Sign o' the Times - Prince (the concert movie)

Watched the IMAX revival of Prince's concert movie "Sign o' the Times", thanks to a book worm friend ( who is also a movie aficionado) tipping me off.
Absolutely Amazing ! Amazing, high energy live performances by Prince and a host of truly talented musicians who make us appreciate the wonder of their craft.




But then Prince was always amazing. After watching Purple Rain several decades ago, this was most welcome, as some of us still have a hard time accepting that he is no more.

The live performances of the title track - Sign o' the Times, It's gonna be a beautiful night, Hot thing, I could never take the place of your man, If I was your girlfriend, and The Cross, I felt did justice by giving more variety to the studio versions, and possibly bettering the studio versions. Yes, the concert was mostly - almost totally songs from the Sign o' the times album (except a brief piano driven version of 'little red corvette, and a stellar performance of Charlie Parker's 'Now's the Time" in which Sheila E. shows her amazing and almost super human efforts with the drum kit.)  Later on, Prince and Sheila E. switch roles in "It's gonna be a beautiful night", in which Sheila E. does the rap vocals while Prince takes over the drums. To me, this version of  is better to the CD version - which too is a live recording. The version captured of  "U got the look" is simply the music video for the song mainly.

It is said that on studio, Prince performed most of the instruments himself for this double album ( the album back cover says "Produced, Arranged, Composed, and Performed by Prince.) However, on the concert he has a wonderful set of artistes playing live, almost deputed by Sheila E. Dr. Fink is at the key boards, Eric Leeds on saxophone, Atlanta Bliss on Trumpet - the two musicians on the horns add so much color to this show.

It was 1987, and a musical concert could possibly still be played this way. For example, in 'Hot Thing', Prince rips off Cat Glover's  (who sings, gyrates, and acts throughout the show) in a lecherous way, that may not have  gone well with the current woke era. Girl/Woman as a sex symbol in dominant in the show. But then again, we're talking about a man who showed his vulnerable side when he sang "If I was your girlfriend", so that he could pick her clothes, watch her undress, and a lot more, which he details in the studio recording (which is edited out in the radio edit), and is not sung about in this live version, instead of settling for a choreography of making out.

So who is this show for (if you get the chance to watch it again on cinema) ? No Brainer - All Prince fans. All connoisseurs of good live music performances, for the sheer energy and brilliance of these performances. Ideally, one should be familiar with the album, 'Sign o' the Times', (anyway Prince = the album Purple Rain, is such an ignorant place to be, if you call yourself a fan of great pop music), to appreciate this show, as one can pick up the variations off the studio versions.