“[M]y favorite bit of new Prince product isn’t the fine Musicology but Michaelangelo Matos’ 121-page treatment of Sign as part of Continuum’s new 33 1/3 series, in which various writers tackle individual albums in long form…Matos identifies the factors that make Sign of particular relevance…” ―The Memphis Flyer, 6/12/2004
“I consider it among the three of four best records I’ve every heard, which is why my favorite bit of new Prince product isn’t the fine musicology but Michaelangelo Matos’ 121-page treatment of Sign as part of Continuum’s new 33 1/3 series, in which various writers tackle individual albums in long form. I know [Matos] well enough to know that he holds Sign O’ the Times in the same esteem as I, but I don’t know him well enough to have prepared me for the shock of recognition that came from the first of the four ‘sides’ his Sign book is divided into. The rest of Matos fine little book steps back for a more critical take on both the album and Prince’s career in toto. Matos identifies the factors that make Sign of particular relevance.” ―The Memphis Flyer, 6/12/04
“Both a student and a fan of Prince, Matos integrates the particulars of Prince’s rise to fame–including the release of the double LP Sign ‘O’ the Times–with an endearing and at times hilarious telling of his own coming of age in the suburbs of Prince’s Minneapolis.” ―Mark Baumgarten, Willamette Week, 1/5/05
“Refreshingly, Michaelangelo Matos’s gift is to confound his readers, forcing them to rethink ’80s pop politics without getting overly political… Matos critiques from two standpoints-the 13-year old kid and the 29-year old Rolling Stone contributor and Seattle Weekly editor-with a pure love for Sign and pop music in general. Rather than becoming an energy-draining exegesis, his exploration breathes unexpected life into the record. It’s inspired me to drop into Amoeba Music and re-taste Sign, too.” ―San Francisco Bay Guardian, 5/19/04
“In a series heavy with autobiographical reminiscences and statements about the power of music on adolescents, few 33 1/3 books manage to wring so much meaning and critical weight from a life’s story. Michaelangelo Matos describes his upbringing in the Twin Cities during the 1980s and how his love of Prince’s double-album masterpiece was fueled by hometown pride … these early pages form the foundation on which his arguments rest, making this the rare book where you get to know both the author and the critic intimately.” ―Stephen M. Deusner, Pitchfork
From the Inside Flap
The most immediately striking thing about Sign ‘O’ the Times is the jazzy sensibility running through it. Prince’s father was a jazz musician, his mother a vocalist; he’d been a fan of chops-heavy jazz-fusion as well as rock and R&B growing up. But when Prince began recording for Warner Bros., he abjured the brass sections that dominated groups like Earth, Wind & Fire and Parliament-Funkadelic, opting instead for stacked synthesizer patterns and a spare, cold feel that markedly contrasted with lush, overarranged disco and the wild, thick underbrush of the era’s giant funk ensembles; Rickey Vincent, author of Funk: The Music, the People, and the Rhythm of the One, dubbed it “naked funk.” Getting away from traditional R&B instrumentation is an underappreciated aspect of Prince’s crossover success; Prince is also said to have actively disliked the sound of horns early in his career.
About the Author
MICHAELANGELO MATOS was born and raised in Minneapolis. A former staff writer at Seattle Weekly, he has written extensively for Minneapolis/St. Paul’s City Pages, Village Voice, Spin, Nerve.com, Time Out New York, Urb, Stereo-Type, Chicago Reader, Baltimore City Paper, and Creative Loafing Atlanta. He currently lives in Seattle.
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