Prince – Sign O’ The Times (Super Deluxe) (2020) [FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

The Super Deluxe Edition brings fans all the audio material that Prince officially released in 1987, as well as 45 previously unissued studio songs recorded between May 1979 and July 1987, and a complete live audio performance from the June 20, 1987 stop on the Sign O’ The Times Tour at Stadium Galgenwaard in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

In addition, both CD and vinyl sets also boast a brand-new DVD containing the complete, previously unreleased New Year’s Eve benefit concert at Paisley Park on December 31, 1987, which was Prince’s final performance of the Sign O’ The Times Tour stage show and his only on-stage collaboration with jazz legend Miles Davis.

Prince and the Revolution released the Parade album in March 1986, after which, the following Prince projects were conceived, mostly completed, and abandoned: a single LP Dream Factory, a double-LP Dream Factory, the 3-LP Crystal Ball, a musical known as either The Dawn or Dream Factory, and a single LP Camille. Finally, in March 1987, the double-LP Sign O’ The Times was released, cherry-picking highlights from most of those projects and adding brand-new material. It is—even for an artist who has gone down in history as one of the most prolific pop musicians of the 20th century—an astonishing volume of work. Even more astonishing is the consistently high quality of the work.

The original Sign O’ The Times has long been recognized as Prince’s creative zenith, garnering the sort of contemporaneous and retrospective critical admiration that very few double albums have ever claimed. But the fact that this work was the result of a 27-year-old creating at such a fast clip and such a high level is, when you stop and think about it, not just the mark of a genius at the top of his game, but something truly singular.

That uniqueness may bedevil listeners of this Super Deluxe Edition. While the Sign O’ The Times album itself is, of course, still an incredible work that benefits immensely from the careful remastering (this album, probably more than any other in Prince’s catalog, was in dire need of it), there is no easy way to mentally process its 45 unreleased tracks. They are sequenced in chronological order of recording, which makes sense, as there really is no other simple way the Estate could have presented this work. However—believe it or not—this isn’t even everything! Due to licensing restrictions and the fact that many of these tracks exist in multiple versions, there is no way this set could be comprehensive.

So, while this presentation does deny listeners the chance to compile their own versions of the Dream Factory or Camille albums from the unreleased material, it also declines to provide any sort of narrative listening experience. Which is probably for the best. When, in just two years, you can go from the height of the Revolution’s powers (“In A Large Room With No Light,””Soul Psychodelicide”) through a collaboration with Miles Davis (“Can I Play With U?”) and a run of inventive, immersive home-studio creations (“Cosmic Day”) and then on to the sounds that would define Lovesexy (“The Cocoa Boys,””Walkin’ in Glory”), the only story to tell is one of a prodigy at his most prodigious. With four albums’ worth of unreleased material here—nearly all of which is in surprisingly solid sonic condition—your best bet is to proceed slowly, soak it all in, and find your favorites. And, if the original album and 45 unreleased tracks wasn’t enough, this set also includes a handful of edits and remixes along with the two b-sides that were released contemporaneously with the album and an absolutely blazing live set from the album’s European tour. – Jason Ferguson

Tracklist

01. Sign O’ The Times (2020 Remaster)
02. Play In The Sunshine (2020 Remaster)
03. Housequake (2020 Remaster)
04. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker (2020 Remaster)
05. It (2020 Remaster)
06. Starfish And Coffee (2020 Remaster)
07. Slow Love (2020 Remaster)
08. Hot Thing (2020 Remaster)
09. Forever In My Life (2020 Remaster)

CD2
01. U Got The Look (2020 Remaster)
02. If I Was Your Girlfriend (2020 Remaster)
03. Strange Relationship (2020 Remaster)
04. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (2020 Remaster)
05. The Cross (2020 Remaster)
06. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night (2020 Remaster)
07. Adore (2020 Remaster)

CD3
01. Sign O’ The Times (Edit) (2020 Remaster)
02. La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Edit) (2020 Remaster)
03. La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Highly Explosive) (2020 Remaster)
04. If I Was Your Girlfriend (Edit) (2020 Remaster)
05. Shockadelica (2020 Remaster)
06. Shockadelica (12″ Long Version) (2020 Remaster)
07. U Got the Look (Long Look) (2020 Remaster)
08. Housequake (Edit) (2020 Remaster)
09. Housequake (7 Minutes MoQuake) (2020 Remaster)
10. I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man (Fade) (2020 Remaster)
11. Hot Thing (Edit) (2020 Remaster)
12. Hot Thing (Extended Remix) (2020 Remaster)
13. Hot Thing (Dub Version) (2020 Remaster)

