Sign O' The Times

Tracklist:

“Sign o’ the Times”
“Play in the Sunshine”
“Housequake” ⭐️
“The Ballad of Dorothy Parker” ⭐️
“It”
“Starfish and Coffee” ⭐️
“Slow Love”
“Hot Thing”
“Forever in My Life”
“U Got the Look” 💎
“If I Was Your Girlfriend” ⭐️
“Strange Relationship”
“I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man”
“The Cross”
“It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night” ⭐️
“Adore”

Comments

I recently saw an article, in The Guardian, I think, that was the quintessential albums by various musicians. This was the one listed for Prince. I agree! It didn’t have the same cultural impact that Purple Rain did, but “Sign O’ The Times” demonstrates the full range of what Prince was capable of. It’d be my pick if I could only listen to a single Prince album.

“Sign o’ the Times”

I’ve always liked this song but it has that awkward thing which some 80s songs have where artists who are out of touch with “the street” like Prince or Michael Jackson try to sing about the streets the way Marvin Gaye or Curtis Mayfield did. This style was brilliantly parodied on Flight of the Conchords.

“Play in the Sunshine”

I’m not a fan of this one.

“Housequake” ⭐️

Funky. His voice is just slightly sped up. The horns sound like the JB Horns.

“The Ballad of Dorothy Parker” ⭐️

Just a weird cool little tune. Strange beat, strange organ, nice bass holding it all down.

Yeah, let me get a fruit cocktail, I ain’t that hungry.

“It”

Prince likes to do “It”. Like “Housequake” or “PArty Man”, it has that late 80s Prince hard funk sound.

“Starfish and Coffee” ⭐️

Another charming little song about a weird girl from school.

“Slow Love”

A do me ballad in 6/8 time.

“Hot Thing”

Just a driving kind of tune.

“Forever in My Life”

Probably the most forgettable tune in the album

“U Got the Look” 💎

This was the biggest hit from the album. Rocky, poppy duo.

“If I Was Your Girlfriend” ⭐️

By far my favourite song of the album. Weird ass beat, cool sped up lyrics, great little snap bass line, erotic gender ambiguous tune. One of his best.