Prince’s Paisley Pals

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From Mazarati cover

10. Mazarati: Mazarati (1986)
A tie between Apollonia and Vanity ought to conclude the top ten, but I’m going to cheat and sneak the group Mazarati in here. The group’s claim to fame, it seems, has been the song they didn’t record: “Kiss”. According to Alan Leeds’s liner notes to Prince’s Hits collection, as well as a bunch of other sources (and rumors), Prince recorded the “Kiss” demo and offered it to Revolution members David Z. and Brown Mark the group they were producing—Mazarati. When the demo didn’t inspire anyone, Prince took it back, added it to his Parade album, and scored a number one hit.  I’m actually listening to Mazarati’s version of “Kiss” on their MySpace page as I edit this column.

What of the self-titled Mazarati album? Not bad, considering the speaker thumping, and kind of cleverly titled “100 MPH”, which is dope, and “Player’s Ball”. “Suzy”, a song about a “woman” who is really a man, is totally bizarre. I can never figure out the tone. Are they mad? Are they surprised? Are they in awe? Outside of “100 MPH”, the slow jams, “Lonely Girl on Bourbon Street” and “I Guess It’s All Over”, are the songs that show the most promise.

Interesting Tidbits
What, no Dr. Fink? No Bobby Z.? Dez Dickerson? Elisa Fiorillo? Ingrid Chavez? No, none of them made the top ten cut, but here are a few bonus albums and personalities, just because there’s something about them that appeals to me:

1. Eric Leeds: Times Squared (1991)
Tight jazz compositions, but maybe too tight. Rather simple and straightforward, really. If you like Prince’s Madhouse projects, you’ll love this. If you hate Prince’s Madhouse projects…yikes.

2. Mayte: Child of the Sun (1996)
Prince helped then-wife Mayte Garcia with an album of her own. She got a chance to sing “If I Love U 2nite”, which was once done by the great Mica Paris. This album’s got a lot of guts, what with going industrial techno in spots and covering “Brick House” (stop laughing!). But “Love’s No Fun” and the duet with Prince on “However Much U Want” are pretty good.

3. Martika: Martika’s Kitchen (1991)
Not really a Prince-associated artist, but Martika sings four Prince-penned songs: “Spirit”, “Love…Thy Will Be Done”, the title track, and my favorite “Don’t Say You Love Me”. They’re better when Prince does them (even the title song—or so I’ve heard!), but these are nicely (re)done.

4. Three O’Clock: Three O’Clock (1988)
A slice of indie rock on Prince’s Paisley Park label, and a cool reworking of non-album Prince track “Neon Telephone”.

5. Carmen Electra: Carmen Electra (1991)
Prince discovered Carmen Electra. Did you know that? With her Paisley Park self-titled album, I think he almost destroyed the goodwill he had built up with humanity from 1979-1988. Her album would not even make a good coaster. But that’s how big a Prince fan I am. I bought this CD.