Show Notes
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"
More from You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians
Even if you don't recognize his name, you've heard his sound. Jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove played trumpet on, and contributed arrangements to, D'Angelo's Voodoo, Common's Like Water for Chocolate, and Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun. He was equally at home with neo-soul and hip-hop, and straight-ahead acoustic jazz. At the same time he was contributing to era-defining Soulquarian projects, he was producing music with his jazz quintet. Today, jazz pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin listen to his 2008 masterpiece Earfood and explore why it may be the perfect jazz album for the jazz-curious neo-soul fan.
Jazz pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin dig into the You'll Hear It mailbag, answering your questions and checking out the tunes you always wanted them to hear. Plus, a trivia round inspired by your comments. ------------------------------- Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://openstudiojazz.com/ ------------------------------- Learn to talk like a jazz musician. Download the Liner Notes FREE today: https://youllhearit.com/newsletter ------------------------------- Learn to play tracks from You'll Hear It. Join the You'll Hear It Players Club: https://yhi.link/players-club ------------------------------- 📞 Send us a message: https://youllhearit.com/ ------------------------------ About You'll Hear It: Jazz pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin unpack popular albums track-by-track in this weekly listening party. They talk about what their trained ears hear in the music, offering audiences a new window into the records they love.
D'Angelo's Black Messiah is one of the greatest albums of the 21st century. You can hear his musical influences all over it: Prince's arrangements, the Bee Gees' falsettos, Jimi Hendrix's guitar, Sly's groove. But the alchemy that makes Black Messiah so powerful could only come from one mind: D'Angelo, the artist who gave us Voodoo and Brown Sugar. Jazz pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin unpack D'Angelo's Black Messiah track by track, detailing what their trained ears hear in the music, and highlighting new textures, harmonies, and song structures you may have missed on the first listen. Plus, Peter shares stories about his friendship and working relationship with legendary trumpet player Roy Hargrove. ------------------------------ Adam shows you how to play D'Angelo's "Really Love". Get the lesson: https://yhi.link/really-love ------------------------------- Learn to talk like a jazz musician. Download the Liner Notes FREE today: https://yhi.link/linernotes-6 ------------------------------- Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://openstudiojazz.com/ ------------------------------- Send us a message: https://youllhearit.com/ ------------------------------ 0:00 D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah 1:44 Ain't That Easy 7:35 Questlove, Pino Palladino, and James Gadson 9:35 1000 Deaths 14:09 The Charade 17:44 Where this album sits next to Sly, Marvin, and Prince 19:33 Roy Hargrove, and the Peter Martin connection 22:28 Sugah Daddy 28:45 Really Love 39:40 Back to the Future (Part I) 44:05 Where does talent like this come from?! 51:15 Till It's Done (Tutu) 53:43 Prayer 56:35 Betray My Heart 1:02:55 The Door 1:07:13 Back to the Future (Part II) 1:09:25 Is this album backwards? 1:11:11 Another Life 1:17:00 Our favorite moments 1:17:27 How snobby is this album? 1:19:53 Is it better than Voodoo?
Jazz pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin play each other their favorite Ahmad Jamal tunes to build the ULTIMATE Ahmad Jamal playlist. Learn to play tracks from You'll Hear It. Join the You'll Hear It Players Club: https://yhi.link/players-club ------------------------------- Learn to talk like a jazz musician. Download the Liner Notes FREE today: https://yhi.link/linernotes-5 ------------------------------- Watch Ahmad Jamal at Studio 61: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KFMLNop0_g&t=607s ------------------------------- 📞 Send us a message: https://youllhearit.com/ ------------------------------- Listen to the Ultimate playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1TvAf7P7H5JvG0hP0SJth9?si=vH8EJXmHS4mGw8eWm0BqnA ------------------------------ About You'll Hear It: Jazz pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin unpack popular albums track-by-track in this weekly listening party. They talk about what their trained ears hear in the music, offering audiences a new window into the records they love.
Waltz for Debby is the sound that all "boring coffeehouse jazz" tries to imitate, but none can replicate. Featuring Bill Evans on piano, Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums, this 1962 live album has become the template for every AI jazz playlist. And yet, it stands apart as one of the greatest jazz piano trio albums of all time. Pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin listen to the full album, track-by-track, describing what they hear in the music that lends this album its undeniable humanity. ------------------------------- Learn to play tracks from You'll Hear It. Join the You'll Hear It Players Club: https://yhi.link/players-club ------------------------------- Learn to talk like a jazz musician. Download the Liner Notes FREE today: https://yhi.link/linernotes-4 ------------------------------- Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://openstudiojazz.com/ ------------------------------- 📞 Send us a message: https://youllhearit.com/