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| Prince |
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| Sheila E. |
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| Sheila E, Prince, and Cat Glover |
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| Cat and Sheila E. |
SIGN ‘O’ THE TIMES B+ USA (85 mi) 1987 d: Prince
If your body gets tired, keep dancing ‘cuz u gotta keep the blood flowing down 2 your feet. Brother Brooks will be ‘round in a minute with a bucket filled in it squirrel meat. All thanks 2 God, may u live 2 see the dawn. —Prince
This rarely screened concert film stands in stark contrast to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense (1984), and while Prince was the first black pop star since Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson to command such widespread critical acclaim following the success of his massively popular movie PURPLE RAIN (1984), the subsequent album release by the same name is currently ranked 8th in Rolling Stone’s The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, making this a deep dive into Prince’s blackness and his R&B roots, not some carefully crafted studio image that record producers encouraged, but an evolution of his own musical progression. Prince was one of those artists who just couldn’t stop being creative, so inventive that he had to give some of his completed but unreleased tracks to budding and established artists, sometimes in anonymity, working at various times with Michael Jackson, Miles Davis, Dolly Parton and Deborah Allen, Bonnie Raitt, and Joni Mitchell, producing a staggering legacy spanning four decades, yet this comes at a time when he first started talking about his blackness, developing a social consciousness, and the pop world wasn’t exactly ready for that, adding a high erotic content with provocative physicality, literally flaunting sexual taboos during the AIDS epidemic of the 80’s. Variety described it as “Defiantly carnal in the face of AIDS-era safe sexiness.” It’s important to point out that very few artists at that time directly addressed the HIV/AIDS crisis in their music. Coming after the breakup of his band Revolution, including Wendy & Lisa, while tapping into new ground as a solo artist, it’s the beginning of his epic, years-long battle with the record industry, as this was initially conceived as a sprawling three-disc album but his label, Warner Bros., forced him to trim it to just 16 songs in a double album, as his recent movie UNDER THE CHERRY MOON (1986) had just bombed and his albums had been selling less and less. Still it’s long, ambitious, and emotionally complicated, originally planned as a live concert film instead of an American tour, consisting of live material from the last cities of his 1987 European tour in Rotterdam, Netherlands and Antwerp, Belgium, but much of that footage was grainy and considered unusable, and Prince was not satisfied with the sound. For that reason, much of this was reshot at Prince's Minnesota Paisley Park Studios, so there is inevitably some lip-synching going on. Nonetheless, this was initially released seven months after the record album, coming so long afterwards that there was no real piggyback effect, with a short theatrical run before being released only on VHS video, and then disappeared for decades, making it difficult if not impossible to find, finally airing on Showtime cable TV in 2017, playing again on the Criterion Channel, still never released on DVD or Blu-Ray in the United States, where the historical interest alone makes this worth seeking out. The exceptional band accompanying Prince on tour, the Lovesexy band, consists of dancer Cat Glover, keyboardist Boni Boyer, bassist Levi Seacer Jr., guitarist Miko Weaver, drummer Sheila E., keyboardist Doctor Fink, with a horn section of Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss, while Wally Safford and Greg Brooks, two of the Bodyguards from the Revolution era, reprised their roles as dancers, vocalists, and film characters, while Sheena Easton is included from a promotional music video in U Got the Look. Despite the overall technical glitches, this is Prince at the height of his powers at the age of 29, releasing ten studio albums before reaching the age of thirty, refusing to allow anyone else to define his legacy, fluent in just about every style imaginable with an insane mix of influences, singing in the falsetto and torn shirt of Little Richard, the guitar distortions of Jimi Hendrix, the complex tempo changes and restless innovation of Miles Davis, the sought-after choreography from James Brown or Chuck Berry, becoming an heir of that lineup of black artists proud of their racial affiliation, where his stage presence is simply magnetic.
