DAWNATION - The Purple Songbook

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Latest update: 01/13/2006

PRINCE -  Glam Slam Ulysses (1993)

The story

This is a professionally filmed performance of Glam Slam Ulysses at Glam Slam, Los Angeles. Carmen Electra is one of the featured dancers. Prince does not appear, but premiered is a number of alternate versions of songs that were later released. Jamie King was the choreographer (65 mins)

On August 21, 1993 was the premiere at Glam Slam West of a new project. Introduced as a combination of live performance - dance and videos feat. Carmen Electra and Frank Williams, this ´interactive musical theatre´ including 13 scenes with new songs written and performed by Prince!

This collection was never official released but meanwhile all of the songs are released throughout the years on:


"THE HITS II/THE HITS/THE B-SIDES" (1993):

- "Pope" (CD 2, Track 17)




"COME" (1994):
- "Come", "Space",  "Pheromone", "Dark" and "Race", "Orgasm (aka Poem)"*
 


"Interactive" (CD-ROM, 1994) [more]: - "Interactive"
This officially released PC-Game from 1994 contains the full version of "Interactive". The later released version of this tune (on "Crystal ball, 1998) is an edit (missing some lyrics!)



"THE GOLD EXPERIENCE" (1995):
- "Endorphinmachine", "Dolphin"

 

 

"CRYSTAL BALL" (1998):
- "Interactive", "Strays of the world" and "What's my name?"


*The song "What's my name" continued as an untitled instrumental, known as "Poem" and was finally released as "Orgasm" (on "Come", 1994). "Poem" is a spoken poem by Prince ending with the guitar climax of "Private joy" (from "Contorversy", 1981) with Vanity's moaning lifted from the outtake "Vibrator" (still unreleased).

All 1993 tracks are slightly different (reworked) for the final releases!
 

The tracklist

01. "Strays of the world" [Part I] - THE SHIP

02. "Dolphin" - LOTUS LAND

03. "Interactive" - THE CYCLOPES

04. "Pheromone" - CIRCE

05. "Dark" - PENELOPE

06. "Loose!" - HADES

07. "Space" - THE SIRENES

08. "What´s my name?" / "Poem" (Instr.) - SCYLLA

09. "Endorphinemachine" - CALYPSO

10. "Race" - THE SUITORS

11. "Come" - THE TROJAN HORSE

12.  "Strays of the world" [Part II] - THE HOMECOMING

13.  "Pope" - THE CELEBRATION

 

 

 

 

Music by Prince, Conceived by Prince + Kenneth Robins, directed by Kenneth Robins, produced by David Haugland, cheographed by Jamie King, sets by Jack Barkla, video by Tom Adair + Gail Yasunaga, costumes by Jack Edwards, lightning by Barry Browning.

DANCERS: Carmen Electra, Sebastian Lacause, Frank William, Becky Luckett, Chad Allen, Stefanie Roos, Shaun Earl, Dominique Schatz, Joaquin Escamilla, Kevin Stea, Dina Lee Helm, Sergio Carbohal, Kerri Ann James, Alexis Valentine.
 

This + that: Song information and critics

- The song "Pheromone" was used as instrumental remix as theme song for BET's Video LP Show!

- From the liner notes / booklet of Crystal Ball (1998):

"Interactive" - this track was replaced by the Endorphin Machine on the Gold Experience - the Artist didn't think they worked back 2 back. Originally written because of continued domination of the thought police - this track was a safety valve and probably saved lives. Mayte sings background.

"What's my name" - after the increasing amount of lollipops using the name Prince - the original came hard with this one. With Michael B. Mr. Hayes and Sonny T. Solo bass by the original.

"Strays of the world" - originally intended 4 a Broadway musical. Prince would sometimes take meetings with potential collaborators 2 discuss ideas 4 musicals he had. The meetings usually turned the 'inspirational well' on an complex introspective songs like this would flow 4th...."

"Space" (Spanish Promo CD single)

- Alternate song versions:

