Prince: His Next Major Musical Shift

In Episode 10 of The Violet Vault, host Ava Cyr explores the groundbreaking era of Prince's 1987 masterpiece Sign O' The Times. From the dissolution of The Revolution and the abandoned Dream Factory, Camille, and Crystal Ball projects to the creation of one of the most acclaimed albums of his career, this episode examines a pivotal moment of artistic reinvention. Discover how Prince embraced new sounds, experimented with altered vocals, tackled social issues through music, and transformed a recording studio mishap into the iconic sound of "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker." Ava also takes a look at the legendary Sign O' The Times Tour, the acclaimed concert film, and the opening of Paisley Park, the creative complex that would become Prince's artistic home for decades to come. Join us as we uncover the stories behind an album that proved Prince's limitless creativity and cemented his legacy as one of music's most innovative artists.

Transcript

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The first time Ava Seer heard Prince was the day he passed. At 12 years old, she sat in her room listening to Purple Rain, and something in her changed. Now, years later, that moment lives on through the Violet Vault, a podcast exploring Prince's legacy, his music, and the world he created. Join Ava Seer as she opens the vault. One story, one era, one purple mystery at a time.

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Hello and welcome back to the Violet Vault. I'm your host, Ava Seer, and this is episode 10 of our Purple Journey. Now, in today's episode, we'll be taking a look at one of the major transitions Prince underwent professionally and creatively in his career. This time, Prince is leaving behind the purple trench coat and pop rock sounds that defined much of the mid-1980s in favor of full band performances featuring brassy sounds from saxphones and trumpets, along with experiments and voice distortion and entirely new musical directions. I'm talking about Sign of the Times, an album regarded by many members of the Purple family as one of Prince's most complete artistic statements. It proved to mainstream audiences that Prince was far from a one-trick pony and that he could effortlessly move between genres while still sounding uniquely like himself. So let's dive into Prince's life in 1987 and explore the fascinating story behind his ninth studio album. But before we can talk about Sign of the Times, we need to talk about the albums that almost were. Unlike many Prince albums, Sign of the Times wasn't created from a single vision. Instead, it was a result of several different projects being combined together after a series of major changes in Prince's personal and professional life. The first of those projects was called Dream Factory. At the time, Prince was still working closely with The Revolution, particularly Wendy Melvoyne and Lisa Coleman. Their influence on Prince's music was growing, and they collaborated heavily on many of the songs intended for the album. And in fact, Dream Factory was arguably one of the most collaborative projects Prince had worked on up until that point in his career. But while the music was coming together, tensions within the revolution were beginning to rise. Prince had always been someone who liked complete creative control, and eventually he made a shocking decision that changed the course of his career. He disbanded The Revolution. And for fans, it was the end of an era. The band had helped create albums like Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day, and Parade was suddenly gone. Of all the members, only keyboardist Matt Fink, or better known as The Doctor, would continue into Prince's next musical chapter. And with the revolution gone, Dream Factory was shelved. But Prince wasn't finished experimenting. His next idea was something completely different. Prince began working on an album called Camille. And for this project, he used a vocal effect that sped up and altered the pitch of his voice, creating a new character named Camille. And as we talked about before, Prince had many pseudonyms throughout his career, and this was just yet another on his roster. And what's particularly interesting is that Prince didn't want the album released under his own name. He envisioned Camille as an entirely separate artist. But as creative as that concept was, Warner Brothers was not convinced. The label worried that audiences would be confused and they would ultimately reject the idea. So Prince moved on. Or I guess more accurately, Prince just made the project even bigger. He began combining songs from Dream Factory, Camille, and a collection of newly recorded material into this ambitious three-disc project called Crystal Wall. And the project featured an incredible variety of music and showcased Prince's seemingly endless creativity. But once again, Warner Brothers had concerns. The label felt that a three-disc album would be too expensive for consumers, and they asked Prince to cut it down. He ended up agreeing, and that result became Sign of the Times. Released on March 31, 1987, through Paisley Park Records and Warner Brothers, the album was Prince's second double album and one of the most ambitious releases of his career. What makes Sign of the Times so remarkable to me is its diversity. The title track Sign of the Times tackled serious social issues ranging from poverty, violence, to drug addiction, and the AIDS crisis. This was at a time when many pop