✦ Sign O’ The Times – Album SDE: Sept. 2020

A monumental deep‑dive into Prince’s most creatively explosive era — remastered, expanded and unveiled from the vault in unprecedented detail

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✦ SUMMARY

Released on 25 September 2020 by The Prince Estate and Warner Records, the Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition represents the most ambitious archival project of Prince’s career. The original 1987 double album — widely regarded as one of the greatest albums ever made — was remastered for the first time and expanded into a vast 92‑track collection across eight CDs or thirteen 180‑gram vinyl records.

The set captures Prince during his most prolific period (1985–1987), a time of reinvention marked by the dissolution of The Revolution, the construction of Paisley Park, and the creation (and abandonment) of the Dream Factory, Camille and Crystal Ball projects. Overflowing with musical ideas, political commentary and genre‑defying innovation, Sign O’ The Times remains as urgent and relevant today as it was in 1987.

The Super Deluxe Edition includes 63 previously unreleased tracks, a complete 1987 Utrecht concert, and a never‑before‑seen New Year’s Eve 1987 Paisley Park performance featuring Miles Davis — a historic moment captured on DVD for the first time.

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✦ HIGHLIGHTS

• Released 25 September 2020

• First‑ever remaster of the original 1987 album

• 63 previously unreleased vault tracks

• Complete 1987 Utrecht concert (audio)

• New Year’s Eve 1987 Paisley Park concert with Miles Davis (DVD)

• 120‑page hardcover book with unseen photos, handwritten lyrics and essays

• Total of 92 audio tracks across 8CD or 13LP formats

• Deepest archival dive into Prince’s vault to date

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✦ EDITIONS OVERVIEW

✦ Super Deluxe Edition – 8CD + DVD

• Remastered album

• 45 previously unreleased studio tracks

• Single mixes & edits

• Utrecht 1987 concert

• New Year’s Eve 1987 Paisley Park concert (DVD)

• 120‑page hardcover book

✦ Super Deluxe Edition – 13LP + DVD

• Same content as above, spread across 180‑gram vinyl

✦ Deluxe Edition – 3CD or 4LP

• Remastered album

• Single mixes & edits

✦ Standard Edition – 2CD or 2LP

• Remastered album only

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✦ KEY CONTENTS

✦ Remastered Album

The full 16‑track masterpiece, including:

Sign O’ The Times

Play in the Sunshine

Housequake

The Ballad of Dorothy Parker

If I Was Your Girlfriend

U Got the Look

I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man

Adore

…and more

✦ Vault Tracks (45 previously unreleased)

Recorded between May 1979 and July 1987, including:

Rebirth of the Flesh

Witness 4 The Prosecution (Version 1 & 2)

Cosmic Day

Emotional Pump

Wally

Soul Psychodelicide

Forever in My Life (Early Vocal Run‑Through)

And That Says What?

The Cocoa Boys

The Ball

Crystal Ball (1986 version)

…and dozens more

✦ Live at Utrecht – 20 June 1987

A complete Sign O’ The Times Tour concert, newly mixed from the original tapes.

✦ New Year’s Eve 1987 – Paisley Park (DVD)

Prince’s final performance of the Sign O’ The Times stage show, featuring his only on‑stage collaboration with Miles Davis.

✦ 120‑Page Hardcover Book

• Unseen Jeff Katz photography

• Prince’s handwritten lyrics

• Tape box scans and studio documentation

• Essays by Dave Chappelle, Lenny Kravitz, Susan Rogers, Daphne A. Brooks, Andrea Swensson and Duane Tudahl

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✦ PRODUCTION & CONTEXT

Sign O’ The Times emerged from a period of intense transformation. Between 1985 and 1987, Prince dissolved The Revolution, built Paisley Park, and created multiple albums’ worth of material — Dream Factory, Camille and Crystal Ball — before distilling the best of it into a double album that redefined pop, funk, rock and soul.

The 2020 Super Deluxe Edition reveals the full scope of this creative explosion, offering unprecedented access to Prince’s vault and illuminating the evolution of one of the most important albums of the 20th century.

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✦ LEGACY

Sign O’ The Times is widely considered Prince’s magnum opus — a fearless, genre‑shifting masterpiece that captures the anxieties, joys and contradictions of the late 1980s. The 2020 Super Deluxe Edition elevates the album into a definitive archival monument, preserving Prince’s most fertile era with extraordinary depth and clarity.

Dave Chappelle summed it up in the liner notes:

“Prince was the first mainstream artist to wax poetic and tell our community’s story… He literally was a sign of the times.”

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✦ PRINCE 1985–1987 MINI‑TIMELINE — THE SIGN O’ THE TIMES ERA

✦ 1985

Prince begins recording Dream Factory with The Revolution.

✦ 1986

The Revolution disbands; Prince records Camille and Crystal Ball; Paisley Park opens.

Prince says: “I feel that we’re on the brink of something. It is going to be strict and wild and pretty.”

✦ Early 1987

Prince assembles Sign O’ The Times from multiple abandoned projects.

