Written off by many as just another
female Prince protoge with a pretty face
and well-exposed body, Carmen Electra
may prove her critics wrong. Her Paisley
Park debut album is a strong musical
effort with some excellent rapping and
lyrics by Carmen. Magnus Nilsson traces
the evolvement of Carmen's album.
http://www.speakcarmenese.com
When Prince described Carmen Electra as "this new girl
out of Cincinnati" in a brief 1991 USA Today interview,
it was the first time most people heard about her. Not
much about her background is known. The official "biography" states that she took her first dance lessons at the age
of three in her hometown of Cincinnati.
http://www.speakcarmenese.com
By the age of nine, she was chosen for the prestigious School
for Creative and Performing Arts on the strength of her acting abilities.
She began taking singing lessons and in her mid-teens she was choreographing and performing musicals for the school's theatrical ensemble.
She also began rapping, and her goal was to "go to Los Angeles and get a
record deal." According to the "official" story, she was spotted by Prince
while fronting an all-girl R&B/ rap act.
http://www.speakcarmenese.com
The official biography says nothing about Carmen's background in
Minneapolis. According to our sources, she came to the city in 1987 and
did modelling for Target Department stores. A sister and a half-sister also
live in Minneapolis. It is not clear, however, how and when she met
Prince, but she was around for the making of Graffiti Bridge.
http://www.speakcarmenese.com
PROBLEMS...
Carmen's album was originally going to be released in July 1992, tied in
with her opening slot on the European leg of the Diamonds And Pearls tour.
It was going to be a "big push" record, but the promotional campaign got
off to a false start in April 1992 when Rolling Stone carried an ad which
only showed a picture of Carmen. The ad didn't mention her name at all
or anything about a forthcoming record release, so most people didn't
realize it was an ad for Carmen. A lousy promotion for a new artist, but
more than most Paisley Park artists usually get. They were also running
commercials for her on MTV at this time.
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A video of "Go-Go Dancer" was shot in March 1992, but it received
very little airplay on MTV. In the States, the only TV station playing the
song was the small Video jukebox Network. A 12" single of "Go-Go
Dancer" hit the shops in June, and promotional advance cassette copies of
the album were sent out. However, it was decided that the album needed
new tracks and additional re-mixing before it would be released.
http://www.speakcarmenese.com
After recording new tracks in London, re-mixing took place in the late
summer/autumn of 1992. The album was tentatively planned to be re-
leased in October, around the time of Prince's Love Symbol/Androgeny
album, but nothing happened until early 1993, when it was announced
that the album was going to be due in stores on February 9th, which is
when it was eventually released.
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Many believed the delays of Carmen's album had something to do with
disagreements between Prince and Carmen, but it is more likely that it
was record company pressures. Warner Bros. top executive Benny Medina flew in for some shows on the Diamonds And Pearls tour to see Carmen.
According to a source close to the band, during a soundcheck with
Carmen, Medina approached Prince, expressing his doubts about Car-
men's qualities. So it is likely that Prince has been behind Carmen most of
the way, whereas the record company might have had their doubts.
http://www.speakcarmenese.com
Up until the London shows, halfway through the Diamonds And Pearls
tour, Carmen had performed with her own band, but in London, Prince
fired her bassist, guitarist, and drummer. Sonny Thompson, Levi Seacer Jr
and Michael Bland stood in for the two London concerts, which became
her last of the tour.
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STRONG DANCE EFFORT
Carmen's album was in all essentials recorded between March and
June of 1991 at Paisley Park, and was Prince's first major project after
completing Diamonds And Pearls. "Go-Go Danc-
er" was cut at the Record Plant, LA, while two
of the tracks were recorded at Olympic Studios
in London in June 1992, during the London so-
journ on the Diamonds And Pearls tour.
