Prince's Sign O' the Times (Thirty Three and a Third series) (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: strange relationship, track list, Crystal Ball, Purple Rain, Dirty Mind (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A new entry in a series about famous LPs. Diminutive, purple-clad funkmeister Prince aimed for more than chart success and danceability in his work (though it had plenty of both), and Sign o' the Times, one of his finest works, still sounds bold, adventurous, and edgy in ways that even critics too old to rock and roll appreciate. If Matos admits to being somewhat nonplussed at Prince's shift in musical direction with Sign o' the Times, his reminiscence of the milieu that midwifed this classic if not definitive Prince album is entirely welcome.

Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description

"Thirty Three and a Third" is a new series of short books about critically acclaimed and much-loved albums of the last 40 years. The authors provide fresh, original perspectives – often through their access to and relationships with the key figures involved in the recording of these albums. By turns obsessive, passionate, creative, and informed, the books in this series demonstrate many different ways of writing about music. What binds the series together, and what brings it to life, is that all of the authors – musicians, broadcasters, scholars, and writers – are huge fans of the album they have chosen.

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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 121 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (February 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826415474
• ISBN-13: 978-0826415479
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 4.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #764,823 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This item is part of The Thirty Three and a Third Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, if you accept its premise., December 25, 2008

By	H. Domingue "hld3" (NOLA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There have been a lot of negative reviews of this book and, to be fair, they are not totally unfounded. If you bought this book and expected it to be a factual narrative with gooey bits of trivia concerning only the making of this album... well, then you'll be disappointed.

But that doesn't mean this book isn't worth your time. It's a delightful little read that not only covers the making of the album (including the various incarnations and playlists of the concepts that preceded the final release), but also tells a personal narrative that contextualizes its impact.

Yeah, there's a lot of personal narrative, but so what? This series of books takes an alternate approach to charting and cataloguing musical history. The editors encourage a varied approach to evaluating these albums. The one on Black Sabbath is an entirely fictionalized account of the action the album describes. The one on Celine Dion is a sort of social experiment in which the author (who is Canadian and hates the album) eventually comes to appreciate the work for what it is.

Though some are a little more straight-laced in their approach, most of these books are meant to be different. If you understand that notion before purchasing and reading this volume (that you'll be reading something closer to a blog or OpEd than a history book), then the book is fantastic and extremely fun.

16 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars AWFUL, August 2, 2004

By	Eric Firebird - See all my reviews

Let me say that I also read a couple of the other books in this series (the ones on the Kinks, Neil Young, and Joy Division), and being a big Prince fan I thought I would get a similarly interesting, well-written, well-researched examination of "Sign O' the Times." WRONG! This was more about the author, which is so typical for so much of what passes for "music journalism" -- the writer placing himself at the center of the story instead of his subject matter (maybe it's an ego or insecurity thing). I mean, it's great that the album affected Mr. Matos so much, but shouldn't we assume that's already the case since he's WRITING A BOOK ABOUT IT??? There's no reason that 25% of the book should be dedicated to his childhood and family and such. A brief introductory couple of pages would have sufficed for that. Anyhow, the rest of the "analysis" of the album, most of which isn't very illuminating to anyone with more than a passing knowledge of Prince, is written in the most joyless, hip-music-journo, almost condescending tone that is a real turn-off. After reading this I did a web search of this guy and found some articles he's written for some weekly newspapers, and it's more of the same. I would recommend staying away from this book and (hopefully) waiting for a better Prince book to come along.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing book, March 24, 2009

By	Jeremy Gloff (Tampa, Fl United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Oh Prince fans can be awful sometimes. I see the bad reviews of this book and it just breaks my heart. This book is easily a five star read, and a heartfelt, sincere tale about how the music of Prince affected the life of a boy growing up in the 80s.

The entire premise of the 33 1/3 series is to have a people who love albums write about said albums. Michaelangelo Matos, in telling his story, has made me smile and reflect upon my own formative years growing up with this music.

Prince, in the 1980s, was such a trailblazer. He was on the cutting edge of forward throught, social revolution, and bounary blurring like few others. I too remember being a young kid and buying SIGN OF THE TIMES, and I remember how it changed my life.

Of course I disgree with some of Matos' statements here and there...but that's the gorgeousness of this whole series...opinions differ and tha opens up dialouge and discussion. There is no right or wrong.

Don't listen to the naysayers. This is a wonderful slice of life as inspired by a man many of us loved in the 1980s forward. If you are a fan of Prince and want a quick and entertaining read, don't pass this sincere book up.