Sign 'O' The Times

(62/100)

A pretty safe album - gorgeous voice of course (see Adore). None of the tracks are particularly standout

A long album with only one hit song. It’s not bad, but it’s not very good. Favourite: Sign o’ The Times

Feels like heresy but I really didn’t think this was amazing.. as good as Prince is across the board, this was just a bit too much for me today. And maybe that’s just it - on another day I would appreciate this for what it is/could be and rate it higher. Overall 2.75/5 today

I'm always impressed by the sheer breadth of what Prince was able to do pretty much all on his own, and this album feels like a culmination of it all. There's the funk he made his name on, some of the hard rock that we all knew he was capable of, and the psychedelia he got interested in after Purple Rain. Unfortunately, the songs just aren't as memorable as they were on his previous albums. I could see this one being a big grower some day if I could get past the 80 minute runtime, but as of right now it's easily my least favorite of his albums that I've heard.

I don't know, I am not really a Prince person, but the album was alright for leaving in the background while doing other things. This is a fairly old one, so I assume it would've been pretty cool back in the day.

Disc 1: As a Minnesotan I feel guilty that this cocktail on disc 1 just doesn’t work for me. Most of the tracks remind me of Saturday morning cartoon themes, but if cocaine was in the breakfast cereal (not derogatory). 30 seconds of every song are heavenly, and I can see how the “what the fuck is going on” vibe could be fun at a concert. At worst some of the tracks remind me of the “RZA unironically cooks up a trash beat” (derogatory). Disc 2: Melodies slap harder on this disk. Much more intelligible and focused on this side. ‘It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night’ is fucking awesome. I might need to dig for the best Prince live album to find what I’m looking for from him. Disc 1 is a 2, disc 2 is a 4, so 3 overall.

the first 4 tracks are awfull and boring as shit. Starfish and coffee was the first really good sounding track on the album for me, from now on the album turns listenable, but its not an absolute masterpiece at all. i really thank god and the universe that the artificial drumming is no longer a trending, i really hate that shitty artificial sound of some 80s albums. Its a 3 stars for me

Sadly, I just don't really get the appeal of Prince. Sign o the Times is certainly one of his better albums that I've heard but it still doesn't rise above "sure, that was fine" territory for me. The only album of his I've ever actually liked is Purple Rain and yet I've never been able to explain why his music doesn't hit for me. He's certainly astonishingly talented as a musician and a prolific composer but his songs still rarely do it for me.

Amazing musician. Too much Prince for a double album

Nice. Storytime op school quootten een vriend en ik altijd ironisch "zeester met koffie" van een belgische hertaling. In theorie wist ik dat dat een nummer van Prince was, maar hij pakte me toch ff. "We waren allemaal heel gewoon, behalve cynthia roos. Het ging niet om haar gekke naam, maar om haar boterhammendoos" frfr🙏🙏

oke heb gister al m'n zegje gedaan! maar hij is natuurlijk wel goed enzo!

Preferred the second disc

The music in the background was good, but I didn't really like the singer

Not really for me, but inoffensive enough to be on the fine side of meh.

Prolix

Never was a Prince fan. I see the talent, but just not my cup. Wish he hadn’t offed himself. Such a waste.

Very well produced, some sick ass sax solos in there. Really didn’t speak to me.

muy variado en generos y temas, no me encanta igual

Having never heard this I expected something excellent. Instead I got something just ok and very long

The track ‘Sign O’ The Times’ is such a great track and is difficult to better as an album opener. However, my underlying issue with most Prince albums are the tracks that go too far across the line and are just loose jams. Enjoyable yes, but i dont need an album stacked with them. Toward the end of ‘Play in the Sunshine’ the drums make me expect Bono to start singing’Sunday Bloody Sunday’ After this we enter the aforementioned jam tracks. It all feels like he needed someone to rein in the genius a bit and provide some more focus to it all.

Not my favourite Prince album my any means (I still have that to look forward to), but obviously this is very polished. I’ve just never understood the fuss about it overall. The title track feels very stripped back, relative to the rest of the album, which allows the lyrics to shine and do exactly what it says on the tin - offering a blistering commentary of the state of the world in the mid-to-late 80s, covering AIDS to nuclear war. Generally speaking, the remainder of the tracks do nothing for me - the exception being “U Got the Look”. I’ve never understood how it came to be that Sheena Easton duets on the track - but it works, and I’ve always loved its catchiness. It, and the title track, are by far the two standouts. I don’t really mind the “Camille” section either - “If I Was Your Girlfriend”, particularly. But, aside from the mentioned tracks, this album is largely a let down for me.

it's fine. If this was put out by some random Britpop group or a random person in the 80s, this would easily be sub-3. But it's Prince so reviewers have inflated the rating.

Not Prince's best work. Nothing will beat Purple Rain for me

Prince is good. He has attitude and charisma bursting out the seams, he has musical talent also bursting out the same seams, I don’t know how he keeps his clothes on with all this overflowing talent. Maybe that explains the assless chaps. Sadly, however, I don’t really love the music itself - maybe it’s just not my genre, maybe I just wasn’t of that generation, but either way, it just doesn’t land for me. I think 3 stars is fair, considering all that.

i have the utmost respect for prince and there was def a song or two that was added to a playlist from this album, I am just generally not a fan of the 80s sound. I respect it a lot cause i understand its significance, but to me it really feels like it’s peak feeling is a “you had to be there” type of thing

Minus points for being a bit overstuffed and having some pretty dated production, but I still enjoyed this more than I expected to. I've never been a huge Prince appreciator, but he was obviously quite talented, and he was trying some stuff here.

Of course I know who Prince is. I have 21 songs already liked by him on Spotify. 9 of those are from Purple Rain - which makes it a perfect album for me. Then some from 1999, Around the World in A Day and Parade. And I have 2 songs already liked on this one - "Sign of the Times" and "The Cross". After listening 3 times ... I had to look up what "Starfish and Coffee" was about. The backstory is really sweet. The groove in "Hot Thing" is great. The extended guitar jam part of "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" (starting around 4.5 minutes in) makes up for the cheesy 80s synths sounds in the rest of the song. "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night" - good funky jam. Recording this live was a good idea - it captures the spirit of it really well. Funny that he uses the "Oh Oh, Oh We Oh, Ohhh" - which I believe comes from the Wizard of Oz - it's what the wicked witch's army men sing when they are marching - haha. Also - the speedy rapping part is different for Prince. "Forever In My Life" - great love song I ended up liking 8 "new to me" songs - which includes the 5 mentioned above plus "It", "Slow Love", and "Adore" I forgot how good "The Cross" is. I'm not even religious, but the song has a great vibe - music and vocals. I love how it starts quiet and brooding and then ramps up - starting at the end of the 2nd verse when the drum beat kicks in and then slowly expands and speeds up into an all out jam after the 4th verse (around 2:26). This is the best song on this album. "Sign of the Times" is a very close 2nd. I find the voice he uses in "Housequake", "U Got the Look", "If I Was Your Girlfriend" to be way too annoying. It's wild reading the Wikipedia article. Prince played practically everything on here - with a few extra people playing specific things on specific songs. This guy was gifted for sure. I definitely hear influences on this such as James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and even The Beatles. Liking 10 songs on a single album would usually mean it's a perfect album - but since it's a double album there are too many clunkers mixed in. This album reinforced my general opinion that most (not all) double albums have too many less good songs alongside some great stuff. I think this fact actually turned me off from this album back in the day - the songs I didn't like distracted me from the actual good stuff. But - I'm glad this project got me to re-listen to this all the way through several times - I found a lot of new to me songs. Good job Prince! Liked songs on Spotify: 10/16 Rating: 3/5

I've never really listened to Prince, despite knowing lots of people love his music. This is funky and fun, but did sound like was mixed in the 80s. I'd probably enjoy it more with a heavier focus on the instruments.

Except for 1999, almost every Prince double album needed a 15% haircut, but no one wanted to tell Prince that. Most of this is pretty good though.