✦ March 1987

Sign “O” The Times (single) is released — a stark, socially conscious masterpiece.

✦ April 1987

The album is released to universal acclaim.

✦ June 1987

Prince performs the Utrecht concert included in the Super Deluxe Edition.

✦ December 1987

Prince performs the New Year’s Eve benefit concert with Miles Davis at Paisley Park.

✦ 2020

The Super Deluxe Edition is released, offering the most comprehensive archival exploration of the era.

This period captures Prince at his most visionary — reinventing himself while creating some of the most influential music of his career.

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✦ GLAM FLASHBACK — SIGN O’ THE TIMES (1987) VS. SIGN O’ THE TIMES (2020 SUPER DELUXE)

✦ 1987 Original Album

• A bold, genre‑defying double LP

• Themes of love, politics, spirituality and desire

• Minimalist production mixed with lush arrangements

• A landmark of 1980s music

✦ 2020 Super Deluxe Edition

• First‑ever remaster with enhanced clarity

• 63 unreleased tracks revealing Prince’s process

• Two major live concerts

• A comprehensive archival book

• The deepest vault excavation of Prince’s career

Together, they show the full spectrum of Prince’s genius — the masterpiece we knew, and the universe of music behind it.

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✦ SOURCES

Personal archive knowledge

Prince Vault

Discogs

AllMusic

Rate Your Music

Wikipedia

BBC Official Charts Company

Prince Estate official announcements

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TRACK LISTINGS

CD1 / LP1: Remastered Album (Disc 1)

Sign O’ The Times

Play In The Sunshine

Housequake

The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker

It

Starfish And Coffee

Slow Love

Hot Thing

Forever In My Life

CD2 / LP2: Remastered Album (Disc 2)

U Got The Look

If I Was Your Girlfriend

Strange Relationship

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man

The Cross

It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night

Adore

CD3 / LP3&4: Single Mixes & Edits

Sign O’ The Times (7” single edit)

La, La, La, He, He, Hee (7” single edit)

La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Highly Explosive) (7” single edit)

If I Was Your Girlfriend (7” single edit)

Shockadelica (“If I Was Your Girlfriend” B-side)

Shockadelica (12” long version)

U Got The Look (Long Look) (12” edit)

Housequake (7” edit)

Housequake (7 Minutes MoQuake) (12” edit)

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Fade 7” edit)

Hot Thing (7” single edit)

Hot Thing (Extended Remix)

Hot Thing (Dub Version)

CD4 / LP5&6: Vault, Part 1

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 version)

Teacher, Teacher (1985 version)

All My Dreams

Can I Play With U? (featuring Miles Davis)

Wonderful Day (original version)

Strange Relationship (original version)

Visions

The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker (with horns)

Witness 4 The Prosecution (version 1)

Power Fantastic (live in studio)

And That Says What?

Love And Sex

A Place In Heaven (Prince vocal)

Colors

Crystal Ball (7” mix)

Big Tall Wall (version 1)

Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A

In A Large Room With No Light

All tracks previously unreleased

CD5 / LP7&8: Vault, Part 2

Train

It Ain’t Over ‘Til The Fat Lady Sings

Eggplant (Prince vocal)

Everybody Want What They Don’t Got

Blanche

Soul Psychodelicide

The Ball

Adonis And Bathsheba

Forever In My Life (early vocal studio run-through)

Crucial (alternate lyrics)

The Cocoa Boys

When The Dawn Of The Morning Comes

Witness 4 The Prosecution (version 2)

It Be’s Like That Sometimes

All tracks previously unreleased

CD6 / LP9&10: Vault, Part 3

Emotional Pump

Rebirth Of The Flesh (with original outro)

Cosmic Day

Walkin’ In Glory

Wally

I Need A Man

Promise To Be True

Jealous Girl (version 2)

There’s Something I Like About Being Your Fool

Big Tall Wall (version 2)

A Place In Heaven (Lisa vocal)

Wonderful Day (12” mix)

Strange Relationship (1987 Shep Pettibone Club Mix)

All tracks previously unreleased

CD7&8 / LP11-13: Live In Utrecht – June 20, 1987

Intro/Sign O’ The Times

Play In The Sunshine

Little Red Corvette

Housequake

Girls & Boys

Slow Love

Take The “A” Train/Pacemaker/I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man

Hot Thing

Four

If I Was Your Girlfriend

Let’s Go Crazy

When Doves Cry

Purple Rain

1999

Forever In My Life

Kiss

The Cross

It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night

All tracks previously unreleased

DVD: Live At Paisley Park – December 31, 1987

Sign O’ The Times

Play In The Sunshine

Little Red Corvette

Erotic City

Housequake

Slow Love

Do Me, Baby

Adore

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man

What’s Your Name Jam

Let’s Pretend We’re Married

Delirious

Jack U Off

Drum Solo

Twelve

Hot Thing

If I Was Your Girlfriend

Let’s Go Crazy

When Doves Cry

Purple Rain

1999

U Got The Look

It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night Medley (featuring Miles Davis)

All tracks previously unrelease