It

Slow Love

Hot Thing
Slow Love
It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night

None of them are bad songs by any means, just not as interesting as some of the songs he left on th cutting room floor in 85-87

I've often said that when we hear the full amount of unreleased stuff from this era it makes SOTT pale in comparison. Really if the Dream Factory/Camille or Crystal Ball were released they would have been much better!

I always felt the SOTT album sounded rather dated as he was using all these effects that maybe were cool at the time but just sound old now and it seemed some were rushed, while other tracks recorded around this time had much more effort put in. Crucial, Adonis and Bathsheba and Inalargeroomwithnolight sound vibrant and fresh now and are much more complex musically than say It or It's gonna be a beautiful night.

Even for me the vocal run through of Forever In My Life sounds a lot more up to date that the original due to the lack of the repetitive sound effect in it.

[Edited 9/4/20 1:50am]

SOTT doesn't need to be changed.

TheFreakerFantastic said:

Even for me the vocal run through of Forever In My Life sounds a lot more up to date that the original due to the lack of the repetitive sound effect in it.

It sounds like a generic, fairly interchangable with many others, 80s radio hit to me - the released version still sticks out as something unique due to what you call "repetitive" and I call "sparseness."

[Edited 9/4/20 2:13am]

'It' is fantastic and is definately worthy of inclusion. Obviously he liked Slow Love too - I've never been crazy about it, I think there are better ballads, but it has a commercial sound about it and it's a solid pop song. If it wasn't Slow Love it probably would've been another ballad in its place.

After listening to the album a couple times this week, "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night" is the only one I'm not completely thrilled with. A random live cut that runs just shy of 9 minutes seemed so out of place.

"It" is incredible, one of the best tracks on SOTT.

I seriously don't think the album can be improved upon, it's a classic double album and it needs to ebb and flow to be that way. eg. IGBABN isn't the best song on the album, not by a long shot, but i'd say it's my most played - sometimes all I need is that groove for 10 minutes.

All the Crystal Ball tracks removed are 10/10 but I still think SOTT is a better album than the original Crystal Ball which has never fully worked for me. Maybe on vinyl it would.

[Edited 9/4/20 4:05am]

SOTT is perfect just the way it is

It is one of my fave Prince songs. Slow Love is gorgeous.

Sign o The Times is perfect the way it is. Period.

Prince's vocal delivery on "IT" is monumental...when i first heard "Love & Sex" and heard Prince singing like his hair was on fire, it made me think of "IT".

"IT" and "Hot Thing" always seem to get bad reviews here, and i find that amazing.

"Slow Love" is a smooth joint... no need to skip or delete that one either...Eric Leeds is kickin ass all over that track

[Edited 9/4/20 15:45pm]

mbdtyler said:

Hot Thing
Slow Love
It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night

None of them are bad songs by any means, just not as interesting as some of the songs he left on th cutting room floor in 85-87

Completely agree. Those 3 songs are like 4/5, the rest of the album 5. Although I oscillate on the demo-ish Forever In My Life.

Going through SOTT, I don't really see anything I'd cut or replace. Maybe a couple songs are too long, but every track serves a purpose. I'm glad he released SOTT instead of Dream Factory, Camille and Crystal Ball, but those tracks still deserved to be released on their own album. A DF/CB outtakes album would have been a better rushed followup than The Black Album, as much as I love that record.

mbdtyler said:

Hot Thing
Slow Love
It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night

None of them are bad songs by any means, just not as interesting as some of the songs he left on th cutting room floor in 85-87

Hot Thing?

You are crazy as Hell to think that should have been left off.

TheFreakerFantastic said:

I've often said that when we hear the full amount of unreleased stuff from this era it makes SOTT pale in comparison. Really if the Dream Factory/Camille or Crystal Ball were released they would have been much better!

I always felt the SOTT album sounded rather dated as he was using all these effects that maybe were cool at the time but just sound old now and it seemed some were rushed, while other tracks recorded around this time had much more effort put in. Crucial, Adonis and Bathsheba and Inalargeroomwithnolight sound vibrant and fresh now and are much more complex musically than say It or It's gonna be a beautiful night.

