Prince (March 31 1987) Sign o' the Times - Double Album

Sign o' the Times is Prince’s ninth studio album and his first official double album as a solo artist. Released in March 1987, it is widely regarded as one of his greatest masterpieces, showcasing an eclectic mix of funk, rock, R&B, psychedelia, and avant-pop.

RELEASE DETAILS

Artist: Prince

Label: Paisley Park / Warner Bros. Records

Date: March 31, 1987

Catalogue: 9 25577-1

Format: 2LP

Country: United States (worldwide release)

THE STORY

Sign o' the Times is a bold, expansive double album that captures Prince at the peak of his creative powers. Drawing from the abandoned projects Dream Factory, Camille, and Crystal Ball, the album explores a wide range of styles — from skeletal electro-funk and psychedelic pop to emotional ballads and socially conscious tracks. It features Prince’s signature Linn drum machine sounds, Fairlight CMI synthesizer, and pitch-shifted “Camille” vocals on several songs.

CONTEXT & NOTES

Following the disbandment of The Revolution, Prince delivered a highly experimental and personal work. Despite minimal initial promotion, the album was a major critical and commercial success, reaching the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 and spawning multiple hit singles. It is frequently cited as one of the greatest albums of the 1980s and of Prince’s entire career.

TRACK LIST (Original 2LP)

Side One Sign o' the Times (5:02) Play in the Sunshine (5:05) Housequake (4:38) The Ballad of Dorothy Parker (4:04)

Side Two It (5:10) Starfish and Coffee (2:51) Slow Love (4:18) Hot Thing (5:39) Forever in My Life (3:38)

Side Three U Got the Look (3:58) If I Was Your Girlfriend (4:54) Strange Relationship (4:04) I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man (6:31)

Side Four The Cross (4:46) It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night (8:59) Adore (6:29)

PERSONNEL Musicians

• Prince — lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion, programming

• Wendy Melvoin — guitar, backing vocals

• Lisa Coleman — keyboards, backing vocals

• Dr. Fink — keyboards

• BrownMark — bass

• Bobby Z. — drums

• Sheila E. — percussion, vocals

• Eric Leeds — saxophone

• Atlanta Bliss — trumpet

• Susannah Melvoin, Jill Jones — backing vocals

• Additional musicians on strings and horns

Production

• Prince — producer, arranger

• Susan Rogers, Peggy McCreary, David Tickle — engineers

• Bernie Grundman — mastering

PACKAGING HIGHLIGHTS

• Surreal, cluttered cover artwork

• Gatefold sleeve with lyrics

• Blue heart-shaped balloon sticker on front

WHAT THE SLEEVE SHOWS

The front cover is a surreal, densely packed scene featuring a large light-blue heart-shaped balloon with the album title, a drum kit mounted on a car, various objects, plants, and Prince partially visible in the foreground. A pink promotional sticker is placed in the top left corner. The back cover shows a golden, ornate, illuminated sign listing all the tracks and production credits in an elegant, theatrical style.

CHARTS 

America Country: Chart | Entry Date | Peak Position | Weeks in Chart

USA: Billboard 200 | April 18, 1987 | 6 | - USA: Billboard Black LPs | - | 4 | -

SINGLES RELEASED

• “Sign o' the Times”

• “If I Was Your Girlfriend”

• “U Got the Look”

• “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man”

Rolling Stone called Sign o’ the Times “the most expansive R&B record” of the 1980s, and it really does cover a huge range of styles. Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted Prince’s mix of bare-bones electro-funk, smooth soul, psychedelic pop, and hard rock, with touches of gospel, blues, and folk. Ben Greenman described it as everything from spooky political R&B to skeletal funk and tender, folk-like soul. Touré saw it mainly as a deep dive into soul, while Paul Grimstad considered it avant-pop. Yuzima Philip pointed out how Prince’s drum machine work delivered authentic rock made with computers. Jon Bream called it a perfect balance of all the sounds Prince had explored—funk, pop, rock, and ballads—and it even dabbles in hip hop, which was just breaking into the mainstream. Nelson George noted Prince’s awareness of hip hop’s growing influence. Thematically, Hanif Abdurraqib described the album as political—not in offering solutions, but in expressing survival, joy, love, and imagination even as the world feels like it’s on the brink.

SOURCES

Discogs, 45cat, Official Charts, Wikipedia, Prince Vault, Sleevographia.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

 All album artwork, photographs, logos, and original text excerpts remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This entry is a transformative, non-commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference.