Parade: Music from the Motion Picture "Under the Cherry Moon"

 (89 customer reviews)

This 1986 release is not only a soundtrack to my favorite Prince movie, but stands as the most cohesive work he ever produced with The Revolution. The addition of guitarist Mico Weaver and horn players Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss is a touch of pure brilliance that lends the album a jazzy sophistication. The opening triumvirate of "Christopher Tracy's Parade", "New Position" and "I Wonder U" will hook even casual fans, but the treasures only begin there! The slow, almost somber title track is one of Prince's most effortless ballads, in which he wonders if he'll 'die young, like heroes die', and sports a lovely piano solo courtesy of Lisa Coleman. One of my personal favorites has always been the funky jazz of "Girls And Boys" with the most insistently catchy sax line ever put on a pop record, it'll have you pressing rewind several times! The remainder of "Cherry Moon..." is an adventurous grab bag of brittle, jittery funk...Read more

Upon hearing the lush opening track, "Christopher Tracy's Parade," one might think Parade is a continuation and slight variation of Around The World In A Day. Well, that assessment is accurate, as evidenced by the lush backing vocals by Wendy And Lisa, who figure more prominently in accompanying vocals than in any Prince album, strings, and psychedelic sounds.It's on songs like "New Position" that the is accompanied by a funky bass beat along with the bell-like synthesizers. The beat slows down towards the end, with the sounds of laughter seguing into "I Wonder U.""Under The Cherry Moon," also the title to Prince's second movie, is a slow ballad with piano accompaniment. While it's not bad, Prince would record a similar but improved cousin on Sign 'O' The Times, "Slow Love."Things get more upbeat with the next two songs: "Girls & Boys" and "Life Can Be So Nice." The first incorporates funk elements...Read more

In an era when a whole lot of bad music was being flung at the listening public, Prince stood out as one of a handful of artists who consistently and ferociously delivered. Parade is one of his two best albums, the other of course being 1987's Sign 'O' The Times. The record features the best of the soundtrack of his incredibly funny, utterly unappreciated, and beautifully filmed second movie, Under the Cherry Moon. The songs jump from lean tight funk to lush orchestration, all with playful and intelligent lyrics that are a far cry from his hackneyed recent work (Rainbow Children, et. al.). Everyone's favorite single, "Kiss", is here of course, but its chicken-scratch guitar and shoutable chorus are, despite their brilliance, totally overshadowed by the hot sexuality and true musicianship of the rest of the album. "New Position" makes the steel-drum seem sophisticated, "Christopher Tracy's Parade" flits and flirts with psychedelia without descending into head-trip nonsense, and...Read more