Sign o' the Times (stylized as Sign “☮” the Times) is a studio album by musician Prince, released March 31, 1987 on the Paisley Park record label. The album is the follow up to Parade (1986), and Prince's first "solo" album following his departure from The Revolution; the symbol between the quotes is a peace sign. Sign “☮” the Times features lyrical themes such as the depressing state of the world in the title track, gender identity/androgyny in "If I Was Your Girlfriend", party funk in "Housequake", sexual lust in "It", and spiritual enlightenment in "The Cross".
The double album was a synthesis of three projects from 1986, including some work with The Revolution. The bulk of the tracks originate from the final Revolution project known as Dream Factory and a later solo project called Camille. These projects, along with some other songs, merged into a 22-track, 3-LP opus called Crystal Ball. Prince's record company, Warner Bros. Records, balked at the idea of a 3-LP album, considering the lukewarm performance of Parade, and Prince's second film, Under the Cherry Moon, and forced Prince to trim the album down.
The album yielded three top-ten hits, the most from Prince since Purple Rain (1984). Though selling modestly, somewhat akin to Parade, Sign “☮” the Times was almost universally applauded by critics and has been cited as his greatest work. In 1989, Time Out magazine ranked it as the greatest album of all time. It was ranked #16 on the New Musical Express list of the All Time Top 100 Albums, 3rd in Hot Press magazine's list of the 100 Best Albums of All Time, and #35 on VH1's 100 Greatest Albums. The album was also placed 8th on Nieuwe Revu's Top 100 Albums of All Time. The Times listed Sign “☮” the Times as the 29th greatest album of all time.[1] In 2003, the album was ranked number 93 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[2]
The double album was a synthesis of three projects from 1986, including some work with The Revolution. The bulk of the tracks originate from the final Revolution project known as Dream Factory and a later solo project called Camille. These projects, along with some other songs, merged into a 22-track, 3-LP opus called Crystal Ball. Prince's record company, Warner Bros. Records, balked at the idea of a 3-LP album, considering the lukewarm performance of Parade, and Prince's second film, Under the Cherry Moon, and forced Prince to trim the album down.
The album yielded three top-ten hits, the most from Prince since Purple Rain (1984). Though selling modestly, somewhat akin to Parade, Sign “☮” the Times was almost universally applauded by critics and has been cited as his greatest work. In 1989, Time Out magazine ranked it as the greatest album of all time. It was ranked #16 on the New Musical Express list of the All Time Top 100 Albums, 3rd in Hot Press magazine's list of the 100 Best Albums of All Time, and #35 on VH1's 100 Greatest Albums. The album was also placed 8th on Nieuwe Revu's Top 100 Albums of All Time. The Times listed Sign “☮” the Times as the 29th greatest album of all time.[1] In 2003, the album was ranked number 93 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[2]
