Sign 'O' The Times

Huh. That wasn't what I expected. It was startlingly mediocre. Boring, even. Nothing stood out to me as particularly groundbreaking, exciting, or exceptional. I was glad to be done with it and sad to be glad. So much of Prince's catalog is phenominal. This album just doesn't have any of those songs, I guess.

Prince didn't have good albums, only few good songs.

I feel like this is prince's last truly great album. Kind of like his "songs in the key of life." His last big supernova before becoming a neutron star. Like he's trying to get everything out, throwing in the kitchen sink while he's at it (even a live track). I'm kind of a sucker for sprawling, all over the place, wooden rollercoaster type albums with all kinds of twists and turns from track to track. Love him playing different characters with different voices. Love the Linn drum sound. Love the playfulness and range of emotions. Love Prince. Listened to the super deluxe edition.

My only prior knowledge of Prince is loving the song Purple Rain but trying and failing several times to get into the album of the same name. I was quite excited when this popped up. After a couple of songs I thought there'd been some kind of mistake. The first track was ok, but the second poor. The third, Housequake, was abysmal. I checked the album on wiki to see what was going on and I'm astonished that it's cited as his best work. Really? The music sounds so dated, unlike a good chunk of other 80s stuff that survived the times. The poor drum synthasiser definitely doesn't help proceedings. Got half way through the album and had to stop. Honestly let down. Why was Prince so popular?

Better than Purple Rain? I don't think so. There are some very good songs on here, but I felt like it overstayed it's welcome. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it, but my first impression is that it's just OK.

There are a couple of stand out tracks here, but as I have found with most of Prince's stuff over the years, it all goes on a bit, much of it aimlessly. I often get the feeling that he had a ton of great ideas but was never quite sure what to do with most of them, resulting in confused albums like this.

Opnieuw een 5 sterren album. Prince heeft twee 'gelijkwaardig legendarische albums' (ik hoef niet te zeggen welke de andere is) naar mijn mening. Starfish and Coffee blijft één van mijn favoriete nummers van Prince. Daarnaast zijn er weinig nummers op dit album die niet goed zijn. 5.0

An absolute masterpiece, probably Prince's greatest record. A solo collection from the his most fertile period at the height of his powers. Funky, fresh, profane, reflective, funny, sad, profound, silly. Not really a dud track on this, probably the last of the great, true double albums. Cannot recommend too highly.

Excellent album

Look no further if you want to see why Prince is such an acclaimed icon and music star. Although not as popular as Purple Rain, and with less recognizable hits, this album is Prince at his most talented. He sings mostly in the upper register, and you can truly hear his range as a vocalist shine through. On top of that, he did a lot of the instrumentation and sampling himself and it’s just impressive to see this project done by mostly one mind. I had never heard this album before, and I couldn’t stop listening after my first time through. Partly because it was so fun, but also because this album flourishes with every new listen. The songs are jams from top to bottom, and there is legitimately not a bad song. Some songs are minimal on instrumentation with focus mostly on Prince’s lyrics, a lot of which are politically charged and focused on the end days. There are some moments this album can lose focus, and if you don’t focus enough you may have questioned what you just listened to. Nonetheless, it’s a masterpiece from one of the all time greats. Favorite Song: I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man Least Favorite: It

Sexy, soulful, and human. It has a song for many moods, all performed excellently and honestly.

Ah, Prince. An undeniably excellent songwriter, musician, and performer. And yet he is so hit-or-miss with me. Some songs are absolute bangers, and other honestly feel bothersome. Every Prince album feels like this weird mixed bag, and this one is no exception.

Got to respect artists who completely commit to their own ideas, do everything their own way. Bjork comes to mind musically but Prince probably went further than anyone with this mindset. But... This is 80% awful, cringe inducing most of the way through. Every decent moment was surrounded by terrible parts that would have been shouted down by anyone else with any creative control. The big Prince hits are decent but this album and his music in general are not for me.

