The experiment succeeded!
One of the prettiest songs ever written and performed by Prince (THE ARMS OF ORION, with help from Sheena Easton) can be found on this soundtrack which, PURPLE RAIN notwithstanding, remains his most experimental film work to date.

Underrated effort with some real gems
Often written off as a halfhearted piece of crap, but I kinda like it. It sure isn't Purple Rain, and it's true that some of it's either mediocre ("Electric Chair"; "Vicki Waiting") or bad (the treacly Sheena Easton duet "In the Arms of Orion"), and the #1 hit "Batdance", an incoherent collection of samples, doesn't do a thing for me. But the best material here, while not among Prince's finer material, is solid entertainment just the same. I'm definitely a fan of "Partyman", one of his funkiest songs ever; the ballad "Scandalous" is damn pretty, if nothing else; "The Future" and "Trust" are pretty far from "When Doves Cry" or "Kiss", but still have pretty good grooves. I mean, sure, they're the kind of songs Prince could've pumped out in his sleep, but they're still enjoyable, because Prince is the kind of guy who could put out good material in his sleep. He's got plenty of talent, see. I mean, he even makes a generic drum machine rhythm sound good on "Lemon Crush". Not many people can do that. I sure couldn't. So yeah, this is kind of Prince's blow-off album. But he's got such prodigal musical that even his blow-off albums are at least likeable, though not exactly brilliant. It's not the kind of album that will stick with you after you've heard it, but while it's playing, it's nice. The movie's good, too. Jack Nicholson steals the show. Hell, the movie's pretty much ALL Jack Nicholson, but whatever.

Prince, the musical god
Excellent soundtrack. Excellent movie. Jack Nicholson really shined as the flamboyant joker and really stole the movie with his performance. I always watch the movie for Jack Nicholson's performance and not Micheal Keaton's. So its no surprise that Prince, being a very flamboyant artist himself would choose the persona of the joker for most of the songs on the album. He chose the batman persona for the more serious songs - Scandolous, Lemon Crush. This album has a more industrial sound to it, especially on "Electric Chair", but to me it fits perfectly with the dark, brooding nature of the movie. With a few playful numbers - Partyman and Trust thrown in the character of the joker. Brilliant on Prince's part. I own this album on vinyl and cd. There's really no weak tracks on it. You can press play and listen to it all the way through. I enjoy the whole album. Prince is an artist in every sense of the word. He lives, breathes and eats music. This album is just another dimension of his vast musical creativity. A must for all Prince fans.

"If a man is guilty for what goes on in his mind, then give me the electric chair for all my future crimes." - Prince, Electric Chair

Batdancin'
A strange affair of confetti pop and dark groovular activity by the Partyman Prince. Dark beats of neurotic pulses and dance rhythm, Prince wails out to the night, calling on the full moon to appear so he can sing his songs.

The Future- 4/5
Electric Chair- 4/5
The Arms Of Orion- 2/5 (arguably one of Prince's worst songs ever)
Partyman- 4/5
Vicki Waiting- 5/5
Trust- 5/5
Lemon Crush- 5/5
Scandalous- 3/5
Batdance- 5/5

Ready for all the crush!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hit IT.

Acclaimed, but not great....
For the times this album in my opinion sales were boosted by the success of the film.

"Batman" soundtrack fully produced and recorded by Prince is by far one of the 90's best soundtracks, however it is a B-list album with B-list songs.

Prince went out of his way to ensure this album had his personal touch to it and he succeeded at it masterfully.

The album is a mix of Funk and R&B. The only track worth really listening to is "Scandalous" which is a slow ballad that has Prince's signature pure fallsetto.

At anyrate, this album is worth buying for any Prince fan. But, if a friend has it and wants to get get rid of it, just get it for free!
This album is however extremely hard to find on P2P networks, so forget about that avenue of approach!

"On the One"