stars avoided subjects like this, but Prince addressed them directly, and he was kind of going back to his roots because a lot of his earlier music that we talked about before had a lot of political themes and he kind of dug that back up. But then on the very same album, listeners could find funky dance tracks, emotional ballads, psychedelic sounds, rock guitar solos, and playful pop songs. The album produced three top 10 Billboard hits: Side of the Times, You Got the Look, and I Can Never Take the Place of Your Man. Commercially, the album reached number 10 on the Billboard 200 chart and earned widespread critical acclaim. And it was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1987. But more importantly, it showed the world that Prince wasn't limited to a single genre or formula. He could do it all. And one of the most fascinating stories from the recording sessions involves the song The Ballad of Dorothy Parker. If you've ever listened closely to the track, you may notice that it kind of has a somewhat muffled underwater sound, which is different from the rest of the album. And as it turns out, that sound was not intentional. So according to Prince's longtime engineer Susan Rogers, the unusual effect happened because of a technical problem with a newly installed recording console in Prince's home studio. The equipment wasn't functioning properly and lost a bunch of its high-frequency sound. You know, most artists probably would have stopped the session and just waited for the repairs, but Prince did not. Instead, he embraced the sound. And what could have been a recording disaster became one of the most distinctive moments on the album. And it's a perfect example of Prince's creative mindset. He often found inspiration in unexpected places, and he wasn't afraid to turn mistakes into art. And with the album completed, Prince turned his attention to the stage. The Sign of the Times tour was officially kicked off on May 8th, 1987, in Stockholm, Sweden. And fans immediately noticed that this was a different Prince from the one they had seen during the Purple Rain years. The shows featured larger ensemble, more prominent horn arrangements, elaborate choreography, and a broader musical palette. The performances highlighted just how versatile Prince had become as both a musician and band leader. And to this day, many fans consider the Sign of the Times tour as one of the greatest tours of his career. But Prince was not done there. Later that same year, he directed and starred in the concert film Sign of the Times. Again, he's still kind of on this film arc. And it was filmed primarily in Rotterdam Music Hall, but it was enhanced with some dramatic scenes that were shot at Paisley Park, which we'll get more into in a second. And the film captured the excitement of the live performances while showcasing Prince's growing confidence as a filmmaker. And today it is widely considered one of the greatest concert films ever made. And I recently saw it in IMAX and theaters. It is amazing. I highly recommend. So while all of this was happening, Prince was also overseeing another major project, Paisley Park. So construction had been underway for several years. You know, after Prince kind of found some fame and money after Purple Rain, he wanted to bring the music scene to Minneapolis. But in 1987, that's when the huge milestone was marked. So on September 11th, 1987, Paisley Park officially opened in Chanhassan, Minnesota. And this was just more than a recording studio. Paisley Park was Prince's creative headquarters. The complex featured multiple recording studios, rehearsal spaces, sound stages, dance facilities, offices. I even heard there's a movie theater and a basketball court was once there, so it's got everything. And this place allowed Prince to create music on his own terms and become the center of his artistic universe for the remainder of his life. And looking back, it's hard not to see a connection between Sign of the Times and Paisley Park. They both represented independence, they both represented experimentation, and both reflected on Prince's desire to follow his creativity wherever it led him. And so as we wrap up today's episode, it's clear that 1987 was one of the most important years of Prince's career. He ended one era by disbanding the revolution, explored entirely new artistic identities through projects like Camille and Crystal Ball, and released one of the most acclaimed albums of his career, launched a groundbreaking world tour, directed a concert film, and opened Paisley Park. That's a remarkable amount of creativity packed into a single year. And while Side of the Times wasn't the album Prince originally planned to release, it became one of the most defining achievements of his career and remains a favorite among fans and critics alike. So thank you so much again for joining me for episode 10 of the Violet Vault. Make sure to follow our Instagram and Facebook pages to stay updated on new material. And you can now support our podcast by following the link in our show notes or through the bios on our social pages. I'm your host, Ava Seer, and I hope that you'll join me again next time as we continue our purple journey through the life, music, and legacy of Prince. Peace and be wild.

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The Violet Vault is hosted by Ava Seer, celebrating the sound, style, and spirit of Prince. Subscribe wherever you find your podcasts, and follow the Violet Vault on Instagram and Facebook for new episodes and bonus stories.