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Most of the album was recorded by a nucleus
of Carmen, Prince, Levi Seacer Jr, and Tony M,
but the two London tracks feature most of the
Diamonds And Pearls tour line-up of The New
Power Generation. Prominent guests on the al-
bum include Eric Leeds, The Steeles and British-
born female rapper Monie Love. Apparently,
Prince was so impressed with Monie's lyrical
skills that she has been put on Paisley Park's
payroll as a songwriter.
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Prince is involved in most of the music and
production of the album, and it is actually his largest input to any "out-
side" album since the Jill Jones and Mavis Staples records. The majority of
the music Prince wrote for Carmen is uptempo dance material, and the
album continues the trend in Prince's Music towards hip-hop-oriented
dance music. Even though his own albums usually contain a variety of
musical styles, most of the music Prince has written for other artists in
recent years, such as Elisa Fiorillo, Martika, Louie Louie, Paula Abdul, El
DeBarge, Monie Love, has been geared towards the dance floor.
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Prince's production of the album shows that he has become increasing-
ly comfortable with the hip-hop style he has been trying to embrace since
Diamonds And Pearls. The album sees Prince working in more samples into the music than ever before. The elaborate, complex arrangements and
dense mix of the album continue Prince's "maximalist" trend. There is
usually an enormous amount of things going on in the mix and this
tendency to over-elaborate the songs has become more and more appar-
ent in Prince's work since Lovesexy. The sparse, minimalist sound that
Prince once pioneered only shows up in moments.
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Compared to recent albums by rappers such as Monie Love and Louie
Louie, Carmen's albums contains much more interesting music and Car-
men's rapping is on a par with that of most female rappers. judged on the
terms of rap/dance music, it cannot be denied that Carmen Electra is a very
strong effort.
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As could be expected, the reviews were mixed. One of the most enthu-
siastic reviews appeared in Billboard, while the critic from Philadelphia
Inquirer felt the album benefited "from the supple rhythm tracks laid
down by the Minnesota Miracle himself, along with members of The New
Power Generation." Most reviewers, however, were sceptical. The review
in Q Magazine said that Carmen had little to "commend her," even though
the reviewer thought that "some of these grooves would niftily underpin
a good rapper to splendid effect."
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"IT'S A LOVE AND HATE THING"
The album opens with "Go-Go Dancer," a prime dance number with
music by Prince. Aided by a catchy chorus, it is one of the most commer-
cial and appealing offerings. With a stronger promotional effort, it should
have done much better on the charts. Carmen raps the verses, while the
refrain is sung. Kathleen Johnson and male voices (probably Levi, Tony M
and Prince) add background vocals. Prince is clearly present on the guitar
and he achieves a sound that is very close to that of "Thunder."
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The lyrics by Tony M and Carmen are perceptive, depicting the moral
dilemma of a go-go dancer, questioning, "Is it art or just a display of flesh
contained, slangin' and bangin' to a bass drum." Although she stresses
that it is her own choice, Carmen has her doubts, "Though at times it feels
demeaning, this feeling that I'm feeling. It's a love and hate thing." Vanity
6 or Apollonia 6 would hardly have had expressed such second thoughts.
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The video of "Go-Go Dancer" features Carmen as a high school gym-
nast who leads a double life as a dancer by night. Scenes for the video
were shot at John Marshall High School in suburban Los Angeles, the
setting for Rebel Without A Cause with James Dean.
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More or less a throwaway Cut, the short "Good Judy Girlfriend" is a
sparse funk workout very reminiscent of the
Vanity 6 period. The overall minimalist musi-
cal approach and particularly the high-pitched
analogue synth sound indicate that this is, in
fact, an old track picked from the shelf and
updated with new vocals, drums and addition-
al instrumentation. Carmen talks the lyrics, rath-
er than raps them, much in the style of Vanity
6's Susan.The lyrics are quite pointless, though,
with Carmen trying to convince us that "All
you need is Judy, she's good for you." Two
James Brown numbers are sampled and insert-
ed in thebackground, but their presence is hard-
ly noticed.
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Carmen is given credit on "Good Judy Girl-
friend" as a songwriter, but it is in all likelihood
a Prince composition. The song was worked on in 1988, and was at one
point going to be used on the (never released) "mystery" project that
Prince was working on between Lovese-x-y and Batdance.
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"Good Judy Girlfriend" jumps into "Go On (Witcha Bad Self)," a fast,
bass-propelled dance outing. Carmen describes herself as a "city-fied girl
with an innocence that's still purified" and expresses her need for inde-
pendence, "Just another face you say, but really not an equal. That's
where you're wrong - dead wrong." Drums and the low-frequency bass
line are augmented by sparse guitar embellishments and a jazzy sax
arrangement and some sax solos by Eric Leeds. A phrase of "bad self,"
sampled from an exclamation by James Brown at the beginning of his "Say
'Say It Loud, I'm Black
And I'm Proud,' is used as
part of the refrain of the
song. The song also contains
samples from Wilson Pick-
ett's "Land Of 1,000 Dances."
It is one of the few songs
where the sampling actually
works and adds something to
the tune.
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"PHYSICAL LOVE IS
THE NAME OF THIS
PARTY"
A jazzy guitar phrase by Levi
Seacer Jr opens and runs throughout "Step To The Mic," a monotone,
repetitive number of little musical merit. The Diamonds And Pearls tour
band is very much evident, contributing horris, vocal backings, and record
scratching. Monie Love wrote the lyrics and contributes backing vocals.
The lyrics are quite disappointing however, containing mostly catch
phrases, slang and mindless boasting typical of the worst kind of rap
music.
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Tony M and Levi introduce "S.T." as they check out a club for talent.
Tony M then tries to seduce Carmen over a funky, jerky bass riff taken
from The Ohio Players' "Skin Tight." A brief horn part is also lifted from
"Skin Tight." Carmen makes it clear that she's not so easily led, "Patience
baby, a man who waits I hold with high regard. Like fine wine it takes
time before a relationship is firm."
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Some ethereal synth sounds lead into "Fantasia Erotica," a strong
uptempo number with a haunting chorus. Carmen invites us into her
fantasy world, "Open your mind to the power of the body. Physical love is
the name of this party." All vocals are by Carmen, including the sung
refrain, except for two rap segments by Karen "K-Dean" Cover. Brian "B-
Quick" Crisp contributes some scratching, while Joseph Markowitz is
credited for additional keyboards. Carmen wrote the lyrics, while the
music is by Prince.
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Recorded in London with most of The N.P.G., "Everybody Get On Up"
makes an excellent addition to the album. Owing more than a passing nod
to 'Cream," the mid-tempo rocker is driven along by Sonny Thompson's
chugging bass line and a great horn riff by the N.P.G. horn section. The
song features a lot of scratching, while Tommy Barbarella plays an organ
solo. Prince adds some bluesy guitar licks and solos towards the end. The
song is a collaboration between Monie Love, Prince and Carmen. The
lyrics contain little of substance.
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The next tune, "Fun," is preceded by a segue with snatches from "The
Voice" with Mavis Staples, "In A Word Or 2" with Monie Love, "Sexy
MF," "With This Tear" with Celine Dion, and "Gold Niggah" with Tony
M on the microphone. Based on a repeated three-chord organ motif,
"Fun" is a funky number co-penned by Prince and Carmen about hav-
ing a good time. Prince's involvement is evidenced by lyrics such as
"Don't you just love it when the yellow ball a bounces in the blue cotton
candy psychedelic sky. 17 tangerine and polkadot bikinis dancin' nasty
as the hooptie-blastin' fun drives by." The verses are rapped, while The
Steeles help out on the sung refrain. Eric Leeds adds some jazzy sax
phrases.
