TEST PRESSING WITH AN UNHEARD REMIX OF PRINCE’S SIGN O THE TIMES
A couple of weeks ago I finally visited this thrift store for the first time. I had been wanting to check it out for a while, but I kept postponing for one reason or the other. The store itself was very nice and well kept, but I can’t say the same about the record selection: tons of Richard Clayderman, Sing Along With Mitch (gonna get one of those sooner or later just for the fun of it, I swear) and the usual junk.
Nonetheless, I still managed to find some nice things (Billy Idol’s ‘Rebel Yell’, a KLF 12″, an album by new wave musician Belouis Some, and a Henry Mancini album). Then a test pressing record caught my attention. The sleeve was generic, with no hints of the artist on the record itself, just a “12” written on the A-side in black marker.
I got home, gave it a wet clean and when I played it I was surprised to find out that the only track on side A was a remix of Prince’s ‘Sign O The Times’ that I had never heard before. I tried to compare it with many remixes available online and none of them matched. Side B also included just one track, which turned out to be a mix of different 80’s dance/r&b songs (Ten City’s ‘Devotion’ and Donna Summer’s ‘This Time I Know It’s For Real’ among them).
The record spins at 33 rpm and I guess the grooves are very wide because Prince’s song, despite the length being just 6:23, takes a big portion of its side.
No matrix is etched in the runout, no mention of any record labels whatsoever. My guess is that this remix is not official and was probably made by some DJ to be played during his sets, but I really have no clue.
I quickly ripped the song, you can hear it at this link, so if any Prince experts are reading this, they can check it out and drop an email to tell me if this version sounds familiar. I like Prince a lot, but my knowledge of his output is limited to his official discography (including many side projects) and some bootlegs I collected along the way.