Difference between revisions of "Album: Concrete Jungle"

Revision as of 22:22, 6 August 2022

{{Album| |album name = Concrete Jungle |album image = |date = March 2010 (specific date needed) |length = 52:59 |label = Dredlix Records |studios = Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA |previous year = 2009 |previous image = Image:Elixer album.jpg |previous album = Album: Elixer |previous album link = Elixer |next year = 2010 |next image = Image:Makelovenotwar album.jpg |next album = Album: Make Love Not War |next album link = Make Love Not War |introduction = Concrete Jungle is a studio album by Rosie Gaines originally planned for release in 1993, but eventually released digitally in 2010; many of the tracks had since been worked on further and released on Closer Than Close, released in 1995. Concrete Jungle features three songs with writing and musical input by Prince - I Want U (Inner City Blue), My Tender Heart and Hit U In The Socket.

Sessions and compiling

Work on a solo Rosie Gaines album began while she was still a member of the New Power Generation band, in 1990 (I Want U was first recorded in late 1989, before work on the album commenced). Work continued until September 1991, when she and Prince fell out regarding her solo career. She was contracted to Paisley Park Records, however, and continued to work on the album without Prince following her departure from the band (after the Diamonds And Pearls Tour). The album became known as Concrete Jungle.

After Paisley Park Records closed, Rosie Gaines worked on the album further, renamed it Closer Than Close and took it to Motown Records (see that album’s entry for full details of its release).

Tracks containing input by Prince which were recorded for potential inclusion on Concrete Jungle included Streetwalker, In The Name Of Love (both of which remain unreleased), Hold Me (later released by Jevetta Steele and Pain (later released by Chaka Khan). Additionally, Turn Your Lights Down Low (a cover version of the Bob Marley track from Exodus, 1977) was originally recorded with musical contributions by Prince, before being re-recorded without keeping Prince input limited to background vocals and released on Closer Than Close.

I Want U (Inner City Blue), My Tender Heart and Hit U In The Socket, as released on Concrete Jungle, are earlier versions of the recordings of the tracks than those included on Closer Than Close and through the NPG Music Club.

My Tender Heart was recorded in June 1990. Hit U In The Socket is an alternate version of the original 1991 recording (the original was available on Rosie Gaines’ album Try Me as In The Socket). I Want U (Inner City Blue) is a remix of the 1992 re-recording of the track I Want U, including elements of Marvin Gaye’s tracks I Want You (from I Want You, 1976, also released as a single) and Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (from What’s Going On, 1971, also released as a single).

When the album was planned for release in 1993, My Tender Heart was planned as the album’s first single. Despite the track’s inclusion on the album Closer Than Close, however, the single was left unreleased.

Promotion

In 2009, RosieGaines.com advertized an option to pre-order CD copies of the album, but it appears that no orders were possible, and no CD copies of the album were produced, with a digital release pursued instead.

No singles were released to promote the album, and the album did not enter the iTunes charts. |tracklisting = No physical CD is known to exist, therefore the tracks below are listed from the iTunes digital download version.

Details given for Prince-related tracks only:

1. I Want U (Inner City Blue) (4:13) ¹
2. Googaga (Making It Up As We Go Along)
3. Ooh La La
4. My Tender Heart (5:07) ²
5. Hit U In The Socket (4:07) ²
6. Do What You Wanna Do
7. Concrete Jungle
8. Get The Ghetto Off Your Mind
9. JAH Love
10. The Bitch
11. In The Middle Of The Garden
12. I Almost Lost You
13. Play That Beat

|credits = | * comment = ¹ Written by Rosie Gaines and Prince. Contains segments of I Want You (written by Leon Ware and Arthur "T-Boy" Ross) and Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (written by Marvin Gaye & James Nyx, Jr.)
² Written by Rosie Gaines and Prince. |other format = |content = |musicians = Rosie Gaines - vocals, keyboards

• Ivan Dupee - keyboards on I Want U (Inner City Blue)
• Richard Patterson - bass guitar and drum programming on I Want U (Inner City Blue)
• C. Willis - lead guitar on I Want U (Inner City Blue)
• Alejo Poveda - percussion on I Want U (Inner City Blue)
• Michael B. - drums on My Tender Heart
• Sonny T. - bass guitar on My Tender Heart
• Levi Seacer, Jr. - guitar on My Tender Heart
• Tommy Barbarella - keyboards on My Tender Heart
• Prince - background vocals on My Tender Heart, all instruments on Hit U In The Socket (assumed)

|production = Ivan Dupee - producer on I Want U (Inner City Blue)

• Prince - producer on My Tender Heart and Hit U In The Socket (assumed)
• No other production credits available.

|thanks = None. |singles = * None at time of release. I Want U had been released from Closer Than Close as a single in 1995. |see also = ! colspan="2" align="left" style="font-size:100%;color:#AB3E00"| See also

|- |colspan="2" |

Closer Than Close (Album)	My Tender Heart (Unreleased single)

|charts =

|releases = There were no other releases than the digital one. |album promotion = None. |trivia = A few other early configurations of the album are known to exist. See details above in the Alternative section.

• Other songs were recorded by Rosie Gaines with Prince for her solo project from the early 90s were not retained for the albums released by Gaines between 1995 and 2010. Among these tracks are:Exploding All Over Europe and Pain (released as a stand-alone single by Gaines in 2005 and 2016 respectively, the latter was also released by Chaka Khan), T.R.O.U.B.L.E. (included in the Essential Rosie compilation), Hold Me (released by Jevetta Steele), The Voice (released by Mavis Staples), I Hear Your Voice (released by Patti LaBelle), Extraordinary (later reclaimed by Prince), In The Name Of Love and Streetwalker (both unreleased).
• Rosie Gaines’ albums Closer Than Close (released in 1995), Try Me (planned for 1994 and released in 2005) and Concrete Jungle (planned for 1993 and released in 2010) were recorded around the same period (between 1990 and 1995 during her tenure with Prince as a band member or as a Paisley Park Records act, and the year following the closing of his label). All of the songs on Concrete Jungle were already released on either Closer Than Close, Try Me, although some versions may be different or have an alternate title. Two songs on Concrete Jungle were already released on both Closer Than Close and Try Me ("Do What You Wanna Do" and "Ooh La La"). Six other tracks were included on Closer Than Close ("Concrete Jungle", "Get The Ghetto Off Your Mind", "Googaga (Making It Up As We Go Along)", "I Almost Lost You", I Want U, [[My Tender Heart) and five others were released on Try Me (Hit U In The Socket, "In The Middle Of The Garden", "Jah Love", "Play That Beat", "The Bitch").

|alternative =

|references = The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004) |categories = }}