~ Come [#1] (4:38) This is the original studio version of the song, played over the PA before the concert in Los Angeles on April 16, 1993, completely different than released version
~ Come [#2] (4:30) Alternate version from Glam Slam Ulysses. Different lyrics and music from the first version. This song was split into three different pieces, this is the combination of all three.
~ Come [#3] (3:16) Alternate version. This is essentially an edit of version #2.
~ Come [#4] (5:29) - From the Beautiful Experience film, sometimes called "Dance Version"
~ Dark (6:26) - From Glam Slam Ulysses, longer than released version
~ Dolphin [#1] (6.27) - From Glam Slam Ulysses , longer than released version, features an instrumental intro. 
~ Dolphin [#2] (3.35) - From the Undertakeer CD
~ Endorphinmachine (3:48) Alternate version. This version was first used in Glam Slam Ulysses, then planned for inclusion on the Come album before Prince reworked the song and released it on The Gold Experience.
~ Endorphinmachine [#2] (3:54) from Come CD acetate, different than released version
~ Loose! [#1] (3:23) Alternate version from Glam Slam Ulysses. More rock oriented than the released version.
~ Loose! [#2] More instruments but essentially the same as version #1
~ Pheromone (Video LP) [#1] (3:57) Alternate version. This is an instrumental version of the song that Prince gave to the BET show Video LP for use as their theme music.
~ Pheromone (Edit) [#2] (3:06) Alternate version. An edit of the above track.
~ Poem (3:37) This was the original opening track on the Come album before Prince changed it. This song was cut up and used as segues between the tracks on the album, and the remainder became the track "Orgasm." This was actually released on a very rare German promotional CD single.
~ Pope [Glam Slam Ulysses]
~ Pope [12" Remix]
~ Pope [fromt The Hits]
~ Pheromone [Video LP version]
~ Pheromone [Edit Version]
~ Pheromone [Glam Slam Ulysses]
~ Pheromone [The Beautiful Experience]
~ Pheromone [Come]
~ Race [#1]  (4:07) - from Glam Slam Ulysses, early version of Come track, less overdubs, very different instrumentation from the released version.
~ Race [#2] -  played over PA, early version w/ longer ending than on Glam Slam Ulysses
~ Race [#3] -  from the Beautiful Experience video, similar to released version with slightly different ending
~ Race (Instrumental) - from official Interactive CD-ROM
~ Space [#1] (5:28) Alternate version from Glam Slam Ulysses. Sparser mix and longer than the released version.
~ Space [Instrumental] (4:47) (Madhouse 24-Version) From unreleased Madhouse 24 CD, more a rerecording or reworked version.
~ Strays of the world [#1] (5.05) - From GLAM SLAM ULYSSES
~ Strays of the world [#2] - From GLAM SLAM ULYSSES

- Further (official) remixes / releases from 1994:

"Space" (USA, Maxi CD single from "Come", 1994)

This great edition contains:

01. Space [Universal Love Remix]
02. Space [Funky Stuff Remix]
03. Space [Funky Stuff Dub]
04. Space [Acoustic Remix]
05. Space [Album Version]

 

"Let it go" (CD Maxi Single with remixes, from "Come", 1994)

01. Let It Go - Caviar Radio Edit
02. Let It Go - Cavi' Street Edit
03. Let It Go - Instrumental
04. Let It Go - On The Cool-Out Tip Radio Edit
05. Let It Go - Sherm Stick Edit
06. Let It Go - (-) Sherm Stick Edit
07. Let It Go - Original Radio Edit
08. Let It Go - Original Album Version



"Endorphinemachine" (Ultra rare Japanese 1-track CD promo, 1995)
 

"Come"

"COME", ultra rare 1 track promo CD from Germany. The tracklist is wrong - this item contains the 'song' "Orgasm" aka "Poem" from the Come album.  Released on Warner Bros. in 1994.

 

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- THE CRITICS + PRESS


Variety Glam Slam Ulysses
Troy J. Augusto
Aug 24, 1993

Variety.com [Source]


(Glam Slam Club; 400 seats; $ 19.99 top)

When Prince played a surprise two-hour-plus concert at L.A.'s China Club three years ago, it seemed a sign that he was tiring of his musical deity-like status and was heading back to a more personal approach that would no longer alienate his audience but would still challenge his bored-genius ego. Wrong.

In the interim, Prince, who'd now like to be referred to by the androgynous symbol that graces his most recent Paisley Park/WB album cover, has continued to move away from both his audience and reality, replacing the latter with a humorless sense of absurdity that only serves to propel him further into Wackoville, a quaint, if removed hamlet governed by Mayor Michael Jackson.

So now, hot on the heels of the news that the name Prince will no longer do and that the man will no longer be recording any new material (he'll rely on a massive collection of already-recorded songs for future albums), we get "Glam Slam Ulysses."

It is a very loose music-theater adaptation of Homer's "Odyssey," complete with seminude dancers, pointless and silly sketches and enough phallic symbols and references to make even Heidi Fleiss blush. Homer-erotica, if you will.

The point of all of this is supposed to be to introduce the world, or in this evening's case, a half-full club of L.A. industry types, to 13 new songs from old what's-his-name.

Some of these tunes, like the sensual "Dark" and "Loose," where he actually plays loud electric guitar (rare for him these days) and the almost-progressive rock "Endorphinemachine," were solid if unspectacular pieces that provided suitable accompaniment to the spectacle taking place both on and around the club's stage.

Storywise, "Ulysses" concerns itself with Penelope, a would-be other-world goddess, a character referred to as 'the fan,' both played by Prince protege Carmen Electra, and our hero, Ulysses, an unlikely dancing god played by Frank Williams.

Quickly moving from one scene to another, the action, which is basically a bizarre, choreographed love triangle, takes place on the club's main stage as well as different sets built around the venue and in fantasy scenes shown on a large video screen.

It is a lot to take in, but it all adds up to just so much eye and ear candy.

Which is the problem, not only with this naively boring production, but with the bulk of Prince's recent releases.

