Sign O The Times

Ok, first of all I may be biased because I love almost everything he ever did and love quite a bit of bootlegged material as much as the official releases, but this is quite simply the most exciting Estate release so far. First, the box is awesome and normal vinyl record sized, so it fits nicely in my collection. The book and pictures are great, many of the essays are interesting (barring one that interjected too much opinion instead of facts), and of course, whether you’re an 80’s only kind of ridiculous fan or a whole career enthusiast, it’s hard to argue that SOTT isn’t the most complete awesome representation of Prince, and a must have for any true music fan. Definitely the best of his first decade in the industry. 2nd decade o(+> (the love symbol) gets my vote, 3rd The Rainbow Children, and probably Art Official Age for latter career, but really it’s all worth listening to…So, the original album isn’t flawless, perhaps due to the forced editing to a 2 record set, but that editing brought highlight U Got The Look to the album, so...anyway, album 1 could stand alone as a fantastic album, album 2 definitely needs the anchor of the other album to feel complete, again, probably because of the forced editing down from the original triple record. BUT MAN ALIVE this box is the best dip into the vault yet, it will be hard to out do this, except when they perhaps get to the post-1996 vault stuff, as that stuff has very little in the way of bootlegs, whereas the Purple Rain, 1999 & SOTT reissues have many previously bootlegged things on them. However, even with the previously leaked material, it’s so nice to have quality releases of this stuff! Just wonderful revelations... my only complaint is I’d like to see more album formatted sequencing. One, who wants to have the same song repeated in different form one after another, or tracks that don’t flow well? That’s been a huge damper on any thought of getting the vinyl, at least a digital version can be programmed or playlisted into something enjoyable. Could’ve done all the 7” versions together, all the remixes as a set without running Hot Thing after Hot Thing. Could’ve even saved some space by adding the non-album b-sides to the end of the main album.... oh well, I suppose the chronological order is the simplest way, but again, I’ll be sticking with CDs. Anyway, beautiful set, amazing material, even the mailing box is so fun with its giant peace symbol... A MUST HAVE COLLECTION

I just got this set in the mail today. I also purchased the Super Deluxe version of 1999 when it came out, and was expecting something similar to that. OK, well that's not anything like what you get here. When I got home, I saw an Amazon box in my front porch swing, and I thought "oh no, I accidentally ordered the LP version" because the box was so BIG. When I lifted it off the swing, I wasn't prepared for the weight. I was then convinced that I had indeed mistakenly ordered the wrong set. I get in the house, and can't wait to get it open. What's inside is nothing compared to what I was expecting.I was really hesitant to order this because of the price. Let me just say that the price is well worth what you get. What I had gotten was indeed the CD set, but it is in a box the size of an LP. Inside is a hardcover book that is beautifully designed. The book contains many insightful essays about Prince's life and music from people who actually knew him. There is also a section of many pages of photographs, which is followed by the lyrics to the songs. Now this is not typed lyrics, oh no, what you have are photos of the various forms of paper where Prince originally wrote the lyrics. This is a fascinating look into his thought process, where you can see where he crosses things out and adds other words instead. Perhaps my favorite part was the last part where we're given the history of each song, including songs from the Vault. Of course, finally in the back are the 8 cd's and the DVD concert. CD1 is the remastered edition of SOTT. CD's 2-3 are the different edits and mixes of some of the songs. CD's 4-6 are filled with new material from the Vault. CD's 7-8 is the live concert. The DVD is the entire Paisley Park concert.Bottom line. If you're a fan of Prince and of this album, you MUST get it. I was overblown by what I actually received. After seeing everything that was included, it is well worth the price.

I was a bit afraid before and nervous before opening this because it's the first time i got a super deluxe album. Most of the CDs i have are either in jewel cases and in gatefold sleeve packaging. The case is really sturdy and the book as well. Got this from importcds through amazon and they were able to ship the item fast and safely too!One thing that I noticed (and this is not the sellers fault) about the book that comes with the album is its spine seems like it isn't sturdy enough. I hope that future releases of the Prince estate as well as Warner Music will take note of this problem because books as big as this one will put on most of the weight at the spine especially when you're going to read them out flat (which at most times, you do since it is a big, hardbound book that has full spread pictures in it), it's not really safe for the binding of the book if the spine isn't sturdy enough (noticing that i can wiggle the spine of the book and there's a big enough space at the spine and the back cover because its bulk is being eaten up by the CD sleeves)... so I hope that the shelf life of this book will not end up with a broken spine.The CDs that came with it are top notch and all play, didn't noticed any scratches so far after a few days of playing the records but in a way, the CD sleeves do not sit well enough and feels like if you accidentally put them back on the sleeve you might end up getting your CD a scratch or two.For the books content itself, really love the text, images and the lyrics contained in this super deluxe album. Really gives an insight on how Prince honed his craft and he really earned his merit as a musical genius.