To rave reviews and glowing recollections, Friday saw the release of remastered, deluxe, and super deluxe editions of the seminal Prince album Sign o’ the Times. From the calamity-cleft funk minimalism of the title track and the sunburst sweeps of ‘Starfish and Coffee’ to the slow-build spiritualism of ‘The Cross’ and soul devotional ‘Adore’, on Sign o’ the Times the artist was at his most fertile, creatively unfettered as he surveyed his surrounds.
Sign o’ the Times was already a double album, which on release stretched across 80 minutes and four sides. The super deluxe package now spans nine discs, adding all of the contemporary single edits and B-sides plus 45 previously unreleased studio tracks and live performances from Utrecht and Paisley Park.
One of the most critically acclaimed albums of 1987, storming the annual Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll with Robert Christgau describing ‘the most gifted pop musician of his generation proving what a motherfucker he is for two discs start to finish’, today Sign o’ the Times is frequently regarded among the greatest of all albums. There’s never been a better moment for a really deep dive.