A question of "What you gonna play now?" lifted from James Brown's
"Make It Funky" introduces "Just A Little Lovin'," a sparse funk effort
with a laid-backjazzy feel, penned by Tony M (lyrics) and Prince and The
N.P.G. (music). On the original recording, James Brown's reply to the
question, posed by Bobby Byrd, was "Whatever I play... it's got to be
funky!" The same interchange was used in the "Baby, I'm A Star" medley
in the 1990 Nude show. Tony M helps out on the sung refrain.
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A 45-second segue with sax and synth sounds lead into "All That,"
which reuses the backing tracks of "Adore" from Sign O' The Times. New
vocals and instrumentation have been added to the existing track. Most of
Eric Leeds' and Atlanta Bliss' horn parts have been left intact, while
additional keyboards are played by George Black. The tune is basically a
love song, with Carmen talking and singing (no rapping) about her love
for "that someone special." Carmen is credited for the lyrics.
"This Is My House' closes the album with an environmental plea and a
serious message, "Stop building bombs and take that money to build a
school and teach the honeys about this planet earth. And why we need to
take care of this land." Musically, it is a pumping, uptempo dance outing
with music by Levi Seacer Jr and lyrics by Carmen. The Steeles help out on
the strong chorus, while Keith Cohen has added guitar and keyboards to
the track.
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THE FIRST INCARNATION
The original version of Carmen's album (also titled Carmen Electra)
featured four tracks that weren't included on the final album, "Power
From Above," "Carmen On Top," "Go Carmen Go," and "Powerline."
Originally planned to be the opening cut, "Power From Above" has been sitting on the shelf since 1988. Itwas written around the same time as "Electric Chair." A synth "fanfare," more or less lifted from Bruce Spring- steen's "Born In The USA," introduces the song, which is a powerful uptempo dance effort. The sung refrain is very similar to "Batdance," "Hey we got the power, oh, we've got the soul." A phrase of "What are you thinking of, you need the power from above" is sung by Patti LaBelle (not Rosie Gaines as has been suggested). Prince's vocals are very appar- ent throughout in various samples and a recurrent question of "What the hell is this?" Prince used the same expression and a similar voice during "Black Muthafuckas In The House" at the Bains Douchesjam in Paris, July 1992 and on the Act I tour. It is hard to see what disqualified this strong number from inclusion on the album,
"7.3 seconds to funk count down and counting, 6,5,4... I can't wait. Cut
it," Carmen introduces "Carmen On Top," which was the second track on
the original album. We are then plunged into a slow, funky and very
James Brown-like groove, boosted by a thrusting horn section. Male voic-
es back Carmen up on the chanted refrain. A brief rap by Tony M is
inserted at the end. The song ends with Carmen shouting "Stop!" Not as
appealing as "Power From Above" but still a really good funk effort.
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"Go Carmen Go" is a hard "funk metal" number with "rock" guitars to
the fore and a repeated chant of the title by male voices. Levi Seacer Jr
plays lead guitar. Samples include the "Get on the mike" phrase from
"Push."
"All right, stop the music. I regret to inform you that you're all under arrest," is Carmen's intro to the fourth left-over, "Powerline." It has Carmen rapping over a sparse funky bass-drum backing. Prince is very evident on backing vocals. His influence on the lyrics is also apparent with phrases suchas "crack o'dawn" (also used in "GettOff") and "shake your body to the 2 and 4."
It is interesting to note that Prince's influence on and involvement in
the album was much more apparent on the first version of the album, not
least on "Power From Above" and "Powerline." The original version of
"All That" was clearly "Adore" with little attempt to hide it. The released
version has been re-mixed so the similarity to "Adore" is much less
obvious.
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The well-known Prince pseudonym Paisley Park was listed as executive producer of the original album; on the released album, he is only
given credit for his songwriting contributions. It is possible that Prince
and/or Warner Bros. wanted to downplay Prince's involvement, so that
the album and Carmen's career would stand or fall on their own merits.
MAGNUS NILSSON.