awwwww

of course the lackluster sales and popular response (outside of U Got the Look) to the album kind reflects that attitude of most people back then had towards the album. I remember the Rolling Stone review (if I remember correctly)comparing the songs SOTT with Forever in My Life with Hot Thing as having similar rhythm construction and the reviewer saying that was a bad thing, to be repetitive.

ernestsewell said:

I'm still not a huge fan of The Cross. It sounds way better live but still not one of my favorite Prince songs of any time.

nursev said:

That's what I loved about it. Wall to wall music. You can't deny the synth intro to Anna Stasia wasn't the shit.

ufoclub said:

I take it you didn't like Adore when you first heard it?

dseann said:

Not when I first heard it. Yawned when I first heard it. But two years later I was really into it. Like I thought it was incredible.

ufoclub said:

I was 16 and living in Queens when the album came out. I loved that cut more than any other when I first played the album(not cd) and the black radio stations in NYC had it in heavy rotation although it wasn't released as a single. It was even #1 on the request charts for weeks. The fact that it was a Prince album made me buy it, the title track sold me and Adore hooked me.

I wouldn't say it sucked. There's some fantastic hits on here, SOTT being one of them, but it's definitely not among my favourites. I'd take TRC, 3121, ONA and LF long before I'd listen to this.

Bohemian67 said:

Housequake (long version)
the Ballad of Dorothy Parker
Starfish & Coffee
If I Was Your Girlfriend
Strange Relationship
the Cross
Adore

are my favorites

But I agree with P7, the Dream Factory would have been a more complete album

OldFriends4Sale said:

Good choices except for me I can't get into Housequake. Tried multiple versions it doesn't move me. Probably had to hear it at the time. Adore, nice track but just not enough to move me yet, some songs take time to grow on you.

But the others, all very nice!

Bohemian67 said:

wow, I think Housequake was the most outright great track on the album, and I still think it's ahead of the game. It's so far ahead of that track Gwen Stefani put out with "bananas" and one I heard on the radio today that seemed to have that party stadium stamp type beat (it was full of Timberlake/female duet style auto-tuned vocals, but sounded kind of dead)... it's too cool to my ears!

Why is nobody backing "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" ?

anthonyxanzaldo said:

We missed that one. It is another really good one.

Bohemian67 said:

That song really came to life for me after seeing the movie version in the theater.

Bohemian67 said:

Forever in My Life....!!!!

Nice post, interesting question.

Firstly, for the record: SOTT, along with Parade, is my personal fave album.

Albums that took time to grow on me:

- Purple Rain (yes REALLY!)
- Dirty Mind

Now, this is coming from a 36 year old fan who didn't really discover Prince until Lovesexy. For me it was a case of going back and finding out what all the early fuss was about. On my first listening to Purple Rain I wasn't particularly enamoured with it. I loved the singles (which were familiar of course), but it took me a few listens to get into the full album.

I now love both of these of course, they're up there in my top 10.
[Edited 5/13/10 14:51pm]

batman is my shit at the moment and i remember not liking it all ('cept a few songs) when i first got it almost a decade ago .

RodeoSchro said:

SOTT is better than anything he's released since the gold album. How doesn't rate in your top 1-?

I'll admit I'm an 80's fan and I'd have to pick a top ten.

YESWECAN said:

Well, any album that has Adore is a winner in my book-greatest lyrics ever.

PurpleLove7 said:

"I feel sorry for your mother"-Korean liquor store owner in Menace To Society

ernestsewell said:

quite frankly, it's better than anything he's released since Sign O' The Times

It doesn't suck but I'm not one of those fans who think it's the alpha and omega of music either. "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night" is pointless and I'm sorry, but "Adore" is dull after all those uptempo tracks. I'll never understand why it was put on The Hits/The B-Sides...

PurpleLove7 said:

Turn in your org card now

But seriously, I really did not like Symbol when it came out and even a few years ago, but last year I just sat down and listened to it from start to finish and realised I really dug it, unlike Diamonds and Pearls, it has not dated. The songs are really well done (Tony M's rapping is better than the previous albums) and the whole concept was incredible, maybe Prince was assuming too much of his fans to dig it then in 92, but we sure dig it now. I love that album. In fact my love for it, is so recent some of you might even remember me slamming it a few years ago. The concept, sexy ballads, catchy pop and then the whole Kirsty Alley thing, and the Victor theme and 3 chains o Gold was Prince trying to do Bohemian Rhapsody and it worked. Symbol is the work of a musical god.
[Edited 5/14/10 3:35am]

errant said:

Sign of the Times is the best album Prince has ever made.....that is FACT! I love Prince music but he does not do albums very well because his music is best live and i feel albums hold him back!
Great albums have a start , middle, end, a concept a story a feeling it breaks new ground creates a blueprint for future music!
Yes it's better than Purple Rain (film and album), TGE etc....
Every track a clear winner, a pure mix of musical styles, plus it has one of the greatest concert/films ever made and some of the most iconic records in modern pop history on it

People...people this is a 16 Track album of the highest quality!

Side one

1. "Sign “☮” the Times" – 4:57
2. "Play in the Sunshine" – 5:05
3. "Housequake" – 4:42
4. "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" – 4:01

Side two

1. "It" – 5:09
2. "Starfish and Coffee" (Prince, Susannah Melvoin) – 2:50
3. "Slow Love" (Prince, Carole Davis) – 4:22
4. "Hot Thing" – 5:39
5. "Forever in My Life" – 3:30

Side three

1. "U Got the Look" – 3:47
2. "If I Was Your Girlfriend" – 5:01
3. "Strange Relationship" – 4:01
4. "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" – 6:29

Side four

1. "The Cross" – 4:48
2. "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" (Prince, Doctor Fink, Eric Leeds) – 9:01
3. "Adore" – 6:30

to date, my favorite (okay, 1 of my favs) live jam of Prince,
is Play in the Sunshine in the movie. Something raw about it,
rude I can say. I also dig the guitar interlude in the same song.

ufoclub said:

I remember Rolling Stones' review of this album It was written by Kurt Loder.What's funny about that review is,he seriously listed the name "Camille" among the guest stars who appear on the album,lol.He was a victim of yet another purple prank by Prince.

vainandy said:

I was a little disappointed with 'ATWIAD' and 'Parade'.I tend to think of 'SOTT' as the real follow-up to 'Purple Rain'.No,it doesn't have the same sound as that record,but the high points are just as powerful,imo.