I have no idea what the guy who called this album "Un-genius like" is talking about. The music on this album is overflowing with genius, style, and creativity. Before this album no-one had ever used a synthesizer and Linn-Drum Computer to the perfection that Prince did on the tracks "If I Was Your Girlfriend", and "The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker". The thought provoking lyrics of the title track"Sign O' The Times" and the simplicity of its music is unbelievable. "Play in the Sunshine" is a gospel meets rock and go-go track that makes u want to dance and shout. The rock guitar riffs, bass line and drum work are amazing. Its hard to belive that this is one musician playing all of the instruments. If dance tracks are what u are looking for, they are here in many forms, from "Housequake" and "Hot Thing" to "U got the Look" and "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night". For the rock guitar lovers u have "The Cross", and the brilliant "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man" that will blow u away. If this is not enough....U have the most inspired ballads ever written by Prince, the peaceful "Slow Love", the marriage minded "Forever In My Life" which was used by the late John F. Kennedy Jr. at his wedding for the first dance, and the eclectic jam "Adore", which has one of the most inspired vocal performances that Prince has ever put on any album. However, the most impressive song of the set is the aforemntioned "If I Was Your Girlfriend" which has the most complex lyrical content I have ever heard. The song shows a man's vulnerabilty when it comes to love, and the way in which he wants to give his woman everything, while being her everything. The music of this track is equally impressive as the lyrics. "Strange Relationship" serves as the counter to "If I was Your Girlfriend" by showing the feelings that also go along with the ups and downs of a relationship. The most amazing thing about the track is the way in which Prince put such a happy musical track, to such depressing lyrics. The song is a true gem.

What can I say this album is brilliant, complex, moody, dark, and happy at the same time. The music is timeless and has influenced many musicians from Lenny Kravitz, Beck, and D'Angelo, to Macy Gray, Jill Scott, and Angie Stone. This is one of the most important albums released in the last 25 years along with "Songs In The Key of Life", by Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye's "Here My Dear" and Sly Stone's "There's A Riot Goin' On". If u like good music I suggest u purchase this album today. The music is revolutionary and timeless.

Sign O The Times came to us by chance. Originally titled Crystal Ball (not quite the same as the current CD with the same name), but what we got was something unexpected. The first album after the breakup of The Revolution, it contains everything from Rock (Play in the Sunshine and Title Track), pure pop (U GOt The Look), sensual ballads that would put Luther in jail (Adore, If I Was Your Girlfriend) and funk (Housequake, It, Hot Thing) and somethings we've never heard before (Forever In My Life). "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" was actually recorded with a mix of error. Engineer Susan Rogers recorded Prince with only half the mixing board up and running, but the results were fresh and original. Most all hardcore Prince fans will always list Sign as one of their favorite albums. Purple Rain is for those who like top 40 radio, as is 1999. Sign is for those who want to go deeper.

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.

Get this, Purple Rain, 1999 and Dirty Mind and you will have all the Prince you will ever need. This is the apex of his career. Was 1987 that long ago???