I closed my eyes and thought “hell yes!” when this popped up. One of my favourite Prince albums. It begins with some of Prince’s greatest lyrics in Sign o’ The Times and ends on the highest of notes with the incredible “Adore”. The album is beautiful, sweet, sexy, wild and funky. Most of all it’s great! Honourable mention to the popping Housequake. I’ll give these low score reviewers a line for the road - shut up already, damn!

Genre: Contemporary R&B 5/5 Prince’s best album, Sign o’ the Times, is one of those musical archetypes that will be referenced for years to come. A la The White Album, Physical Graffiti, or Sandinista!, Prince’s double album is a mix of styles, flavors, and moods, but all of them combine to make a truly delicious, one-of-a-kind musical stew. In a where-do-I-start kind of way, this album has highlights up and down the tracklist, from the opening title track to Hot Thing to U Got the Look to the incredible live jam, It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night. But those not listed make up an entire body of work that even some of the best R&B artists would be happy to call an album. Prince’s songwriting, his singing and his playing, and his sexy attitude throughout the whole project are infectious, timeless, and perfectly Prince. A must listen and a must have in anyone’s musical collection.

Consistently hilarious (“shut up already, damn!”) while showing all manner of musical prowess and staying funky as hell. Both intimate and all-encompassing. Fav track: forever in my life

I won't speak on Prince, the person, because that is a can of worms... but I loved this album front to back and don't even think I can pick a favorite song because they were all excellent.

The thing I love about most Prince songs is that you get the initial groove and you get lulled into an idea of “oh yeah; I see where this is going” and then BLAM! he drops a keyboard or guitar solo on you and introduces the secondary melody and the next part of the song. And you’d think you would learn after 5-6 songs but no you don’t. It’s MF Prince and he is the (insert superlative here).

Over the years, Prince had a lot of great albums, but he also had a lot of bad ones. This was one of his best and that is saying a lot. Lots of variety and emotion makes this a must-listen.

4/5

Very 1980s production. I definitely wouldn't listen to this again

I've never really understood Prince's music, and this hasn't changed that.

In which Prince deploys his generational talent to such an extent that he makes somewhere between four and three-hundred albums in one, which is defined by two more features: the first, that most songs start as genre workout but finish as genre-defining; the second, that he plays everything, including rock god, funkmeister, a talking orgasm, silence, a besotted schoolboy, Jesus, oracle of the apocalypse, and John Lennon rewriting Norweigan Wood with Dorothy Parker in the lead role.

Genius.

he got hit with post nut clarity on forever in my life

People go crazy for Prince.... I must be missing something. This was an okay album, but most of the tracks were just that -- okay. Some of them were quite annoying, like "Hot Thing" and "It." "If I Was Your Girlfriend" felt more like a rambling meme/comedy song than a real track on the album -- and it's horrible. I'm sure more Prince albums will come up in the future, at which point I'll reevaluate. But for now, I'm somewhat unimpressed.

Oh, more Prince. Looks like this album doesn't even have any of his big hits. Not excited. Some parts of Play In The Sunshine were half decent. How does a song called Housequake come out this lame. Why does Prince sound like a cartoon sidekick? Shouldn't a ballad have, like, nice singing? I would call the police if someone sang Hot Thing at me. I'm giving up before the end. Of the thousand and one albums to listen to before I die, which are supposedly good, I can't imagine enjoying something else less. I award Prince one star and may God have mercy on his soul.

