most of the competition, the band managed to do something unique with Prince's genre-busting innovations. the Time broke up in the late '80s, with Day going on to a somewhat disastrous solo career, Jesse Johnson crafting two dazzling solo albums, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis becoming one of the most successful production teams this side of Gamble & Huff, working with everyone from Full Force and Janet Jackson to the S.O.S. Band and Human League. The group re-formed in 1990 and released the excellent Pandemonium.

The review:

How frustrating it is that one of the most vital and dynamic bands of the 1980s, the Time, broke up after only three albums. When the Time reunited in 1990 after a six-year absence from the studio, there was excitement as well as cautious optimism in the R&B world. The big question: Would the chemistry still be there? And the answer turned out to be a definite "yes." Humorous, inventive, and unapologetically funky, Pandemonium is an excellent party album that's every bit as strong as its three predecessors. Leader Morris Day is as amusing and confident as ever, and the distinctive unit still used the influence of George Clinton and mentor Prince to great artistic advantage. Those who savored the Time's three previous albums will find that on gems like "Chocolate," "Jerk Out," and the rock-influenced "Blondie" (a fine vehicle for Jesse Johnson's electric guitar), the old magic asserts itself without hesitation. This is a disc that no fan of the Minneapolis sound should be without.

This would be the last album from The Time until 2011's "Condensate", but this time they had changed their name to The Original 7ven.

Pandemonium

1. Dreamland
2. Pandemonium
3. Sexy Socialites
4. Jerk Out
5. Yount
6. Blondie
7. Donald Trump (Black Version)
8. Chocolate
9. Cooking Class
10. Skillet
11. It's Your World
12. Sometimes I Get Lonely
13. Data Bank
14. My Summertime Thang
15. Pretty Little Women

Availability: A used copy can be found for around $3.

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Permalink Reply by Scott on October 9, 2015 at 11:54am

In 1984 I was working at a popular watering hole in my hometown, this place had the first DJ setup in town with two large video screens and a great dance floor so it became the place to be on Friday and Saturday nights. To say I had my fill of all things Purple Rain and Morris Day and the Times Jungle Love and The Bird would be an understatement... Still I look back on those days as fun times. Had no idea The Time did anything after their piggy backing success from Purple Rain.

Let's Go Crazy! (Pun intended) Dreamland, well, its not really music... Dreamland sounds like they are stuck in 1984 as it evokes flashbacks in my mind. In fact they string the first 6 tracks together seamlessly. Jerk Out sounds like they are trying recreate something like The Bird, but, I think its bit too late for the times and music seemed to be evolving past this stuff at the time, but its catchy enough to be very interesting and the geetar work certainly helps! Wonder if that's Prince playing that, kind of sounds like him. Transitioning to Blondie was fun, and the song is actually OK, a guitar driven beat from a funk band is always interesting, not many can pull it off and while this one is just OK, in the this context it works.

The black Donald Trump - hahaha - and its a slow jam! C'mon take chance, it ain't trying to be 90 proof!! Skillet is yet another guitar driven funkster, interesting. This one is better than Blondie maybe even the best track here, the guitar is really strong. Still I'm left wondering, whats really in the Skillet? Since its Minnesota music, its gotta be Hot Dish because the groove is brown!

It's Your World break the run of interesting music, this is filler for 1990, in fact it may just me a reworked track from 1984 because that's what it sounds like. And so we get into Sometimes I get Lonely, the production values are strong here but the song is also a 1984 throw back and at 6:14 its bit long for slow jam.

Data Bank continues the throw back feeling and thankfully My Summertime Thang is right on point! That's how you do a dance jam!

One common theme in your series is that a lot of these songs all seem to run 5 to 7 minutes long, maybe because they are intended for the dance floor? Just a guess but that seems to be the target audience and a reason radio never really took hold of this though Im sure there are some radio edits of a couple of these tracks somewhere.

Nice post!

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Permalink Reply by RJhog (Admin) on October 13, 2015 at 11:52am

Okay, so this is The Time without Morris Day? I didn't realize there was such a thing. Shows how little I know. But seriously, this sounds more like straight up R&B than funk to me. It has it's moments. Probably the first funkiness I hear is all the way down at track number 10 (Skillet). That one has a really cool synthesized bass. And some funky keyboard work.

I will say unequivocally that there is some way decent lead guitar playing. There's just not enough of it. I'd like to hear more.

Although this is not really the style of music I like to sit around listening to it, I had no problem doing so this morning. As a matter of fact, I am off today and I had the house to myself. So I fired up the iPhone and streamed it to the sound bar in the living room and sat back and chilled. It was an enjoyable experience that I'd like to have more often.