Is a wonderful album but it could have been much better with Shockadelica, Feel U Up, JIR and Crytall Ball. But beautiful album, nonetheless.

The AV Club did a nice write up recently:

http://www.avclub.com/art...sho-252625

paulludvig said:

luvgirl said:

paulludvig said:

I still think it should have been a triple album.

Agreed. I love most of the songs on the album but I still always rank Crystal Ball above SOTT on my Top ten favorite album list. [Edited 4/1/17 6:21am]

Certainly there are no shortages of songs that could have been added to make this amazing album even better. But, as a "concise" collection of songs from that era, SOTT still leaves little to be desired.

It is hard to choose, but SOTT is perhaps my favorite album of his. I just love the diversity of all of the songs. Happy 30th anniversary to this masterpiece!

The point is that he set our expectations so high with this album... He spoiled us. But last masterpiece? No way. Lovesexy is perfect, Grafitti Bridge has great moments (Question of U , Joy in Repetition and Thieves in the Temple are gems) not to mention Crystal Ball, The Truth, 3121...

206Michelle said:

Almost the entire SOTT album doesn't sound like 1987. If I didn't know the year of its release, it would be hard to pinpoint it as being from the mid to late 1980s. The only songs that really scream 1987 to me are the title track and U Got the Look. The title track is the only song that sounds dated, and the reason it sounds dated is because of the lyrical content. The baseline is still crackin'. I'm a teacher (I teach K-1 Autistic Support) and I use music to transition between activities. The song of the week in my room this past week was Starfish and Coffee. Starfish and Coffee could have come out within the last 10 years, it sounds so modern. If I Was Your Girlfriend is so different that it would be groundbreaking if it came out today. The album is a classic and has aged very gracefully.

Don't die without knowing the cross.

True that. Especially S&C, that song is omething really especial and unique.

I remember this was the one where radio stations were playing all songs that werent even singles the first few days of release. Prince was at the height of the greats with SOTT (and before of course). It was cool hearing some songs that weren't the main song being played in joyous celebration of a new Prince record being released. Even Strange relationship was being played.

STT is a strange beast. I think P has at very least 3 better albums, I wouldn't call it his masterpiece. There are some 'weaker' songs such as beautiful night, The Cross, .. Songs like Hot Thing and It are good but not THAT good. And mostly: the album's previous incarnations as a triple album are way stronger - so how can this be his definitive masterpiece?
And yet... there is something about this album as a whole. STT the song is one of his very very best. Sunshine is pure joy. Adore.
I remember putting the needle on the record when it came out, and thinking "he's at the end of the road, he can't improve from here anymore, it's his definitive style and we can't expect things/sounds like Parade, 1999, ATWIAD anymore". Lovesexy came and while definitely not better, it gave me more pleasure, it was my summer-album much more than STT was. But (almost) thruth that STT was his end of the road, and we didn't get a whole different sound/style anymore ever after - at least not on a whole album of P's previous high standards.
The critics went mad for STT (the public much less), but imagine a different tracklist on that double album, with his best pieces of the than CB-triple. It could have end up next to where people think is S. Pepper's and Pet Sounds.

My review of the individual tracks

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Adorecream said:

My review of the individual tracks

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great channel

206Michelle said:

Almost the entire SOTT album doesn't sound like 1987. If I didn't know the year of its release, it would be hard to pinpoint it as being from the mid to late 1980s. The only songs that really scream 1987 to me are the title track and U Got the Look. The title track is the only song that sounds dated, and the reason it sounds dated is because of the lyrical content. The baseline is still crackin'. I'm a teacher (I teach K-1 Autistic Support) and I use music to transition between activities. The song of the week in my room this past week was Starfish and Coffee. Starfish and Coffee could have come out within the last 10 years, it sounds so modern. If I Was Your Girlfriend is so different that it would be groundbreaking if it came out today. The album is a classic and has aged very gracefully.

Don't die without knowing the cross.

Amazed you say this, I would say the opposite, parts of Sign like Play in The ssunshine, the Cross and Slow Love sound like they are from 1993 rather than 1986/87. I don't think it has dated at all, unless you see forwards in time musically as a continuum of non stop degeneration with IQ 65 artists making music made up of drum machines, autotune, voice boxes and monosyllabic grunting.

Adorecream said:

206Michelle said:

Almost the entire SOTT album doesn't sound like 1987. If I didn't know the year of its release, it would be hard to pinpoint it as being from the mid to late 1980s. The only songs that really scream 1987 to me are the title track and U Got the Look. The title track is the only song that sounds dated, and the reason it sounds dated is because of the lyrical content. The baseline is still crackin'. I'm a teacher (I teach K-1 Autistic Support) and I use music to transition between activities. The song of the week in my room this past week was Starfish and Coffee. Starfish and Coffee could have come out within the last 10 years, it sounds so modern. If I Was Your Girlfriend is so different that it would be groundbreaking if it came out today. The album is a classic and has aged very gracefully.

