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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2018 3:07:28 GMT
At the suggestion of our founder it is TIME to condensate with one the funkiest bands that ever exited - "Ladies and Gentleman, please Welcome the Time" - Stick around, see how its done.    The Time in 1981 when they were signed to Warner Brothers (All pictures pinched off the net and modified slightly by me) All credit due to original photographers and copyright holders - Fair use. Left to right - Jesse Johnson (Lead and Rhythm Guitars), Monte Moir (Keyboards), Jellybean Johnson (Drums), Morris Day (Lead vocals and Leader), Jimmy Jam (Keyboards), Terry Lewis (Bass guitar) The Time was formed in early 1981 by Prince who had promised Morris Day either $10k or a band for using one of his songs on a Prince album, Morris chose a group and Prince bought in local combo Flyte Time consisting of Jam and Lewis, Monte Moir and Jellybean Johnson and then added guitarist Jesse Johnson originally from Indiana. Prince essentially wrote all the songs and music, but credited to the Time and Morris Day as the writer of all the songs to avoid the attention of WB. The songs for the Time were upbeat and funky R and B numbers different from the soulful pop and rock of Prince's material. However the first album is believed to have pieces from Lisa, Dez and Matt Fink on it. Originally Alexander O'Neal was to sing vocals and Morris on the drums, but O'Neal balked at what Prince was offering and Morris became the singer. Although the music was Princes, the attitude, power and performance skills were all their own. Virtually everyone in the group was a talented player. Morris had the drumming background, Jam and Lewis were the rhythm section in Flyte Time, Jellybean was the only new find, but a hell of a drummer and Jesse was one of the greatest guitarists around. The first album dropped in 1981 and went gold quickly with 2 Top 10 hits on the R and B charts, it sold more copies than Dirty Mind. The singles Get it up and Cool were popular and were extended funk jams with chants and some amazing guitar work by Jesse/Prince and Fink synth solos. Cool even had a vide made for it. Morris Day, had a funky Pimp attitude in his presentation and this was an extension of Prince imitating older African American males who were stylish and dirty minded in one. The group were added to Prince's Controversy tour and at the time, Prince was still a cult artist with a few fans, few made the connection that the Time were a Prince act. The Time kicked Prince's butt on that tour and in early 1982 it ended with an epic foodfight and Jesse Johnson getting into a fight with Prince. The original 7? - well the 7th member was Jerome Benton who joined the live band in late 1981 by being Morris Day's comic gofer bringing him a mirror on stage so Morris could admire himself or adjust his Little Richard style pompadour. A lot of the songs were sexually charged (They were Dirty Mind/Controversy era Prince) and the group danced suggestively while playing instruments, which whipped the girls into a frenzy and the guys into admiration. |
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2018 3:22:00 GMT
By the middle of 1982, The Time needed a new album and wanted more input, but again it was all Prince, and it was recorded at the same time as his 1999 album and an album for a girls group called Vanity 6. As usual Prince bought in Morris to do guide vocals and the rest of teh group had to learn the set. There was resentment as Prince paid them like $150 each a week and they ahd 2 gold albums and a huge following in the Black community. Jam and Lewis started looking at other income sources and saw producing the SOS band as a way to get more $$. The 2nd album was called What time is it and was an even bigger hit, reaching #2 on the R&B chart and had a similar place for 777-9311 and a Top 10 finish for Wild and Loose. A third single the Walk also charted. However it was a black success and a white miss, the albums barely making the Hot 100. Still it went gold and until early 1983 was outselling 1999, which only really got propelled in early 1983 when 1999 and LRC videos went on MTV after a certain Mr Jackson pushed the door open for Black artists. The group were not