In the 80’s alone, a new studio album was released every year, while Prince was constantly on tour with his respective bands, something he grew tired of doing, as he didn’t wish to simply rehash all the old songs, but instead conceive something totally fresh and new. Despite the stellar reviews and lavish praise heaped upon the album, suggesting his creative floodgates were opened, it was not a megahit and never rivaled the commercial success of Purple Rain, where it was only years later that it became recognized as his most critically acclaimed record, re-released in 2020 with additional material from the Prince Vault as an 8CD or 13LP box set edition, including 45 unreleased songs, yet still no film included due to rights complications. The Super Deluxe Edition exemplifies the breadth of his creative talent with a wealth of material that coalesces into a tour de force that simply defies categorization, inhabiting a world beyond race, and beyond gender, where he not only wrote, arranged, and produced every song, but played nearly all of the instruments, where his major musical collaborator was his engineer Susan Rogers, who recorded him all day and night, sometimes for an entire 24-hour stretch. Yet the live concert version eclipses the studio version in nearly every respect, allowing the other musicians to shine, placing more emphasis on his multifaceted creativity, as Prince is the consummate showman who tells a story through the songs in the lineup, tied together with a cinematic thread about his developing romantic interest in Cat, which plays out through a series of scenes acted out to the music onstage. There is a coarse quality to the look of the film, reflective of the times, shot on 35mm by Peter Sinclair, yet Leroy Bennett’s lighting and production design color schemes are warm and inviting, where there’s an effortless look to the show. Set in a nightclub backdrop of blue and red neon lights, there is a brief theatrical setup with Cat Glover and Greg Brooks (wearing a wintry fur hat), as Prince listens outside as a silent bystander, while a flaming guitar riff and one of his most iconic basslines take us right into the heart of funk with a haunting title track about AIDS, crack, and Ronald Reagan, with Prince singing and performing centerstage while Cat is dancing in the background obscured by smoke, mirroring his every move, Prince: Sign O' Times - LIVE - Movie Version (1987) YouTube (6:28). When each of the band members come out onstage with drums as they finish the song, like New Orleans second-liners, it only punctuates what we already hear from the guitar solo, growing even more powerful, literally revving up audiences in a theater of pure spectacle. One thing that stands out with black performers is the call and response motif with audiences, resembling a preacher and his followers in church, something that goes back to Ray Charles and Ray Charles - What'd I Say (1959) - YouTube (6:27), where Charles, though blind, could read the pulse of the room by the audience response, as the moaning dialogue between Charles and his bumping and grinding backup singers, the Raelettes, builds to an orgiastic crescendo. Prince has simply perfected this technique with his short screams into the microphone, sending audiences into a frenzy, something that is not captured on records. The next song features a happily smiling Sheila E. on drums, adding another dimension to her personality, especially in relation to Prince, who mentored her work, collaborating so well together, where you can hear amped up keyboards and horns in the background in relation to the frenetic guitar solos, with exceptional choreography onstage, using quick cuts, creating a wall of movement behind Prince, with a sped-up tempo from the album, creating a much more celebratory mood, Prince - Play In The Sunshine (Sign O' The Times Concert Movie, 1987) YouTube (3:51).
A little snippet of Little Red Corvette can be heard before Prince suddenly exhorts, “Shut up already! Damn!” A back and forth with the audience ramps up the tempo in this jazzy horn and bass-driven party jam, Prince : housequake (movie version) YouTube (3:56), the epitome of funk, rock, and jazz all in one, with Prince strutting his musical bravado onstage, performing quick twirls, crawling on his back, and doing the splits, with Eric Leeds providing a funky James Brown sax while Sheila E. tears up the drums with staccato-like precision. This is another sped-up but really tight version of the song, with Prince orchestrating those around him to match his energy and tempo, especially Cat, wearing a different skimpy outfit in every sing, with her own unique chest-bumps matching his every move, providing a clear example of his proficiency as a bandleader. Prince slows it down for the next number, a sensual ballad under the moonlight, Slow Love Live - Prince YouTube (4:57), creating a sultry and soulful mood as he does little runs and screeches, exuding his own sensuality, baring his chest, doing kicks and twirls, even singing on his back, continually changing his tonal inflection, with Eric Leeds killing it on this track, while the audience sways along while holding up matches or lighters in a flickering tribute, a practice that began in the late 60’s and early 70’s with the prevalence of Zippo and Bic disposable lighters which today have been replaced by cellphones. Notable is a quick glance at the end by Prince in Cat’s direction as she’s falling backwards in a ballet-like gesture into the arms of Brooks, which offers insight into his mindset, hoping his prayers will be answered. This idea continues into the next number, with Cat basically offering herself to him, but Prince plays coy, not willing to come between an existing relationship, suggesting they wouldn’t be satisfied, so there’s a little theatrics from a clearly frustrated Cat. This actually starts out with two guys in a bar talking about how hard it is to talk to your woman, as if that’s a concept that’s beneath them, as women are viewed primarily as sex objects, a sexist and demeaning position that drives Cat in Prince’s direction, who rocks out with a fiery guitar solo while dressed in an orange jumpsuit, eventually throwing flowers into the audience while the players become darkened shadows onstage, Prince - Never Take the Place of Your Man (1987 Sign of the Times concert movie) YouTube (7:22). Prince opens the next song on the keyboards while Cat is booty-shaking while gyrating against a metal screen, setting the tone for a bit of electro-funk, Prince Hot Thing Live In Concert 1987 - YouTube YouTube (5:44), creating a completely subjective experience delving into female sexuality, as expressed from a male point of view, with Cat described by Brooks as a “sweet sticky thing.” The eye contact between Prince and Cat is smoldering, wearing her skimpy yellow attire, doing a sexual fantasy dance together with the horns blaring, where their elevated dance sequence together sizzles with the thrill of excitement, simply oozing with lust, romantically ending in each other’s arms. Throughout this film, every gesture, implication, and movement, even the most trivial ones, undergo extreme amplification of meaning while the established dialogue between performers and audiences are meticulously staged, with a substantial amount of uncredited work by Albert Magnoli, yet Prince simply doesn’t have the directing skills that Jonathan Demme exhibited in Stop Making Sense (1984).
