Dream Factory
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Dream Factory 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.
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[edit] Evolution of the album
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; Prince then shelved the highly-collaborative album in his infamous "vault" in a desire to return to his "one-man-band" ways of recording. After additional recording sessions, Prince decided to combine various tracks from Dream Factory, Camille and other newly recorded tracks into a 3-LP opus called Crystal Ball. Coming so soon after the modestly successful Parade, Warner Bros. balked at the idea of a triple album, convinced the sales would be slim. Although disappointed, Prince trimmed down the album to two LPs and renamed it after one of the tracks, Sign "☮" the Times. Eight Dream Factory tracks made the cut: "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker", "It", "Strange Relationship", "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.
[edit] Final track listing
- "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
- "Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A" – 0:49
[edit] Releases over time
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.
[edit] Unreleased track desciptions
- "Visions" is a delicate classical piano piece, performed by Lisa.
- "Dream Factory" features a humorous intro of an underaged Wendy and Lisa trying to enter a bar, a snippet of "Witness 4 the Prosecution" and Prince using his speeded Camille-like vocals.
- Prince's version of "Train" 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.
- "Strange Relationship" 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.
- "Interlude" is a short jazzy guitar solo by Wendy.
- "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" is slightly longer than the released cut, with a bit of the bluesy guitar section before the main solo.
- "Sign "☮" the Times" is an edit, different from both the released single edit and album versions.
- "Crystal Ball" lacks the extensive sound effects on the released version, has a shorter intro and a spoken segment in a female voice dubbed as the "Purple Underground" speech amongst fans.
- "A Place in Heaven" is a simple drum machine cymbal pattern with piano, harpsichord and vocals by Lisa. The fairly serious lyrics are offset by the whimsical music.
- "Witness 4 the Prosecution" is a bluesy rock number by Prince, supported by funky horn stabs and a gospel-like chorus by Wendy and Lisa.
- "Movie Star" 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".
- "All My Dreams" is a Parade leftover with Prince using an altered vocal as if he was on 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".
- "Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A" is a short segment of "A Place in Heaven" played in reverse.