I owned a VHS copy of the Sign O' The Times concert film back in my first share house in 1991, and my flatmates and I watched it often. All of us went to see Prince at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in 1992. We were all big Prince fans, and especially those amazing 80s and early 90s albums. My VHS tape disappeared somewhere in my youthful travels, but day after Prince passed away, I went for a haircut at my barber. Bruce the Barber is a black American guy (noteworthy here in Australia) of a similar age to me. As I walked in, he was playing the Sign O' The Times concert film on the shop TV, and we watched it through together, comparing our memories of being Prince fans. It felt like a fitting memorial to remember and celebrate him at the height of his powers. This album is an absolute masterpiece, probably Prince's greatest record. A solo collection from his most fertile period at the height of his powers. Funky, fresh, profane, reflective, funny, sad, profound, silly. Ivy Nelson in Pitchfork wrote "it might be helpful to think of ... Sign o’ the Times as more of a network than an album—a small reservoir of music filled from many disparate sources. No wonder listening to it has always sort of felt like walking through the rooms of a house inside of Prince’s dream." And there is so much here; it is an encyclopedia of influences and styles, curated into a kaleidoscopic vision, varied and colorful, but surprisingly lean, with hardly an extraneous note. A brief aside on the nature of double albums: I normally do not truck with double albums (and don't even get me started on triples). I believe that, nearly universally, they should be trimmed to a succinct and more consistent quality single (this is sometimes known as The White Album Rule). But I was recently listening to Brian Dunne on the 'My Favorite Album with Jeremy Dylan' podcast (ep.451 for reference), and he made the case that he _prefers_ double albums because the space allows for experiments and weird shit that allows a whole added layer of context and artistic expression. And my immediate reaction was that this was a bullshit argument, and most doubles are still self-indulgent, poorly edited time wasting. And yet, the idea has been rattling around in the back of my mind, and the few doubles that I will concede are terrific (Electric Ladyland, Songs in the Key Of Life, and Sign O' The Times) are all great for exactly that reason. The experiments, blind alleys, and weird shit make this a rich and extraordinary album. I mean, a single album would never have space for a 9 minute live funk workout like 'It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night'. After an hour of solo studio virtuosity, he caps the album with demonstrable proof that he was the baddest bandleader of the funkiest band alive. And seeing him tear the roof off the Entertainment Centre in 92, I can personally attest that he was, indeed, the baddest. his output at this time was extraordinary. One of my favourite Prince tracks is the 10 minute version of 'La, La, La, He, He, Hee' on the b-side of the 'Sign O' The Times' 12" single. It's starts out as a minimal drum machine groove, but grows and builds into a full-band jazz-funk freakout by the end. It's amazing! And he relegated it to a goddamn b-side! Sign O' The Times is probably the last of the great, true double albums. IF you only listen to one Prince album, this is the one.

Prince is one of those artists I’ve always wanted to like more than I actually do. For whatever reason, his music just never hits me the same way it seems to hit other people. Like most of his albums, this one felt pretty middle of the road to me, there’s definitely some strong elements scattered throughout, but overall, it didn’t leave much of an impact. It’s not bad by any means, just not something I find myself connecting with the way others seem to.

I have a lot of respect for prince and his earlier albums are very good but this kinda sucked. It’s just distilled 80s electronic sounds with Prince’s (excellent) voices behind it. The songs are generic and it goes on forever. Really disappointing for what is supposed to be his best work.

Prince really doesn't do it for me. I don't get it at all

Definitely not my favorite Prince album. The quality of songs seems wildly inconsistent and it feels like the album was rushed. So, I'm a bit surprised that this album is a fan favorite. "Your face is jammin', your body's hecka slammin, if love is good, let's get to rammin" LMAO

Arguably the best album on this list

The sheer breadth he covers on this album is impressive, but it’s all so Prince. This earns its hefty length unlike many other double albums out there. Very few artists can make a song as good as The Cross. Sad this is the last Prince album I get to review for the list.

People are generally split 50/50 on Prince's greatest work. I fall squarely in this camp. Whereas Purple Rain is a contained, all killer mainstream dream, Sign O' the Times bends the bounds of genre. It's musically inventive, daring, and still a really fucking good time. Its track after track of jaw-dropping virtuosity that cemented him as a peerless composer, especially when you consider a fair number of tracks were spit out at an alarming speed. It may not have his catchiest lyrics, but if that's what you're looking for, go buy a greatest hits album. I'd also argue he rivals Michael as a performer here with how incredible his work in the upper register. Also, it feels almost ancillary given how amazing the music is, but it should be mentioned this album is easily Prince's most successful attempt at being political. It's not complicated, but it never needs to be. The album showcases that his strongest political statements were made via stories of existence and survival, not straight recitations of political statements (I'm lookin at you Welcome 2 America). Androgyny was certainly not a foreign concept in rock/pop, but Prince truly played jump rope with the gender binary, especially on this album. The scrapped Camille tracks offer an interesting dimension to the album and push the boundaries of a gender binary. Prince historically matched the likes of Bowie, but Camille upped the ante. The coolest rockstar artificially pushed his already-falsetto delivery to replicate as much femineity as possible. I'm glad that Third Man Records is planning a release of the remaining recordings, but we are lucky Prince already decided to give us a taste of his alter ego. In short, I can't heap enough praise on this album. A tour de force that perfectly summarizes Prince as an individual. Funny, profane, horny, audacious, and singular. Game, blouses. Rating: 10/10 Favorite Song: Sign O' the Times /If I was Your Girlfriend/Slow Love/ Hot Thing