I like a few of Princes albums, but this is not one of them. It's pretty middle of the road

Okay.

Again some nice tunes

I thought this was pretty good. Way ahead of its time. I hear hip hop influence and some indications of what came as far as the 2010s with the genre, as well as the R&B sound of those like Frank Ocean. There were some stinkers for sure, but overall a good listen.

Sympa en fond, trop homogène pour moi, j’écouterais pas pour le kiff dans les ecouteurs

I thought this was a pretty good R&B album, but it's not my favorite Prince album. There were a few good songs, but there was also a decent amount of filler. It probably won't be my go to when I want to fire up some Prince.

I was never that much into Prince and giving this the time of day was maybe a confirmation of boundless talent and a knack for showing it off while simultaneously making music that's broadly uninteresting. It's weird to have songs that are clearly crafted and at the same time not finding much joy in them.

There's some decent songs on here but far far too long. He also tries some novel stuff and half of it doesnt work out.

I was expecting more...

I heard nothing here to make me think Prince is the musical genius others claim him to be.

I’m glad this came up because I never got into Prince, although people I knew well were big fans. But maybe it was a train you needed to get on in real time, because although I listened diligently it really doesn’t do anything for me. The drum machine base of many of the songs probably doesn’t help - an innovation of its time that sounds quite dated now.

Did not like this as much as I thought I would

Prince has range. I don’t think I’d ever really listened to any of his discography. Only listened to side a, some songs I liked and some I would not choose to seek out again

it's not bad, but maybe hard to get into. big chaos energy. like with rem, lacking context for what world this album landed it changes things a bit.

Alright

Prince can't seemingly make an entirely cohesive album. He gives you a good song or two and then makes the rest medicore

Third Prince album for me, and I could just cut and paste my notes on "1999". This is another, what I call, kitsch-pop album. I wouldn't call it funky, because I'm missing those driving bass lines and syncopated drums. In fact the drums (or whatever machine the beats come out of) are what really bother me. Book-tchack boom-tchack boom-tchack, pfff, booo-ring... There are a few great songs though. I love Sign O' The Times. The Cross I like musically but not the preaching. Starfish and Coffee is fine. But there is, again, a lot of filler. I guess I'm just not a Prince man, don't get a lot of his music, don't get the whole "sex" aura surrounding him. A three star, for the few good songs, and his talent.

Lo intentaré en un futuro.

This album won a Grammy, who knew. I didn't like every song but liked most of them. I look forward to hearing more Prince albums on this site.

Pretty good but not nearly his best. Love the atmosphere and production

I was expecting a banger, but honestly I wasn't that impressed by this album. Sorry, Prince.

Cute

pretty good album, did enjoy it. Didn't have any huge hits for me.

I only knew 2 of the songs, but I liked listening to all of the others because … Prince!!

It would be a 5 star album if it was just Sign ‘O’ The Times for every track

tranquilo

It's Prince. It's good.

I love Prince's voice and he always puts his entire soul into his performances. This album just... fell flat. Not a single standout song.

180 albums in and I finally get my first Prince album and an interesting one at that. Even though this album is more stripped down instrumentally than other albums I'm impressed that Prince manages to make a drum machine groove harder than most human drummers. I think that just speaks to his talent as a musician. However, even though I think there are some bright spots on the album, this album feels more like a collection of songs rather than a cohesive album. At the end of the day while I enjoy the different styles that Prince showcases the album shows, once again, just how hard it is to make a good double album. 3/5

Disc 1 - 3/5 Sign O'The Times - 3.5/5 Play In The Sunshine - 4.5/5 Housequake - 4/5 The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker - 3/5 It - 2.5/5 Starfish And Coffee - 4/5 Slow Love - 3/5 Hot Thing - 2.5/5 Forever In My Life - 3/5 Disc 2 - 3/5 U Got The Look - 3.5/5 If I Was You Girlfriend - 3/5 Strange Relationship - 3/5 I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man - 3.5/5 The Cross - 4/5 It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night - 4/5 Adore - 2.5/5

Bon, honnêtement, album incroyablement mid. Je m'abstiens tout de même de parler de déception étant donné le peu d'attentes que j'avais placé dans le projet, mais lire à son sujet qu'il est "l'apogée" de la carrière de Prince, ça place d'hors et déjà un cadre assez exigeant. Pour ma part, j'ai trouvé que l'album avait tout de même quelques points forts, notamment dans la variété de sonorités, alternant entre New-Wave sur des morceaux comme "Housequake", avec des passages plus calmes comme sur "The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker" ou "The Cross" avec un travail sur l'ambiance et la guitare acoustique. A l'opposé, on retrouve des morceaux comme "Play in Sunshine" ou "U got the Look", bien plus énergique, avec des morceaux de guitare électrique beaucoup plus denses. L'album possède donc un plutôt large panelle de sonorités radicalement différentes entre elles. Néanmoins, ce choix artistique a une répercussion à mon sens très conséquente sur le projet, le rendant très hétérogène et composé de sons hétéroclites, en plus d'un très mauvais sequencing, rendant le tout au final assez brouillon, comme un amas de différentes inspirations allant de Phil Collins à Eddie Van Halen. De plus, je trouve que certains éléments récurrents dans l'album lui donnent une ambiance complètement dépassée notamment le coté "électro" de certains titres comme "Sign O' Time", "Housequake" ou "It" qui donne au projet un coté extrêmement dépassé et vieillie. En résumé l'album n'est pas mauvais, mais vraiment pas très marquant, assez dépassé, à mon sens beaucoup trop long, et oh mon dieu bordel de merde la page Wikipédia de l'album est l'une des pires que j'ai lu de toute ma vie, l'écriture était incompréhensible.

its my least favourite prince album cuz its so long and inconsistent and i dont like the way every song quite sound the same not gonna lie great project still

This was ok. I was listening to it while resting/sleeping, and so didn’t take all of it in. 6.5/10

like better than purler rain

Some grating tracks but overall an enjoyable listen

3,5 to me. It is missing something to be a 4 album in my view, but its a good one.

Tja, det er Prince, men det fangede ikke min opmærksomhed.

good stuff. two discs. sounded a bit the same after a while.

I knew the title track, which describes the tragedy of that time (and not much has changed); but the rest of the album did little for me.

5/10 Very hit or miss for me, I liked disc 1 a lot better than disc 2.

Las partes buenas muy buenas pero el resto medio aburrido. Puntaje: 6/10

445/1089 - I only liked "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" which apparently had faulty recording due to little high-end frequencies. I respect Prince for his musicality and multi-instrumental mastery but I am not a fan.

prince n é pra mim mas n me importaria se ouvisse tocando numa festa a primeira música me deixou esperançosa mas só caiu a partir dela ⭐sign o the times barely 21? ok

Prince is great. For some reason, the album just wasn't giving me that electricity that I usually associate with him.

not bad, some of the songs are kind of a miss but overall pretty good

Prince is an artist that’s never clicked fully for me. I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s his voice not matching what I think it should ride like on some of these dancy/poppy songs, it’s a similar problem I had with the Janet record on here. My dude can shred on a guitar I’m hoping I can hear more of that and less of this squealing. I saw the deluxe had 92 tracks and that was enough of a jumpscare for me today. I guess my takeaway here is I can at least respect Prince for doing everything his way for better or worse, you can clearly tell there’s suit and ties forcing a direction here. Favs: slow Slow Love, U got the look, if I was your girlfriend

7/10- it’s a strong 3 for me. I love the sound of the album and it’s easy to see that he is often used as a source of inspiration for other artists, but this album is too long and I find more than a few songs to be not going anywhere. Not my favorite prince album but not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination.

Kuulosti epäilyttävästi Princeltä. Melko laidasta laitaan sekä musiikillisesti, että volyymitasolla. Mielenkiintosia Prince-juttuja ja myös vähän kulmakarvaa nostattavia lyriikoita ja muita, mut ei sillai hyvällä tavalla.

2.5 rounded up

Sometimes I was like huh... I would like to just listen to Michael Jackson and might have a more fun, less f-boy/harassed-to-be-a-woman time??

Prince whines and cries at you about how sex will make this better. And he's right.

Prince is prone. Not the most gripping.

muy bueno, un rock pop muy de los 80's, muy Prince para mi gusto... muy pop. A veces no distiguis si el albun es rock and roll o Michael Jackson. Increíble el tema con que arranca el álbum, sin saber que dice la letra ya te transmite que está haciendo una crítica. Y todo el tiempo es cómo que está generando suspenso la melodía, lo que le da como un toque de epicidad constante. Tremendo para arrancar el álbum, alegre, épico... al pie. Después el resto de los temas, vários del estilo ochentoso que da ganas de bailarlos o golpear la mesa al ritmo de la percu, con esos mini solos de guitarra/trompeta en medio que te hacen sentir en volver al futuro y otros un toque más lentos o oscuros (el bajista en algunos de esos temas le pasa el trapo a Prince y al resto de la banda junta)

One of Prince’s weaker albums, but there’s still moments of genius on this. Doesn’t really have an A-Tier song, but it’s Prince so it was always going to be decent. Some tracks verge on being close to skits which I’m not into.

First listen

I totally understand Prince it talented and loved by everyone but the majority of his music just doesn't sit well with me. It just feels disjointed and unorganized. Like all the pieces are there, but the sound mixer just did not understand that you are supposed to like music. I am just now getting to the song "Slow Love" and this is a perfect example to me of how good he could sound - the song "Starfish and Coffee" is the perfect example of a song that barely sounds like music to me - it feels like a child with an audio sample board. It's a LOW 3 for me, only because Prince carries so much weight - it could just never be a 2.

Prince, ook deze keer vind ik er niet veel aan. Misschien was het vernieuwend, misschien gooide de man zijn ziel en zaligheid erin, ik hoor vooral een boel goedkope beatjes en een mummelend stemmetje. Het pakt me gewoon niet, mag ik dat zeggen? Ja, dat mag ik zeggen. Okee, het werkt me ook niet op de zenuwen, en voor een dubbelaar blijft het afwisselend genoeg. En daarmee zwaaien we de man uit, want na drie platen uit de jaren tachtig vonden de samenstellers van dit boek het wel welletjes met zijne slechtheid.

Het album start met de titel-track. Heel erg '80's. Maar ik krijg wel zin in het album. Het ligt erg makkelijk in het gehoor. Luister ik verder dan is het album vooral niet zo interessant. Misschien is dat voor Prince wel goed. Want dat geschreeuw op Purple Rain hoef ik echt niet nog een keer te horen. Laten we het voor het album van vandaag maar positief duiden als meer balans. Maar met zo'n signatuur hoor je natuurlijk geen dubbelaar te leveren.

De derde en gelukkig laatste keer Prince in deze lijst. Om het af te leren is het wel weer een dubbelaar, dus een lange zit in het vooruitzicht met bombast en aanstellerij. Wat mij betreft is Prince zwaar overschat, misschien niet eens als artiest, want de man beheerst zijn instrument uitstekend en heeft ook voor andere artiesten wereldhits geschreven, maar het gaat mij met name om zijn eigen muziek. Het is zogezegd veelal bombast en aanstellerij en dan met die veel te drabberige jaren 80 sound eroverheen. Mijn eerdere ratings waren dan ook een 2 en een 3. Ik moet zeggen dat de bombast meevalt, het zijn meer iets rustigere en soulvolle liedjes. Er zit uiteraard wel voldoende aanstellerij bij, zoals bij If I Was Your Girlfriend krijgen we classic gilletjes en kreuntjes. Het geheel is zoals verwacht wel iets te lang, al stoor ik me er niet bijzonder aan. Het kabbelt op de achtergrond wat voort. Ik vind het een 2,5 en ik twijfel zoals gewoonlijk of ik het naar boven of naar beneden afrond. Aan de ene kant is het soms te aanstellerig, maar aan de andere kant zit er wel degelijk kwaliteit in.

Not my favorite prince, almost a 4 though

Love him not my fave of his work

I enjoyed the album. There are some good songs, nice guitar solos and interesting lyrics but it was quite long and by the last couple of songs I was counting down to the finish.

Funky, a good listen

Don't think I knew a single song on here but they were all good... A little better than a 3 but that's what it gets.

omg im dreading this prince songs are all like 8 minutes long 😫😫😫 housequake genuinely just pissed me off. i saw a review mentioning how bad it is but i genuinely couldnt even expect this this + past albums just have been making me think abt how wildly overrated old music and people are blinded by nostalgia and the popular (especially 80s) songs and they talk down on modern music when in reality so much fucking old music is genuinely SO bad 😭 theres way more good modern music than there is old music on average the ballad of dorothy parker is good. lyrics are still sooo weird starfish and coffee is alright too slow love is good too! strange relationship prob my fave i actually really like it and i could never take the place of your man though i genuinely don’t know why its stretched for an extra 2 whole minutes of nothing the album has good songs but it also has like REALLY really terrible inexcusable ones 😭😭 hard to rate this one

not amazing

Some great songs. Some terrible songs.

I really wanted to like it but actually just didn’t? Just too heavy on the drum machines for me. Still I appreciate its pioneering and the influence of Prince and new concepts with gender etc.

this was just ok

It didn’t blow me away, but I have been meaning to actually listen to Prince and after listening I’m sure I can find some more of his work that I’ll like a lot

Ok

Not his best but still better than the rest

good

Wide-ranging, funky, a new musical style

As a songwriter, Prince is maddeningly inconsistent. I wanted to like this album, but there are just a lot of clunkers in here. The high points like I Could Never and The Cross are great nonetheless.

Pretty good, enjoyed the second half a bit more

This album has forced me to ask a question that I'm surprised to be faced with: "Is Prince overrated?" His hits are fantastic, but he may be one of the most extreme cases from this list where an artist (and therefore his albums) was carried by his hits. It's surprising, and borderline shocking, that the Wikipedia page not only states this is widely regarded as his best album, but highly acclaimed in pop music as a whole.

Good

I was excited to get a Prince Album, but this was very mid.

Yep, that's Prince. But I'd take Bat Dance over this.

Good

Listening to Prince albums is a bit like going on a night out when you don’t really want to. There are some highlights but you can’t wait til it’s over.

7.5/10

Every time I learn something about Prince I gain more respect for him. Although his style of music is not something I ever acquired the taste for or really understood, I am a fan of his craft and authentic expression. He no doubt deserves the long lasting notoriety. I appreciate the uniqueness of his sound, the authenticity oozing out of every song, and the fact that things would go wrong during recordings and he would keep those mistakes in anyways. It’s so human and timeless. With all that said, I’m still yet to find a Prince song I enjoy the sound of. I want to like his songs so bad but I don’t. If this wasn’t Prince we’re dealing with here and I didn’t care for the artist behind the music, I would give this one star just because none of the songs appealed to me. But I’ll give it a 3 because of all the other elements that I appreciate.

Some good beats hiding here

My first (of 3 on this list) Prince album. Not my favourite, my last Prince album that I bought back then was Parade. Still, the title track is iconic, and the rest of the album is quite good, although it drags a bit to the end.

I wouldn't call myself a Prince fan but he was an interesting character and incredible musician, both are in display here in what in what I understand was a departure from what he'd been doing previously. And it started very well, the title track is a socially conscious pop banger and the psychedelic gospel-funk of Play in the Sunshine. Housequake is pure P-Funk George Clinton worship, followed by the late-night groove of The Ballad of Dorothy Parker . I wouldn't say it's bad from this point but fatigue set in and the songs largely started to sound a bit samey; picking up only briefly towards the end. Perhaps it's one that needs more time, one day it may get it.

