Prince Album: “Sign O' the Times”

Ok. The age old question: What IS Prince's best album? Sign 'O The Times or Purple Rain? I personally would throw in 1999 in that question too. Well to answer that you probably should look at it the same way that we look at Stevie wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life and Innervisions. Songs is Stevie's most important work for MUSIC. Innervisions is his PERSONAL best. Therefore I feel Sign is the Purple One's most important work for music and Purple Rain is his personal best. Why? "Sign" bashes down musical doors just as "Songs" did 11 years earlier. And, as with "Innervisions", "Purple" has better all around song writing and energy to it. Enough of the comparison, you should have BOTH CD anyway! On with my review. Because this is a double disc, reviewing all of the songs in 1000 or less is impossible so I'll stick with what I feel are the best songs.

Sign 'O The Times: A slow, purculating classic. Prince sings of all of the maddness going on in the world today and how things seem to be getting worse. "September my cousin tried refer for the very first time, now he's doing horse. It's June". It's a great opening for a the masterpiece that is to follow. Housequake: One of the tightest jams he's ever done, and he's done MANY! This song started so many parties it's amazing! It's Prince as both jokester and funkster. AllI can say is "Shut Up already, DAMN"! It: This is the hottest, sweatest sexiest song every. It is, well, IT!!. It's minimalist musicwise, not a whole lot of instramentation or anything but that's the point. Sex and sexual lust is not complicated or multilayered. It's pretty straight and simple. Just like this great song. A must hear. Starfish and Coffee: Prince snd Stevie Wonder were compared when Prince was just starting off. Mainly because of the fact that both were multi-instramentalist and great studio musicians. With this song it takes the similarities to another level. As a child, before his Motown fame, Stevie would be listening to many blues and soul masters on his way to school. And he was generally he only black kid on the bus going to these special schools for the blind. Because of that it took a lot of nerve for him to listen to what he loved while the other kids were listening the like. In Starfish and Coffee, Prince tells the tale of a person (Cynthia) who lived life to the beat of her own drum. Everyday she brought for lunch starfish and coffee. As he says in the song, "Go on Cynthia, keep singing starfish and coffee, maple syrup and jam..." She's going to do her thing no matter what. It makes you think if Cynthia is actually Prince in disguise. Say what you want but our buddy Prince IS different. And he has definately walked to his own beat. Musically, the song is weird, very psychedelic, but incredibly catchy. It's actually one of the best songs on the album. Not anything you would hear on the radio, but still one of his best. Strange Relationship: A heavyhanded funk classic. A tale of a love/hate/love relationship that many of us have been involved with. Crank this one up to listen to it. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man: One of the best song of his career. This is a psychedelic/pop/jazz masterpiece. To be honest, most of Prince's music is not very thought provoking. Prince is know for his MUSIC and there is plenty of it going on in this one. The song is about a night in the club where he meets a lady and does his rap but feels that she's looking for something more than just a one night stand. Which is what he's gunning for! Again, this is not brain surgery lyricswise but musically he goes from his now patented psychdelic/pop to a jazzy mid-section and back. Ending I with a rocked out scream. Amazing. Adore: The best song on the CD. Prince sings in falsetto here to great effect. It's a slow jam that glides you in and out of it's story. Prince clowns around on this one too. Saying he'll do anything and give anything for his woman.....except for his car!!! It's funny, irreverent but oh so truthful in so many ways. The best part is that it doesn't mess up the sexiness of the song. Only Prince could pull that off. It is a perfect end to a great CD. Prince never won Album of the Year Grammies but he should have for this one.

This sprawling, wildly eclectic and endlessly inventive double album forever dashed the notion that 'Purple Rain' would be Prince's creative peak. For my money, this is his finest work of art. Everything about it is refreshing, the cover art, the packaging the sequencing and most importantly the music all show him as the restless creative genius we've always known him to be. From the bleak, issued-riddled title track, to the jaunty 'Play In The Sunshine' this album is all over the place. To give a brief synopsis of my favorite tracks; 'The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker'- dominated by some sharp Linn-LM1 drum machine programming and supple, funky bassline that even quotes Joni Mitchell! 'It'- a simple canned beat that builds to an orchestrated, synth driven climax about "f---in'on yo' mind", one of his best sex songs ever. 'Starfish & Coffee'- notable for it's terrific sing along melody and chorus and sparse repetitive backing track. The lyrics are some of his best. 'I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man'- proof that he can rattle off a great, '60's influenced pop song in his sleep. (Special Note: rent the 'Sign "O" The Times' film and see the blazing treatment he gives this song live in concert, his ripping, orgasmic guitar solo is revelatory!) (Special Note #2 about the film, Shiela E. performs a drum solo during a jazzy instrumental jam that must be seen to be believed. She plays so hard, she abandons sticks altogether and slaps the crash cymbals with her bare hands!) And speaking of abandoning things, I hereby abandon the notion that the pleasures found on this epic release can be limited to a handful of tracks. Buy the LP in any format, and you'll be richly rewarded. A Classic.

