Prince - Sign 'O' the Times

Fantastic

Prince's Sign O The Times is one of those albums that's so good that you're tempted to criticize it. It is definitely sprawling and all over the map. It blows the previous "Parade" to shreds. Prince tries everything here and it all works. The only song I'm not crazy about is "It." "It" is filler and the only misstep but It (lol) is surrounded by such quality material that it makes it easier to ignore IT. Don't let IT distract you. Ok, enough about It. Just get this if you haven't already. Also seek out the B-sides that were recorded during these sessions. Shockadelica and La La La He He He are up in quality with the rest of the album. Now what we need is a re-release of the Sign O The Times concert video on DVD. October 5, 2008

GIVE THIS ALL THE STARS YOU CAN

Every generation gets the White Album it deserves, and after 20 years of dust-settling we can take a clear look at this generation's. I dont want to go through the album track by track, but I would like to single a few out; On 'It' the contrast between the synthetic beats and Prince's all too human vocals makes for one of his very best tracks; in fact the whole thing sounds like someone trapped inside a giant thumping robot Wicker Man, trying desparately to shag his way out.For me it's the best vocal he's ever done and even casual observers will know that's saying a lot; plus only Miles Davis has done more with two chords and a short shard of melody (on 'Black satin'). 'Slow Love' and 'Adore' are the most voluptuous things he's done and 'Forever In My Life ' the most romantic. It really is an album of contrasts and superlatives. August 27, 2008

Sign O' The Times

Prince-Sign O' The Times ****1/2

To be perfectly honest, Sign O' The Times is not a masterpiece, it is very close, but it is not one of Princes five star albums. Now given a five star album for Prince means something different then a five star album from say Aerosmith, or Bullets & Octane, or Marvin Gaye, they are all different artists so they must be graded accordingly. What I am getting at is with as good as this album is you can't compare it to Purple Rain, Dirty Mind, and say Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic.

While Prince did cover many genres with this truly eclectic album, and did do most of them well, their are a few slight filler tracks here. 'Hot Thing' and 'Housequake' being the most obvious in my mind. While they had the potential to be great funk numbers they fall short. 'Hot Thing' really reminds me of a bad James Brown parody. On disc two the only song that could be concidered filler is maybe 'Its A Beautiful Night' that just comes of as somehow stupid from Prince, but at the same time is fun an enjoyable every once in a while so all is not bad.

As for the rest of the album it is pretty stellar! on disc one we have the albums title track, 'Sign O The Times' which is easily one of the artists all time top five tracks. Lyrics are fantastic and the opening pearl drop synth lick is timeless where the rest of the synth on the album is not. 'Play In The Sunshine' in someone elses hands would have failed but not in the purple one's hands. The same can be said of 'Dorothy Parker.' 'It' speaks for itself. 'Starfish And Coffee' is true Prince having fun. The lyrics are out there but the music is great and it just feels fun, so forget all the naysayers. 'Slow Love' is classic, old school Prince. 'Forever In My Life' is tender and actually one of the better ballads of his career. Disc two, just completely owns. it could have been it's own album. 'U Got The Look' is my least favorite hit single off the album but still is fun upon each listen. 'If I Was Your Man' is timeless and one of his very best songs. The bouncy rhythm and extended jam on this album version show of some of Prince's best guitar work of the decade. 'Strange Relationship' follows suit as classic Prince and one that would have easily been yet another hit single off the album. 'The Cross' is one of Princes very first overly religious songs, and one of his best. As well all know he is deeply involved in his faith now, and this was a sign of things to come. 'Adore' closes the album and does so perfectly. The lovely ballad is recorded live and is probably the best song on the album.

So while Sign O The Times is not the best Prince creme de la creme, and there are better albums in his career, it is still essential. Yes it is true that some of the tracks sound dated and very 1987, it still makes for an enjoyable listen every time around. Highly, highly recommended. April 21, 2008

What happened to the Video of this live concert? Excellent & Timeless Prince

This is Prince at his turning point at his best. What happened to the video of this concert? I had it on VHS, I need to find it again, is it remastered on DVD? Sounds crazy, but something I cannot be without! Great times and memories. January 31, 2008

Prince Returns to a More Classic Minneapolis Sound

Despite a very successful decade of music in both critical and commercial success, Prince was facing a crossroads in his career from a commercial standpoint. Following the enormous success of the landmark album and movie, "Purple Rain", Prince would have less successful results from a sales standpoint with the follow-ups of 1985's "Around the World in a Day" and 1986's "Parade. In fact, "Parade" served as the soundtrack from Prince's second movie "Under the Cherry Moon" - which would prove to be a critical as well as a commercial direction. Prince is the type of artist that always does things his own way, and despite some of these pitfalls Prince would press on. His 1987 double-album, "Sign 'O' the Times" would help re-establish Prince and the "Minneapolis Sound" again and continue his amazing success that had started earlier in the decade.

