Hi everyone.

Recently I've been thinking about how 'Sign O' The Times Super Deluxe' will influence future releases from the Prince Estate?

Here are a few key points that I've observed so far regarding the upcoming SOTT release?
1) This is the biggest and most luxurious Prince release to date (more outtakes, large hardback book, full sized box for both vinyl and CD editions, spot gloss on the cover, etc.)
2) On the day this set was announced it went straight to #1 on many of Amazons listings including #1 Box Set, #1 Vinyl Box Set and #1 Vinyl
3) The limited edition single set sold out within hours
4) The price of set increased on Amazon within a few days of it going on sale

Am I right in presuming that the Estate must already consider this to be a rousing success? I'm guessing they must be pleased with how well this new set has been received so far.

If this is the case, has SOTT:SD just set a new benchmark for Prince's super deluxe sets going forward?

If 'Parade Super Deluxe' came out next year and it was a 5CD+1DVD set in a similar vein to '1999 Super Deluxe' I'll certainly still buy it, but should we be expecting something bigger now?

I know Parade SD was rumoured to have been compiled along with 1999 SD, however if I were working for WB I'd been digging a little deeper into the vault right now and be finding ways to expand Parade into something on the scales of 'Sign O' The Times'.

What do you guys think? Is the 'Sign O' The Times' super deluxe just a one off due to its status as a fan favourite, of can we be expecting bigger and more expansive sets as standard in future?

It may do, although the release should be the right size for the album.

I'm sure a Parade super deluxe could include the Flesh project, plus a configuration of the Roadhouse Garden album.

Also I was listening to an interview with Susannah Melvoin where she mentions 4 or 5 unreleased Revolution albums. Im sure some of these could be included in either an ATWIAD or Parade super deluxe

considering sott is his biggest most highly praised collection and most notorious for the "amount" of meateral he was producing, i feel this might be the biggest collection we get .. perhaps if they redo purple rain we may get another big set like this but I cant imagine any other album needing a collection this big (by the current standards) .. certainly there is enough filler to pad other releases to be this size but i would question whether the quality songs are actually there to pad out another box set like they did with sott with high quality masters and not just filler

i would certainly welcome any size even if they just include extra live material but considering what was on 1999 (which did not seem like a whole lot to me) i doubt controversey or dirty mind would have enough to pull the sott size box set off .. maybe parade .. probably not around the world since a lot ended up on pr deluxe or will end up on another prdeluxe ..

i do feel the larger the box the more successful it will be .. these single cd releases have no real collectable value and seem cheep but that same material included in a massive box with other perhaps less than stellar material still remains irresistable to myself and the public .. in fact i would go so far as to say the single cds are geared towards casual consumers for which there is no real market for prince right now .. however the hardcore fans are still here and would much rather have the large sets with tons of outtakes and live shows .. for example .. pnm 83 and originals should have been in a huge box set .. no causal music listener is clamoring for a tape hissy piano noodly rehearsal .. but include it in a box and its a gold nugget amongst a mass of intriguing curiousities .. i just dont think they quite have their finger on the pulse just yet .. for example .. they still make huge botches such as not including the crystal ball 98 songs in this set .. sure it would take some legal fanagling but wouldn't both sony and wb profit if they worked together to make a more cohesive all inclusive box of this era? .. it just takes a little more time to sort the legalities ..

Like i said in a previous post, the amount of "famous" ablums is limited. The albums released till now are all famous albums, but after SITM, there are not many left. D&P and Parade I guess.

I don't think there is a market for a Come deluxe or a Dirty Mind deluxe....but i also don't know how big the hardcore fanbase is.

For me, all the albums have a magic around them, the general piblic probably have forgotten or never knew. I would love a Lovesexy dl, we'll see.

nextedition said:

Who knows how they determine a success or how it reflects on their approach going further. It could be it does huge numbers and they still lose money, or it sells out but there isn't demand for the future printings and it gets deep discounted, and hen they decide they didn't go far enough and need future sets to be even grander.

I think SOTT is a special case. Its standing as his "creative peak™" or "best album™" it being a double album and having the mystique of its development led them go the extra mile for this release is my guess. To make it a statement release that reflects the albums legacy, and I don't expect this to be the new standard going forward for SDE releases. But certainly I could see other such releases, a live box set perhaps or a future anniversary re-issue of Purple Rain for example.

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The 1999 SDE was spot on for me in terms of size, price, breadth of content (singles, unreleased tracks, live) etc and I would be happy with a return to that format for future releases. My wallet would also be equally happy.

NouveauDance said:

I think SOTT is a special case. Its standing as his "creative peak™" or "best album™" it being a double album and having the mystique of its development led them go the extra mile for this release is my guess. To make it a statement release that reflects the albums legacy, and I don't expect this to be the new standard going forward for SDE releases. But certainly I could see other such releases, a live box set perhaps or a future anniversary re-issue of Purple Rain for example.

.

The 1999 SDE was spot on for me in terms of size, price, breadth of content (singles, unreleased tracks, live) etc and I would be happy with a return to that format for future releases. My wallet would also be equally happy.

Agreed. A Parade SDE could yield as much material as the SOTT SDE. But I'm not so sure many of the albums that followed would get that type of treatment, except maybe for TGE.