happy with the $170 a week pay checks and the 6 songs per album, which stifled creativity and were sick of Prince bossing them around. In late 1982 they embarked on the Triple Threat Tour with Prince and Vanity 6. The average show started with Vanity 6 and had members of the Time playing the musical backing behind a curtain (There was no credit or payment for this), then they came on and did a 30 - 40 minute set that did real well and finally an hour or more of Prince and the Revolution. Matters came to a head in early 1983, when the Time were more popular than Prince, and he removed them from the set in Los Angeles and New York as he was worried they upstage him, of course playing behind Vanity 6 was still allowed. In March 1983 Jam and Lewis nipped off to Produce some songs for SOS band and got stuck in a snowstorm making them miss the next show. A month later Prince fired them from the Time and got angry as the SOS band song, Just be good to me, was a Pop hit and they were accused of having a similar song by another R and B artist sound like Prince (Later just proven to be a ripoff of Prince) - Source Duane Tudahl, the Purple Rain Sessions 2018,  Morale dropped lower and then Monte Moir (The white dude) also left. This annoyed Morris and 3 new members came in, Rocky Harris on Bass, St Paul Peterson on keyboards and Vocals and Mark Cardenas on Keyboards. Harris only lasted until November 1st when he showed up late for the first day of Purple Rain filming, Jerry Hubbard came in to replace him. The image above for Ice Cream Castles, shows the time Mark 2 L to R, Jerry Hubbard (Bass), St Paul (Keyboards and Vox), Jerome (Gofer and Dancer), Morris Day (Lead vocals), Jesse Johnson (Guitar), Mark Cardenas (Keys), Jellybean (Drums) The group still had the funk edge, but the sound became poppier for the 3rd album, also the new guys were not accepted that quick. It did not help that St Paul was Scandinavian white (Yet somehow Catholic), and Cardenas was an actual Hispanic Russian!, his father was Mexican, his Mum Russian American! Morris nearly left in late 1983 but decided to stay for the taping of Purple Rain. |
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2018 3:34:44 GMT
The Time were forced into dancing and acting classes for later 1983 and on November 1st joined everyone in the taping of Purple Rain, they played Prince's nemesis and did a great job, with Morris being cast as a villan who tries to destroy Prince's (The Kid's) residency at First Avenue and also seduce the new comer Apollonia who ends up being Prince's girlfriend in the movie. Morris acted very well and steals the scene in the movie many times with his Jive ass pimp attitude. However behind the set he was barely talking to Prince and getting into cocaine. In Jan/Feb 1984 the taping was over and Prince did the third Time Album - Ice Cream Castles, which turned out to be their biggest hit with Jungle Love becoming a Top 20 Pop hit and then going Platinum, despite this it was their slightest, although Jungle Love and the Bird were great and Ice Cream Castles, a ballad about inter racial love was also very good. Chili Sauce was a funny but very silly skit (With Prince doing a cameo as a waiter), the rest was truly forgettable. Band members walked out. Morris quit in June 1984 and had to pay for his own limo to the Premiere of Purple Rain. Jellybean and Jesse also quit, leaving a new time. The later Time had St Paul as the new leader, but the group was never tried out, instead Prince turned the remnants into a new group called the Family, who ahd one album in 1985 - great but went nowhere. In the Family was St Paul on lead vocals, Prince's girlfriend - Susannah Melvoin also on vocals, Jellybean on drums, Jerome dancing and singing and Eric Leeds on sax. Original seven members scattered, Jam and Lewis became superstar producers, striking gold with Janet Jackson and many other R and B, rap and pop acts, becoming Jam and Lewis a sought after team. Morris had a briefly successful solo career, with two big albums and 2 major hits (Oak Tree and Fishnet), Monte Moir went into playing on the Minneapolis funk scene, Jesse Johnson also released several solo albums and had a few minor R and B hits in the later 80s. jellybean left the Prince camp in late 1985. In later 