Sign "O" The Times
(Once again..)
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 sexy of the song. Only Prince could pull that off. It is a perfect end to a great CD.