9.5/10 God he’s good. I still enjoy purple rain better but Jesus he’s in the lab on this one. Favorite Song: adore

Double albums don’t usually hit the mark for me. This one is an exception. Excellent album. Love it from beginning to end. 5/5.

The genius of Prince is that he makes his masterpieces seem effortless. The man was operating on a plane several levels above his contemporaries. I don't *like* every song on this album but that doesn't stop me from recognizing the brilliance. Everyone should listen to this. In addition to classic Prince sound, this album even offers up "conventional rock" with "The Cross."

Started slowly, but really really grew on me. An amazing album in a lot of ways that I don’t quite know how to explain. There is no single. The album feels stronger as a whole rather than on the weight of its best singles.

people often consider prince's 1987 sign o' the times as his first political statement. but the real ones recognize that prince always created political songs; maybe not always as his singles, but don't forget "1999" was absolutely a political song. that being said, i feel this album contains more overt political and social commentary than he had done before. by overt i mean it slaps you in the face. the title song questions how our society runs. we go through many scenarios throughout the song, but the first two lines cover the AIDS epidemic but prince purposefully does not link it with the gay community, unheard of in 1987. after that, we cover the national drug problem, natural disasters, the challenger disaster, the cold war/nuclear arms race. as the lead off track, this song was deliberately used by prince to make a statement. to provide some balance, the following song is "play in the sunshine" to remind listeners to enjoy life despite any hardships. "housequake" doesn't have the credibility it deserves, in my opinion. this song announces a style of music, funk, but prince wants the tempo to be "harder than they did in '66" and "faster than they did in '67," referencing political riots that happened in those respective years. prince was great at the songwriting craft, tying jamming to music and a riot together. protests and music go very well together. "starfish and coffee" doesn't contain a strong statement like other songs do, but it's notable for other reasons. this song details a young classmate of prince's then girlfriend, cynthia rose, who had a vivid imagination. the talk now suggests that cynthia rose may have been autistic, but regardless, the sweet song encourages acceptance and love above all. an artist like prince could be arguably considered as dressing and presenting in a non-binary fashion, or at least toying with the boundaries of gender. "if i was your girlfriend" has prince imagining a world where he is considered someone's girlfriend--a real romantic girlfriend, not a platonic one. prince alternates between a more feminine and masculine voice as he sings this song. sometimes he's more hesitant, sometimes more confident. his song "the cross" combines his belief in god and the social issues he sees. while the world is difficult, he reminds the listener "don't cry, he is coming, don't die without knowing the cross." prince, always ahead of his time, references gentrification ("ghettos to the left of us, flowers to the right"). regardless, prince always treated his fans right. many songs on this double album are his typical speed of love, sex, or religion. "it" references sex, surprising exactly no one, but hey, we can still appreciate prince pretending to be coy. we love prince at his sexiest. and i'd be remiss not to mention the witty lyrics of "strange relationship," especially his opening lines. the sound production on this album stands out, too. multiple songs on this album or parts of the songs were initially recorded incorrectly but prince wanted the distortion to remain. susan rogers was prince's engineer for this album, but even the best sound engineer can get glitches with initial takes due to the equipment or materials. among these "errors" are the opening distorted wedding march in "if i was your girlfriend" but also the entirety of the song, all of "the ballad of dorothy parker," among others. anyway, while i refer to these as errors, these songs became memorable for those reasons! maybe i should've led this review with announcing i'm a big prince fan? i listened to this album in full for the first time in some time and was pleasantly reminded what a solid album this is. i initially suspected maybe i'd land on a 4.5, but this is a full-fledged 5 stars.

