DVD Snapshot: Prince Sign O The Times

Prince Sign O' the Times(DVD) 1987

Originally released in November 1987, Prince's 85 minute concert film is an energetic romp through the album of the same name. In my neck of North Carolina, the film only played for a few weekends in a midnight-only showing. Obviously, the film did not find a wide audience. I was a senior in high school and went to see it twice with another friend from school.

Both of us were Prince fans. As for me, I was a true fanatic. I had all of his albums, 45s and 12-inch singles. I had seen him live on the Purple Rain Tour in 1984 and was hungry to see him live again. Since the release of the concert film, I have seen Prince live many times: the LoveSexy tour, Emancipation tour and the Hit N Run tour of the early 2000s. Besides the live performances in Purple Rain, this is one of the rare times you will see Prince command a large stage in front of thousands of fans.

The sound quality is fantastic, yet, sadly, the video quality is not quite up to today's high-definition standard. I watched the disc on a SONY 3D blu-ray player and a 42" 1080P and it still seemed to lack a lot of the sharpness. Also, there are no bonus features included.

Color Me Peach and Black...

The performances are stellar. This is Prince at the top of his game with a well-rehearsed and well-disciplined band of musicians. Cat Glover is an admirable and exciting dancer/partner for Prince. In 1987, she was very ebullient. Watching her performance almost 25 years later and she seems juvenile and unstudied compared to modern performers like Beyonce, Rihanna and early Britney. Seeing Sheila E. drum for Prince is still mind-blowing; she offers an energy that is palpable and a levity through her facial expressions. Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss round out the sound with their impressive horn work. I remember Prince stating once that Eric Leeds played saxophone exactly the way he would. (Prince has stated that wind instruments might damage his voice.) Miko Weaver and Levi Seacer Jr are standout musicians and provide a heavy and talented rhythm section for Prince. With  a guitarist and bassist that can play anything and are able to follow anything, Prince is able to highlight himself through his vocal and guitar performances. He never has to worry about these guys faltering.  Wally and Gregory are poor replacements for Morris Day and Jerome Benton and do little to keep the minimal storyline flowing.

Featured songs:

1. "Sign o' the Times"
2. "Play In the Sunshine"
3. "Little Red Corvette"/"Housequake"
4. "Slow Love"
5. "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"
6. "Hot Thing"
7. "Now's the Time" (Charlie Parker cover by the band excluding Prince)
8. Drum solo by Sheila E.
9. "U Got the Look"
10. "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
11. "Forever in My Life"/"It"
12. "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night"
13. "The Cross"

This is a great DVD to add to your collection if you are a Prince fan. I was reminded how powerful and amazing Prince was--as a songwriter and performer.

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