In these cases, there is little, if any, substance. Seemingly more interested in opening clubs (he owns Glam Slam, among others), discovering a bevy of next-big-things (none of whom have gone on to make any lasting impression), and topping his previous public relations stunts, Prince has sacrificed his instinctive musical gifts in favor of disposable, multi-media excesses, like "Ulysses."

It makes one yearn for a return to "Controversy"-era Prince. A time when we not only knew what to call him, but had good reason to call him.

"Glam Slam Ulysses" plays in L.A. through Sept. 3, then begins a tour of U.S. clubs."

 

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Here's the back of the programm: (Special thanx 2 Theprincepages.com)


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By Ernest Hardy (August 1993)

"Ampersand's (A.K.A. Prince's) musical retlling of Ulysses is a lot of things: interactive is not one of them. If the show, which opened a two-week run at Glam Slam on August 21, were as interactive as it is billed to be, there'd be (ta da) interaction with the audience, which would direct the production.

Parading visibly unconfortable dancers across the floor, while huge bodyguards shine flashlights in the crowd's faces and tell it to move out of the way, doesn't even come close to meeting the definition of the buzzword. With Glam Slam Ulysses, Ampersand's pretensions once again overshadow his talent.

If the show were truly interactive, chances are it would have been measurably better than the feebly ambitious Fame-cum-Solid Gold-dancers workshop presented. The "Homer-Erotic" hour (say it fast and you'd approach what's in store, though even that overtone's inadvertant and rather flaccid) is actually a multimedia event, albeit one with shoddy video projections and uninspired Debbie Allen/Paula Abdul-style percussive cheorography.

Don't worry if you've never read the lit-class staple; the fewer expectations you have, the better. Some of Prince's best and least inspired work in a while pumps through the speakers, while the "actors" lip-synch in embarrassingly cheesy costumes. Carmen Electra, Prince's latest object of infatuation, emotes cluelessly as Penelope.

Of the music, the best tracks are the opening "Strays of the World" a torchy ode to outcasts reminiscent of "Uptown"; "Race" where the proplulsive dance-funk groove and chereography for once -and only once-clicks; the sultry come-on of "Space"; and the show's closer, "Pope" ("You can be the president/I'd rather be the Pope/You can be the side effect/I'd rather be the dope") Prince has no plans to release any of this material except
"Pope," which will be included on next month's Hits Volume I & II."

 

Further information:

 

- Housequake.com: The Glam Slam Ulysses Discussion


- Excerpts from "Glam Slam Ulysses" from UPTOWN issue no. 11 (Article "Let's Do It... Interactive, October 1993) - By MAGNUS NILSSON and S.H. ROQUE.

U can still order issue 11 of Uptown Magazine here: www.uptown.se/2005/backissues_03.shtml


"Described as an “interactive musical theatrical production,” inspired by Homer’s classic Odyssey, the Glam Slam Ulysses production premiered at the Glam Slam nightclub in Los  Angeles August 21st (and ran through September 4th). The 65-minute event combines live performance and music video and features 12 new songs by Prince. Conceived by Prince and Kenneth Robbins, and produced by David Haugland, the show features 12 dancers and costars Carmen Electra in the female lead role of Penelope.

The story of Glam Slam Ulysses is a loose translation of the original Greek epic by Homer which was “written” in the 700’s B.C. Actually an oral tradition passed down for generations, the story probably wasn’t “written” until much
later. The Odyssey tells the story of Ulysses’ voyage home to his island of Ithaca and his wife Penelope after a 10-year absence having fought in the Trojan War and being kept prisoner by the sea nymph Calypso. “Ulysses” is his name in Latin – in the original Greek it was “Odysseus,” from which the word “odyssey” is derived. Carmen plays the dual lead role of both Penelope and Calypso.

Prince’s version starts at the point where Ulysses is reminiscing to Calypso of his journey. The critical reception has been unmercifully negative. It was called “simply silly” in the Los Angeles Times, while the reviewer in LA Weekly felt that “Prince’s pretensions once again overshadow his talent” and criticized the show for its lack of “interaction.” For those who are familiar with the original telling of Ulysses, the show is easier to understand, but many left wondering what it was all about. The dancing is good, but compared to the Joffrey Ballet, the choreography is awkward. The costuming was revealing and true Prince-type sexual/non-functional items that barely covered the naughty parts. Despite the negative criticism, the production is expected to tour nightclubs in the States in the autumn/winter. 

Prince does not appear in the production, but he has written and recorded all the music and his voice can be heard throughout singing the songs. The production is divided into 13 sections, each with its own song. Although the
material covers a wide musical terrain, including lean, stripped-down funk, horn-boosted R&B, and rap, the emphasis is on rock, most of it raw and unpolished. Much of the music is first-rate, being less “over-produced” and a lot sparser than Prince’s last albums. Many tracks have a distinct live feeling, probably being cut live very quickly in the studio. The majority of the songs were recorded by a small unit of musicians, most likely Prince on guitar with Sonny Thompson on bass, Michael Bland on drums, and Morris Hayes on keyboards."