I thought the Sign O The Times album was Prince's maturest album of the 80's. What about you?
[Edited 3/26/05 23:22pm]

that was odd...

Sign O The Times set the bar. The 1987 opus told me that I should expect this much from Prince from here on out. Occasionally I get a fresh glimpse of peach and black, but not the historic levels that he surely should generate.

It was good. Song-by-song it isn't too great, but all together it's much better. I like it a lot, but I'm forever disappointed that I've heard so much about it being God's gift to music and then it never delivered.

So to answer the question, Sign O the Times means disappointment to me.

doctamario said:

See what I mean about listening to the opinions of others before you have the chance to make up your own mind? Never believe the hype.

SOTT, along with Lovesexy, were the crest of the wave for me. I had climbed onboard in '84 with Purple Rain, caught up in the back catalog very quickly, then strapped in for ATWIAD, Parade and then SOTT, each time getting my mind blown on a whole new level and in a completely different direction. Four album sides (yes, that was the format of the time) and I could put down the needle and just let it ride.



And then the concert video. I actually went to the theater to see it. So many great songs. Such a concept. Such a meld of styles. It's been said before, but this truly is one of the defining albums IMHO.

doctamario said:

When I hear the beginning of IIWYG, I still feel my heart jump as I wait for a phone call from my high school sweetheart. I still can visualize the sun shining on the record player as I play Starfish and Coffee. For me, SOTT is inspiration. The Ballad of Dorothy Parker inspired me to create poems of my own. The hugs and kisses I received as a result of these poems still fuel the joy I have from listening to this song. SOTT made me think, and I am grateful for that. Sometimes I can forget the link that this album has to my life as a seventeen year old. But a second of recognition leads to hours of recollection.

Brilliance,genieus and creativity at it's most eclectic and expressive fun.

when i first heard it, it meant prince had lost his damn mind...now it means amazing! although i still think prince was not right when he did IT

I like the album but I will always remember it as a major disappointment. Before it was released, the press was saying that Prince had fired The Revolution and was going back to making music totally by himself like the old days. I blamed band members' influence, especially Lisa and Wendy, for Prince making much weaker albums after "Purple Rain". With them gone, I thought Prince was going to go back to throwing down hard. I was mistaken.

This album was the first time I realized that Prince (without band members' influence) had really gone off the deep end and was never coming back.

**SOTT meant I could leave my FF button alone again.**

SOTT was an great album.

Before SOTT, Prince was held to one standard--Purple Rain.
After SOTT, the picture gets more complex.

I place SOTT right up there with great albums like New Power Soul.

AsianBomb777 said:

Fucker.

This is the one that made him known as an artist, not just another 80's pop star. If he hadn't done this we would be seeing him on "Where Are They Now" type shows.

It was a trip. It had a funky beat. And I could bug out to it.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

jbchavez said:

I can totally relate, my memories of SOTT are very similar. I was also seventeen, I was in love for the first time and in my last few months of high school, SOTT was the soundtrack to it all. I even finished my last homework assignment to Adore, (drove my boyfriend nuts with that song) Blasting Housequake and Hot Thing when no one was home.(love those screams).
1987 was the year I turned into an adult and SOTT will always be special to me because of that. That's the last Prince album that I've ever "bonded" with.

Well the title: Sign o the times, the songs i think rep Prince and who he is at the time, but I think it also reps the world that he lived in, both mentally, emotionally and the outer world. The title I also think has no concept of time, That can mean any period of life, all stages.

The songs both words and music mesh like Purple Rain, a perfect marriage 2 me, so does a lotta other p records.

2 me this record, gives us , me at least, a glimpse of Prince's life, in a Princey way, true p fashion. As he has said many times b4, U all will know me through my music.
[Edited 3/27/05 16:06pm]

Sign O' The Times is awesome!

Soon as the needle hit the vinyl with that hi-hat I was hooked. chkachka-chk-chka-ch-chk


Sign of the times mess with your mind. Hurry before its too late. Let's fall in love get married ,have a baby; we'll call him Nate , if its a boy. duh dun dun dun

I think it's his best piece of work. After listening to "The Dream Factory," I am amazed at Prince and his genius.

Sign O The Times is Prince at the height of his creative powers. It is Prince tapped in musically and lyrically to what makes him great. There is not a single throwaway song on the album and numerous "stand for all time" classics. What else could a Prince fan want? You've got ballads, you've got funk, you've got guitar rock, you've got pop hits. This album may be the biggest double platinum underchiever of all time because they could have released 3 or 4 more singles if Prince wasn't in all-fired hurry to get the Black Album and/or Lovesexy out. In my mind it's better than Purple Rain, better than 1999, better than Lovesexy.

When I first bought the cassette, I had these cheap ass head phones and I was staying for a week over my aunt's house. I listen to that mofo repeatedly the whole week straight, hearing every note resonate through the fuzzy ear phones. I knew it was something special the moment I listed to it. I didn't have to grow into it like I did Parade and Around the World. I didn't fast forward any tracks, even though now its hard not to fast forward It and Slow Love. It was an instant classic.

Love this album...

The only album I’ve ever worn out and had to replace.