Prince / Sign O’ The Times reissue

Remastered • 8CD+DVD or 13LP+DVD super deluxe •  45 unreleased vault tracks • 2LP peach vinyl • Plus: 2CD, 3CD and 4LP sets,

Prince‘s 1987 album Sign O’ The Times will be reissued by Warner Records in September and amongst the formats are two enormous CD and vinyl super deluxe editions that offer a massive 63 previously unreleased tracks, including 45 studio ‘vault’ tracks. Read on for all the details…

Getting straight down to it, the super deluxe edition box sets comprise the following:

• CD1 or LP 1- Sign O’ The Times (Remastered)
• CD2 or LP 2 – Sign O’ The Times (Remastered)
• CD3 or LP 3 & 4 – Singles Mixes / Edits / B-Sides (Remastered)
• CD4 or LP 5 & 6 – Vault Tracks (Unreleased)
• CD5 or LP 7 & 8 – Vault Tracks (Unreleased)
• CD6 or LP 9 & 10 – Vault Tracks (Unreleased)
• CD8 or 9 / LPs 11-13 – Live In Utrecht June 20th 1987 (Unreleased)
• DVD – Live at Paisley Park December 31st 1987 (Unreleased Sign O’ The Times show ft Miles Davis)

The 45 vault tracks are full of unreleased gems including a 1979 version of ‘I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man‘, two unreleased versions of ‘Strange Relationship‘ (including a Shep Pettibone club remix!), alternate versions of ‘The Ballad of Dorothy Parker‘ and ‘Forever in My Life‘ and a fantastic amount of songs that Prince simply never issued, many of which were destined for three aborted albums conceived in 1986:  The Dream Factory, Camille and Crystal Ball. These songs include ‘Rebirth of the Flesh‘, two completely different versions of ‘Witness 4 the Prosecution‘ and ‘Wonderful Day‘ (again two versions, one of which is a 12-inch remix).

Both vinyl and CD boxes are presented in a 12″ x 12″ sets and come with a 120-page hardcover book featuring brand new liner notes from various parties including Lenny Kravitz (who provides a foreword), audio engineer Susan Rogers, Dave Chappelle and Minneapolis music scene commentator Andrea Swensson. There are also detailed notes on the vault tracks by Prince scholar Duane Tudahl and the book also includes previously unseen photos and Prince’s handwritten lyrics.

As well as the two big boxes, 3CD and 4LP packages offer remastered album alongside the single mixes, edits and B-sides while the album-only editions come on limited 2LP peach-coloured vinyl and 2CD. All formats except 2CD and 2LP are ONE TIME ONLY pressings. Once the initial run sells out that’s it! Once the 2LP peach vinyl is gone, it will be replaced with a black vinyl version. Fans will be well aware that the 1999 super deluxe editions are now out of print less than a year after release. The vinyl sets will come with a download code!

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