Sign of the Times

Released

October 15, 1981

Length

36:39

Tappan Zee

Bob James chronology

All Around the Town
(1981)

Sign of the Times
(1981)

Hands Down
(1982)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	^[2]

Sign of the Times is the ninth album by jazz keyboardist Bob James.^[3]

The title track has been sampled by De La Soul and Warren G.^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hypnotique"	Rod Temperton	5:52
2.	"The Steamin' Feeling"	Temperton	5:23
3.	"Enchanted Forest"	Bob James	5:33
4.	"Unicorn"	James	9:03
5.	"Sign of the Times"	Temperton	5:41
6.	"Love Power"	James	5:31

Personnel

Bob James – acoustic piano, Rhodes piano, all synthesizers, horn and string arrangements, rhythm track and synthesizer arrangements (3, 4, 6), calliope solo (5)
Steve Khan – guitar (1-5)
Bruce Dunlap – guitar (6)
Eric Gale – guitar (6)
Gary King – bass (1, 2, 5, 6)
Marcus Miller – bass (3, 4)
Major Holley – scat contrabass solo (5)
John Robinson – drums (1, 2, 5)
Rick Marotta – drums (3, 4)
Buddy Williams – drums (6)
Leonard "Doc" Gibbs – percussion (1-5)
Ralph MacDonald – percussion (2)
Airto Moreira – percussion (6)
Tabby Andriello – special effects (5)
Rod Temperton – rhythm track and synthesizer arrangements (1, 2, 5); horn, string and vocal arrangements

Brass and Woodwinds

Jay Beckenstein – alto saxophone (3, 4)
Grover Washington Jr. – tenor saxophone (6)
Phil Bodner, Eddie Daniels, Wally Kane, George Marge and Whit Sidener – woodwinds
Jim Pugh and Dave Taylor – trombone
Jon Faddis, Mike Lawrence and Ron Tooley – trumpet

Strings

Max Ellen, Barry Finclair, Charles Libove, Jan Mullen, David Nadien, Joseph Rabushka, Richard Sortomme and Gerald Tarack – violin

Vocals

Patti Austin, Vivian Cherry, Kasey Cisyk, Babi Floyd, Milt Grayson, Hilary James, Yvonne Lewis and Luther Vandross

Recorded at Mediasound, A&R Recording and CBS Recording Studios (New York City, NY); Minot Sound (White Plains, NY).
Mixed and Mastered at CBS Recording Studios.

v t e Bob James
Studio albums	Bold Conceptions (1963) One (1974) Two (1975) Three (1976) BJ4 (1977) Heads (1977) Touchdown (1978) Lucky Seven (1979) H (1980) Sign of the Times (1981) Hands Down (1982) Foxie (1983) Obsession (1986) Grand Piano Canyon (1990) Straight Up (1996)
Collaboration albums	One on One (1979) Two of a Kind (1981) Double Vision (1986) The New Cool (2015)