Prince was shooting for the top of the charts with
Graffiti Bridge, and he missed. The movie was a disaster, causing the soundtrack to sell very poorly. Despite its poor showing,
Graffiti Bridge is not a bad album; in fact, it's often very good.
Prince wrote all of the songs, but only performed a little over half the tracks, leaving the rest for
The Time,
Mavis Staples, and
Tevin Campbell. With the exception of
The Time's slamming "Release It" and
Campbell's "Round and Round," the best songs are the ones
Prince performed himself. The
George Clinton collaboration "We Can Funk," the psycho-blues of "The Question of U," the sinewy single "Thieves in the Temple," and the pop/rock of "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got," "Tick, Tick, Bang," and "Elephants & Flowers" make
Graffiti Bridge a thoroughly enjoyable listen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine