Episode
164b: Prince - Sign o' the Times, Disc 2 (1987)
- Published
- Aug 5, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 7219
- Processing state
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- https://discordpod.com/listen/164-prince-sign-o-the-times-1987
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Summary
Shut up, already. Damn! Prince was one of the most interesting popular artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and Sign o’ the Times from 1987 was the culmination of one of the most interesting periods in a career full of interesting periods. After various circumstances caused him to abandon a double album (Dream Factory), and other circumstances caused him to abandon a single album (Camille) that he didn’t plan to release under his own name, he initially tried to release a triple album before Warner Bros. made him cut it down to a double. Sign o’ the Times (the resulting double album) has its fair share of hits, yet it’s also messy in a way that appeals to many critics and fans but has also left many people puzzled by some of Prince’s decisions. This episode’s panel has three outright fans of the album (John, Mike, and Rich) and one moderate skeptic (Ben), and this combined with the album’s sprawl results in a lengthy but incredibly dense discussion. Prince was somebody who could appeal to many different people for many different reasons, and in this episode we make a case for why he’s worth digging into beyond a handful of ubiquitous radio hits.