Prince: Sign 'O' The Times (Paisley Park 25577-1)

DESPITE ALL the hyped-up mystery and intrigue that the media machine swirls around him, like smoke around a Gene Kelly dance routine, the fact is that Prince is one helluva smart composer and musician. More than that, his multi-images are part of the deal: like his music, they represent and then suture together the variety of American musical and cultural fragments he seems intent on reuniting in himself.