The Time - Ice Cream Castle

Whew! If you thought Jodeci and Dru Hill were the masters of putting sex into soul, think again. The Time are anything but subtle: there are tracks laced with heavy breathing, words like "straddle" and lines like "I wanna get you off, baby" are commonplace, and they're completed with a sultry style of soul that is equally as enticing in its uptempo forms (the very '80s-sounding "Jungle Love," "My Drawers") as it is in slow doses (the raw "Chili Sauce" and "If the Kid Can't Make You Come"). Even the more mellow, midtempo funk like "Ice Cream Castles" is addictive. The Time make you realize there's more to old-school funk than just George Clinton and Parliament. --Rebecca Wallwork Amazon.com

JESSE!!! N0W JER0ME!!! YESSSSS!!!

This lce Cream Castle was so sweet, it gave me diabetes. And trust me, l don't need no insulin. June 24, 2008

That Minneapolis Sound.

Morris Day @ THE TIME put comedy,sex and a new dance on this funky cd. The first of their albums 2 go mainstream, mainly because of the single "jungle love". Appearing in Prince's Purple Rain motion picture helped the band get well deserved public appeal. This album features 4 new members including Jerome Benton Morris' right-hand-man. "Chili sauce"," Ice cream castles","my drawers", and "the bird" make this cd a must have. Listen 2 THE TIME! September 8, 2007

It will have you jamming!!!

The Time definitely will have you on their dials with this album. Funk music at it's finest. Every song on this album is stellar, especially Jungle Love, and the Bird. I wish that they would get the recognition that they deserve. July 25, 2007

yayess!!!

The most successful(mainstream wise) of The Time albums...largely in part to the Comedy provided by Morris and Jerome in "purple rain"...this album isn't about Prince though...it's personality screams MORRIS E. DAY..."Chili Sauce" is Halerious!..."if the kid can't make ya cum"...is for the true Time fans. The anthums are of course "Jungle Love"...&"The Bird"...This is an album that should have been the Time's coming out party and launched them into the mainstream audience but like so many bands of the past...they broke up...Success followed quite a bit of the band...Jesse Johnson"s Revue...Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis...Morris was the biggest star but he fizzeled out to say the least...still this album lives on thru the Old School dancefloor's of today...This is a real good taste of Prince's creative side being allowed to live thru the "Drawers" of Morris Day and the Time.This album is a must for those who are taken in by the "Minniapolis Music Sound"...i was and still am...(Mazarati, the family, Tamara and the Scene, Alexander O'neil) the Time were among the pioneers of the Stage showmanship to come fronm the 80's...this album is Danceable and fun!!! April 24, 2007

An Unfortunate End To A Great Band....

We all know the story surrounding The Time. Prince wrote for and produced them and put the group together. Unfortunately because of his alpha male syndrome he exerted too much control over the band until they imploded. Ice Cream Castles reflects the tension that was going on in the group (infighting, Prince's dominance). Somehow with Terry, Jimmy and Monte leaving-well being fired by Prince in the case of Terry and Jimmy, the chemistry seemed no longer to be there. Don't get me wrong, Morris was very charismatic and a great lead man and Jesse Johnson on guitar was simply unbelievable, but the spirit and thrill seems to be gone as it seems as if they are just going through the motion. The album seems as though it is pieced together. The title track "Ice Cream Castles" is a mesmerizing song about love and harmony-which is ironic because there was nothing harmonious about climate the group was working in-I love the song but it does seem a tad bit out of place given the songs that proceed it. The synthed out "My Drawers" is a bit of an oddity-but it'll do. I don't need to talk about "Chilli Sauce" which acts as filler. Morris even uses the same line he uses in Purple Rain-the bit about having "a brass waterbed" and having "an Italian cook". The song "If the Kid Can't Make You Come" is not at all satisfying. Then there are the songs for which the band is best remembered, "Jungle Love" and "The Bird" which are hot tracks and the stand outs on this album.

The Time was an extremely talented R&B/Funk band that was not allowed to flourish. Prince was indeed a genius-this has already been established. The problem is he should have given the group the opportunity to have some artistic freedom (something that he ironically preaches day and night about these days). By the time he "allowed" the group to be involved in the process it was too late-Morris and Jesse were headed on their way out of the door. I think Prince never intended them to be anything more than just an opening act. When they began to outshine and upstage him in their live shows-where the music sounded as good if not better than the studio album-he would pull dirty tricks like demoting them. He played too many games-I mean the stories are legendary I'm surprised they endured as long as they did (which was only 3 or 4 years!). I love Prince he is probably my favorite artist of all time-but The Time is a sore spot for me because I love this band and I long for what they could have been. Who knows what the band would have become-unfortunately we'll never know. March 8, 2007

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