Preferable to Purple Rain, which drags a bit. This album has a lot more oomph, being propelled by the drum machine high up in the mix. And the title track is an all-time banger. Has my approval.

Need to probably re listen because I found it somewhat boring

забавный альбом, интересное звучание порой, но некоторые песни казались слишком резкими для меня. возможно просто определенный настрой нужно, чтобы слушать его. sing ‘o’ the times - довольно часто переслушиваю, очень нравится. the ballad of dorothy parker - хорошая, нравится драм машина, забавный текст. добавила даже. slow love - прям сахарная, такая мелодичная нежная. красивая, но вряд ли такое слушать буду… hot thing - нравится инструментал, разнообразие инструментов и звуков разной текстуры, но абсолютно страннейший текст. в целом тексты … не сильная сторона этого альбома. еще понравилась starfish and coffee, звучит как песня из передачи про доброе утро. 2.5/5

It’s ambitious but I’m not sure it’s a good as purple rain. It’s probably more consistent but that consistency isn’t as good quality at times and I left it feeling more uninspired by it than expected. The 80s drums also haven’t aged brilliantly despite likely being cutting edge at the time.

I appreciate that Prince was immensely talented musician and artist. That is undeniable. I just wish I could like his music more. As I listened to this one in the background it started to grow on me and by the end I was not minding it so much. I definitely liked this album more than 1999 and this music clicked more for me more than other Prince music. Not a bad album.

Great album that starts off strong, I feel like it faded away on the second half but overall a great listen

3.5 When put on the spot after consuming a spicy potato chip à la Hot Ones, my dad once named this his favorite album from his favorite artist, and if that’s not the most honest, authentic commendation, I don’t know what is. Given that, his review of this album is likely to be much more insightful than my own, so if I’m able, I’ll try to link it below. Anyway, here are my thoughts as someone who has heard a lot of Prince in his life, but somehow, never this full album: It’s pretty good, but I don’t think it’s his best. Coming off a streak of his more popular works, this feels like Prince’s “mature” album in a lot of ways, in substance and songwriting especially, and I think it shines in that regard a lot of the time, particularly on songs like the title track and The Cross, the latter of which I’m pretty sure is my dad’s favorite from this. Or, at least, it’s the one I’ve heard the most. Truth be told, it was actually my favorite across my listenings here as well, despite how Jesus freak-y it is. There’s a fantastic buildup, and it’s really elevated to musical highs when the sitar (or at least what sounds like one) kicks in - for some reason it reminded me of Luna by The Smashing Pumpkins in that way. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Prince album without a little bit of horniness, and that’s certainly here as well in the form of songs like It (sadly not about the Stephen King novel) and If I Was Your Girlfriend, which feel much more like classic Prince fare. I was kind of expecting some form of subtle dirty messaging behind my second favorite song here, Starfish and Coffee, but I guess it’s based on an amusing quote he overheard from a child, so it’s just an innocent, enjoyable little pop tune. Outside of everything mentioned so far, the only other tracks I really thought were standouts were Play in the Sunshine and I Could Never Take the Place of Your Lover. I hate to say it, but the rest of this kind of blended together, or in the case of Housequake, annoyed me with its cheerleader structure. I do think this album could have been cut down just a bit, especially being 80 minutes long, or at the very least, they should have expanded upon the ending of The Cross and capped things there - I didn’t really need nine minutes of the Wizard of Oz guard chant or a six-and-a-half minute ballad to close things out. Overall, I would say this was pretty good and added to my appreciation of Prince in some ways, but it also felt a bit bloated - in my opinion, Purple Rain is a bit more focused, compact, and overall enjoyable. I’m not the Prince expert though - I’ll leave it to my dad. Edit: https://1001albumsgenerator.com/groups/luke-and-wills-1001-albums/albums/5f34ee8bf0857e55ed5ebe48

Fine

przyjemny kilka fajnych utworow

nehany kiemelkedo banger pl housequake de eleg uncsi lesz a vegere

Wycieczka międzygatunkowa, która mnie nie porwała

Needs less filler and more guitar

Psychedelic at times Happycore at times Weirdstep at times no stunners sadly "It's gonna be a beautiful night" - Rapping is SICK

Not as good as 1999

The title track is funky. Some others were ok

This was the first time I'd heard a Prince album in full, but of course I knew several of his songs. I knew going into it that he liked to experiment, so I wasn't really sure what I was getting into with this. It was alright. I liked Disc 2 significantly more than Disc 1.

Starfish and Coffee and If I was your girlfriend kinda go hard

Ah ah that man. Not that perfect.

A fine prince album

To me, Prince is all show and very little substance. This album absolutely did not have to be double sided.

Funky, sexy, clever. It's Prince. It's fine.

It's Prince. Beautiful songs.

Funky and quite strange. Some great tracks in here but not very cohesive or consistently enjoyable.

Reminds me of albums like "All Things Must Pass" or "Sadinista". Many ideas, some great tracks, but in total too overambitious…

Not really an album I would seek out or listen to a second time. Decent songs, well produced, but lacking sorely the energy and appeal of Purple Rain or earlier recordings from the early 1980s. Do not recall hearing any of these songs back in the late 80s era. I can appreciate Prince and his genius this just doesn't land for me. Mid.

Better and more interesting than purple rain but still not really my bag. Lengthy, boring

Not my favourite prince album but sone great songs. Gets a bit self-indulgent in places?

I like Prince alright, but this project has shown me that I don't love a whole album of his; he's pretty hit and miss with me, and when I can distill Prince down to his hits, I love him. But his albums are a little bit of a slog for me. Sign O' the Times carries on the rich Prince tradition of embedding a couple decent tracks in a whole bunch of filler songs. And I'll also say that it takes something pretty special for me to get too amped on a record that is over an hour long. When Prince brings his A-game, I love him. As a whole, I don't think Sign o' the Times is his A-game. 2.5/5

I loved the range in songs in this album, a ballad one moment, experimental rock the next. Favourite track: Slow Love

classy album which was exactly what i expected from prince, given the fact that my knowledge about his music is very basic. definitely, i found a few jams such as "hot thing" or "strange relationship"

I just bought this album.....3/5 I liked Pirple Rain better

Again I wish this site allowed 1/2 stars. I gave the last Prince album the extra 1/2 star so I'm taking the 1/2 star away from this one to make this a 3 star album. I really like some of the album - especially the last 1/4 of it but really don't see this as Prince's best album as some site claim.

It would be crazy to call this album safe given its 80 minute runtime, song concepts like "If I Was Your Girlfriend," and the variety of sounds and production techniques on it. And yet, I can't help but feel like it never really lets loose. These songs have nice, tight melodies, but they're often very linear and don't build to anything. It's funky, but the funk isn't very deep. Songs like "Hot Thing" and "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" are catchy, but they feel like they're missing something. This all may be misguided because the one song that does go big - "Housequake" - is one of the worst, and the most dated. Still, it feels like there's surprisingly little ground covered here despite every song feeling distinct. There are no bad songs here and it doesn't feel its length, but for an album with such a grand title that feels like a big swing, it's lacking the impressive memorable highlights.

I mean it’s Prince

I did this. It’s not as good as Purple Rain, but it’s still good. A bit long. 3.5/5

Des sonorités sympas mais j'ai pas vraiment accroché

meh

I appreciate the quality of this, it's just not really my thing

Didn't end up liking this one as much as Purple Rain. Still good, though.

some stuff i really liked and some i skipped. so i give it a 3

Not purple rain tier, but good anyways.

Jeg vil så gjerne forstå greia med Prince, men alt jeg hører er flate 80-tallstrommemaskiner og knullete vokal. Det føles bare ikke så genialt som folk skal ha det til. Syns plata funker best når den går i soul/funk-sporet. Med "The Cross" og "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night". Det minner litt om debutalbumet. "Play In The Sunshine" høres ut som den kunne vært med i en av Vacation-filmene? Også artig å høre hvor skamløst Beck har stjålet fra Prince sin "Adore" på sin egen "Debra".