Top class

Masterpiece - The Times A great piece of art - Rolling Stone 1000/10

Am a latecomer to Prince but really enjoyed this album!

Fantastic album, really liked it a lot! Prince is an absolute genius.

hot thing!!

I forgot how good this album is!

2nd fav after ATWIAD

Spotify wont let me hear the entire thing still diggin it tho

A classic. One of the best

A belter of an album. Thoroughly enjoyed.

I had high hopes for this record, and several of the songs met or exceeded those expectations, but, ultimately, not even Prince can redeem the double album as a format for me. (…but I did like how he was like “Drummer, do your thing!” on the second track and it was immediately followed by drum machine fills.)

quite eccentric, sometimes interesting, occasionally possibly memorable i think i dont get it

less good than I thought it was going to be

Hmmm. I think it’s a real mixed bag. I bet if this album was shortened it’d be much better. Some songs are great, some are boring and skippable. The lack of the Revolution is pretty clear, there are no real bangers on this

Prince is really hit or miss for me. I love Purple Rain, but I really don’t see why Sign o’ the Times is his other album which is incredibly well regarded. Perhaps it’s because of the absence of The Revolution, but I don’t find Prince as interesting with a stripped bare-bones instrumental backing. The title track is good and there are some other solid songs on the album, but overall it’s not really my cup of tea. I was actually considering rating this album a 2 or even a 1 until “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man”, which is an all-time great Prince song that I totally forgot about.

The album while being a polished and well-produced Prince album failed to have the iconic songs or highs of other efforts.

“Sign ‘O’ the Times” by Prince (1987) At the time of Prince’s tragic and untimely death in 2016, I observed to a friend that I had never heard a song by Prince. He insisted I listen to the song “Purple Rain“, so I did, and I thought it was good, but not great. That’s the extent of my exposure to this great artist. Upon listening to this album (or at least the 10 out of 16 tracks that Spotify would allow me to access), I can say some positive things about Prince. He has a good voice, if lacking in power. Pitch problems on “The Cross“. Wonderful R&B stylings on “Adore”. He is reputed to be a great guitarist, but the only solid demonstration of his guitar work on this album is on the track “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man”, and it’s good, but not great. Acoustic on “The Cross” is out of tune. Drum machine is annoying. It’s more than ironic that he has a photo on the album cover that includes an elaborate drum kit. The best song on the album is the final track, “Adore”. Really nice. Also, and probably not coincidentally, it seems to be the most collaborative song in this collection There’s a lot of mystery about this guy. 3/5

Sign ‘O’ the Times by Prince is, for me, the definition of an average album. I was expecting so much more—perhaps Prince is more of a singles artist than an album one. When I first saw it was a double album, I was excited: plenty of material to help me really get into Prince, and by his ninth studio album he should have been at the peak of his powers. Unfortunately, it didn’t land that way. The record feels uneven and often underwhelming, with only the odd highlight shining through. I will not be listening to this again. Favourite track: Slow love was OK. Least favourite track: Starfish and Coffee felt especially weak but in reality there are a lot of songs that do not stand out and blend into 1. Album artwork: A brilliant, iconic cover—probably the best thing about the album for me.

Almost 700 in and this is the first Prince record I got. He left a very big mark on 80s pop music. He was a great innovator and very prolific, so it surprises me it took this long. He was unhappy with his record company because they didn't want to release everything he recorded. I think they were very generous allowing this album to be as long as it is. The man is obviously very musical. However, we have very different taste in music. Favorite song: strange relationship

Not a patch on Purple Rain.

This is just horrible.

