Metascore
99

Universal acclaim - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Negative: 0 out of 10
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  1. Oct 2, 2020
    100
    It’s an overwhelming amount of material. ... The Dream Factory songs unearthed from the vault are staggering.
  2. 100
    At nearly 10 hours of music, the “super deluxe” bundle is too much for any but the most committed. But the edited editions include some of the best stuff, leaving the rest for the Prince faithful. And if anyone was unsure of just how talented, creative and prolific Prince was at his inspired peak, this fully loaded box solidifies his legacy as a true American icon.
  3. Sep 25, 2020
    100
    What remains is a tightly-focused snapshot of an intensely creative period in Prince’s career: perhaps the most generous single-album box set of all time, for an album that itself just keeps giving.
  4. Sep 25, 2020
    100
    The catch-all quality of this reissue presents a kaleidoscopic vision of what pop music could be. ... One of the most compelling and joyous albums of Prince's career, not to mention the most fun.[Oct 2020, p.44]
  5. 100
    On a purely musical level, this collection is a true beauty, with 63 previously unreleased tracks. ... For the completists, you’ll want this set forever in your life.
  6. Sep 25, 2020
    98
    In short, it’s a die-hard fan’s fantasy come to life — and like the deluxe edition of “1999” released last year, goes a long way toward satiating appetites only made stronger by decades of bootlegs. (And, remarkably, the compilers left out a lot.)
  7. The Wire
    Jan 6, 2021
    90
    Prince didn’t put a foot wrong in his golden era, right down to what was left in the vault. [Jan 2021, p.94]
  8. Sep 25, 2020
    90
    Sign ‘O’ the Times was an eclectic funk-pop-rock-R&B-gospel-novelty hodgepodge of songs about love, sex, and Jesus that sounds awful on paper — what great record this side of Little Richard could include the phrase “green eggs and ham,” as Prince deadpanned on “Housequake,” and still work? — yet it was a masterpiece. Its very lack of focus was its greatest strength. ... It’s impossible to trace his thought process, which makes it all the more exciting to find the diamonds he left in the vault.
  9. Sep 25, 2020
    90
    Some of the Vault tracks are early or alternate versions of familiar songs, but dozens are newly revealed. Prince’s original choices for the album hold up. But it’s a delight to hear so much more.
  10. Classic Rock Magazine
    Sep 25, 2020
    60
    Sign O' The Times might be Prince's apex. .. The extras on this eight-CD/13-LP set, however, include a lot of dry-humping, second-rate material that hints at the decline he would go into in the 90s and beyond. [Oct 2020, p.91]
User Score
6.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 55 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 55
  3. Negative: 18 out of 55
  1. Sep 28, 2020
    10
    Not much to say, it's one of the greatest albums of all time, with an excellent remastering of the original tracks and a treasure trove ofNot much to say, it's one of the greatest albums of all time, with an excellent remastering of the original tracks and a treasure trove of unreleased music. They took great care in compiling this, and it shows. Full Review »
  2. Oct 6, 2020
    10
    Perfect album..... not only his best ever work , but quiet possibly the best album ever made..timeless....
  3. Sep 30, 2020
    0
    Old classic, new coat. The game have all atributes which make the original famous. Great story with lot of fun https://www.kisa.link/NYg3