Oui, c’était sympa mais pas de coup de cœur ! Sans doute un autre album

Huge Prince fan but this album is one of his worst. Solidly average for an album, which is a disappointment for Prince and the rest of his work.

Definitely the best Prince album so far! :) Had a bit more substance, still very 80s, but that's okay! :)

This was my very first venture into Prince's music, I somehow made it to nearly 26 years of age without hearing him anywhere. I put this album on and for the majority of the album was left confused as to why Prince is held in such high regard. I thought most of the songs were just okay and maybe something was wrong with me for not seeing the genius I'd heard so much about. As the album went on I came away with multiple tracks I enjoyed very much but they did not carry the rest of the album for me. For a good portion of the songs the instrumentals feel kind of flat and uninteresting, however songs like I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man and The Cross sound lively and fun. After finishing this album I thought maybe there was something wrong with me for not "getting" Prince, I then threw on Purple Rain for the first time and was immediately corrected. Purple Rain was fantastic and I can't wait for it to show up here for me to talk about my thoughts on it, but until then it left me with the opinion that Sign O' The Times is just okay, certainly not Prince's best work but not the worst thing I've ever heard.

Fav track- Housequake and Starfish and Coffee Least fav track- The Cross Fav lyric- “Sister killed her baby, ‘Cause she couldn't afford to feed it" Overall rating- 8/10 Notes- beautiful songwriting and a very interesting story told, prince, i love you

second half picks up a lot more for me, good energizing background music when i’m stretching/doing chores

Not my cup of tea. Purple Rain should be here

There's a few very good songs on here. Found the length a bit much. Not my favorite Prince album.

I liked the vibes, some songs were a bit long

I really thought I was going to like this more than I did. Sign o’ the times is just such a stonking track and a couple of the others were pretty good. But it just didn’t hit me consistently.

Yeah, I'm just never going to be a Prince fan. Like, I get that there's cool stuff going on here. A few songs spoke to me, but overall, I just don't enjoy the sound or the lyrics or, frankly, the whole vibe. A lot has to do with the production. Those drum sounds really weigh on me. But the rest of it just isn't my jam. Sorry friends. I've failed you.

Decent album. Few songs that stood out. Rest all kinda forgettable.

I'm pretty lukewarm on Prince in general, but mostly enjoyed this album. It certainly keeps you engaged. 3.5.

Funky

This really didn't feel like any Prince I'd heard before, then I realised it was his ninth album? Very different, had elements I like but not sure it's one I'll listen to often

Long album with 0 standout songs for me.

Ok my prince-o-meter is full now. Redemption arc is over!

Solid but OK

crazy good drums

Not really my thing. There are a couple of tracks I don't mind: Starfish and Coffee Strange Relationship

Better than Coldplay

I’m horribly conflicted. Prince is amazing, a 5 for sure. But I really don’t like a lot of the songs. Lyrics are sticky, synth sounds feel dated, production is hyperbolic. So 3, I guess.

pleasant.

Didn’t like this one as much as I thought I would. Lots of slow jams, not as up-tempo as Purple Rain, and nowhere near the number of recognizable hits. It’s musically brilliant, and Prince can fucking shred the guitar, but the album was kinda boring as a whole. Just slightly above average 3/5

musim vice naposlouchat, nevim jestli to na me neni much A PROC JSOU NEKTERE UPE POTICHU

prince. vocals. epic.

Another one for the double album that could be a single pile, he’s hugely talented and a great songwriter but I’m not sure I need that many extended jams. You’ve got the look is excellent in any context though

objectively good but not my thing, definitely preferred disc 2 over disc 1

Ecoute agréable mais pas de coup de coeur

This is the first time I've ever listened to a Prince album, and I think I'd rather listen to Michael Jackson. Prince seems like his cousin who became a rockstar instead of a popstar. Sign “O” the Times ★★★☆☆ Play in the Sunshine ★★★☆☆ Housequake ★★☆☆☆ The Ballad of Dorothy Parker ★★★☆☆ It ★★★☆☆ Starfish and Coffee ★★★☆☆ Slow Love ★★★★☆ Hot Thing ★★★☆☆ Forever in My Life ★★★☆☆ U Got the Look ★★★☆☆ If I Was Your Girlfriend ★★★☆☆ Strange Relationship ★★★☆☆ I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man ★★★☆☆ The Cross ★★★☆☆ It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night ★★★☆☆ Adore ★★★☆☆ Average Album Rating: 3.0/5.0 ★★★☆☆

I want to like Prince and, with the odd song here and there I do. His music does feel quite samey to me. This album is 2 hours long and it was hard to hear the differences in the songs. All in all, perfectly pleasant music, but I'd never chose to put it on.

Yeah didn't hate this. Pretty catchy with some good hooks. I did have to skip Hot Thing cause he just said it too many times for my brain to cope with

I can appreciate this one, but really didn’t enjoy more than a couple songs.

é um b0m mood, não sei para que contexto

a couple songs stood out to me otherwise i didn’t really vibe with the rest too heavily but overall it’s definitely something i’d put on every now and then :D

Ok not a hug fan of prince

on housequake he sounds like a south park character

Good easy listen album. 6.8/10

I kind of made the assumption blindly going into this one that I would be giving it a 5 star rating. Tragically, I didn’t expect to find it so boring. Prince is one of the most well respected artists out there, and of course “Purple Rain” is legendary in its own right. It’s not on this album but whatever. I thought Prince did more balls to the wall, killer solo riff laden Rock, which is 1000% on me, but this was far from that. Was it funky? Sure, it was funky, but I’ve heard much better Funk during this project already. I would also call this Pop much more than I would call it Rock, but regardless it was just very average the entire way through as both. Some songs, notably “Play In The Sunshine” and “It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night” were my favorites and stood out as the best to me, but even then, neither of them absolutely blew me away. Never once did I find myself saying “Wow, that was really good” while listening to this album. It pains me to say that I wouldn’t exactly call this album goated. I WOULD call it very bloated however. With a playtime of an hour and 19 minutes, this one was actually somewhat difficult to get through in a sitting, which is just really not something I expected to write about Prince. Well, he’s got 2 more albums left to impress me. I’m sure I’ll like those more. This one wasn’t bad, but it did disappoint me more than anything I’ve listened to so far while doing this project, so that’s pretty rough. When I expect to enjoy something a lot and then don’t end up enjoying it all that much, I’m much more critical of it as a whole and the review ends up sounding like I hated it entirely. I did not hate this, it’s still a 3. But it’s a low 3 at that…

A double album of Prince without the revolution is quite a mixed bag but you can't deny his song writing. Dance tracks, funked up electro and psychedelic pop are all here. Never heard the album its entirety before and was worth a couple of playbacks. Somehow seems to herald the end of the eighties musically.

Usually when I don't like a really popular artist or album, I assume I'm right and there's something wrong with everyone else. Prince is an exception to this. I recognize his insane talent and artistic prowess, but for some inexplicable reason his music just doesn't click with me.

i have to say, it was a little underwhelming… i don’t agree with this being his best work, it does have a few nice songs like “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker” or “Strange Relationships” but the rest of the album got kind of repetitive at times. still, it’s a good listen, even if it doesn’t top purple rain for me personally.

This is obviously a great album, but it just didn’t do it for me.

Pas hyper fan de Prince. Pas mal sans plus.

Pakte me minder dan purple Rain. Maar er staan nog steeds bangers in.

The first half is average. 2nd disc is good and way more consistent. Not his best work and 80 minutes is obviously too long.

it's the 80s innit??

It was a good time but never grabbed me.

not obsessed... its good and i see why he is so popular just something about it isnt for me... to be fair didnt listen to the full thing

Game, blouses.

