i'm curious about where the songs on the crystall ball album came from. some of the songs like dream factory and an honest man are obvious but most aren't. does someone have a link or something to this information? thanx.

CLOREEN BACON SKIN – March 1983
impromptu jam by Prince & Morris Day, recorded during sessions
for The Time’s third album. Never intended for inclusion on the album
(but would have made a good b-side like ‘Tricky’)

SEXUAL SUICIDE – August 1985
From the June 1986 configuration of the unreleased ‘Dream Factory’ album.

AN HONEST MAN – November 1985
From the final ‘Parade’ sessions.

DREAM FACTORY – December 1985
LAST HEART – January 1986
MOVIE STAR – March 1986
All from the unreleased 1986 ‘Dream Factory’ album

CRYSTAL BALL – April 1986
Originally from the unreleased ‘Dream Factory’ album. This version is
actually the one from the original unreleasd 1987 ‘Crystal Ball’ album

MAKE YOUR MAMA HAPPY – August 1986
Never inteded for any album.

CRUCIAL – September 1986
From the unfinished 1986 project ‘The Dawn’.

GOOD LOVE – October 1986
Originally from the unreleased ‘Camille’ album, then included on the
unreleased original 1987 ‘Crystal Ball’ album. An extended version (made for
the original 'Crystal Ball' album) was finally released on the soundtrack
album for the movie ‘Bright Lights, Big City’ in 1988. The version on the
1998 ‘Crystal Ball’ is the original Camille album version.

INTERACTIVE – May 1993
WHAT’S MY NAME – May 1993
STRAYS OF THE WORLD – May 1993
CALHOUN SQUARE – June 1993
ACKNOWLEDGE ME – October 1993
RIPOPGODAZIPPA – October 1993
HIDE THE BONE – November 1993
tracks recorded during the 1993 ‘Come’/’Gold Experience’ period.
Between them, these tracks have appeared on various configurations of
‘Come’, ‘The Gold Experience’, ‘The Dawn’ & ‘Chaos And Disorder’.

LOVE SIGN (SHOCK G. REMIX)
18 & OVER
P. CONTROL (CLUB MIX)
GET LOOSE
SO DARK
TELL ME HOW U WANNA B DONE
‘94-’95 remixes of tracks mostly recorded in 1993. Never intended for
any albums (with the possible exception of ’18 & Over’), they were
considered for various single and EP releases.

2MORROW – November 1995
DA BANG – 1995
POOM POOM – August 1995
Never inteded for any albums.

THE RIDE (LIVE) – October 28th 1995 (original from June 1993)
DAYS OF WILD (LIVE) – December 12th 1995 (original from January 1994)
Never intended for any albums. Though the original studio version of ‘Days Of
Wild’ was included on early versions of ‘The Gold Experience’ and a different
version of ‘The Ride’ was included on the unreleased ‘Undertaker’ album
(which was later issued on VHS, in a slightly changed form)

SHE GAVE HER ANGELS - 1996
GOODBYE – December 1991
Outtakes from ‘Emancipation’.

.
[Edited 12/16/05 12:31pm]

BorisFishpaw said:

Wasn't Goodbye originally recorded during the sessions?

double post edit...
[Edited 12/16/05 19:15pm]

Da Bang is from 1995? I would have thought it's a little older, like maybe from 1993.

Poom Poom may date back at least a few months earlier, wasn't it played at the NPG store in London on June 7th '95.

BorisFishpaw said:[quote]
POOM POOM – August 1995

BorisFishpaw said:

I am always curious to find out how this kind of info gets into the open.

HamsterHuey said:

a lot of this type of info is based on some amazing research done by several of the fans (Boris, DavidEye and others), our personal contacts, books (DMSR, Days of Wild, etc.), UPTOWN magazine, and people with some inside info (a few online, but I don't want to blow their cover).

Some of us go around in circles about certain subjects (like if there is a colorized version of UTCM-btw, there isn't), and when certain songs were created. The best thing that will happen is one day a book will probably be published that lists when/where all of Prince's songs were created-sort of like the book about The Beatles called THE BEATLES STUDIO SESSIONS. When that Prince book comes out, it should answer a lot of questions for everyone.

madhouseman said:

Hehehe. Still does not answer my specific question of how you KNOW the CB version is the one that was scheduled to me released on the Camille album.

I wish that book was already there. I love to find out background info on the actual sessions.

Also, when you say there isn't a colored UTCM version, do you mean it is not circulating or that it does not even exist in Prince's vault? I remember reports it was shot in color, then switched to B/W later...

HamsterHuey said:

there isnt a color UTCM....theres a color UTCM longer version...although the cover up lives on.

origmnd said:

I'll 'splain it again. The movie was shot in color... only for the first few days. After that, it was shot in Black and White. The process of shooting a black and white movie is not simply removing the color from a color print, it involves lighting the set with colors that may look odd but will look accurate on black and white film. For instance, if one wanted to make the sky look lighter in a black and white film or picture, a blue filter might be added which would eliminate the blue levels and bring up others. That is how UTCM was shot. I've spoken to many people who worked on the film and every one of them confirms this. The bottom line is that there is NO black and white version floating around...

On the other hand, there are longer versions of the film that do exist with some additional scenes, but NONE of them are in color. The video at the end for MOUNTAINS was shot in color, but that is all.

My guess is that there will still be some diehard fans who want to believe it exists. It doesn't.

madhouseman said:

Any way you can post what these extra scenes are? I've never heard of them. Is there a thread that explains them?

madhouseman said:

I think you guys are a real treasure on the org, btw...

but aren't these things covered exhaustively in Per Nilsen's books, incl. The Vault? I didn't think it got more comprehensive than that. The man pretty much tracks every day of P's life for several years. Damn!

altavista said:

I think an actual recording session book is impossible, without the help of all the engineers involved...

HamsterHuey said:

It may be close to impossible, but not impossible. I predict that one will come out eventually, even if it is just in stages (the Warner years, etc. or maybe the 70s/80s and then the 90s and beyond). The question is, would it sell?

madhouseman said:

I certainly would buy it. To me his music and how it was created is most interesting. I really also want to know with whom he was working at the time.

BorisFishpaw said:

Not convinced.

I'd be amazed if the two versions were not a full and edited version, as opposed to a shorter and extended version.

All of Princes tracks that were later extended, reek of bad editing (eg Lets Work). Good love is seemless, and would not seem to add anything significant if it were an extended version.

It sounds like the original is the version that eventually made it onto Bright Lights Big City" and it is the edit (most problably to get round the Warner masters ownership) that was placed on 1998 Crystall Ball.

SquirrelMeat said:

Well, that's what I (and most people) originally assumed, but it's not the
case.

The same thing happened with the track 'Sign O' The Times'. The version
you hear on the album is actually an extended version done for the original
Crystal Ball album around the same time he extended Good Love.