Sign "O" the Times Super Deluxe - 25th September 2020

[Golden E. Pump]

https://prince.com/article/sott

Nine discs or 14 LPs. An absolute monster release of what I consider to be the classic album. Some of the unreleased tracks on offer here like 'All My Dreams', 'Adonis & Bathsheba', 'Rebirth of the Flesh' and 'Wally' are better than some of his biggest hits. This is an absolute must-purchase for anyone who is a fan of Prince or anyone looking to become more purple. I got goosebumps when I saw this tracklist. It's expensive, but worth every penny, especially when the 120 page booklet features material from Dave Chapelle, Lenny Kravitz and Prince's 80s personal studio engineer, Susan Rogers. Oh and the DVD disc features a concert on which Miles Davis joins the band for the evening.

[Egyptian Feast]

Holy fuck. Best get saving so.

[Gulftastic]

I'm having that $160 one. All the money I saved in lockdown will be handy.

[thugler]

This, along with Lovesexy, is definitely one that needed better mixing/mastering as well. Really excited for this.

[SpiderChrist]

I simply can't afford this. Will probably get the remastered CD (coz the sound quality of the one I have is pish) and slsk the extras.

[Famous Mortimer]

I always assumed, with the sheer volume of music Prince put out, that there wouldn't be a lot left in the vaults. It's pretty impressive, if what Mr Pump is saying is true, that there's still "unheard" classics out there.

[earl_sleek]

Holy fuck. I'm trying to sort out my finances and stop buying things on tick, but fuck me, I'm getting this on tick.

[Blinder Data]

I always assumed, with the sheer volume of music Prince put out, that there wouldn't be a lot left in the vaults. It's pretty impressive, if what Mr Pump is saying is true, that there's still "unheard" classics out there.

Prince's vaults are legendary. He was notorious for producing music, music videos and all kinds of other stuff before locking it away, never to be seen. There's a video on YouTube of Kevin Smith telling a funny story about his experience of collaborating with Prince.

[Egyptian Feast]

I doubt any of the other 80s albums will get such an extravagant reissue, so although the price made me gulp, I'll be grabbing a copy. I really liked the 1979 'I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man' demo they released yesterday. I'm glad he held onto it, but it would've been a standout on Prince. Interesting to compare the conclusion to the lyric with the later version...

[JimminyJillikers]

He was still 20 when he recorded that.

£160 is a lot for 9 discs but it's probably my favourite album so I may have to get it. Still kicking myself for not getting the Darkness on the Edge of Town boxset which is OOP.

[SweetPomPoms]

It is the perfect album. I don't think the whole Miles NYE show has ever circulated, 2 live shows and the vault stuff do make it a must-have.
As much as I'm looking forward to this, I was hoping for one more Revolution vault release. Maybe they'll go back for it but Batman is the next obvious money-spinner.

[Egyptian Feast]

As much as I'm looking forward to this, I was hoping for one more Revolution vault release. Maybe they'll go back for it but Batman is the next obvious money-spinner.

I'm sure they'll do the other Revolution albums at some point. I'll pay whatever they're asking for deluxe editions of those, but the Batman extras would have to be pretty damn special to make me shell out more than the £20 I paid for the Purple Rain deluxe.

They missed a trick not including the Sign "O" The Times movie in the set, but at least it's easily available elsewhere.

[Astronaut Omens]

Question for the superfans on here who've heard loads of bootlegs- Do you reckon he made the right decision chucking Wendy and Lisa out and doing Sign of the Times by himself? Or do you reckon the original version with W&L would have been better? Just asking cos though I like SOTT, the outtake from the W&L versior that they put on The Hits compilation, Power Fantastic, is his best song, I reckon.

[Golden E. Pump]

I'm sure they'll do the other Revolution albums at some point. I'll pay whatever they're asking for deluxe editions of those, but the Batman extras would have to be pretty damn special to make me shell out more than the £20 I paid for the Purple Rain deluxe.

They missed a trick not including the Sign "O" The Times movie in the set, but at least it's easily available elsewhere.

I think it'll be Diamonds & Pearls next. Especially as it's the 30th anniversary next year.