Even for me the vocal run through of Forever In My Life sounds a lot more up to date that the original due to the lack of the repetitive sound effect in it.

[Edited 9/4/20 1:50am]

To me, the older more full version of "Forever in My Life" sounds completely retro, like a Kenny Rogers song. The final version still sounds futuristic today. That's not to say I don't enjoy hearing that older version.

If I were to add sound design to a scifi movie, and just take the music of the final version of "Forever in My Life", just that electronic rhythm/beat, and add it to some futuristic sequence... I think it would work!

I also love the way that beat sounded when he performed the song live on his tours around 2010-2012.


But in all honestly, when I first heard the album in 1987, I did not like "It" because it seemed to be simplistic and cliche in terms of musical arrangement in light of other dark electronic music going on at the time. I was much more into the title track, Housequake, or If I Was Your Girlfriend. I do like "it" better now, all these years later, but I still think the backbone beat and that bell-like synth line is really basic.

djdaffy1227 said:

That album is an epic journey, more than the sum of its parts, and I wouldn't change a thing. An album full of U Got the Looks and Adores (as good as those songs are) would not be a pleasant thing.

I've never been a big fan of Slow Love, but IT is one of Prince's funkiest tracks. The drum pattern and the lyrics scream SEX! As he says "F*&King on your mind," IT doesn't get any sexier than that. Love IT. Beautiful Night is ok. I just have to be in the mood for it. SOTT is great the way it is, however, the best Prince song of all time(my personal favorite) Joy In Repetition, should have been on there.

Shockadelica should have taken the place of Hot Thing.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

When I was younger, and first exposed to "Sign", of course I gravitated towards the hits/singles. Songs like "Slow Love", "Forever In My Life", and "Strange Relationship" didn't do it for me like "Hot Thing" and "U Got The Look" and "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man".

.

But after years of living with the album, I've come to appreciate every song. The entire song cycle has an ebb and flow that really rewards you if you listen from beginning to end.

.

There's one tune, however, that I still have trouble with: "If I Was Your Girlfriend". I know there are many of you here on the Org who love this song, but it still doesn't quite click with me. Forget its unfortunate choice as the second single, the song itself is just... "off". That's the best way I can put it.

.

I have skipped this song many, many times. Hell, at one point, when I digitized the album, I omitted it from my Prince playlist altogether! But I've (sort of) come around on it. I now let it be a part the listening experience.

.

Maybe one day I'll get on board. Maybe.

GiggityGoo said:

When I was younger, and first exposed to "Sign", of course I gravitated towards the hits/singles. Songs like "Slow Love", "Forever In My Life", and "Strange Relationship" didn't do it for me like "Hot Thing" and "U Got The Look" and "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man".

.

But after years of living with the album, I've come to appreciate every song. The entire song cycle has an ebb and flow that really rewards you if you listen from beginning to end.

.

There's one tune, however, that I still have trouble with: "If I Was Your Girlfriend". I know there are many of you here on the Org who love this song, but it still doesn't quite click with me. Forget its unfortunate choice as the second single, the song itself is just... "off". That's the best way I can put it.

.

I have skipped this song many, many times. Hell, at one point, when I digitized the album, I omitted it from my Prince playlist altogether! But I've (sort of) come around on it. I now let it be a part the listening experience.

.

Maybe one day I'll get on board. Maybe.

I always thought it was confusing yet awesome that "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night" made it on SOTT. It really is essentially just a big long funk jam in the key of D as opposed to a well thought out and carefully arranged composition (aside from the horn parts). But it strangely works, it is one of my favorites off the album and stands as a unique track off the album because of its live nature and composition

As the OP, I just want to go on record and say I LOVE Its Gonna Be a Beautiful Night!

You are all crazy. At the time it was the ONLY (and perhaps still) track that somewhat captures the Prince "Live Jam" sound. The performance in the SOTT movie only makes it better in retrospect and where the hell else could you hear the Wizard of OZ chant and a children's poem put to funk https://www.poetryfoundat...-the-chair.

[Edited 9/8/20 11:51am]