Prince. The name is synonymous with excess. He has literally written over a thousand songs, both for himself and for other artists. He has dozens of completed albums that have been shelved away for years and he produces, writes, arranges and performs everything by himself most of the time.

Music journalist Alan Light may have summed it up the best: “Songwriter, producer, one-man band, balladeer, ass-shaker, Svengali, guitar hero, sex god, preacher — in terms of raw talent, Prince may have no competition. Stevie Wonder is probably the only living figure worthy of comparison.”

Simply stated, he is a true musical genius and visionary. Still, far too often he is viewed as that “short, weird guy who named himself a symbol and sang ‘Purple Rain.’” Yet, Prince is so much more than that, and his body of work is a testament to that.

Sure, “Purple Rain” was his most popular, and perhaps most pop-friendly, album but is by no means is only good, or even best, album.

Beginning in 1980 with the release of “Dirty Mind,” through “Loversexy” in 1988, Prince released some of the best music of his generation and was second to only Michael Jackson in popularity.

Prince reached his creative and artistic peak in 1987 with the release of the massive double album, “Sign O the Times.” “Times” saw Prince further mastering funk, soul, rock and pop. In the process he delivered one of the most diverse albums in history. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it No. 93 on its list of the 500 greatest albums in history.

Initially discarded by fans and even some critics, the album has since gone on to become Prince’s unequivocal masterpiece and the standard for all his work.

Beginning with the socially-conscious title track and amidst talk of gangs, AIDS and drugs, Prince delivers a grooving beat and scores a classic single in the process.

“Play in the Sunshine” and “Housequake” are two upbeat songs that follow in the vein of James Brown. “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker” is a forgotten fan favorite that appears after the two party vehicles, and the sexually driven “It” follows.

“Starfish and Coffee” and “Slow Love” are to more forgotten gems that begin to round out the first disc, before Prince really starts rolling on disc two.

Side two begins with the highest charting single on the album, “U Got the Look” and segues into “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” which is a funky pop treat for all. The next song is “Strange Relationship,” another Prince classic.

One of Prince’s greatest pop songs to date, and my personal choice for the best Prince song, “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man” continues the excellence on disc two and gives Prince a chance to showcase his musical prowess and pop sensibilities.

“The Cross” and “Adore” round out the second disc, with “It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night” sandwiched in between.

“Times” did not contain any singles that would become FM staples like “1999,” “Little Red Corvette” or “Kiss” on later albums. However, it contains everything Prince was good at, and a little filler in there for good measure, like any good double album.

Since “Times” came out in 1987, Prince has never topped the album, although his latest two releases have been vast improvements over most of his efforts in the 1990s. Recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and showing no sign of slowing down, Prince truly is an amazing musician with almost limitless capabilities. Now, if only he was not so weird …

> Comments