As I said truly without fault I love every single song on there, adore every B-side, and held its cover and inside sleeves more than any other album, but most of all its tour made me a die-hard fam and gave me a nothing short of a spiritual revelation. And that can be said for the three albums that came before and the two that came after (counting The Black Album, in this case), but Sign O’ The Times dazzles because of the sheer size of the brilliance, lackadaisical savoir-faire and vast number of pristine compositions that filled it. There is a reason it is top of the list of many people and critics and the album that is described as his magnus opus more than any other and there is a reason for that it is without fault. A selection was released on Sign O’ The Times, a kaleidoscopic double album that showed all of Prince’s facets. I can fully understand it being number 1 in the joined list though.įrom 1985 to 1987 Prince recorded un unfathomable amount of music. And therefore probably less high than one would expect in this top 15. I simply cannot put my head around it why it appears on this album. Even the original outtake version from 1979 (on Sign O’ The Times Deluxe) is 10x more exciting than this one here. While the rest sounds so innovative, this song gives the impression it was put together in 5 minutes a really awful track in this context. Unfortunately a grotesque mistake here: Personally, I think I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man is a terrible monstrosity on the record. It all comes together even better in the concert film. The double album does indeed contain toppers: its committed minimalist title track, funk odysseys Housequake and Hot Thing, time-for-the-dance floor It, gospel Forever In My Life, the very strong sensual If I Was Your Girlfriend, the magisterial Strange Relationship (although I like the Wendy & Lisa mix even better), the uplifting U Got The Look (though I am missing the long uplifting intro of the film version here), the swinging It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night, and the majestic The Cross. And originated from the unreleased projects Dream Factory and Crystal Ball. Sign O’ The Times should, of course, not be omissed in this list. Just when you are convinced that your Lovesexy CD will suffice during your stay on an uninhabited island (now a theme)… Forget it…! How could one man, in such a short time, accomplish all this…? Everything is just right here: every song is in its right place, the flow is wonderful. Even the people who were so close to Prince still don’t understand. Hear what Alan Leeds or Susan Rogers have to say about this period and your jaw drops. With the release of the Deluxe Edition we saw what a pile of gold Prince was sitting on. With pride and sincere gratitude to Bram, Edward, Herman, Leon, Rick and Vincent, these are Prince’s 15 best albums!