OldFriends4Sale said:

Miko is so pretty to me

Yeah I saw the flowers back in the day but I did not notice the trash on the other (maybe it was somewhat covered up by Prince)

On a side note Prince looks like my step mother in the original.

VaultCurator said:

Here's something I've only noticed recently. I always thought those white, pinkish streaks on the left side of the background were a trick of the light, but they actually form a circle on the right too? All of the signs in the background also form a circle. Were these signs supposed to look as if they were being viewed through a Crystal Ball?

I think the purple sphere is the Crystal Ball that you see on the platform behind him. It's just a larger version on a backdrop, I think this was supposed to be the Crystal Ball album cover and he just changed a few things.

It's intriguing to me that there were different color variations . . . Prince in blue with a vibrant blue drumset behind him.

Jeff Katz was asked if the colorizing was done afterward -- he said no, the stage was reset with the new stuff.

Of course it's the one I'd seen first and became accustomed to, but I do prefer the more muted tones of the final cover.

ufoclub said:

Yes, it looks intentional.

I do think the old cover art with him in the foreground out of focus on the bottom right is much better than the alternate shot that will be used for this special edition seen in this post. I think they made the right choice back in 1987. From a designer POV.

[Edited 8/25/20 7:04am]

Absolutely agree. Quite disappointed they have messed with the cover in this way, and such an iconic album cover too. The original is far better.

langebleu said:

JorisE73 said:

I just releaized that my CD version and LP version of the original SOTT both have chinese lettering on the white box behind his head and the LP and CD version of a friend of mine doesn't and looks like the box on the SDE cover without the lettering.
Anyone know why they erased that?

from PrinceVault - Trivia section for SOTT album (discography):

http://www.princevault.co..._The_Times

Warner Bros. Records had to blur the side of the "Golden Dragon Inc." fortune cookies box in the back on their request on all commercial material, including the Sheet Music book cover, after a first batch of records and promotional items were shipped to retailers. This copyright issue concerned commercial copies of the album in LP, Cassette and CD format, for the USA territory only.

I only learned that recently, it killed me.

So basically all copies were blurred or only those printed in the US?

ufoclub said:

Yes, it looks intentional.

I do think the old cover art with him in the foreground out of focus on the bottom right is much better than the alternate shot that will be used for this special edition seen in this post. I think they made the right choice back in 1987. From a designer POV.

[Edited 8/25/20 7:04am]

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Exactly.

It's his best 'great alternative feel' for a Prince album imo too.

There is not one element of kitsch or dubious taste.

This choice to place Prince out of focus might be the reason why 'the ghetto' part is not quite visible.

Somhow they had to choose semething different for this new SDE to make a diference.

Hope they don't use or chose gold or silver (again) for this edition.

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databank said:

langebleu said:

from PrinceVault - Trivia section for SOTT album (discography):

http://www.princevault.co..._The_Times

Warner Bros. Records had to blur the side of the "Golden Dragon Inc." fortune cookies box in the back on their request on all commercial material, including the Sheet Music book cover, after a first batch of records and promotional items were shipped to retailers. This copyright issue concerned commercial copies of the album in LP, Cassette and CD format, for the USA territory only.

I only learned that recently, it killed me.

So basically all copies were blurred or only those printed in the US?

I think only in the US. My French and UK copies have the lettering.

SquirrelMeat76 said:

ufoclub said:

Yes, it looks intentional.

I do think the old cover art with him in the foreground out of focus on the bottom right is much better than the alternate shot that will be used for this special edition seen in this post. I think they made the right choice back in 1987. From a designer POV.

[Edited 8/25/20 7:04am]

Absolutely agree. Quite disappointed they have messed with the cover in this way, and such an iconic album cover too. The original is far better.

Wholeheartedly agree.

JorisE73 said:

databank said:

I only learned that recently, it killed me.

So basically all copies were blurred or only those printed in the US?

I think only in the US. My French and UK copies have the lettering.

OK thx. The only copy I have left is the LP I bought last year for decoration, a new print on Amazon.de, but it could be a US import IDK (now it's on the wall so I ain't gonna bother check) because it's blurred. Now I want the real one

databank said:

JorisE73 said:

I think only in the US. My French and UK copies have the lettering.

OK thx. The only copy I have left is the LP I bought last year for decoration, a new print on Amazon.de, but it could be a US import IDK (now it's on the wall so I ain't gonna bother check) because it's blurred. Now I want the real one

.
I seem to have a first release then because mine is a US pressing and the photo is not blurred.

The blue relief behind Prince's head (on the original cover) was adorned on his vault door.

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Roy Bennett :

"Prince‘s ideas and descriptions were often abstract.

In the case of “Sign O‘ The Times ”he suggested something that he did not do or could not do

on previous tours, such as“ Parade ”and“ Purple Rain ”: to use the album cover as a stage.

So much was already there before the conception began.

The cover background was not created on the computer, it was set up in Minneapolis at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater, an event hall.

I think the record cover and the stage were like a security blanket for Prince.

He built in ideas that had accumulated over the years and were good for him.

He already had the Pierrot at the “Purple Rain” shows, so now the Pontiac was added, on which the drum set was enthroned."

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I always thought that was so fucking cool !

Still to this day.

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