Sign O The Times (1987) is Prince's magnum opus. It was the apex and/or pinnacle of his whole career. My favorite tracks were Starfish & Coffee, Sign O The Times, Housequake, The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker, If I Was Your Girlfriend, It, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man, and Adore. They are the highlights on this album. I'm thinking about buying the concert on video. Anyway, I have to buy a second copy because my first copy is kind of dirty and I have had it for 5 years (when I was becoming a Prince fan). What did you think of the album?

Never heard of it.

Is it as good as Diamonds & Pearls?

At first I didn't think it needed 7 threads, but now I'm not so sure.

NouveauDance said:

You're way behind. If you never heard of Sign O The Times, you don't know the real Prince. You really need to buy it because it's great.

Supernova said:

I'm so sorry, I had clicked post 2 many times that it just kept popping up like crazy. My mistake !!!!!

Yeah it's great, but i have a question...nah, forget it.

Maybye it's just my computer acting stupid, but did you post this subject 8 times?

SOTT hit me hard when it came out, and it's still my favorite. Everything he puts on the shelves has to stand up to the level of excellence of Sign O' The Times, whether he likes it or not.

NouveauDance said:

SOTT is worth 8 threads.

SoSaysEye said:

I am so sorry, I clicked it 2 many times that it just appeared 8 times. Just click on the first forum. Don't worry about the other 7 subjects.


My Mistake,

Brandon Ousley

What I love about Sign ‘o’ the Times is it’s versatility. So many variations on musical styles. A double-album that is solid throughout without weakness, quite simply a classic.

NouveauDance said:

In my opinion, much better. You should really pick up the CD, even though it's kinda expensive; being a double disc, it's worth it. The AMG gave it 5 outta 5 stars. Heres the All Music Guide review for it.
Fearless, eclectic, and defiantly messy, Prince's Sign o' the Times falls into the tradition of tremendous, chaotic double albums like The Beatles, Exile on Main St., and London Calling -- albums that are fantastic because of their overreach, their great sprawl. Prince shows nearly all of his cards here, from bare-bones electro-funk and smooth soul to pseudo-psychedelic pop and crunching hard rock, touching on gospel, blues, and folk along the way. This was the first album Prince recorded without the Revolution since 1982's 1999 (the band does appear on the in-concert rave-up, "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night"), and he sounds liberating, diving into territory merely suggested on Around the World in a Day and Parade. While the music overflows with generous spirit, these are among the most cryptic, insular songs he's ever written. Many songs are left over from the aborted triple album Crystal Ball and the abandoned Camille project, a Prince alter-ego personified by scarily sped-up tapes on "If I Was Your Girlfriend," the most disarming and bleak psycho-sexual song Prince ever wrote, as well as the equally chilling "Strange Relationship." These fraying relationships echo in the social chaos Prince writes about throughout the album. Apocalyptic imagery of drugs, bombs, empty sex, abandoned babies and mothers, and AIDS pop up again and again, yet he balances the despair with hope, whether it's God, love, or just having a good time. In its own roundabout way, Sign O' the Times is the sound of the late '80s -- it's the sound of the good times collapsing and how all that doubt and fear can be ignored if you just dance those problems away. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

silverchild said:

That's fine. SOTT is worth all 8 threads anyway. I was just making sure it wasn't me. I confuse easily.

SoSaysEye said:

aaaaawwwww!!! sott and london calling in the same thread , WONDERFUL !

2 OF THE GREATEST LP'S IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD !!!

yea i know i just lost the plot there for a minute !

A W E S O M E!

Got it?

SoSaysEye said:

I was joking you know

nummy, but overrated.

I think it can give Purple Rain a run for its money as
BEST ALBUM OF ALL TIME!

silverchild said:

I'm just needlin' ya.

This is my favorite album of all time!!! When I first purchased SOTT I have to admit it went over my head. However, over time I grew to appreciate the brilliance of the album. The songs are so damn good and the production is on point. Prince was in peak form during this period, songs like The Ballad of Dorothy P., Play In The Sunshine, Adore, If I Was Your Girlfriend, the Cross and Forever In My Life are classic entries into the Prince catalouge. Salon magazine revisited this album in their Masterpiece series about two years ago and the reviewer stated that SOTT was the last great double album and that Prince could never top it because nothing released by ANYONE since, has been on that level.
[This message was edited Sun May 16 17:50:08 2004 by DorothyParkerWasCool]

silverchild said:

I've gotta preface my answer here real quickly: You see, I was about 8 when PR came out and I loved that. Also liked ATWIAD. Didn't buy Parade, SoTT, or Lovesexy. Got back into Prince with Batman, bought, GB, D&P, and upon their release dates. But it wasn't until "The Hits/B-Sides" that I became a "fanatic."

Now, the internet was just coming up around then (I got the set in January or February of 1994), so I went and searched and found some Prince info. There were many references to SoTT being his "BEST ALBUM EVER!" so I rushed out and bought a copy.

I was completely underwhelmed. It was hard for me to believe this was the album people were raving about online.

Over time, the set has grown on me immensely. Especially IIWYG, Adore, Look, I Could Never..., and others. I'd put it in my top 5 Prince CDs, maybe even top 3, but it definitely is still not my favorite.

But what do I know?

I LOVE, LOVE LOVE this album,,,I think its his best ever!!

I love forever in my life,,,the cross,,,All of it,,its all good~~

I wish SOTT was a live album...an actual movie soundtrack, instead of the studio tracks. I prefer the live versions actually. Not that the studio versions suck or anything

cloudguitars said:

The versions of the Cross and It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night in the SOTT movie kill the versions on the album in my humble opinion.

Having said that, SOTT is by far and away the best thing Prince has ever done. I think there's a touch of filler on the second half of the first disc (Slow Love doesn't lift my skirt, so to speak), but that's inevitable when you're dealing with a double album.

It's on a par with Purple Rain and Parade as one of my favourite Prince albums.

I am a Prince fan because of Sign of the Times. In 1988, a friend of my mine showed me the SOTT movie. I found the performance of the song SOTT with its apocalyptic imagery and the whole band banging on the drums to be very powerful. I was into hard rock music for most of my teens and I just remember being really blown away by the opening number. It hooked me immediately and I ended up enjoying the rest of the movie. I then listened to the SOTT album and I remember having the same feeling I had the first time I listened to The Beatles White Album and Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti. I was just completely overwhelmed. I immediately jumped into the back catalogue and have been a fan ever since.

SOTT will always be the important one to me because it inspired me to pick up Dirty Mind, Controversy and 1999 which have become my favourites.

NewSystem said:

Very much a classic!!!