My second Prince album. The first one was 1999 which was horrid I was completely sick of of it by the end of it, as I for some reason I set myself this challenge for this generator where I have to listen to all the songs (because I'm just like that,) which I sometimes regret, sometimes not. I definitely regretted it for 1999. Back on topic, I thought it wasn't half bad. Just like 1999, Sign O' the Times it's quite dense instrumentally, even if this sort of music isn't my jam, he still manages to make all the songs have their own character. I quite like how he approaches vocals, just having something new to try out. I felt like the album would've been better if it was just the first side, as 80 minute long albums are hard to digest and process. Highlight Song/s: Play In The Sunshine, Starfish And Coffee and I Could Never...

I wanted to love it but some of the songs just didn’t showcase his guitar. Lots of 80s style synths and just couldn’t connect

How do you top Purple Rain? Turns out you don't, unless you think knocking off Footloose is somehow better than that magnum opus. Ok, that's unfair. This album is DIFFERENT. It's bigger, it's varied, and it has a hell of a lot of experimentation. Which should be applauded, but experimentation isn't always great and in this case sometimes it sounds like Kenny Loggins. But much like the weather in your city, if you don't like what's happening, wait five minutes. Whoever compared it to The Clash's Sandinista! was on the money. Following a sublime effort, the walls fell and everything was included in the follow-up effort. But while I love Sandinista! (possibly due to the time I've spend with it - a lot of good music seems to challenge on first or second lesson) here it just ain't clicking.

Wow, what a discover. I higly recommend this album.

Much prefer this to 1999 - more poppy/hip hoppy less funk and slap bass. Only managed one and a half listens as its another effin double album so this is only my initial view (although I doubt I will listen again to form a more fuller view). The over reliance on drum machines dates it and makes it feel disposable. A few zingers - Sign of the Times, U Got the Look and I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man but quite a lot of filler.

Disc 2 is much better than disc 1. Disappointing if this is his best album. A couple of really good songs - Sign O'The Times and the catchy I Could Never..., some alright numbers and a couple of dross.

As with so much Prince, some of this is banging beyond belief. Other stuff is bloated and unlistenable. Like Zappa, an artist I prefer, when you put out this much, some of it just isn't gonna land to a casual listener.

Personally loved 1999 and Purple Rain; this was good but not essential listening for me.

nice choice for my 100th album on this thing, and a pretty decent album overall, although it's quite amazing how "The Cross" and "Starfish and Coffee" are (for me, personally) way above everything else on this album (and there's still plenty of good songs - "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker", "Sign o' the Times", "Hot Thing", etc)

Album 978 of 1089 Sign 'O' The Times - Prince (1987) Rating : 3 / 5 This is one I’d put firmly in the category of “interesting, but not quite for me.” You can hear the talent all over it - the writing is sharp, the musicianship is unmistakably Prince, and the production is as clean and creative as you’d expect from someone who could do just about anything he wanted in the studio. But for whatever reason, the songs just didn’t click with me the way I thought they might. It’s definitely a different shade of Prince than the big radio hits I grew up with, and while I respect the ambition and the craft, it didn’t leave me with much I’m eager to return to. I can recognize why this album sits so high on so many lists - the artistry is clearly there - but enjoyment-wise, it landed somewhere around the middle for me. Still, when someone is as talented as Prince, even a “not quite my thing” album is worth hearing once.

i'm being harsh but i just can't stand the sound effects everywhere. it gets good occasionally. it's so inconsistent Would I listen again: no Deserves to be on this list: maybe, not his best 2.9

If I Was Your Girlfriend is probably the creepiest song i've ever heard. I've read all the arguments for how this is a romantic song, but if any male acts like this with one of their female friends, they would get instantly ostracized. The song was so jarring in a terrible, pathetic way. I was initially excited to see this album on here and i've never listened to Prince before....but man......it was not for me at all. But the entire time I was listening, I was thinking that i'm sure this album is incredibly well received. Lo' and behold, it is. It's basically the theme song of the 80's, especially I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man. Not dissing it, there are some incredible songs on here. U Got The Look, Sign O The Times is incredible, Starfish and Coffee, It, are all great and deserve the hype. Prince was definitely a musical genius and one of those completely untouchable, almost mythic figures........but the duds were real duds. I hated Adore. I hate the 80's male falsetto Soul Glo sound. JUST LET IT SHIIIIINE THROUUUUGH. It just bad. Hot Thing wasn't great......and other sounds were solidly mid. Basically this album didn't live up to the Prince hype for me and maybe none of them will (Haven't heard Purple Rain yet). I listened to the whole album probably 5 times at this point and it just doesn't change how I feel about it. He's a musical genius and an absolute legend, but this album just doesn't get me going. This was kind of his "coming out" album, and i'm glad it has been so well received, but it falls short for me. Ok maybe one more listen....i'm really trying here.

Something about this just didn’t click with me. I like prince and obviously his voice is amazing but almost all of these tracks felt very stripped and like bare? There was like a lack of melody or something idk. I like the beats though and a lot of the drum patterns are very fun and 80s-y! Definitely not bad but I would probably just listen to a different prince album instead. Fav songs: housequake, the ballad of dorothy parker

I thought I was missing out on Prince all these years, but I think he just has some great bangers, and the rest of his catalog is just meh. Most of this was kinda crappy 80s pop.

LP 1 > Very good 4/5 sparse instrumentation, but the Camile stuff makes it a sore thumb on a great first half LP 2 > Some interesting ideas yet more Camile stuff brings it down 3/5 for me could have been better as a 1LP

Rätt seg start på en i övrigt bra skiva. Titelspåret och Play in the sunshine är skivans tråkigaste spår, båda mer än 5 minuter långa. Hela A-sidan kan man i princip skippa. B-sidan sparkar igång skivan med It, Slow Love, Hot thing. Sedan rullar det på. U got the look, If I was your girlfriend och I could never take the place. Bra låtar. Men riktigt bra sparar Prince till sist, hela D-sidan, The Cross, It’s gonna be a beautiful place och Adore.

Sounded fine but kind of long and not engaging enough.

Prince is pretty overrated to me and this was also a lil too long

Disc 2 was in my mind far superior to Disc 1. Disc 1=2; Disc 1=3.5.

*Love Housequake and Starfish and Coffee, but it can get feeling long at times.

This is fine, favorite track is If I Was Your Girlfriend.

Energetic and enjoyable.

It only took rating and reviewing 80 albums, but I've finally arrived at my first album from one of the artists I've been most excited to finally check out: Prince. I knew next to nothing about Prince before today, outside the fact that he had a guitar shaped like his logo, that his performance at Super Bowl XLI is often considered one of the best (if not, THE best) halftime shows of all time and that people gas up his music as if he were the second coming of Christ. I haven't even heard "Purple Rain" before – at least, not to my knowledge. As you can imagine, I didn't know much about Sign o' the Times going into it. I remember a YouTuber I follow saying that Harry Styles' "Sign of the Times" reminded him of the title track (which, upon actually hearing the song, I don't agree with at all), but that's pretty much it. I hate to say it, but this honestly wasn't the best first impression of Prince's music. It's all over the place tonally and stylistically, going from a slow song about the unfortunate state of the world to an upbeat song about making the most out of life to a dance track for house parties in its first 15 minutes. I found out in my research for this album that it features several songs from Prince's scrapped Crystal Ball album (which itself featured songs written for his canceled Camille album) and yeah, that completely tracks. It certainly comes across as a project with multiple visions somewhat crammed together – there's even a live recording near the end of the tracklist, for some reason. On a more positive note, Sign o' the Times ended up being more electronic-influenced than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. Every track I previously alluded to actually ended up being a highlight of my first listen and I even ended up listening to a couple of them (but not the whole thing) a second time. Listening through the album also made me realize Prince made that song that goes "I just want your extra time and your... kiss," which is one that I enjoy. All in all, I can appreciate the musicality and some of the ideas present on SOTT, but the album is too long and too all over the place to really make for something I'd want to revisit. I wouldn't necessarily be annoyed if someone put it on, but I don't think I'd listen to any of these songs recreationally (outside of "Housequake" and possibly "Play in the Sunshine"). It seems like the 1001 Albums Generator community liked this Prince album the least of the bunch though, so I'm nonetheless looking forward to checking out his other two entries! Highlights: Sign o' the Times, Play in the Sunshine, Housequake, The Ballad of Dorothy Parker, Starfish and Coffee, Strange Relationship, I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man, It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night

Not bad, not my jam, less fun than Purple Rain and I didn't like that one much either

It was enjoyable enough but Prince just writes wierd songs.

