Prince: Sign 'o' the Times

Sign 'o' the Times (1987)

**** (out of 4)

Excellent concert film has Prince and his band performing tracks from various albums with the main focus being on 'Sign 'o' the Times.' If you ask most people what their favorite Prince album is I'd guess that the majority would answer 'Purple Rain' and there's no question that it's a classic but to me 'Sign 'o' the Times' is another masterpiece and deserves a lot more credit than it deserves.

The concert isn't a complete concert from that tour as there were many more songs performed live but this is pretty much a "greatest hits" package that shows off classics like Little Red Corvette but also takes us through the current album. The title track is one of the musician's greatest numbers and he turns in a great version here to get things started. I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man gets an incredible jam that's certainly the highlight of the film but we also get great tracks in Hot Thing, Now's the Time and The Cross.

The band is certainly at the top of their game but what's so great about this concert is that it shows people what a genius Prince was. Not only is his voice wonderful but so are the lyrics that he wrote and he can also dance, play guitar, piano and various other things. Watching him work his way around the stage doing various jobs is certainly something to behold as it's pure beauty.

This is definitely my favorite Prince film, because I think this film of a concert (with filmed vignettes) really encapsulates the true power of the artist's performances. This is one of his best versions of the Revolution, with Sheila E on drums, and the enigmatic Cat on vocals and dancing. The music is powerful, if not as well known as many of his earlier hits during the 1999/Purple Rain era, and the staging is electric. Sheena Easton provides a highlight with the song "U Got the Look", but it was really kind of dissappointing, as it was the entire extended music video inserting into the concert continuity instead of a new performance.

This live version of various tracks from arguably Prince's most ingenious work never fails to leave me gasping for air. If this isn't a good reason to give the diminunitive one's music a fair chance, I don't know what is. High points: The chilling title track, exploding into the eversunny Play In The Sunshine; the drop-dead dancing of Housequake; Charlie Parker's Now's the Time, which features fantastic jazz trumpeter Atlanta Bliss, red hot funkmeister Levi Seacer Jr.- with one of the sweetest bass solos this side of Larry Graham- and the PMT-busting Sheila E, wisely exploited here as one of the most exciting jazz and rock drummers around; the epic Forever in My Life with the class vocal-goddess that is the late boni boyer; and the jazztastic It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night featuring the hilarious "Table and the Chair" rap! Low points: pedantic, but the mis-matching film of Dr Fink's organ solo and the freeze-frame shot in Hot Thing really annoy me. but then that guitar sound makes up for it all. Watch this, and prepare to watch it again just to make sure that it really happened!

If you like concerts or never have seen one on film...Don't see this one because every other concert will have a hard time measuring up. Prince is definitely one of the best performers of the 20th century. Unlike some of the new cats playing music now in days, Prince's concerts have been known to go over 3 hours...and that is not an exception. You get your money's worth of funk, dance, and message. His music not only is loaded with talent but the lyrics offer hope, such as "The Cross", while others are pure dance like "Housequake". No one else in the 1990's offer this much funk. So if you are ready to see and experience a real genius you've got to see this movie.

This is one of the best concert of pop in the 80ties - from the best tournee Prince ever has made. I have seen it life two times in Berlin. The film gave the feeling back. The music is a fusion between pop and jazz. The high-point is when Prince sing: "If I was your girlfriend"! Its a feeling softly like in paradise. Its a funny film with great music and only the concert of "purple rain" from the same artist can be better....Introducing cat - a smart girl, great in dancing!!!