CD4
01. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 Version) (2020 Remaster)
02. Teacher Teacher (1985 Version) (2020 Remaster)
03. All My Dreams (2020 Remaster)
04. Can I Play With U? (feat. Miles Davis) (2020 Remaster)
05. Wonderful Day (2020 Remaster)
06. Strange Relationship (2020 Remaster)
07. Visions (2020 Remaster)
08. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker (With Horns; 2020 Remaster)
09. Witness 4 The Prosecution (Version 1) (2020 Remaster)
10. Power Fantastic (Live in Studio) (2020 Remaster)
11. And That Says What? (2020 Remaster)
12. Love And Sex (2020 Remaster)
13. A Place In Heaven (Prince Vocal) (2020 Remaster)
14. Colors (2020 Remaster)
15. Crystal Ball (7″ Mix) (2020 Remaster)
16. Big Tall Wall (Version 1) (2020 Remaster)
17. Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A (2020 Remaster)
18. In A Large Room With No Light (2020 Remaster)

CD5
01. Train (2020 Remaster)
02. It Ain’t Over ‘Til The Fat Lady Sings (2020 Remaster)
03. Eggplant (Original Prince Vocal) (2020 Remaster)
04. Everybody Want What They Don’t Got (2020 Remaster)
05. Blanche (2020 Remaster)
06. Soul Psychodelicide (1986 Master) (2020 Remaster)
07. The Ball (2020 Remaster)
08. Adonis And Bathsheba (2020 Remaster)
09. Forever In My Life (Early Vocal Run-Through) (2020 Remaster)
10. Crucial (Alternate Lyrics) (2020 Remaster)
11. The Cocoa Boys (2020 Remaster)
12. When The Dawn Of The Morning Comes (2020 Remaster)
13. Witness 4 The Prosecution (Version 2) (2020 Remaster)
14. It Be’s Like That Sometimes (2020 Remaster)

CD6
01. Emotional Pump (2020 Remaster)
02. Rebirth Of The Flesh (Original Outro) (2020 Remaster)
03. Cosmic Day (2020 Remaster)
04. Walkin’ In Glory (2020 Remaster)
05. Wally (2020 Remaster)
06. I Need A Man (2020 Remaster)
07. Promise To Be True (2020 Remaster)
08. Jealous Girl (Version 2) (2020 Remaster)
09. There’s Something I Like About Being Your Fool (2020 Remaster)
10. Big Tall Wall (Version 2) (2020 Remaster)
11. A Place In Heaven (Lisa Vocal) (2020 Remaster)
12. Wonderful Day (12″ Mix) (2020 Remaster)
13. Strange Relationship (1987 Shep Pettibone Club Mix) (2020 Remaster)

CD7
01. Intro/Sign O’ The Times (Live in Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
02. Play In The Sunshine (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
03. Little Red Corvette (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
04. Housequake (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
05. Girls & Boys (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
06. Slow Love (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
07. Take The “A” Train / Pacemaker / I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
08. Hot Thing (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
09. Four (Includes Sheila E. Drum Solo) [Live In Utrecht] (2020 Remaster)
10. If I Was Your Girlfriend (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)

CD8
01. Let’s Go Crazy (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
02. When Doves Cry (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
03. Purple Rain (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
04. 1999 (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
05. Forever In My Life (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
06. Kiss (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
07. The Cross (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)
08. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night (Live In Utrecht) (2020 Remaster)

Download:

mqs.link_PrinceSign0TheTimesSuperDeluxe202024441.part1.rar
mqs.link_PrinceSign0TheTimesSuperDeluxe202024441.part2.rar
mqs.link_PrinceSign0TheTimesSuperDeluxe202024441.part3.rar
mqs.link_PrinceSign0TheTimesSuperDeluxe202024441.part4.rar
mqs.link_PrinceSign0TheTimesSuperDeluxe202024441.part5.rar
mqs.link_PrinceSign0TheTimesSuperDeluxe202024441.part6.rar