I find myself not getting prince. It seemed good but it’s almost as if he’s better live

Not my favorite prince

doesn't really have the excitement and straight up banger quality that i might have ascribed to Prince before listening to this album. moderately fun, completely tolerable listening, but didn't really keep me engaged. most interesting and yet least favorite song: Housequake

Cool

I’m just not sure I get this. That 80s sound really grates me I totally see Prince’s skill as a musician but then the music is just a bit empty for me

I liked the first track. The rest was about what I expected from Prince, funky, 80s, some high pitched singing, some songs a bit repetitive in themselves. Not my cup of tea, but overall not boring.

such an interesting album

I don’t hate Prince but I don’t love him. I also am not a huge fan of double albums because unless I really like the artist, I find them too long (hell even if I do like the artist, I don’t always like double albums as I’m not a huge fan of the White Album). Anyway, this was nothing super special and I feel Prince has better music. Nothing really stood out. It sounded fine because Prince is a good musician who knows what he’s doing.

Je vais être transparent avec vous, comme je le suis toujours dans ce carnet de bord. J'attaque cette chronique avec la même appréhension que si je devais faire la critique d'un gala de patinage artistique car je n'ai jamais, jamais, été un client de Prince. Oh, je vous vois venir. "Hérétique !", "Philistin !". Calmez-vous. J'ai tenu un magasin de disques pendant l'âge d'or de l'indie, j'ai usé mes nuits sur les ondes d'une radio libre. Je sais reconnaître le génie quand je le vois et Prince, le nabot de Minneapolis, est un génie. Multi-instrumentiste ahurissant, producteur visionnaire, bête de scène... Le CV est irréprochable. C'est acté. Mais voilà, il y a un "mais", un "mais" gros comme une section cuivre de James Brown sous amphétamines. C'est trop... funk. Je sais, c'est mon problème, pas le sien. Je suis né en 1970. Mon adolescence, c'était la new wave, la cold wave. Mon panthéon personnel est basé sur le bruit, la fureur, la dissonance, la mélancolie poisseuse, le mal-être existentiel mis en musique. Et Prince, c'est l'exact opposé, c'est l'hédonisme, la luxure, la production tellement léchée qu'on pourrait manger dessus. C'est la célébration du corps, là où je préfère la dissection de l'âme. Bref, "Sign 'O' The Times" et moi, on n'était pas faits pour se rencontrer. D'ailleurs, en 1987, quand ce double album a déferlé, j'étais ado et j'écoutais probablement "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" de The Cure. Prince, c'était "Kiss", c'était le son des boums de collège, de la FM, de la musique que mes parents auraient pu trouver "sympa". Et me voilà, des décennies plus tard, forcé par le "Livre" de m'y coller sérieusement. "Sign 'O' The Times" n'est pas un album, c'est un bordel, un bordel de génie, mais un bordel quand même. C'est le catalogue La Redoute de tout ce que les années 80 pouvaient produire. Ça devait être un triple album ("Crystal Ball"), ça a été réduit à un double et même là, c'est gargantuesque. On ne peut pas nier l'ambition, le mec touche à tout, et c'est là que je dois m'incliner car ce double album est le témoignage d'un artiste en état de grâce créative absolue, capable de pondre 16 titres dans 16 styles différents avant son petit-déjeuner. L'étendue de son talent est écrasante, mais le plaisir d'écoute, pour moi, est quasi nul. L'album est un tour de force technique et artistique ahurissant. Le mec a tout fait tout seul, ou presque. Il joue de tout, il produit tout, il pense à tout. C'est une démonstration de talent tellement insolente qu'elle en devient presque vulgaire. Et c'est là tout le problème pour le vieux con d'indie-rocker que je suis, car ce n'est plus un album, c'est une encyclopédie de la musique noire américaine des 40 dernières années, passée à la moulinette d'une production 80s rutilante. C'est du funk, c'est du R&B, c'est du gospel, c'est de la pop, c'est du rock psychédélique, c'est de l'électro minimale... Le mec est un caméléon, un monstre de polyvalence. Pour moi, "Sign 'O' The Times" n'est pas un album, c'est un portfolio. C'est le catalogue d'un génie qui nous dit : "Regardez, je peux faire ça, et ça, et puis ça aussi. Et je le fais mieux que personne." Et le problème, c'est que 80% de ce qu'il fait, c'est du funk. Et je n'aime pas le funk, je n'ai jamais aimé ça. Ce son de basse qui claque, ces guitares en cocotte, ces cuivres synthétiques, cette obsession du "groove"... Ça m'emmerde profondément. Je ne nie pas l'évidence : cet album est un pilier de l'histoire de la musique. Il y a des moments de grâce absolue, des fulgurances sombres et minimalistes qui me cueillent. Mais ces moments sont noyés, noyés sous une avalanche de productions léchées, de libido en bandoulière et de cette putain de bonne humeur obligatoire. Je lui mets donc la moyenne, avec un petit 3 sur 5, car n'est pas un disque pour moi. C'est un disque pour les gens qui aiment la musique... et moi, j'aime le bruit.

Wasn’t my favorite prince album

I don't talk about Prince very much, but I probably should. He certainly deserves to be in the Funk/New Wave conversation I've been having for the last few months. This is just as weird (or more so) than Talking Heads, it's even more out there than The The, and I love that. This album is a party? Maybe that should be a statement. Like, this would have come out in a time when it was hard to buy compilations and there was no way to easily build your own playlist, so I'm convinced this record was built to be a 'press play to party' record. That's kinda neat, Prince is the right guy for that. Maybe I'll revise this rating up in the future, but let me see how I feel about the rest of the Prince catalog.

A real no skips but no repeats of an album for me. The title felt appropriate for a lunchbreak full of pizza and talking with coworkers about how the WWII generation is almost gone and people today seem to be forgetting their history classes. 3.5

Respect Prince and like a lot of his music. Not this album though. Given his illustrious career, why THIS album made the list is beyond me. I mean gimme Purple Rain. But the music is still good and there’s a lot to listen to here.

It's fine I guess. Nothing blows me away, like some of Prince's hits. Really kinda feels like a last hurrah, but it just doesn't work for me.

I basically lean towards the Prince is an all time great innovator of sounds and singles artist, but a whole album - a double album even - is asking a lot. The critics clearly have settled on this as one of his two triumphs, perhaps even his greatest work. I otoh just don’t need this much Prince and the same goes for nearly every other double album ever made, unless the songs are short, which these are not. Who knows, maybe if I had come to this at a different age I’d have a different read on things - The Cure’s Kiss Me, The Wrens Silver and Secaucus, maybe Frank Black’s Teenager of the Year are all doubles and I love them despite their length. Throw in London Calling? Sign has at least 5 all timers and then a bunch of other material that, if you are a huge Prince fan, must be incredibly satisfying. Alas, I’m just not THAT much of a fan.

Couple of good songs. Not really my jam.

Did not listen

I used to think I was a Prince fan, but I’ve been severely turned off by 1999 and now this. There is no doubt Prince is a phenomenal singer and musician, and a hugely influential icon of sexual liberation. But as a bandleader and album curator I’m becoming very skeptical. This album is bloated. Almost all tracks outstay their welcome, with monotonous drum beats and circling riffs. It’s jam band funk, but it’s drastically inferior to Parliament/Funkadelic etc. The most interesting tracks generally tend to be that way due to Prince’s lyrical content - most notably If I Was Your Girlfriend, which would be too creepy coming from anyone else’s mouth; and the title track lamenting drug addiction. So basically this is not a bad album, but another overrated one, and for me lacking a standout bop like 1999. Fave Track: The Cross 2.7/5

Fine I guess.

