Publication: The Orange County Register [US]
Date: April 3, 1987
Section: Preview
Page Number(S): P34
Length: 727 Words
Title: "'Sign O The Times'; Prince's Double Set Is An Understated, Yet Adventurous Groove; Pop Albums"
Written By: Jim Washburn

Prince may have his share of bodyguards and personal quirks, but unlike Michael Jackson, the Purple One at least has been known to drive cars, eat food, cohabit some and show other signs of perhaps being human. And while Jackson may be the penultimate hit monster -- residing in a hyperbaric oxygen cylinder until he's needed to produce more hits -- Prince's music, even when on a flakey tangent, is infinitely more engaging, human and funky.

Prince's new double set, "Sign o the Times," isn't the unbridled masterpiece one suspects he's capable of, but it will help pass the time until he does create it. With the Revolution disbanded, the album is a one-man effort (with some horn and vocal assists) but it doesn't have the sterile sound of most overdub efforts. The same insular, workaholic qualities which have sometimes led Prince into excess have also left him more than capable of creating a one-man party.

Though "Around the World in a Day," was a floundering mass of rococo psychedelia, last year's "Parade" was such a rich and successful work of experimentation that it's a little sad to see him pulling in the reins a bit on this sparer, more funk-oriented set. But only almost.

Like Sly Stone before him, Prince has achieved a sort of relaxed intensity to his production. On close listen "Sign o the Times" is barely less adventurous than Prince's past two albums, but here it is in understated touches, subsumed by and almost buried in the groove, instead of knocking one in the head.

"Sign o the Times" also shows a greater lyrical restraint, with little of the spiritual/sensual dichotomy Prince tortured himself and listeners with on past discs. But it's far from being all party grooves. The opening title track, the first single, depicts a modern world realizing a collective death wish, be it through drugs, poverty, machine gun-toting kids or the ever-looming nukes. "Some say a man ain't happy unless he truly dies," he sings, and there's a haunting fatalism to Prince's vocal, inescapable with the song's "Kiss"-like pared-down production.

The buoyant "Play in the Sunshine" follows like an antidote, picturing a world of peace, love and magic over one of Prince's most grabbing pop-funk melodies. The song's a likely hit, as are the equally tuneful "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man," which features a sensual multi-tracked guitar workout at the fade, and "If I was Your Girlfriend," on which Prince playfully examines the effect of gender on relationships.

Though unlikely to be a hit due to its overt religious devotion, "The Cross" is another great track, the closest thing to a "Purple Rain" in emotional tenor to be found in the set. After taking the song through once in a emotive ballad, he belts an intensified reprise of its lyrics of salvation amid a pouring rain of metallic guitar.

If the rest of the set lived up to that, we'd have Prince's masterpiece. Instead, there are a few tracks which merely fill space, such as the closing "Adore" or rote-funk "Hot Love." Other than those failures, "Sign o the Times" bristles with delights. The jazzy groove and sinuos horn lines of "Slow Love" catches the languid feel of Sly Stone's best tracks, while "Housequake" is a modern knock-down dance track. "Starfish and Coffee" is an impish celebration of a child's individuality.

The biggest piece of fun to be had is the one non-solo cut, "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" recorded live with the Revolution in France last year. It's a classic Prince funk track, but built around Jerome Benton, other chorus members and 6,000 French folk singing the "O-re-o" witch's guard theme from "The Wizard of Oz."