Don't die without knowing the cross.

Amazed you say this, I would say the opposite, parts of Sign like Play in The ssunshine, the Cross and Slow Love sound like they are from 1993 rather than 1986/87. I don't think it has dated at all, unless you see forwards in time musically as a continuum of non stop degeneration with IQ 65 artists making music made up of drum machines, autotune, voice boxes and monosyllabic grunting.

Adorecream, SOTT doesn't sound dated at all...hat was my point when I stated that it doesn't sound like 1987. The fact that it still sounds so fresh 30 years later is one of the characteristics that makes it a timeless classic of an album. The lyrics of the title track clearly date it as being from the mid to late 1980s, but the beat and baseline are still awesome.

How long it will take for this album to move way, way higher in lists of the greatest albums ever? It’s often on these, but in an obligatory way. It deserves to be in the company of Rubber Soul, Exile on Main St, and Highway 61.

I know because I just listened to it again for the thousandth time, and it really doesn’t have a single weak song. And there are at least a half dozen or more tracks that are as good as anything anybody’s ever done. Taken as a whole - lyrically, musically, and thematically - an astonishing work.

paraded said:

How long it will take for this album to move way, way higher in lists of the greatest albums ever? It’s often on these, but in an obligatory way. It deserves to be in the company of Rubber Soul, Exile on Main St, and Highway 61.

I know because I just listened to it again for the thousandth time, and it really doesn’t have a single weak song. And there are at least a half dozen or more tracks that are as good as anything anybody’s ever done. Taken as a whole - lyrically, musically, and thematically - an astonishing work.

SOTT is an absolute masterpeice, without question. As great as SOTT is though, in the popular consciousness, it still exists in the shadow of Purple Rain. There is of course PR the movie. On top of that, 4 casual music listeners, none of Prince's most-well known songs are from SOTT; his most well-known songs are Purple Rain, Kiss, When Doves Cry, Let's Go Crazy, Raspberry Beret, 1999, and Little Red Corvette.

206Michelle said:

My final video. The org is mentioned near the end, where I mention several favourite album surveys seem to reveal that Sign o the Times, is the fan favourite here. Usually it beats out Purple Rain and 1999 for the top place. The rest is about critics and its legacy.

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Enjoy all of u, and thanks for the support too.

The greatest album ever made. In all of time. Simply cause of If I was your Girlfriend and Adore, but the other songs aren't too far behind.

It's not the last great Prince album, but it's the greatest Prince album IMHO.

1987. It was a rare sunny day in Manchester. I remember coming home from school and sticking my headphones on, listening to it for 3 hours straight. My mum didn't even try to get me up for dinner, just left a plate by my bedroom door. From that spine-chilling 'Oh Yeah!' to the crazed angelic anarchy right at the end of Adore, it's a fucking trip.

These songs have punctuated my life. From crashing my car when 'Play In The Sunshine' was blasting on the stereo, to playing 'Housequake' before my final exams at university, to 'Forever In My Life' at my wedding and then celebrating the birth of my son with 'Adore', this has been the soundtrack to my life.

Actually it's the greatest album ever.

JellyJam said:

to 'Forever In My Life' at my wedding

Out of curiosity - are you a man or a woman?

domainator2010 said:

JellyJam said:

to 'Forever In My Life' at my wedding

Out of curiosity - are you a man or a woman?

I am something that you'll never understand.

Just kidding, I'm a man

I remember buying this on vinyl, even though I didn't have a record player, because I had to have that big blue heart sticker!

domainator2010 said:

The greatest album ever made. In all of time. Simply cause of If I was your Girlfriend and Adore, but the other songs aren't too far behind.

Truuuu.

JellyJam said:

It's not the last great Prince album, but it's the greatest Prince album IMHO.

1987. It was a rare sunny day in Manchester. I remember coming home from school and sticking my headphones on, listening to it for 3 hours straight. My mum didn't even try to get me up for dinner, just left a plate by my bedroom door. From that spine-chilling 'Oh Yeah!' to the crazed angelic anarchy right at the end of Adore, it's a fucking trip.

These songs have punctuated my life. From crashing my car when 'Play In The Sunshine' was blasting on the stereo, to playing 'Housequake' before my final exams at university, to 'Forever In My Life' at my wedding and then celebrating the birth of my son with 'Adore', this has been the soundtrack to my life.

Actually it's the greatest album ever.

Beautifully depicted.

Moonbeam said:

It is a magical album indeed. Not my favorite (though still easily a 5-star album) but I understand why it is the collective favorite of the Prince fan base, as it is so good and showcases his diversity so well.

What's your favorite album?

rusty1 said: