Prince croons Irresistible Bitch without the falsetto. The extended. Prince-Official Store $249.98 +$23.82 tax +$7.49 shipping. SIGN O' THE TIMES. Dream Factory Remastered. And interesting to note the differences in the tracks here and as they were released on 'Sign'. Seems like someone in the Prince camp should start a series similar to Dylan's Bootleg Series to issue important works such as this? I would love to hear this stuff given the serious treatment. SIGN O' THE TIMES.ogg.
Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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 liberated, 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.
Prince / Sign ‘O’ the Times / 2009 Japanese mini-LP CD
Remembering Prince again today, by taking another look at this 2009 Japanese mini-LP CD of his 1987 album Sign O’ The Times (cat number WPCR-13538/9). It displays the usual stunning attention to detail that Japanese have become known for, in terms of CD packaging and presentation…
All the elements of the original vinyl are replicated, including the sticker that adorned the front cover. The postcard that you could send off to join the Prince ‘Fan Club’ (cue nostalgia for the simpler times of life pre-internet…) is also included and shrunk down, Mike Teavee-style.
All the elements of the original vinyl are replicated, including the sticker that adorned the front cover. The postcard that you could send off to join the Prince ‘Fan Club’ (cue nostalgia for the simpler times of life pre-internet…) is also included and shrunk down, Mike Teavee-style.
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A 28-page booklet provides the lyrics in English and Japanese, or, if you get your magnifying glass out, you can read the original lyrics which appear on one side of both of the supplied inner sleeves (peach-on-black and black-on-peach, respectively).
Despite being a double album, the original vinyl of Sign O’ The Times wasn’t a gatefold, so the card sleeve here doesn’t try to rewrite history and sticks to a nicely reproduced glossy wide-spined sleeve. No trouble getting the two SHM-CDs in and out.
Like all of Prince’s output, Sign O’ The Times has never been reissued as a deluxe edition. The album was on our 2012 reissue ‘wish list’ way back in December 2011, but unfortunately a 25th anniversary reissue never happened. Until then, this edition of the album is by far the best way to own it on CD.
If you scout around, you will find that some of these Prince Japanese mini-LP CDs are still available but they can be pricey, particularly this one and Parade.