Prince
Sign "O" The Times

THE REVIEW

Twelve years, approximately. It's the era when I'm still listening to Michael Jackson...
A 45 RPM record by Prince, Sign Of The Times, falls into my hands. First reaction: who is this inverted, shady imitator?
Nothing could be more wrong, the single is truly intense.
So I buy the double vinyl and the answer comes naturally: he is a genius, beyond the questionable taste in clothing, the look of a sexual maniac with a fixation on lace, the pornographic poses he assumes live or in videos.

He is a genius who, from the low height of 157 cm, produces a fantastic record for the '80s. An androgynous madman who experiences sex in an obsessive, unabashed manner, not as an end in itself, but (and here's the beauty) as his own personal journey to reach God. And he pours all this into his songs.

The Madman has innumerable musical influences, foremost among them Sly & The Family Stone, which permeates every piece with a bit of funk: it could be the drums, the accompanying guitar or the lead guitar, a certain overall sound...

On the first listen, it can leave you a bit puzzled, as if the music does not want to open up to you as you listen: one must not give up, then things change. With each subsequent listen, you like the fact that at that particular point in the song there is that particular hysterical backing chorus, or that jingle, bell or rattle, or that single muted guitar note (some of the many trademarks of the Madman), which is in slight dissonance with the track, but for some reason, must be there.

Some songs speak of love from a panicky point of view, thus strictly sensual, and are the more joyful, quick, cheerful ones. There are moments of celebration, but also socially engaged ones (always in a generic way, though).
There are others in which the Maniac stops to reason: he can also be introspective, pausing to analyze the nature of things, the very substance of the romantic relationship. It is then that God, the Absolute, the Infinite hovers over the Miserable Little Man as he folds in on himself. It is then that the art of the Genius reaches its peak.

The record is indisputably a masterpiece, an absolute must-have.
"It's silly, no? When a rocket ship explodes and everybody still wants to fly..."