Creative playful

Prince's music was more on the pop side than i usually like. That said, I respect his talent and ability greatly. This seems to fall flat though. Anyone else it might be a 2.2 dropped .to a 2. Respect for the artist, and I'll say 2.5 rounded up to 3.

Lowkey disappointing compared to Purple Rain didn't finish it in one day- but anticipate rating will be 3/5

No purple rain

Overall not bad but loses a point for being too long.

This is close to 3.5 stars. There's a lot of good stuff going here. On several songs Prince is at his peak, with observant lyrics and good rock-funk brews. He plays a lot of good lead guitar lines. But on other songs, it feels like he gets obsessed and won't quit. There are a few that go on too long, seemingly so that he could add some more overdubs. The album overall includes all the elements that made Prince great, but just doesn't add up to a cohesive whole.

Definitely some pretty cool stuff on here but there's just way better I've heard from Prince

Too long purple rain better 2.5/5

Ahh, the Princely one. ★★★

I may not have always loved Princes whole library of music, but always respected him musically.

Selkeesti verrattuna edelliseen rinssiin tässä on kiimaisuuden määrä ollut matalampi levyä väsäillessä. Sekaan toki mahtuu myös ilmapano-biisejä likaisimmista fantasioista, mutta itse musiikki ei ole niin perverssin kuuloista kuin 1999-rieskalla. Joukkoon mahtui lähes bruus spranksteeniltakin muistuttavaa tavaraa (tais olla se I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man tms). Tästä aasinsiltana voi todeta, että melkoinen sillisalaatti tämä on kokonaisuutena. Tuotantojälkikin vaihtelee biisien välillä rajusti. Eipä siinä, kyllähän se rinssin mielenmaisema on omanlaistaan ja jos siitä ei saa otetta, niin varmaan tämä materiaalikin hirvittää. Joukossa vois olla jopa neljän tähden veisuja, mutta kyllä sinne sitä haisevaa kakkostakin mahtuu. Pituutta levyllä nimittäin taas piisaa. No mutta ei se mitään. Annetaan taas vaihteeks puolihölmö arvosana.

Fun Prince album. It's a bit weird, but weird in a way that made Prince iconic and unique.

I've learned that Prince has some great songs, but his albums just aren't really it. This one fooled me a bit, because the first two songs were good! And then it went right back to the Prince mediocrity that I have come to know. I think his voice is big part of that for me; I just don't think he sounds that great. I do like this one marginally better than the other two Prince albums I've heard from this list so far, but none of them as a whole have really impressed. This one got the nudge because I think the music is actually pretty solid. The song that had a 3-minute instrumental just barely missed my favorite songs list. And the xylophone in "Play in the Sunshine" nearly made me laugh out loud (in a good way). Favorite Song(s): Sign 'O' the Times

I think Prince is overrated. Not bad by any stretch but still overrated.

Yet again I hope to get into Prince and yet again I find it a bit lacklustre.

Went from irritated to intrigued and finally entertained throughout this. Last few tracks stand out, specifically O Could Never Replace Your Man and It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night. One thing Prince does that kinda bothers me is where other artists would lean into a melody and make it stand out he uses the most timid imaginable synth, where you almost have to strain to latch on. A kink of his I’m sure. Good album.

3.5

3.0

Not my personal favorite, but I understand why it’s on this list. Extremely funky and fun with some deep messages, overall enjoyed it.

Prince is unique, not always what I’m looking for, but imaginative and fresh

Maybe not my sort of thing, but it grew on me. Housequake the best song.

I was never a huge Prince fan, but Sign O’ The Times is helping change that. It’s an album that really grows on you—packed with creativity, range, and emotion. While I wouldn’t throw it on while relaxing on the patio with a beer, it’s perfect for work listening. There’s something about its energy and unpredictability that keeps your brain engaged. This one definitely opened my ears a bit wider.

Not my favorite from Prince. I did like disc 2 better.

Not my favorite Prince album. Maybe it's too experimental, but I can't deny that it's still Prince being Prince. Always going left when everyone else goes right. There are some great tracks on the B-side of this album. Specifically, the last 4-5 songs.

Some great songs, but some very dated sounding pop - in terms of musicianship it's hard to fault but in songwriting terms I'd rate this mediocre overall

Some truly great guitar work let down by some truly terrible songs

This wasn't bad, there were a few songs I enjoyed, but a few were definitely a product of the times and may not have aged so well. I was not aware Beyonce used some of the If You Were My Girlfriend lyrics in her rap break down on Bonnie and Clyde 03!

Fehlt mir 1-2 von den großen bekannten Prince Songs. Ansonsten war es nur okay, hat mich aber auch nicht gestört zu hören.

Back in high school, I had two friends who were hardcore Prince fans. Under their influence, I gave it a try, but honestly, not much stuck with me. I’m kind of closed off to it, I can’t really get past that 80s production. Of course, I respect him as an artist, producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist… but his music doesn’t hit me that much. Still, I don’t dislike it. On this album, I enjoyed Slow Love, Hot love, Forever in My Life or the very rock The Cross, where I think Prince’s voice sounds amazing. Overall, I’m not totally on board, but I’m not giving up. One way or another, I’ll come back to this incredible character that is Prince and I might even like it.

My experience with Prince so far has given me the impression that he’s a restless creative who’s bursting with ideas and is not great at editing them down. While listening to a Prince song, I’m bopping and having a great time. When I listen to a Prince album, my mind wanders. Being a double album, Sign O’ the Times has this problem even worse than 1999, which was so close to being a 5-star album. And that one I’m afraid had even more great songs I’d want to return to. I’ve always heard how classic this album is, and admittedly it sounds good and is well-produced (aside from those god-awful, loud, unadorned drum machine sounds), but is a bit of a slog to get through in full.

Really wanted to like this album and each track seemed to hint at a promise that just didn't deliver

Not really my thing, I was a bit bored.

It was pretty good! But honestly, I don't really get the common obsession with Prince. Like, it's fine and pretty good but it's not like, amazing to me.

Yet again a double album that could be better as a single album. Too much Prince in one sitting.

I don't know why but I've never been able to warm to Prince

I dunno, y'know. I just feel like I'm missing something with Prince. There's no doubt that he's a talented guy, but he doesn't really make me feel anything most of the time. This felt like quite a technical exercise in songwriting. It's still good, of course, I can see that, but it's just not particularly connecting with me.

I don’t listen to a lot of Prince and only know him because of Little Red Corvette. The first few songs were were excellent, the the middle of the album not so much, then ending with three wonderful songs. A mix bag for me.

Not my favorite of his. I see the genius, and it definitely makes me want to get up and dance, but I have always been a little confused by why this album is in such high esteem. Waiting for Purple Rain!

I liked it enough to listen twice, but I still need a bit more to really warm to it.

I think prince is maybe not really my vibe. But overall this is still pretty cool. Couple of super duper bangers

This album is no Purple Rain but it wasn’t bad. Could have taken out the tracks that Prince played all the instruments himself and it would have been a better album. Prince needed a band to make his sound awesome.

Prince is unique. He has an unmistakeable voice, lots of talent, and a great work ethic. There's plenty here to like, but there's also...too much. And only a handful of songs really stand out.

A double-album with some great tracks & some mostly forgettable ones.

Sure, if you like Prince.

1987 - junior year high school @ Kaiserslautern (K-town) AB, Germany. Interesting sound from Prince. Became a fan after his Purple Rain album, and enjoyed a couple of these songs, the depressing lead track and 'U Got The Look'

Good album. Don't have much to say about it.

It’s good, but too long. Felt like the album quality would improve drastically if they dropped half the songs. Favourite Song: Strange Relationship Honourable Mention: Hot Thing, Sign O the Times