“IT’S AN INSIGHT TO WHAT PRINCE KEPT HIDDEN”

An isolation masterpiece from 1987, radically expanded for 2020. Engineer Susan Rogers explains their strange relationship to MARTIN ASTON.

iNSIDE MOST double albums is a better single album. Yet as this year’s monumentally expanded box set proved, Prince’s 1987 magnum opus Sign ’O’ The Times could have been a triple, or even more, such was the strength of the 40 unearthed cuts inside the Super-Deluxe Edition. “Prince was what neuro-scientists call ‘hyper creative’,” reckons SOTT studio engineer Susan

Rogers, his only constant companion throughout the marathon sessions. “They’re born, not made. That’s why he had to keep working.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled, and gratified, that the world is recognising more of Prince than we could during his lifetime,” continues Rogers. “He earned it, too. His record label says that Sign ‘O’ The Times’ 94 pieces of music represent more recorded work than Michael Jackson in the ’80s and Hendrix in his lifetime. You’d think 94 tracks in one year would contain some dreck, but there really isn’t any. Prince had an extraordinarily rare creative mind, but also self-discipline, the multi-instrumental skills and the ability to work in isolation.

“During Sign ‘O’ The Times, the absurdity and excitement always made me laugh. No matter how exhausted he was, we could have been up all night and getting ready for bed and he’d walk in and say, ‘Fresh tape!’ Which meant possibly another 24 hours. I love the more soulful stuff of the unreleased tracks, especially Train. If you don’t know it, be ready for Prince’s vocal; you’ll have to grab on to something! I love that we can compare multiple versions of the same song. The original of Forever In My Life, he sounds so happy, like it’s his wedding day. But the version on the album is more sombre and dissonant, like he’s aware that marriage takes work. It’s an insight to what Prince was willing to let the public know and what he kept hidden.”