Prince's Sign 'O' the Times

by Michaelangelo Matos

Overview

One of the greatest double albums of the vinyl era, Sign O' the Times shows Prince at his peak. Here, Michaelangelo Matos tells the story of how it emerged from an extraordinary period of creativity to become one of the landmark recordings of the 1980s. He also illustrates beautifully how - if a record is great enough and lucky enough to hit you at the right time - it can change your way of looking at the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826415479
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/31/2004
Series:	33 1/3 Series , #10
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	136
Product dimensions:	4.80(w) x 6.45(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

MICHAELANGELO MATOS was born and raised in Minneapolis. A former staff writer at Seattle Weekly, he has written extensively for Minneapolis/St. Paul's City Pages, Village Voice, Spin, Nerve.com, Time Out New York, Urb, Stereo-Type, Chicago Reader, Baltimore City Paper, and Creative Loafing Atlanta. He currently lives in Seattle.

Table of Contents

1.	Sign	1
2.	Times	33
3.	Play	57
4.	Strained Relationship	111

Editorial Reviews

Music fans love to trumpet their favorite recordings to a sympathetic audience. Continuum has given fans that chance with its quaintly titled "331/3" series, in which the authors wax poetic on the greatness of their favorite LPs from the past 40 years. Though it's unclear how Continuum selected the authors, the musicians and music writers chosen do their subjects proud. Their articulate, well-researched, and passionate cases are a welcome change from the capsule reviews found in most music magazines, which seem intended to show off the reviewers' pithy witticisms rather than to illuminate the merits of the work in question. Interestingly, the authors here take on the qualities one would expect of fans for each artist. For instance, Perry, former guitarist for the Only Ones, gamely tries to explain the technical details of Jimi Hendrix's brilliant playing; Ott, a regular contributor to Pitchforkmedia.com, is serious and dramatic in telling Joy Division's tragic tale; and Vincentelli (music editor, Time Out New York) is a bit defensive in her self-conscious apology of Abba, resorting to tearing down other artists to make her faves look better. While the series is refreshing in its decision to sidestep the usual suspects (e.g., the Beatles' Revolver, the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds), its focus on lesser-known, more cultish albums limits the series' appeal to larger public libraries. Also potentially problematic: the artists' names are not always included in the book titles. Though written for lay readers, "331/3" may get better use, as a whole, in academic libraries.-Lloyd Jansen, Stockton-San Joaquin Cty. P.L., CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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