Pretty awful by his standards. Prince was far below the musical standard he set earlier than in this horrible release. 2 stars. Far too poppy and tame --- like he'd been influenced by "gag" Michael Jackson. Prince was best when he blazed in intense & complex Funk & Synthopop mode.

Prince was pretty much unbeatable in the 80s and you could make an argument that pound for pound he made better music than other decade icons like Madonna, Michael, Bruce, and U2. He certainly made more of it and perhaps no other major artist has had such a serious quality control issue. "Purple Rain" is the Prince album for many people, while "1999" is the fun party album, but 1987's "Sign O' the Times" is maybe Prince's definitive statement, a sprawling, ambitious, messy double album that shows off everything that he can do, from funk to rock to party anthems to spiritual songs to weird experiments. While he remains an interesting, if inconsistent, artist, this may have been his peak.