"Sign o' the Times" – Prince

You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians

Peter Martin

Musicians React, Video Podcast, Tutorials, Album, Vocal Stems, Song Breakdown, Album Breakdown, Jazz Musicians React, Song Stems, Music, Musical Life, Reaction, Live Music, Fresh Spin Fridays, Peter Martin, Isolated Stems, Jazz, 194861, Album Analysis, Adam Maness, Kid A Harmony Analysis, Music Commentary, Jazz Tutorials, Music Theory, Jazz Lessons, Track-by-track, Album Deep Dive, Best New Jazz, Chords, Jazz Courses, Music Analysis, Music Advice, Jazz Education, Music Education

4.9 • 770 Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2025

⏱️ 91 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Prince's Sign O' the Times is one of our most requested albums at You'll Hear It. But, there is a certain window of millennial that doesn't really "get" Prince. If that’s you, this episode is your on ramp into his music.

We start with Prince's earliest albums, tracing his incredible run from 1978 through to 1986. By the time we hit 1987 (around the time our dear mid-millennials were born), you can hear exactly why Sign O’ the Times has become so beloved by critics and music-lovers alike.

If you’re already a Prince fan (like us!), get comfy. Put on your purple rain coat. We talk through the influences we hear all over this music: James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Parliament, Earth, Wind & Fire. We share our apex moments from Sign O’ the Times. And yes… we’ve got a few quibble bits too.

We'll be taking a short break in January, and returning with more great episodes in February 2026. We'll be dropping a few special episodes in the meantime, so keep an eye on the feed.

00:00 - Intro Jam: "U Got the Look"
02:10 - Welcome + New at Open Studio
03:50 - Coming Up Next Season
05:10 - How We Make Decisions for the Show
08:35 - Why "Sign O' the Times"?
11:35 - "Soft and Wet" from For You (1978)
14:50 - "I Wanna Be Your Lover" from Prince (1979)
17:50 - "Head" from Dirty Mind (1980)
19:15 - "Controversy" from Controversy (1981)
22:35 - "1999" from 1999 (1982)
25:15 - "Purple Rain" from Purple Rain (1984)
28:40 - "Raspberry Beret" from Around the World in a Day (1985)
29:45 - "Kiss" from Parade (1986)
40:20 - "Sign O' the Times"
45:40 - "Housequake"
47:20 - "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker"
51:50 - "Starfish and Coffee"
53:05 - "Slow Love"
55:20 - "Hot Thing"
57:10 - "U Got the Look"
59:25 - Miles on Prince
1:02:25 - "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
1:04:00 - "Strange Relationship"
1:05:20 - "The Cross"
1:08:00 - "Adore"
1:09:50 - Apex Moments
1:14:55 - Categories
1:19:35 - Snobometer
1:23:55 - Coming Up on YHI
1:24:20 - Outro Jam: "U Got the Look"

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Adam. Hey, Peter. And hey, you'll hear it, listeners. You know, it's the end of the year, and I bet a lot of you are thinking, in 2026, I'm going to get serious about my playing.
0:11.0	Ah, yes, the classic New Year's resolution. The old, this is the year I'm finally going to get back into it. And how long, my friend, does that actually last?
0:54.9	To like February 2nd, usually for me. And then... Oh, wait, that's pretty good, actually. It's not bad, right? And then we're like, well, we gave it a shot, and then I quit. Well, that's why we don't do resolutions here at Open Studio. We do a little thing called Living a Musical Life, and we do it every day. Yeah, here at Open Studio, we actually help you stick with it, too. We've got new lessons every week, deep dive courses from players like Sullivan Fortner, Emmett Cohen, Peter Martin, and yours truly Adam Manus, and guided practice sessions that tell you exactly what to work on so you don't burn out. Yes, the GPSs are great. They're step by step. They make you sound great,
0:59.1	and they keep you coming back for more. And Peter, you know, now is the perfect time to join with our new year's sale. You'll save 50% on a year of lessons. Dang, that's a good deal. So just don't
1:06.0	wait. Savings end January 2nd, 2026. A month before your resolutions fall apart, I might have. Not this year, buddy, not this year. Just head to open studio, jazz.com slash y-H-I for, oh, your jazz lesson needs. I really mean it this time. That's open studio, jazz.com slash y-I for, oh, for your jazz lesson needs and keep living that musical life.
1:28.4	That's right.
1:29.0	Peter Martin.
1:29.5	What's up? What's your favorite blues tune that people might not know? Oh, man, I love. Oh, wow. Okay. Go ahead. Is that G blues? G-blues. I love a G-blues. Well, everybody loves it G-Bloose. but I was saying, what's your favorite blues tune
1:43.3	that people might not know was the blues?
1:45.2	Like, it follows the form, but it's maybe not
1:47.9	that obvious. Like blues incognito. Perfect, yeah, blues incognito. I love.
1:54.8	Yeah, Wayne Shorter's footprints. Great call. great call. Great call. Yeah, that's an awesome pick.
2:21.5	Awesome pick.
2:22.3	I was going to say something similar.
2:24.2	I like this one.
2:25.1	Check it out, guys.
2:27.8	I don't think that's a blues.
2:29.3	Oh, it is.
2:30.9	O contrary, mon frere.
2:32.4	Ah.
2:33.1	Wee.
2:38.7	Yeah. O contrary, mon frere. Ah, wee, we. Yeah, that's my pick.
	...

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