Prince – Sign "O" The Times

WOW.

Just wow.

I hesitated on this BG cut mainly i thought the price abit high. I was also going to get the black copy first but a deal on this peach one came along. Oh boy am i glad i took the plunge! This sounds AMAZING. Bernie has smashed it out the park. The percussions - which this album is all about - are fresh. The mastering is super clear in a good way. Thr review below that talks of low bit MP3 sound is sooooo far off its laughable. And yet im not laughing... i just feel sorry for anyone who doesnt think this sounds great.

The pressings themselves are also very high quality. Both discs are flat. Clean and defect free. On centre. This is Optimal media before Covid and higher demands and it shows here. The quietness of the records is crucial with a record where sparse percussive tracks make up so much of said record and my og is unlistenable compared to this now.

The packaging is ok. The poly lined sleeves are a relief. I guess a gatefold would have made this better but its not a deal breaker.

I. Am. Chuffed!

Brilliant pressing of a brilliant album on peach vinyl. The album is an absolute masterpiece. 💜 Color u PEACH and black…

Warped on record 1, still plays fine but doesn't sound as powerful as my original german pressing. Absolute classic album.

I can't understand any of this reviews. This reissue sounds awful!! Compared to my beaten up original 1987 (Dutch) copy half of the music seems to have disappeared. As if it was mastered from a low bitrate mp3. Maybe if you grew up on an iPod you might think this is good sound... Let this "boomer" tell you it ain't!! I got numerous 80's regular, no 180 grams, no 'magician' remasterer, vinyl records that all sound amazing! Don't buy this, find yourself an original copy in good condition.

Another fabulous remaster by Bernie Grundman; sounds awesome, and the peach vinyl looks great. The entire team behind the reissue of Prince’s catalogue have done a truly fantastic job of honouring his music & legacy.

Cover Art: 10/10
Sound Quality: 10/10 (peach vinyl with black polly sleeves)
Cover Art: 10/10 (non gatefold but anyway)

Total: 10/10, Recommended Masterpiece.

Sometimes when I have listened to a few Japanese pressings from other artists, it sometimes turns out to be disappointing. But not with this Optimal pressing. Am very disappointed by them. Lacquer Cut by Bernie Grundman, then you are actually always in the right place as most know. Not for nothing that this record is more expensive than average, but this quality is certainly not average, sound is very dynamic, no surface noice, just top notch and a must have! ❤️

Source Wiki:
Sign o' the Times (often stylized as Sign "☮︎" the Times) is the ninth studio album by American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was first released as a double album on March 30, 1987,[1] by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album is the follow-up to Parade and is Prince's first album following his disbanding of the Revolution. The album's songs were largely recorded during 1986 to 1987 in sessions for releases Prince ultimately aborted: Dream Factory, the pseudonymous Camille, and finally the triple album Crystal Ball.[2] Prince eventually compromised with label executives and shortened the length of the release to a double album, whose music encomes a varied range of styles, including funk, soul, psychedelic pop, electro, and rock.

As with many of Prince's early 1980s albums, Sign o' the Times features extensive use of the Linn LM-1 drum machine on most songs. In addition, many songs on the album feature minimal instrumentation, and use of the Fairlight CMI, a then state-of-the-art digital sampler. Four of the album's standout songs, "Housequake", "Strange Relationship", "U Got the Look" with Sheena Easton, and "If I Was Your Girlfriend" offer sped-up vocals, ostensibly the voice of "Camille", Prince's alter ego of the Sign o' the Times era.

Sign o' the Times' release was ed by several singles, among them the socially conscious "Sign o' the Times" and "If I Was Your Girlfriend"; in addition to a well-received concert film of the same name. The album peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) four months after its release.[3] It also reached the top 10 in Austria, , Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the UK and number one in Switzerland. "Sign o' the Times", "U Got the Look" and "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" were all top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] Following Prince's death in 2016, the album re-entered the Billboard 200 at number 20.

Though not as commercially successful as Purple Rain, Sign o' the Times was Prince's most acclaimed record, being voted 1987's best album in the Pazz & Jop critics poll and since being ranked as one of the greatest albums of all time by several publications. It has been regarded by many critics as Prince's best album, ahead of Purple Rain. Writing for The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Michaelangelo Matos regarded it as "the most complete example of [Prince's] artistry's breadth, and arguably the finest album of the 1980s".[5] In 2017, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Anyone know if this is AAA? It sounds great, but I'm just curious and can't find the info anywhere. I know the 1999 remaster was a digital transfer.

It's definitely a good pressing, not sure yet if I like it more than my 1987 US 1ST pressing but it is a nice complement. However my first choice here is original CD version, yeah.

Almost bought this a few months ago, glad I held out and waited for this version to drop though, cuz damn this sounds great and the color is perfect, looks just like his guitar from this era.