I have a number of versions of Crystal Ball - but I must say I prefer the versions without the spoken part by the girl with the fake English accent (Wendy, Lisa, Jill, Susannah?) - I just think it kind of spoils the flow and beautiful progression of the song.

boxermj said:

The longest recorded, released, studio Prince song is America, clocking in at about 21 minutes on the 12" single release.[/quote]

you're right, totally forgot about that... but isn't then Scandalous Sex Suite longer??? I can't check it now, but maybe...

agarze said:

Scandalous Sex Suite is 19 minutes 19 seconds, but even if it was longer it probably shouldn't count, coz in theory its 3 seperate tracks.

America...21:46.

Nep2nes said:

America- over 20 min
The War- around 25 min
Billy Glasses 20-25 min
I cant think of any others right now









><

After doing "the work" no pun intended I can tell you that The War is 26 mins and would take some beating.

GoldiesParade said:

"I Would Die 4 U" 12" version is over ten minutes while edited down from an original jam at least twice as long.

Billy's Sunglasses (rehearsal) is over 45 minutes...

Moonbeam said:

Hey,
I was going from memory...I stand corrected on the "exact" running times of the songs I listed earlier.
Besides, I was just trying to answer the question of "is this the longest prince song ever?"


Peace&Love

jaikman said:

Your both right. It generally circulates in it's 25 minute version but "Dirty Mind" outtake boot has the full 45 minute version.

Essence said:

theC
yeah but it's a reheasal(billy's sunglasses) that ends up with about five minutes of strange realationship at the end.

theC said:

True, true. It's not even a recognised song, it's just a rehearsal jam given a name by bootleggers.

I think it's an amazing song. The album of the same names not too shabby either. A shame it never got the recognition it truly deserves.

SexLovely said:

So Dream Factory was what Sign of the Times would have been if it was released as a triple album? I always wondered about that, esp. what the deleted tracks were...can you enlighten me?

Is the opening sounds a wind instrument or some computer generated noises on this song? My impression is it sounds like maybe a clarinet. Any ideas?

funkycomic said:

I totally agree. I have a "Crucial"bootleg album with "Cant Stop" leading into a super slick version of "We Can Funk". It starts out with him saying "If that don't work". I hate the version on Graffiti Bridge. That "Funk um Chunk um" part or whatever they are saying is really lame.

If you like the 11 minutes of Crystal Ball, try to listen to the 12+ minutes of Computer Blue (long take), 22 minutes of America (12") and the 30 minutes of I would die 4U (long take of the US remix)

?
[This message was edited Wed Feb 26 0:54:32 PST 2003 by IstenSzek]

The opening sound is definitely acoustic and is most probably pan pipes - you can hear him breath in to them. This is one of my favourite Prince songs - if ever you wanted to give someone an idea of what Prince is like in one song, this would have to be one of the top contenders! the arrangement that it drops in to after the initial verses (when he says "ouch" in that high-erotic city-style voice and there's lots of top-end percussion and guitar) is absolute class!!!

when he first begins singing,,,expert lover,,,i can imagine him shivering in a bath towel after taking a shower and he is cold.and singing the song...funny..!
Good song,,but not one of his most creative..in my opinion.

muszewell said:

It sure is

Nep2nes said:

The reason why its so brilliant. WENDY AND LISA..wierdness just didn't get any better without them around. Any outtake or song from that era is so recognisable because of W+L involvement. I heard they got a new album coming out?!

isn't the boot on this called "Xpert Lover"? anyone know

i have one from japan that says Xpert lover and still would stand all time which is like 15minutes...

Wildheart,

Wendy and Lisa had nothing whatsoever to do with this song. This was all Prince, with strings by Claire Fischer.

Is it not annoying how some of these people give Wendy and Lisa wayyy to much credit!!! Wendy and Lisa had nothing to do with the creation of Crystal Ball!!!

gman1966 said:

I gripe about people referring to "Prince & The Revolution" as some separate entity also. Prince was "Prince & The Revolution." Prince was "The Time." It is hard to name a project that Prince was involved in and not equate that project with the man -- but some people don't get that idea and so they want to grant credit where it is simply not due.