They did not include the movie as the ownership is a legal minefield - different people own the publishing rights in different regions and getting the sign off proved too difficult ultimately.

Question for the superfans on here who've heard loads of bootlegs- Do you reckon he made the right decision chucking Wendy and Lisa out and doing Sign of the Times by himself? Or do you reckon the original version with W&L would have been better? Just asking cos though I like SOTT, the outtake from the W&L versior that they put on The Hits compilation, Power Fantastic, is his best song, I reckon.

As much as I love Wendy & Lisa, I think it was the right choice. The period just after he sacked The Revolution (1987-88) is his best era in my view. They had a great influence on him, but he pushed on to a funkier sound after that. I do wish he had worked with them again in the studio around 2003-5 when he was in his jazz period though; that would have been interesting.

Plus, the released version of 'Strange Relationship' is much better without Lisa and Wendy's original parts.

[non capisco]

I doubt any of the other 80s albums will get such an extravagant reissue, so although the price made me gulp, I'll be grabbing a copy. I really liked the 1979 'I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man' demo they released yesterday. I'm glad he held onto it, but it would've been a standout on Prince. Interesting to compare the conclusion to the lyric with the later version...

Fuck my hat, I never knew that!

Definitely works better without the "I'll sure as hell try" coda which totally goes against the theme of the song but that's a cool little curio. The long breakdown and then the surge back up to the final sprint with the keyboard riff coming back on the proper Sign 'O' The Times is one of my favourite bits of the whole Prince catalogue, as is the amazing solo, so thank heavens he held back on it. But, yeah, as you say that would have been one of the stronger tracks on 'Prince' if he'd have put it on there. It certainly would have stood out as I don't think he even did non-falsetto lead vocals on an album until 'Controversy'.

[SpiderChrist]

I was hoping for one more Revolution vault release.

I was really hoping for a Parade super deluxe meself

[Egyptian Feast]

I think it'll be Diamonds & Pearls next. Especially as it's the 30th anniversary next year.

Ahh, of course. I'm not sure I'd plump for an especially extravagant version of that. It's mostly great, but I'm not sure I need much more of it.

I was pretty pleased to find the version with the shit hologram on the cover in Poundland last year. I didn't have a CD player when it came out and I would never have had enough pocket money anyway, but I still wanted it. When I eventually picked it up it had the standard cover (which is much better anyway) and then it got nicked. At least I eventually got to fulfill my childhood dreams. They had a fucking load of them in Poundland.

I was really hoping for a Parade super deluxe meself

That's what I've been hoping for all along too.

[non capisco]

Eye fixed that edit glitch 4 u.

[Egyptian Feast]

Eye thank u.

[Golden E. Pump]

Parade will come, but I imagine we'll get D&P first just because the timing. Batman is the only 80s album I don't see being remastered, once again due to ownership issues surrounding the Batman brand. It took a lot to be able to include 'Batdance' on his most recent compilation, after its exclusion on both of his previous greatest hits collections.

I'd like to see Parade the most myself (following Sign) because they could include all of the Dream Factory sessions as well as things like The Flesh and Roadhouse Garden. It would be magnificent. Give me the movie in colour as well if we're dreaming.

I actually want the next release to be either an unreleased album, concert or a second volume of Originals. Safe to say they plan on releasing albums every year for at least decade though; there's so much material.

[kalowski]

It is the perfect album. I don't think the whole Miles NYE show has ever circulated, 2 live shows and the vault stuff do make it a must-have.

I think Miles actually only appears on the 33 minute It's Gonna be a Beautiful Night, according to http://www.princevault.com/index.php?title=31_December_1987

[Golden E. Pump]

I think he also appears on 'If I Was Your Girlfriend' but it's been years since I saw the fuzzy clip that once circulated.

[kalowski]

I think he also appears on 'If I Was Your Girlfriend' but it's been years since I saw the fuzzy clip that once circulated.

My dodgy bootleg claims he's on every track, but I don't know what he does. I think you are right about If I Was Your Girlfriend, but I've not listened to it for ages.

[Pete23]

Loads of mouth wetting info on the release here, plus some discussion of other possible releases: https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/interview/prince-archivist-michael-howe-talks-sde-through-sign-o-the-times-bonus-cuts/