1985, what was left of the Family joined Prince's expanded revolution. Susannah a backing vocalist, Jerome as a dancer with Greg Brooks and Wally Safford, Eric joined Atlanta Bliss in Prince's horn section. Jellybean and St Paul left the Prince camp. In 1987, all of them left the Prince camp except Eric who was kept around Prince through to the 1990s, Jerome was in the 1987 Janet Jackson video for Diamonds and then disappeared until 1990. In 1989, Prince was writing new Time related songs for an album called Corporate World, he hooked up with Morris and the Time were back to star in the 1990 movie Graffiti Bridge, again reprising their roles as Prince's nemesis, unlike in Purple Rain, the original 7 were back and it was great  The Time 1989/1990 |
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2018 3:47:31 GMT
In addition to the movie, the Time had their 4th album - 1990's Pandemonium which had a Top 10 hitwith Jerk Out, an old Prince song written in 1984 that was rejected by another side Project - Mazarati as it was too dirty. Packed full of great material, Pandemonium was a huge hit and sold as well as Ice Cream Castles. Jerk out was a Top 10 pop smash and their first and only R&B #1. After that the group fell apart and reunited briefly for Jay and Silent Bob strike back in the late 1990s with the lineup now having many new members. One of them Chance Howard went on to work with Prince in his 2003/04 tours. Finally in 2011, the Time rebranded as "The Original 7ven" and had a new album called Condensate, now a 6 piece with Morris, Jerome and Jellybean with 3 newer members. They have been playing sicne then and had a bit of success. Monte Moir was also back in the line up when this shot was taken. How much longer they play is unknow given the original members are pushing 60 now.  They are easily the best of all of Prince's side projects and so much more now. Unlike many of his side acts, the Time were very talented and brought their own sound and energy to the stage. My favourite albums in order 1. What Time is it - 9/10 2. The Time - 8/10 3. Condesate - 7½/10 4. Pandemonium - 7/10 5. Ice Cream Castles - 5½/10 Xtra - Corporate World 1989 (Mixture of unfinished cuts with mostly Prince vocals) Favourite songs 1. The Walk/Cool (Just too hard) 2. Get it up 3. Jungle Love 4. Jerk Out 5. Condensate 6. Strawberry Lake 7. Donald Trump Black Version 8. The Stick 9. Chocolate 10. 777 - 9311 11. Wild and Loose 12. I don't want to leave you/Gigolos get lonely 13. Chili Sauce (For laughs alone - I have a brass waterbed surrounded by plants and lights and shit, all sorts of erotic little artifacts) - This speech is summarised in Morris's dialogue with Apollonia in Purple Rain. |
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2018 3:54:03 GMT
Studio Albums
1. The Time (July 1981 - recorded Apr - Jun 1981)
2. What time is it? (Aug 1982 - recorded Jun/Jul 1982)
3. Ice Cream Castles (Aug 1984 - recorded June 1983 and Jan/Feb 1984)
4a- Corporate World 1989? - Chocolate recorded Jun 1983, rest 1988/89)
4b - Graffiti Bridge Tracks - Release It, Love Machine, The Latest Fashion, Shake (Recorded Oct 1989/Feb 1990) - August 1990
4. - Pandemonium (1983 Chocolate, Rest 1989 early 1990) - Sep 1990
5. Condensate - May 2011 (Mostly mid 200os to early 2011)
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Post by HIStoric on May 1, 2018 4:25:36 GMT
Haha I saw the title and thought this was an appreciation thread dedicated entirely to the magazine TIME  EDIT: Glad to see you clarified  |
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Post by MattyJam on May 1, 2018 6:32:40 GMT
Great band.
And unlike The Family (who I also love), The Time still sounded just like The Time even without Prince (Condensate is proof of that). I guess it helps when you have Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis in your band.
@triumph1976 I'm glad to see you show some love for Condensate. I thought that was a brilliant comeback. Toast To The Party Girl, Cadillac, Strawberry Lake, the title track.... all top drawer stuff - Prince would've been proud. Would love to have been a fly on the wall at Paisley when he heard that album.
I wasn't a big fan of Trending, but the line "I'm talking about the 12", and I don't mean the record!" is so Morris Day!!
