If you go to only one concert tFollowing his disastrous sophomore film Under the Cherry Moon (1986), Minnesota-based rock star Prince hastily returns to the form and style of his classic motion picture debut, Purple Rain (1984) by directing and starring in this energetic concert film interspersed with dream-like visuals. Recorded in 1987 at gigs in Rotterdam, Holland, and Prince's hometown of Minneapolis (during the world tour supporting his new album of the same name), Sign O' the Times encompasses a wealth of diverse material, distinguishing it from typical, more straightforward examples of its genre. In addition to performing 13 songs, Prince throws into the mix a music video collaboration with Sheena Easton, sweaty dance interludes with his then-current paramour Cat Glover, and a rousing finale that makes a star of drummer-singer Sheila E. Less successful is an attempt to depict an unfolding narrative set amongst characters that seem to be bottom dwellers from society's seedy fringes, occasionally joining the band on stage. The story never gels into a definable structure and remains hallucinogenic, but the music is superbly performed and photographed and the songs are from an album considered by many to be a late-'80s classic.


Sign o' the Times, stylized as Sign "☮" the Times, is the ninth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on March 31, 1987 by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album is the follow-up to Parade (1986), and Prince's first "solo" album following his departure from The Revolution; the symbol between the quotes is a peace sign. The songs were largely recorded during 1986 to 1987 in sessions for albums Prince ultimately aborted—Dream Factory, Camille, and Crystal Ball.[3]

The album's music draws on funk, soul, psychedelic pop, and rock music.[4][5] Sign o' the Times features lyrical themes such as the depressing state of the world in the title track, gender identity/androgyny in "If I Was Your Girlfriend", party funk in "Housequake", sexual lust in "It", replacing a loved one in "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man", and spiritual enlightenment in "The Cross". The album also had an accompanying concert film of the same name.

The album yielded three top ten hits, the most from Prince since Purple Rain in 1984. Though its sales were modest, somewhat akin to those of Parade, Sign o' the Times was almost universally applauded by critics and has been cited as his greatest work.[citation needed] Bart Bull, writing for Spin magazine in 1987, said that Prince's loosely organized songs are "genius" rather than indulgent and that, although there is no song as groundbreaking as "Girls & Boys", "nobody else's outtakes would sound so strong, rock so hard, swing so free."[10] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice said that the album is not a "formal breakthrough", but rather "the most gifted pop musician of his generation proving what a motherfucker he is for two discs start to finish." He particularly praised Prince's "one-man band tricks" and multi-tracked vocals, which he said "make Stevie Wonder sound like a struggling ventriloquist" and express real emotions: "The objects of his desire are also objects of interest, affection, and respect. Some of them he may not even fuck."[1] Sign o' the Times was voted as the best album of 1987 in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[11] According to Christgau, the poll's creator, the album was "easily the biggest winner" in the poll's history and "established Prince as the greatest rock and roll musician of the era—as singer-guitarist-hooksmith-beatmaster, he has no peer."[12]

In a retrospective review, Keith Harris of Blender dubbed the album a "masterpiece" and comments that "never has [Prince's] curiousity about women strayed into so many unpredictable corners."[6] Michaelangelo Matos of Spin cited it as "the last classic R&B album prior to hip-hop's takeover of black music and the final four-sided blockbuster of the vinyl era."[13] In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Matos called it "[Prince's] best album, the most complete example of his artistry's breadth, and arguably the finest album of the 1980s."[9]

Release Date: November 20, 1987


Distrib: Cineplex Odeon Films

Boxoffice: $3,000,073 2014: $6,253,30

Trailers:
Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987) (At the end)