50 great things about Prince's 'Sign O' The Times'

I’m s bit surprised that Dream Factory isn’t included within this box

C U R R E N T L Y U N K N O W N

with Australian ears I've always thought "turn on the telly" in the title track sounded slightly incongruous - like, I associate "telly" with the UK and feel the US is more of a "teevee" kinda place - or is this just the result of over-reductive generalising

sorry for this monumentally inconsequential q but every time I listen to this it makes me curious and I will never find a better place to make the enquiry

It's always stuck out for me, too. A weird affectation. It's not like saying "telly" instead of "TV" changes the flow of the line in any way.

Well, fwiw, he was coming off the Parade tour through Europe, maybe that had something to do with it.

I listen to the fan remastered Sign-era box all the time, this will be great. I'm beginning to sense a pattern: release a deluxe edition of a Prince masterpiece, then a bunch of shitty stuff from the 90s and beyond, then a deluxe masterpiece, then a bunch of shitty stuff, then another masterpiece ...

It's a marathon, not a sprint, I guess.

One of the fondest compilations in my collection: a CD-R of those DF and CB outtakes.

We appear to have a formal tracklisting:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BMXT2SK/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=prince&qid=1592933387&refinements=p_lbr_music_artists_browse-bin%3APrince%2Cp_n_date%3A1249114011&rnid=1249111011&s=music&sr=1-4

Tracks not listed in the earlier summary include "Wally," "Cosmic Day," "When the Dawn of the Morning Comes," "I Need a Man" and various others.

The CD version is https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BMSF4XT/50.

Sorry, bad link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BMSF4XT

I listen to the fan remastered Sign-era box all the time, this will be great. I'm beginning to sense a pattern: release a deluxe edition of a Prince masterpiece, then a bunch of shitty stuff from the 90s and beyond, then a deluxe masterpiece, then a bunch of shitty stuff, then another masterpiece ...

Great to have a "Everybody Want..." and "Cosmic Day" remastered/mastered but where is "Traffic Jam" which is ... a godlike instrumental?!?

Also - about 5 things here I never heard of before so really psyched.

Hoping that price comes down a little. I don't think I paid more than $65 for the 1999 CD box. This obviously has a few more discus, but feels like a big jump.

discs even

Looking at the setlist from that Paisley Park show, looks like none of the Miles Davis-featured songs are on the dvd tracklist
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/prince/1987/paisley-park-studios-chanhassen-mn-4bd857c2.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjgKgirygjA

Looking at the setlist from that Paisley Park show, looks like none of the Miles Davis-featured songs are on the dvd tracklist

According to the press release, all the Miles live tracks are all part of a long medley - it's the last track on the DVD.

Great interview with the archivist who put the box together; he explains why the movie isn't included (basically, Prince sold the rights).

Fwiw, the movie is still up as a free title on Prime.

Holy shit, "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" is from 1979!?

Yeah that's a hell of a shocker. That and these unreleased remixes and more -- gotta say, Howe really seems like a first-rate guy to be doing this work based on the details in the answers and the clear care he's got with the material.

Totally makes sense in a way, I always think of it as a companion to When You Were Mine

If ‘Witness For The Prosecution’ is anything to go by we’re in for a treat...

Totally makes sense in a way, I always think of it as a companion to When You Were Mine

I was about to preorder the deluxe box set this on Amazon, but wtf is up with its price? On the German Amazon it's 153 euros (with taxes) and on the US Amazon it's 160 dollars! The 1999 box set had 5 CDs and 1 DVD and it cost 72 euros on Amazon, and I felt that one was already a bit pricey, but this one has 8 CDs and 1 DVD and it costs twice as much? The price is pretty much the same as if you would buy 9 individual albums separately, which is ridiculous for a box set.

Popmarket.com has it on vinyl for about $250 after you give them your email and phone number (gets you 10% off).

Bullmoose has the CD set for $122, free shipping.

Managed to order it via Amazon Italy, about €100.

Obv postage extra, but often enough it gets supplied from a domestic warehouse

I was stunned by the inflated retail price too. It's mainly ruthless free market dynamics - with each super deluxe set of his key WB albums, they've seen how 1) fans are willing to spend more to get more and 2) how they've underestimated demand each time out, with the vinyl super deluxe sets in particular selling out pretty fast. This set has the most lavish packaging, and even the CD version (which was fairly compact - no pun intended - on the prior two super deluxe editions) is now an LP sized box, with I think a hardcover book. Combined with bigger expectations regarding demand, it makes logical sense, but it's still really high. Bull Moose's $122 price tag for the CD version feels more like the list price I would have expected.

Also, some have pointed out that Paul McCartney has REALLY jacked up the price on his next super deluxe box set for "Flaming Pie." Also lavishly packaged, it's far more expensive with more inconsequential audio and video bonuses when the album is nowhere near the level of "Sign 'O' the Times." Maybe they're expecting a smaller but more devoted (i.e. more willing to spend more) consumer base for that set? Whatever's their target, I ain't a part of it.

Best price I've seen - ImportCDs.com has it for $113.65.

I almost went with ImportCD's but it wound up costing a little more than Bull Moose due to taxes and shipping. (The $122 Bull Moose price includes shipping and they don't collect taxes for my location.) With that in mind, if anyone's looking for the absolute best deal, you should look at the checkout totals first.

1979 I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man - Dirty Mind style all the way!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAegR_IKlyc&feature=emb_logo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAegR_IKlyc

Better than the SOTT version to me...can’t wait for this...

Couldn't disagree more. I hate that Dirty Mind sound; even the actual album sounds like a home demo to me. Love the SOTT version, though.

agree

Imagine having a song that strong and sitting on it for years

"better than the original" is a (graffiti) bridge too far but this is fucking awesome

eheh yeah, it's fun but it sounds like a demo compared to the "original" imo.

TBF the ‘original’ was never one of my faves...bit long and overblown for me...like the economy of the demo...all his demo’s have such a great bounce about them

Clearly he jibed with that aesthetic, for whatever reason. The demo-like quality of "Dirty Mind" and "Controversy" really set the stage for the technicolor leaps he'd make next, though tbf, I always thought "Little Red Corvette" sounded like a demo, too.

Count me among those preferring the Dirty Mind era version.

The SOTT version is interesting because it’s a take on 70s maximalist classic rock, like Frampton Comes Alive or the Eagles or something, and I can’t think of another song where he did that quite so thoroughly. Eh, probably a bullshit take.

Maybe it’s because the original sounds a bit stale now but I love the spontaneity of the demo...the original sounds a bit thought through?...

70s maximalist classic rock, like Frampton Comes Alive or the Eagles

both these acts are pretty mellow and I wouldn't say maximalist at all

the early version is interesting but the SOTT version seems more realized to me

SOTT version to me is his "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" (which sounds good to me, maybe not everyone)

SOTT is an anthem, '79 version is a new wave ditty. Albeit an excellent one.

My take shouldn't be taken seriously, I've always thought ICNTTPOYM was on the lesser side of the SOTT singles.

the original is def far superior, but i respect the opinion of people who think it drags on for too long

*original meaning the version released with sign in 1987

The half-time section on the LP version actually made me like it a bit more than the single version I was used to.

i love the halftime section too, so i'm just picking nits.