The "Minneapolis Sound" contained a mixture of Funk, Pop, R&B, and Rock. Prince was largely responsible for being a contributing architect to this sound movement. Following the success of "Purple Rain", the follow-up albums would go in a completely different direction. "Around the World in a Day" would abandon the Rock-infused style of "Purple Rain" in favor of a psychedelic sound. This sound might have disappointed some of the expanded fan base that Prince acquired during the success of "Purple Rain", but it would add a whole new element to both Prince's music and the "Minneapolis Sound". On "Parade", Prince would continue to explore the psychedelic element as well as focus around a Funk element. The one new element he would add on "Parade" was a "European influence". This would be because "Parade" served as a soundtrack for "Under the Cherry Moon" which would take place in France. With "Sign o' the Times", Prince would move away from the psychedelic and European sounds from his previous two albums. For the most part, "Sign 'O' the Times" marks a return to a more classic "Minneapolis Sound" with the exception of two songs which have more of a Rap influence - something new in the "Minneapolis Sound".

"Sign 'O' the Times" is also considered the first "solo" album in several years as it is not branded "Prince and the Revolution". This was around the time that Prince disbanded the Revolution, however many of the tracks are derived from a project he was working on with the Revolution - therefore many of the tracks still have various band members of the Revolution involved.

The two songs that demonstrate the "Rap" influence are "Housequake" and "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night". While I didn't care for the mix of Funk and Rap on "Housequake", I did like what Prince did with "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night". "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" is probably one of the hidden gems of this collection. It has more of a "show performance" (reminding me of how Prince influenced Morris Day and the Time) feel to it. It contains terrific instrumentation as it features Sheila E., Jill Jones, Susannah Melvoin, and members fo the Revolution. In a lot of ways, despite the involvement of the Revolution, it sounds a lot like a blueprint for what Prince would do with his latter band - "The New Power Generation" during the 1990s.

"It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" is a great example of how Prince tends to be at his best when he brings in co-vocalists (in this case Melvoin and Jones) - something that has been a staple of his career. "U Got the Look" is another terrific example of Prince in a duet. In this case, he brings Sheena Easton to share the lead vocals. "U Got the Look" also has a terrific mix of Rock and Funk.

"I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" has more of a pop-feel but it is one of the best tracks on this collection. It is the instrumental in the second-half of the song highlighted by Prince's guitar that really shines - it even features some bluesy sounds. Prince's bluesy guitar work also shines on "The Cross". "The Cross" is the album's strongest track and while it didn't get radio airplay, it has become a favorite. On this song, Prince once again tackles the subject of religion. In addition to the guitar work, it also features some military style drums that really adds to the way the song builds to a crescendo.

The "Minneapolis Sound" proves to be alive and well on tracks "Strange Relationship" and "Play in the Sunshine" - both demonstrating a strong R&B and Funk sound. Both songs are also two hidden gems in the Prince catalog of music. "Strange Relationship" features the use of the Sitar played by Revolution member Lisa Coleman. The lead vocal is credited to "Camille" - Prince' s alter-ego during the era. "Play in the Sunshine" has more of a faster tempo to it and a more of a pop-friendly sound to it.

Prince also demonstrates he can go to a more classic R&B sound. This is demonstrated on tracks "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" and "Slow Love". These are not the album's strongest tracks, but not bad ones either.

The title track "Sign 'O' the Times" demonstrates that Prince can still write socio-political commentary (going back to his "Controversy" days). That is also a very good track. While this song uses a drum machine, it works effectively. I particularly like the instrumental at the end of this song - often eliminated on commercial radio.

The liner notes contain the lyrics and musician credits to the songs on this collection. It is also worth noting that Prince would release a concert-film with the same title that features many of the songs on this album live. Watching that concert-film will also help give an appreciation for this collection. While this album doesn't return Prince to the landmark status he established on "Purple Rain", he still delivers a very powerful collection of music. Overall, this is still highly recommended. December 29, 2007

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