I agree with you also that What Time Is It? is their best record. You just can't mess with shit like Wild & Loose, 777-93-11, The Walk etc. Although I would probably pick Ice Cream Castles over the debut and Pandemonium.
For me:
1. What Time Is It? 9/10
2. Condensate 8/10
3. Ice Cream Castles 7.5/10
4. Pandemonium 6.5/10
5. The Time 6/10
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Post by mjjfan810 on May 1, 2018 11:27:26 GMT
NOW we're talking. The mutha-fuckin TIME!
The Time are the only Prince protegees who have earned plenty of respect away from Prince and have proven that they have enough talent and noteriety to make it on their own. Definately the most successful Prince-spawned group and for good reason. At one point in time (see what I did there?) even Prince himself feared this band.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2018 12:36:24 GMT
Great band. And unlike The Family (who I also love), The Time still sounded just like The Time even without Prince (Condensate is proof of that). I guess it helps when you have Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis in your band. @triumph1976 I'm glad to see you show some love for Condensate. I thought that was a brilliant comeback. Toast To The Party Girl, Cadillac, Strawberry Lake, the title track.... all top drawer stuff - Prince would've been proud. Would love to have been a fly on the wall at Paisley when he heard that album. I wasn't a big fan of Trending, but the line "I'm talking about the 12", and I don't mean the record!" is so Morris Day!! I agree with you also that What Time Is It? is their best record. You just can't mess with shit like Wild & Loose, 777-93-11, The Walk etc. Although I would probably pick Ice Cream Castles over the debut and Pandemonium. For me: 1. What Time Is It? 9/10 2. Condensate 8/10 3. Ice Cream Castles 7.5/10 4. Pandemonium 6.5/10 5. The Time 6/10 I agree, you can't mess with WTIT? That whole album is great, even the ballads. But Matty, you need to listen to the debut more. Okay Girl and Oh Baby are pretty dreadful ballads, but Get it up, the Stick and Cool are just amazing. Considering it was their first album, these songs are in your face. Get it up, sets their agenda, partying and getting laid and has some great chanting, a blistering guitar solo by Prince along with some synth lines and then Mr Prince chanting "Get it up, I'll fuck u all night" at the end. Cool is hilarious where Day states himself as the baddest motherfucker alive, it is his first album yet he has a lear jet - come on. And hey he is cooler than Santa Claus Baby. Finally the Stick is a great song that uses interplay - The stick is clearly his penis and the imagery is done so well, Prince would take the sex/car metaphor further with Little Red Corvette later on. The chanting and funk playing on the debut is amazing. It gets extra points as it was their first album - for Prince to write songs like that and to have Morris and Boys own them that quickly is nothing short of genius. Extra fact - Prince credited himself as Jamie Starr on the Time albums and was the Producer, and manager (The Starr Company), until Purple Rain many people were fooled, thinking that the Time were a funkier Prince clone but had nothing to do with Prince themselves, even though they were signed to WB and came from Minneapolis. |
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Post by mjjfan810 on May 2, 2018 21:19:28 GMT
It was such a shame that they couldn't find a way to stay together when they reformed as the Original 7even. How cool would it have been to have seen the original lineup do a full-scale world tour to promote Condensate? I'll never understand why these cats couldn't keep their shit together as a group. So much potential and talent wasted over the years.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2018 23:33:37 GMT
mjjfan810 - one word - PRINCE
They were powerful and strong cats with a lot of talent, and yes Prince gave them their initial stardom and some funky songs to match their streetwise attitude, but he did restrict outside projects for them (What got Jam and Lewis fired, which turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to them!), and their input. Also there were like 6 songs on each of the first 3 albums, which really restricts you. They were caught in a Catch 22 Paradox, they got the fame and adulation from the fans - but at the end of the day, it was all Prince's group and Prince's music. He could turn on the spigot and then turn it off. Prince was not a good ruler and abused his power, by firing members and restricting the band from playing the bigger markets like LA and New York (He did not fuck with Detroit though at least), he let them know that they were no more than puppets.