I went into this double album expecting some filler—after all, it's a sprawling 16-track set—but was pleasantly surprised to find that every track holds its own. The title track is a stone-cold classic, setting the tone with its stark social commentary and minimalist groove. U Got The Look, featuring Sheena Easton, is an infectious blast of pop-funk energy that’s impossible not to love. What really impressed me was the consistency—there wasn’t a single track I felt like skipping. Prince’s versatility and creativity shine throughout, making this not just a great double album, but one of his finest works.

Another almost beyond criticism album. And by a musician who transcended his instruments. It’s as if this could be a worthwhile project. 5

It’s just got to be five stars because If I Was Your Girlfriend is just too good. Especially when you’re laying in the sun in peak fall park subtly moving your hips and nodding your head and thinking life is pretty damn cool

Honestly this album is kind of all over the place but I just love everything about who Prince was and his energy in the universe and I would give this 5 stars just for starfish and coffee

Reading up on the origins of this album and all its incredible songs, it's unbelievable that so many different projects could come together in this and not be a total mess. Instead, it's just an explosion of ideas and creativity. It's relentless and energetic. Although some of the production is very 80's, it's still fresh and danceable and even weird in some places. By weird I mean unpredictable, especially in its pitch-shifted vocals and background additions and shifting styles song to song. It's really a masterpiece in both content and execution. This has convinced me that Prince is indeed the GOAT multi-instrumentalist. The fact that he worked so quickly means that he could hear the music in his head and his immense talent allowed him lay it down exactly how he wanted without needing to convey it to a band. It effectively seems like he could constantly stay a step ahead of everyone else and experiment along the way and pour out his creativity upon the tape. I doubt there will ever be anyone like him, surely not as great as him. This is a clear 5/5. It's a behemoth double album, but doesn't feel that long. A reviewer described it as Prince's "White Album" but it's better than that.

Double albums are kinda fascinating, right? There are a ton of things that apply to most double albums throughout music history. They're obviously on the longer side, they tend to be among the more experimental albums in the artist's discography, and they often represent the point where the artist feels that they can do whatever they want musically because of the success they've achieved up to that point. However, they also tend to be a bit sloppy. You'd have to be an artist or band who really knows what you're doing to make a double album work in your favor, and if there's any artist whose ego is already high enough to make a crazy-ass double album work in their favor, it may just be Prince. Of course, Sign O' The Times was not Prince's first double album. 1999 had released even before Prince achieved legend status with Purple Rain, but Sign O' The Times is not only a better representation of what double albums often are, but is also just a better album, at least in my opinion. Sign O' The Times is such a cool album. There are so many interesting things happening with this album and I love it. This is one of those rare instances where I don't think the double album has a single bad song. Even the most acclaimed double albums of all time have a weak song or 2. Somehow, Sign O' The Times doesn't have a "Revolution 9" or a "Jamaica Jerk-Off." This thing is all killer, no filler. Despite being 10 minutes longer, I feel like this album's pacing is actually better than that of 1999. To me, 1999 started out on its best songs before fizzling out a bit by the end. Additionally, there were multiple songs on that album that just kind of went on for too long. Sign O' The Times? The great songs are spread throughout the album and the vast majority of songs hover around the 4 to 5 minute mark, which is much more doable. Speaking of songs, boy does this album have some great ones! The title track is such a good opener. It's a very different opener from the more energetic openers of past Prince albums. I really love the production on "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker," which is funny because the song sounds how it does by complete accident! "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man" is super fun. "Adore" is a very nice closer that feels more like a 90s pop song than an 80s pop song. I could go on and on about these songs. Prince's musicianship is especially impressive on this album since he doesn't have the Revolution backing him up anymore. Most of this album is his own work, which is incredible. Prince's songwriting is at the top of its game here as well. You've got some solid variety while still keeping a sense of cohesion. In fact, the cohesion of this album is incredible by double album standards. Is Sign O' The Times better than Purple Rain? No. There's a reason why Purple Rain is the album that's hailed as Prince's masterpiece. But there's also a reason why Sign O' The Times is often put in second place. While I can't call this Prince's best album myself, I can see why many people do. This album is full of so many cool ideas that, for the most part, all work in the album's favor. It's an incredible showing of the insane talent that Prince showed at his creative peak and is, dare I say, a masterpiece in its own right. 5/5.

