What Time Is It?
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| What Time Is It? | ||
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| Studio album by The Time | ||
| Released | August 25, 1982 | |
| Recorded | December 1981 – July 1982 | |
| Genre | Funk, R&B, Pop | |
| Length | 38:44 | |
| Label | Warner Bros. | |
| Producer(s) | Morris Day, The Starr ★ Company | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Time chronology | ||
| The Time (1981) |
What Time Is It? (1982) |
Ice Cream Castle (1984) |
What Time Is It? is a 1982 album by The Time. Like the band's preceding debut album, What Time Is It? consists of six tracks in the funk-pop or ballad genre.
The album was once again produced & arranged by Prince as The Starr ★ Company. All tracks were written by Prince (as Jamie Starr) except for "Wild and Loose", co-written with Dez Dickerson. Prince performed all instruments, lead and background vocals with Morris Day adding additional lead vocals and some additional background vocals on "Wild and Loose" and "The Walk" by Vanity 6. The album was recorded at Sunset Sound and Prince's home studio in the Minneapolis suburbs.
The album's title comes from an exclamation by Morris Day, which had become the band's catchphrase, appearing frequently on the band's debut album, as well as during live shows. In addition to the songs on the album, 3 outtakes were recorded but not used: "Bold Generation", "Colleen" and "Jerk Out".
The album is even more accessible than its predecessor, mixing elements of rock and roll with funk. Half of the tracks are superior jams: "Wild and Loose", "777-9311" and "The Walk". The album's only ballad, "Gigolos Get Lonely Too" is one of the better ballads from The Time. The remaining two tracks are considered less memorable. Armed with this new material, the band's live performances regularly outshined their headliner, Prince, and it is rumored that Prince dropped them from his 1999 tour to prevent being upstaged.
What Time Is It? produced three singles: "777-9311", "The Walk" and "Gigolos Get Lonely Too".
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Wild and Loose" – 7:32
- "777-9311" – 8:05
- "Onedayi'mgonnabesomebody" – 2:26
- "The Walk" – 9:31
- "Gigolos Get Lonely Too" – 4:41
- "I Don't Wanna Leave You" – 6:29
[edit] Singles and chart placings
- "777-9311" (#2 R&B, #88 Pop)
- "777-9311"
- "Grace" (non-album track) – 7" single
- "The Walk" – 12" single
- "The Walk" (#24 R&B, #104 Pop)
- "The Walk"
- "OnedayI'mgonnabesomebody" – 7" single
- "777-9311" – Japan 7" single
- "I Don't Wanna Leave You" – 12" single
- "Gigolos Get Lonely Too" (#77 R&B)
- "Gigolos Get Lonely Too"
- "I Don't Wanna Leave You"
[edit] Miscellanea
- An outtake from this album, "Jerk Out", was rejected by Morris Day for its lyrical content. Three years later, it was revived and recorded by Mazarati on their debut album, but didn't make the final cut. Five more years passed before it was reclaimed by The Time for their album Pandemonium, with various changes, though Mazarati's backing vocals still appear in the song.
- During the song "D.M.S.R." on Prince's 1999 album, the lines "Jamie Starr's a thief / It's time to fix your clock" are sung during the bridge, possibly as a response to The Time's exploding fame.
- In an interview with Bass Player magazine, Prince stated that the bass line to "777-9311" could be considered his signature bass line because "no-one can play it like I can"; he said the same of "Let's Work" from his album Controversy, calling a tie between them.
