“Sign O’ The Times”, released on March 31st, 1987, was Prince’s first solo album following his departure from The Revolution. Originally put together as a three-LP album entitled “Crystal Ball”, the musician was forced by his record company to pare it down pre-release, the result of this being a double album that quickly became widely regarded as Prince’s masterpiece. Though selling modestly, somewhat akin to “Parade”, “Sign O’ The Times” was almost universally applauded by critics and fans and has since been frequently identified as Prince’s finest album, and a standard of comparison for all of his albums to follow.
“Sign O’ The Times” wasn’t exactly the historic merger of rock and R&B that the world had been expecting. Instead, it plays like the ultimate mix-tape as Prince jumps from genre to genre, from the grinding, house music-inspired funk prototype rap of “Housequake” to the sweet pop fare of “Starfish And Coffee”. Yet the man’s singular outlook can constantly be identified and as varied as the music gets, that outlook works as a uniting factor. Thematically, “Sign O’ The Times” covers the depressing state of the world in the title track, party funk in “Housequake”, sexual lust in “It”, and spiritual enlightenment in “The Cross”. “Sign O’ The Times” was regarded as ‘less polished’ than Prince’s earlier efforts. However, the double album was also Prince’s most diverse release to date, featuring such a wide array of musical styles; rock, pop, soul and funk, with dance, electronic, and jazz also thrown in for good measure. The album marked a return to Prince’s self-contained recording process, with the artist performing and arranging almost all of the music single-handedly. As a result, many of the tracks have a sparser, more funk-oriented, sometimes more electronic feel than Prince’s previous recordings with The Revolution. In addition to the album’s eclecticism, many have labelled the record as one of Prince’s most adventurous, with minimalist, experimental arrangements on songs like “Housequake”, “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker”, and “Forever in My Life”.
Widely heralded as ground breaking at the time of its release, some of the 80s-style synthesisers sound a little dated. Yet it is clearly the sound of a performer at the height of his career. On songs like the title track, “If I Was Your Girlfriend” and “The Cross”, Prince proves why the hype was justified and made an album that reflected his evolving musical vision rather than the Revolution’s signature sound, though that sound does still rear its head occasionally on “Sign O’ The Times”, particularly on “Play In The Sunshine”. “Sign O’ The Times” is undoubtedly among the apexes of Prince’s career. Every track has a unique charm and even the less obvious ones are growers. It has been said many times that “Sign O’ The Times” would have made a fantastic single album but those that take the time to properly listen will discover a truly amazing double album.
Track Listing:
Disc 1:
1. “Sign O’ the Times”
2. “Play In the Sunshine”
3. “Housequake”
4. “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker”
5. “It”
6. “Starfish and Coffee”
7. “Slow Love”
8. “Hot Thing”
9. “Forever In My Life”
Disc 2:
1. “You Got The Look”
2. “If I Was Your Girlfriend”
3. “Strange Relationship”
4 . “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man”
5 “The Cross”
6. “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night”
7. “Adore”
Labels: 1980's
