Sign "O" The Times (studio album)
by Prince

Shortlisted for album of the year at the Grammys in 1988. The winner was The Joshua Tree by U2

A Genius at work, his music is sublime!

"Prince's ambitious double album 'Sign 'O' The Times' is an eclectic mix of genius and experimentation. While it showcases Prince's unparalleled ability to blend genres—from funk to rock to soul and beyond—some tracks feel more like creative experiments than fully realized songs. The album's standouts, like the eponymous track and 'If I Was Your Girlfriend,' are undeniable classics, capturing Prince at his most introspective and innovative. However, the album's length and diversity, though impressive, can be overwhelming, leading to a somewhat disjointed listening experience.

The way Prince tackles different genres is extremely impressive on this release. He sounds just as comfortable in R&B as he does in Soul and funk and he does a great job in fusing the three whilst maintaining his pop style as well. However, this is a long record and it does drag especially with the elongated conclusions to his songs like on Hot Thing. In my opinion, there isn't a double album worth of content on here with there being a lot of filler and slower moments. Despite this, the opening track is fantastic along with Starfish And Coffee and a few others that elevate this album significantly. Overall, this isn't my favourite Prince record and he does have better releases that are much more consistent and cohesive for me.

Impressive album, but I'm not as crazy about it as Purple Rain. I feel that it has a lot of bangers, but could have been shorter, because there are some weak ones too. I really like genre fusion that he does here it makes the album more entertaining.

This album is just the best album of the 80s maybe even of all time it's so expansive, prince hits new heights with this album.

A mild personal dilemma, as I listen to this record.

On the one hand, I don’t like double albums and there’s not two albums worth of great songs.

On the other hand, Prince is so comfortable in so many different musical genres, that he almost needs all 16 songs to cover all that he’s capable of. Said differently, not every song is very good, but none of the songs drag.

Album Rating: 80.44
(1,287/16)

1. "Sign o' the Times" 4:57 - 91
2. "Play in the Sunshine" 5:06 - 80
3. "Housequake" 4:40 - 71
4. "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" 4:03 - 81
5. "It" 5:10 - 84
6. "Starfish and Coffee" Prince, Susannah Melvoin 2:50 - 78
7. "Slow Love" Prince, Carole Davis 4:22 - 80
8. "Hot Thing" 5:39 - 70
9. "Forever in My Life" 3:32 - 71

Total length: 40:19

CD 2 / LP 2:

1. "U Got the Look" 3:46 - 90
2. "If I Was Your Girlfriend" 5:04 - 79
3. "Strange Relationship" 4:01 - 84
4. "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" 6:29 - 88
5. "The Cross" 4:49 - 85
6. "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" Prince, Matt Fink, Eric Leeds 9:02 - 71
7. "Adore" - 84

From buzzdainer 10/16/2021 16:46 | #275096

It's hard to overstate what a towering creative achievement Sign "O" The Times is. As much as I enjoy Purple Rain, and even though I have it ranked higher, in some ways this might be the better album. It never comes close to settling into complacency or formula, and because Prince was already a megastar when the album was made, he really had nothing to prove in order to garner attention or success. "Starfish and Coffee," Prince's profile of an odd elementary school classmate, is both great storytelling and exceptional melody making, and although few would consider it among Prince's signature songs, it's the highlight of this terrific album as far as I'm concerned.

My Favorite Album by Prince, he becomes a genius here

Psychedelic pop, Soul, Rock, R&B, funk and Avant Pop

All genres delivered perfectly

Masterpiece