I love Prince and his music, but I would never work for him as he was a complete Caesar in the studio and a self important little creep to his "Underlings" until recently he treated all his bands (Protege and his own bands) like shit, in his defence he was doing all the music and making them famous at least, and was known to keep people on his payroll long after they got sacked in some cases). Prince was known to tape the first 3 albums by doing all the music and singing guide vocals, then Morris went in and recorded his vocals over top (Although the first 2 albums, you can hear Prince in the backing vocals a lot). When the 2nd album came out, he threw a tape at the band saying "Here's the next album - learn it" and then to Jesse (Whose guitar playing scared the shit out of Prince, so he did these hard ass solos for him to emulate) "You play really good on this album" with a sneer. To add to the bitch factor, Prince made the Time travel on a spearate bus before the Purple Rain era, while he flew first class or on his private jet and the Revolution went coach at least.
Prince also forced them to dance and sing whilst playing their instruments too. It was hard as they were talented, but playing all the black music joints around Minneapolis was never going to give them the exposure Prince could.
1990s Pandemonium saw more independence than the first 3 albums, but it was still them recording essentially Prince songs at Paisley park. They played a few dates independent of Prince (Mainly as Prince's 1990 Nude tour was before the GB release). Finally in 2011 with Condensate, they were independent of Prince and the group did fall apart afterwards for several reasons. Jam and Lewis were big time producers, Moir was not well and I think the others lost interest, we are talking about men in their mid to late 50s trying to emulate what they did in their 20s.
The current group has Morris (Born 1957), Jellybean (Born 1956), Jerome (Born 1962) playing with 3 new cats and with the lack of Jam and Lewis, Jesse and Monte, the group is not the Original 7even, but just called "Morris Day and the Time".
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Post by MattyJam on May 3, 2018 6:05:00 GMT
It was such a shame that they couldn't find a way to stay together when they reformed as the Original 7even. How cool would it have been to have seen the original lineup do a full-scale world tour to promote Condensate? I'll never understand why these cats couldn't keep their shit together as a group. So much potential and talent wasted over the years. I seem to recall hearing at the time that Jam & Lewis didn't want to tour. And Jesse left the band shortly after the album dropped. I dont know why, but Jesse often struck me as a bit of a prima donna. |
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2018 7:40:16 GMT
Well Prince broke up a unit that was tight, they were all friends and had got used to each other. The triple threat tour lasted 6 long months and relations had declined on the tour. Prince kept the band together long enough to finish the tour and then sack them. Also Prince was jealous that he did not have the same level of camaraderie with his band the Time had. The Time were all brothers and friends.
When Jam and Lewis got the boot, Jesse and Monte left as the family had been broken. Prince had to beg Morris to stay and the new members Rocky Harris, St Paul and Mark Cardenas, found it hard to be accepted and were only emmeshed well into 1984. Apart from a show at First Avenue in October 1983, this new line up never really toured together.
Apart from one off shows, there was no touring between April 1983 and November 1984 when the Purple Rain tour started in Detroit and this tour had Sheila E as the support act, not the Time. The new Time lypsynched their songs on Purple Rain and the Ice Cream Castle album was taped in Jan/Feb 1984 sandwiched between Purple Rain, the Apollonia 6 and Sheila E Glamorous life albums. Again it was Prince and Morris playing it all (Although apparently Jesse had some input).
Most tragic of all the new members was Rocky Harris, who played one gig at First Avenue with the rest of the Time. He was fired for not showing up on set on November 1st 1983 and Prince was riding Morris by saying (This is costing me $5k an hour Morris). Harris was replaced by Jerry Hubbard who was in Purple Rain and got to appear on the album cover.
To summarise, the Time was such a tight unit that one member goes and it fell apart.
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