Wahnsinn! Das Album beginnt beim Sonnenaufgang, geht über in die frühen 90er, Gameboy und endet mit ner Lagerfeuer-Fete. Super abwechslungsreich. War zuerst überlegen, ob 3 oder 4. Aber es wurde hinten heraus immer besser. Das beste Album seit langem 5/5

YES! Habe dieses Meisterwerk letztes Jahr für mich entdeckt. Das Magnum Opus von Prince. Super abwechslungsreich. Aktuell Platz 6 meiner Lieblingsalben ever.

I opened up a sealed first pressing of this and that annoyed the guy I bought it from.

Some of the sexy stuff is kind of off putting in my opinion, but that's really the only flaw in the whole thing. Probably a VERY HIGH 4, but might as well round up 0.001

Fantastic album. Prince at his best.

Prince's masterpiece, simple as that. Thankful to listen to this for the first time. I can see how this is very much a bridgeway from 80s-90s R&B + Pop.

Classic funk and groove from Prince

The perfect double album, arranged, performed and produced to the nines!

As a Minnesotan, I feel immense pride every time I listen to Prince. And this is some of my favorite Prince I've heard so far

This made me realize that I haven't listened to much of Prince's music outside of Purple Rain and the music he did for Batman. Which is a failure on my part because this was amazing and dare I say... better than Purple Rain??

Prince is better than John Mayer. 5 stars

Ah, what a great album. It automatically gets a high rating for having my favorite song by the man, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man. The songs are all very well composed and played, with some seeming like Prince is just showing off how damn good he is. It's good, then, that he's REALLY good.

The best album of the 1980s and the last great album Prince recorded. I once broke a toe dancing barefoot to Housequake. It's that good.

Seen prince in Edinburgh love him so he’s getting a 5

In my top 5 albums of all time

Great solo effort by Prince! IMO, the last great Prince record.

Prince is the king. I don’t care that this is over an hour, no space is wasted. Amazing and funky and sexy and clever and FUN!

Amazing!

This is Prince's best album hands down. Just an amazing, genre hopping album of great songs with lots of his fantastic guitar playing interspersed throughout. Psychedelic rock ("Play in the Sunshine"), sweaty funk ("Hot Thing"), smooth R & B ("Slow Love"), an impassioned gospel song ("The Cross"), and topical commentary (title track). And so many more bangers. My college roommate was a HUGE Prince fan and this album was one of the very few that we agreed on as being one of the best albums of the 80's.

o álbum me surpreendeu bastante, ele me trouxe uma sensação boa, não sei explicar. Adorei o jeito que o álbum mistura o punk, rock e até um pouco de jazz.

This album demonstrates the limitless powers and talents of Prince. It has a little bit o' everything - Politics, funk, jazz, psychedelics, soul, rock & roll, and of course, sex. A true masterpiece.

oh wow…. OH WOW… i waited too long to listen to this one 4.5

BANGERS

Unique, funky sound

Rating: 10/10 Possibly my favorite pop album of all time, even though it's so much more than that. What an eclectic mix of genres and styles that culminate to make Prince's masterpiece. Even at its length, it does not overstay its welcome one bit.

Divo

Prince at the peak of his powers. He wanted a triple album but comprised on a double. Filled with absolute gems.

The greatest rockstar of all time’s greatest album.

Favorites: Sign 'O' The Times Play in the Sunshine Starfish and Coffee Slow Love If I Was Your Girlfriend Strange Relationship I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man Adore Rock and roll. R&B. Vocal chops and guitar riffs. Incredible all 'round. Very listenable album if you wanted to put it on repeat.

incredible and its two fucking discs so its an hour and 20 minutes but all of it hits

Wow. Probably my favourite of the later Prince albums. It's where it all comes together for me. Still gets a regular play around here.

It feels like a diary written by someone who’s way cooler than me but somehow still relatable.

Great classic Prince. First time listening to a full album by him.