Judging from the other reviews, I am apparently one of many Prince fans who have chosen "Sign o' the Times" as their favorite Prince album. I see it as the absolute pinnacle of the creative peak that began with "Purple Rain" and ended somewhere in between "Lovesexy" and the New Power Generation. Here we have seventeen tracks that showcase all the sides of Prince's personality that his fans have grown to love: Social critic ("Sign o' the Times"), spiritual seeker ("The Cross"), romantic ("Forever in my Life", "Adore"), and, of course, horndog ("U Got the Look", "It", "Hot Thing"). And then there are the songs that sort of defy musical or lyrical categorization, and are probably the strongest tracks of all: "If I Was Your Girlfriend" starts off as a romantic desire to get to know a lover better, and then turns into a strange stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasy. "Housequake" could have been a generic party anthem, but with lyrics like "Don't wait for your neighbors/green eggs and ham!" takes strange forays into fantasyland. One of my favorite tracks, the mellow "Ballad of Dorothy Parker" is an intruiging song that is either a nod to the famous writer or a character study of a witty, sexy waitress, or maybe both. It's this unpredictability, as well as his ability to make music that is both bizarre and accessable at the same time, that makes Prince one of the greatest artists in rock history.

The album "Sign `o' the Times" by Prince is one of my ALL-TIME favorites. Not many people I encounter know anything about this CD and that is beyond shameful because they are missing out on one of the trippiest and most joyful musical experiences known to mankind. HOW'S THAT FOR HYPERBOLE?

Let's break it down....

01) SIGN `O' THE TIMES: This is a fantastic slow and spooky funk tune that waxes philosophical about such society ills as aids, gang violence, drugs, hurricanes, murders, poverty, war and even space shuttle explosions. Much like John Lennon's song "Imagine", this tune is just as relevant in 2006 as it was when originally released.

02) PLAY IN THE SUNSHINE: This is one of my fave Prince tunes ever. Musically, it sounds like a psychedelic gospel rave up and lyrically, it is all about trippin' on a natural high. FANTASTIC TRACK!

03) HOUSEQUAKE: Prince brings the fun big time with this tune. A mixture of James Brown, hip-hop and euro-dance-pop; HOUSEQUAKE is like nothing you've ever heard...and who else but Prince in his prime would toss out a "Green Eggs and Ham" reference in the middle of a mad-funky throw down?

04) THE BALLAD OF DOROTHY PARKER: This is a mellow funk groove that plays like a collaboration between Sly Stone and Joni Mitchell. I kid you not!

05) IT: After four fantastic tunes in a row, you'll be thinking "Man, this album is pure genius" but then comes this song. The only bleak spot on an otherwise exceptional album. "IT" is a meandering bit of danceable filler. Prince released a single b-side from this same period called "Shockadelica" that would have been much better in this position on the album.

06) STARFISH and COFFEE: This song begins with the sound of an alarm bell and proceeds to take us on a journey into the bizarre magic of childhood. Another one of my faves for it's sheer uniqueness.

07) SLOW LOVE: This is a sensual jazzy love ballad that features some magnificent trumpet solos.

08) HOT THING: What would a 1980's Prince album be without some blatant sexual innuendo? Well here it is furious and funky. The best part of this song is the saxophone work of Eric Leeds.

09) FOREVER IN MY LIFE: This is a slow romantic marriage proposal sung acapella with only the driving beat of a drum machine for accompaniment. Yet another one-of-a-kind song.

10) U GOT THE LOOK: A funk-rock masterpiece with some latin percussion driving the mix. This song is the "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" of dance music.

11) IF I WAS YOUR GIRLFRIEND: On this song, Prince writes in a conversational style as if telling his girlfriend that he wants a closeness with her that she usually reserves for her best girlfriend. One of the most interesting and daring lyrics you're likely to ever come across.

12) STRANGE RELATIONSHIP: Another out-of-the-ordinary lyric about a couple with a love / hate relationship that neither one can put an end to. Features the great chorus..."Baby, I just can't stand to see you happy / More than that, I hate to see you sad / Honey if you left me I just might do something rash / What's this strange relationship?"

13) I COULD NEVER TAKE THE PLACE OF YOUR MAN: This is guitar pop at it's best with a great lyric about actually turning down a woman's sexual advances. Features a terrific guitar solo / break down midway through the song.

14) THE CROSS: This is a song about overcoming the adversity in life through spiritual faith in but even if you're an atheist, you won't be able to deny the rhythmic and melodic power of this tune. It starts off slow, quiet and acoustic then builds to an all out rockin' climax.

15) IT'S GONNA BE A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT: This is a 9 minute jam-out track that was recorded live with Prince's unbelievable 80's band The Revolution...featuring Shelia E. on the drums. A truly remarkable funk experience that showcases Shelia E. rapping Edward Lear's classic poem "The Table and the Chair" in the middle of all the musical mayhem. Another one of my faver most faves!

16) ADORE: This amazing album comes to a end with this gorgeous classic-style r&b ballad.

WHAT A TRIP! If you've never heard this album, I strongly suggest that you check it out immediately and give your ears a sonic treat. Just skip song number 5!

Prince has about 22 full length studio albums on the market--where do you start? Sign O The Times is a good place, though you might be more at home with Purple Rain or The Hits/B-Sides package. Why Sign O The Times? It showed how experimental and original he could be. Of his 22 cds, Sign O The Times stands alone as his only double cd. 16 tracks that waste no time. Great songs such as "Sign O The Times", "U Got The Look" and "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" combine with more experimental fare like "Starfish and Coffee", "It" and "If I Was Your Girlfriend." It's hard for an artist to continue to live up to a prior success, and for Prince that will always be Purple Rain, but Sign O The Times shows a broader range than Purple Rain did. It's difficult to say only one cd is Prince's best, but I would say that Sign O The Times is ONE of his best. It does sound like it was made in 1987, but the songs still hold up 13 years later. I'm sure Elton John, Billy Joel and Bob Dylan have all had some albums that sound very dated in their extensive catalogues. If you have Purple Rain and are looking for another Prince cd that matches it, Sign O The Times, Diamonds & Pearls and The Symbol albums are all worthwhile. This is worth the money, you won't be disappointed.