Dream Factory (album)

Dream Factory
A cover designed by the Thunderball bootleg label.
Studio album by Prince and The Revolution
Released	Unreleased
Recorded	Summer 1982 – July 1986
Genre	Rock, pop, funk
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Prince and The Revolution

Dream Factory was an unreleased double LP project recorded by Prince and The Revolution from 1986.

History

Prince's band, The Revolution, were invited to the studio to contribute to a majority of the material for the planned album, with the notable exceptions of "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" and "Starfish & Coffee" (co-written by Susannah Melvoin). Prince had not had this level of collaboration before with the band; he and the Revolution by 1983 began working together increasingly. Some tracks included one or two band members, some tracks none, others were full band or included many other extra musicians. By the end of June 1986, Dream Factory had expanded to a 19-track double album that now included solo recordings by Prince, while previously recorded tracks such as "Sexual Suicide", "Big Tall Wall", and "Teacher, Teacher" were removed.^[1] The Revolution was dissolved in October 1986, after which many of the album's tracks were incorporated into what was now a planned solo three LP project entitled Crystal Ball. However, Prince's record distributor at the time, Warner Bros., balked at a three LP release, so the project was reduced to a two LP set and retitled Sign o' the Times.

In March 2009, Vibe magazine featured the album on its "51 Albums That Never Were," calling it a "coulda-been classic," and even streaming "All My Dreams" for a limited time.^[2] Vibe also interviewed former Revolution members Wendy and Lisa on the project.^[3]

Track configurations^[4]

April 1986 - Demonstration cassette

Side A

1. "Visions" (piano solo by Lisa Coleman)
2. "Dream Factory"
3. "It's a Wonderful Day"
4. "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker"
5. "Big Tall Wall"
6. "And That Says What?"

Side B

1. "Strange Relationship"
2. "Teacher, Teacher"
3. "Starfish and Coffee"
4. "A Place in Heaven"
5. "Sexual Suicide"

June 3, 1986

Side A

1. "Visions"
2. "Dream Factory"
3. "It's a Wonderful Day"
4. "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker"
5. "It"

Side B

1. "Strange Relationship"
2. "Teacher, Teacher"
3. "Starfish and Coffee"
4. "Interlude"
5. "In A Large Room With No Light"
6. "nevaeH ni ecalP A"
7. "Sexual Suicide"

Side C

1. "Crystal Ball"
2. "Power Fantastic"

Side D

1. "Last Heart"
2. "Witness 4 the Prosecution"
3. "Movie Star"
4. "A Place in Heaven"
5. "All My Dreams"

July 18, 1986 - Final configuration

Side A

1. "Visions"
2. "Dream Factory"
3. "Train"
4. "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker"
5. "It"

Side B

1. "Strange Relationship"
2. "Starfish & Coffee"
3. "Interlude"
4. "Slow Love"
5. "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"

Side C

1. "Sign 'O' the Times"
2. "Crystal Ball"
3. "A Place In Heaven"

Side D

1. "The Cross"
2. "Last Heart"
3. "Witness 4 the Prosecution"
4. "Movie Star"
5. "All My Dreams"

Notes

Tracks

• On the second configuration, "Movie Star" segues into "A Place in Heaven". Also, "Power Fantastic" contains a 90-second long introductory piece.
• On the second configuration, "A Place in Heaven" is sung by Prince; the final configuration contains vocals by Lisa Coleman, but keeps Prince's background vocals.
• "nevaeH ni ecalP A" is an interlude containing backwards lyrics from "A Place in Heaven" and a skit piece involving an underage Wendy and Lisa trying to get into a club. On the final configuration, it is placed at the beginning of "Dream Factory".
• "Interlude" is a minute-long guitar solo by Wendy. On the second configuration, engineer Susan Rogers has it titled "Wendy."

Release

• "It," "Starfish and Coffee," "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker," "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man," "Sign 'O' the Times," "Strange Relationship," "The Cross," and "Slow Love" were released on 1987's Sign o' the Times, with "Strange Relationship" being significantly remixed.
• "Train" was re-recorded by Mavis Staples on her 1989 album Time Waits for No One, released on Prince's Paisley Park label.
• "Visions" was released as "Minneapolis #1" on the special edition of Wendy & Lisa's 1990 album Eroica.
• "Power Fantastic" was released (without its 90-second introduction) on 1993's The Hits/The B-Sides.
• "Sexual Suicide," "Last Heart," "Movie Star," "Crystal Ball," and "Dream Factory" were released on the 1998 compilation Crystal Ball.
• "In A Large Room With No Light" was later re-recorded in 2009 and given away for free as promotion of Prince's performing of the Montreux Jazz Festival.^[5]

References