Prince - Sign O' the Times

My mom is a fan of Prince. Not the hugest supporter, but of all the music that I would hear about of her days, it would be 2 people: Michael Jackson and Prince. And I do have a lot of respect for what he does and his performance capabilities and artistry.

However, of all the time I would hear her mention Prince or bring him up in any sense, this record never pops up. I would hear more about 1999 or Purple Rain. Even Prince's first record and the album that came after this, Lovesexy, would be talked more than this.

So, I was wondering why? It seems to be a heavily respected work across the critical board, so I figured this would be just as good as his earlier 80s work, right?

...well...

Of all the songs that I've heard from Prince, which is mostly his more famous songs, excluding anything from this, these don't really fit into what I like the most from Prince.

Mainly put, the percussion kept bugging me, especially on the first few tracks. It got better after Slow Love, but the percussion for the first 5-6 songs were rough on the drums because it sounded synthetic, but it hinders much grandiosity or bombast that the most famous Prince songs would excel in. It would feel more like an 80s record than a Prince record if that makes any sort of sense.

But speaking of grandiosity, it felt like a nonconstant throughout the record. There were tracks that sounded grand and I liked it, or even some compact tracks that sounded really good. But then there are tracks that don't work for me. That non-grand feeling I could explain better with the first few songs (because like I said, it was the drums), but it then just wasn't the drums alone making some songs after the first leg not all that good for me.

But in the end, it was still a good record. I liked checking it out. I don't know. Maybe I'm tripping. I might check this out again, just to see if it grows on me. It probably will, but who knows. These songs still lean towards tracks that I do like overall, even the ones I am fairly cool on.

Overall, a good mixed bag for me. I will say though is that the last three tracks are amazing and eclipses everything beforehand.