Why Didn't Prince's Sign O' The Times Sell Well?

Oooooh yeah. Well it was money well spent back then.

 

I keep picturing an old man on a porch in a rocking chair every time you mention your friend hahaha.

 

Listening to this album and Prince right now for the first time. It sounds so unique..(I am a hard rock/metal fan, but this sounds very creative to me).

 

As much as I love Marvin and WGO, I agree with you.

 

Enjoy my friend. Side 3 will be your best friend.

 

I believe he's in his late 40's. He's twice our age but he's pretty up to date with everything. (Music,Twitter,Instagram,etc.) Hopefully when I hit that age I'll be the same.

 

The answer is easy.

Videos with muppets would have shifted more units.

 

Great post man.

 

Browsing through this thread, I don't think I've seen anyone mention the fact that neither of the first two singles ("Sign 'O' the Times," "If I Was Your Girlfriend") had music videos*, either. 1987 was smack dab in the middle of MTV's peak period (pre-reality show), when having a video to promote your single/album was absolutely essential.

(*Actually, now that I look it up, apparently there was a video for "SotT," but it was just the lyrics against various geometric shapes - I certainly don't ever recall MTV ever playing it.)

 

Question for audiophiles, how did ALL of Sign O' The Times end up being so flat sounding? I don't really understand the process of mastering songs. I know what happened with "The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker", but how did the whole album get that way?

 

That's something I've been wanting to know for some time too. It sounds rather lifeless and dull. I can't wait until it gets remastered so it can have new life pumped into it's veins so it can shine even brighter.

 

Yeah. I would love to hear the bass in "Adore", "If I Was Your Girlfriend" (especially) &...all of them basically.

 

Prince was doing quirky, estoteric pop funk and then ... Rap happened.

 

Sorry, Prince. But give the public the choice of "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" or "Me So Horny" ... well...

 

Dead on it.

 

He made a huge mistake by not touring the US behind the album and putting out the movie of the Euro tour instead (which I love). Incredible stage show.

 

Finished listening to this album and Prince for the first time..all I can say is wow. I have a feeling that this album is going to grown on me.

 

What took you so long to check it out? Better late than never. Are you familiar with any of his other albums?

 

Here, it sold a lot so I thought it was a huge hit in America too. Strangely, while I remember the album as a big seller, "U got the look" and "I could never take the place of your man" weren't hit singles despite massive airplay. As for the price, of course the 2LP was pricey, and the 2CD version was even more expensive. Strangely, the cassette was 1 tape only and priced almost like a "regular" one.

Thinking about it, at that time, double albums that weren't live or compilations looked like a thing of the past. Of course, years later, when vinyl started disappearing, new albums clocking in at 65-70 minutes were the standard but in 1987 a double album of unreleased music by a major act was an oddity.

By the way, it's a pity it didn't sell well, SOTT is an artistic triumph. Yes, he released several masterpieces but imho Sign o' the times is his best album overall.

 

maybe it was shown in Europe, only?

 

Prince didn't play 'the game', if any of the first 2 singles would give an indication.
U Got The Look perhaps was the most obvious single, but the album was near the end of it's run.

I don't have the album, but the stretches I've heard are pretty good.

 

There may have also been done artist fatigue, similar to the smaller sales fr MJ, Bruce, etc. after Zbad and BITUSA, respectively.

 

That's great to hear! Next step is the Sign O' The Times movie. Will make you love the album more.

 

I'm a little confused by numerous comments as I recall "U Got The Look" being all over the place when it came out, a ubiquitous video at the time. Had to go check wiki to confirm it did reach #2 on the U.S. Hot 100.