One thing you certainly notice with this film is that the live show is so much better with this band after having discarded the Revolution. Prince was never better in his command of an audience, but also in providing such an electrifying performance onstage, where it’s hard to imagine he did this kind of thing all the time, as there’s never been anyone else like him, but this is what he was known for, and this film finds him at the zenith of his creative peak. This is the Prince we will always remember. As he leaves the stage in an interlude, each of the awesome musicians in the band take a turn soloing, finally assuming the spotlight, and they don’t disappoint, where this is the “new” Prince sound, allowing a showcase for Sheila E. in developing her own crazy interplay with the audience, #Music - Sheila E - Solo Drum Live YouTube (2:05). In something of an amusing move, the Prince and Sheena Easton music video, with typical MTV-style editing, is inserted into the middle of the film with no real changes, marking the film’s only non-live performance, Prince - U Got The Look (Official Music Video) - YouTube (5:31) but it neatly fits into the concert film as a dream sequence. The next song features Prince shimmering in furs, Prince - If I Was Your Girlfriend (Sign O' The Times Concert Film, 1987) YouTube (5:16), elevating the studio version with a more soulful rendition, featuring many more screams in his own unique vocal variations. This is the song where Cat is seduced by Prince onstage, with the words love and sex illuminated on each side of the stage, existing in perfect harmony, with Prince doing a solo dance of twirls and splits before drawing her into his world, leading her to the top of the stage where he makes love to her on a giant red heart. The next two songs are erotically combined, Forever in My Life/It, Prince - Forever in My Life YouTube (11:07), exposing a raw vulnerability, originally written as a declaration of love to Susannah Melvoin, twin sister of Wendy, where they were actually engaged to be married, yet rewritten explicitly for a live performance, opening with a crowd chant as Prince appears onstage in a soldier outfit doing some sermonizing and a series of screams to a slow grind, with a few flecks of an acoustic guitar with Sheila E. appearing as a background singer alongside Boni Boyer, who is encouraged by Prince to take a gospel solo, but receives only meager applause afterwards, as the entire band becomes a surrounding chorus all joining into a hypnotic collective. By now Prince and Cat are a couple, seen through a Plasma globe in an animated snowstorm, Prince- It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night YouTube (8:05), as Prince appears in a cloud of smoke, doing some playful signature dance moves before he switches places with Sheila E. who does a vocal rap solo out front while Prince assumes the drumset, becoming a thumping dance review of pure chaos onstage with the entire band, all dressed in white, as Cat turns the tables on the men and drives them all away with her chest shakes, taking supreme satisfaction in her accomplishment, where sexuality provides a sense of female empowerment. With a white cross painted onto his cheek, Prince ends the show on a pensive note with a half-strummed acoustic gospel elegy, Prince - The Cross (Live From ‘Sign O' The Times’) 4K Remaster YouTube (6:24), like a psychedelic reiteration of the the Velvet Underground’s Jesus, The Velvet Underground - Jesus - YouTube (3:24), turned into a half-thundering rock anthem, with drums pounding and the guitars more distorted than usual, as it begins low and slow, mournful and contemplative, seeking salvation and redemption from tumultuous times, with a long build-up connecting people more deeply to the central principles of faith, with Prince later changing the lyrics when he became a Jehovah’s Witness. While this film is a brief moment in time in the superlative career of Prince, leaving much of his Purple Rain and sex persona behind while hitting the reset button, it represents him at his best in front of a live audience, where his unparalleled musical talent and exquisite showmanship are on full display.
