I'm not sure if thas has already been posted but here's a review of the forthcoming 'Sign 'O' The Times' live DVD from the August edition of Q magazine. (The DVD is due to be released in the UK on 11th July).


As usual, a few comments will have some Orgers flapping but - otherwise - a very positive review.




PURPLE REIGN

His Royal Highness at his unbeatable 80's peak by Gareth Grundy


4 out of 5



Which musician raked in the most cash last year? Eminem? Madonna? No, it was the artist known once again as Prince. According to a recent Rolling Stone poll, the purple eccentric generated a wallet-fattening £35 million in 2004. This was despite spending more than a decade in self-imposed exile, emerging only to bang out the occasional incomprehensible album.

How did he manage this? Touring. Then again, he is the most gifted performer alive, even at 47 years old. He certainly seems aware of his strengths: tickets came with a copy of passable comeback album Musicology thrown in.

Prince's previous live peak is captured here, in this 1987 concert movie shot in Rotterdam and given a brief run in cinemas around the same time. The 80's were the golden age of omnisexual pop and 87's double album masterpiece, 'Sign 'O' The Times' - played here in almost its entirety - was his personal zenith. A snapshot of both black musical history and the social issues of the time, like Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' and Bob Dylan's 'Blonde On Blonde', it defined both artist and era. Directed by Prince himself, the film is a fantastic period piece - the set resembles every 80's video ever, right down to the excess neon and chain-link fencing.

Onstage, Sign 'O' The Times now seems like a fabulous throwback. The last great black pop moment unbothered by rap's machismo. it plays in as if beamed in from another, wholly more liberated universe. Prince's camp strut and multi-ethnic, cross-gender band are as much an affront to mainstream values now as they were then, only for different reasons. In these pole-dancing times, Prince's much vaunted sauciness, which culminates in him climbing gingerly aboard dancer/sidekick Cat and a giant heart, comes off as more romantic than explicit.

Topping and tailing each track with tedious dramatic interludes is clearly an indulgence when there was so much drama onstage. The breadth and intensity of the performance, from 'U Got The Look's avant-garde pop to 'The Cross's psychedelic gospel, via some Michael Jackson-level footwork, remains remarkable. It makes you wonder how we've ended up settling for so much less - some yoga here, a flash of tit there - from our contemporary stars. Then again, Prince always did have considerably more to offer than most.
[Edited 7/5/05 5:01am]

Real good review

Best performances on it were Play in The Sunshine, I Could Never Take the PLace of your Man (mean guitar work) and the Cross.

COMPUTERBLUE1984 said:

Nice to see P getting the props he deserves, eh? (Q Magazine are usually complimentary about him, though. Even if they are tongue-in-cheek sometimes).

God, there are far too many performances on this that I love but - forced to choose - I'd go for 'If I Was Your Girlfriend'. That Philly-soul vibe gets me every single time. Beautiful.

onenitealone said:

When I first bought the VHS to this back in 1995(?), I was a freshman in college and I was mesmerized by all the tracks, but ICNTTPOYM was awesome! He played like a man possessed. I often wished he released the concert version of SOTT as a CD/companion disc to the regular album. The live performances were far superior to the album cuts (IMO).

I saw this in Q and was pleasantly surprised at such a glowing review.

COMPUTERBLUE1984 said:

I defintely know what you're saying but - er, aargh, eek - I can't do it! I prefer the album. (*Forcing hand to type that* )

I definitely prefer the version of 'It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night', though. Those horns



*typing in work edit*
[Edited 7/5/05 5:55am]

onenitealone said:

that was FANTASTIC !!!
right on the money honey

Bear in mind though, most of the "live" footage was filmed on the Paisley Park soundstage, with the live Rotterdam performance used as the soundtrack. Lip synching presented as evidence of musical genius? I wish he'd just made a straight-forward, warts and all film of this stunning show.

Screamer said:

That's what I meant by 'flapping'.







j/k

onenitealone said:

this is dead on. It was so sad to see Prince a few years later struting around with a microphone shaped like a gun and sadly trying to imitate hip hop.

emesem said:

That's why The Rainbow Children was so refreshing. Prince had gone back to not caring what was popular, but just making exciting music--for the first time since '90, if not '88. I had started to wonder if it would happen again for him.

Screamer said:

he did , didnt he , its just they screwed up the sound recording and allsorts , the full stories been detailed in books , none of which I can be bothered finding at the mo

IMO, '4ever in my live/It' is one of the 80's finest live moments captured on film... .

I wish that it could be shown on the big screen again.

The last great adventure of my high school years was travelling to Nashville,Tn to the late lamented Fountain Square Theater and seeing SOTT 5 times that day and night.

Prince rocked !