Hi guys just wondering what the Crystal Ball album is like and would like sum info for example >

Are the songs completely finished or do they have that cheap "Demo" sound ?

Is it better than Emancipation and does it go threw as many styles ?

Also theres a boxset case thats white and 1 that is purple? is 1 of these copies?

what are your personal thoughts/review of the album?

Thanks Guys
[Edited 11/18/08 16:01pm]

Finished.

Edited and sequenced badly, but well worth it if only for crisp versions of some older classics...some of the newer stuff on the release is ordinary, but i think it is a definite must for every P fans collection

absolutely. buy it.

Days of Wild

The purchase is worth it if only for that one song!

Revolution said:

hmmm and what type of song is that? if u dnt mind me askin and are there any good funk tunes on there? and cool sexual ballads in the vain of Adore, Call My Name etc? also what r the remixes like? (So Dark etc) and whats with this Truth disc? is it an Instrumental album like NEWS?

optimus said:

Nope. It's like One Nite Alone... It's been referred to an unaccompanied Prince and acoustic guitar album. There is a little extra instrumentation here and there. I haven't listened to it all that much. I've recently acquired a lot of Prince albums hitherto unheard by me. I've listened to all 3 discs of Crystal Ball proper, but not the heavy listening I like to administer to assess the album content. The sequencing is pretty shoddy, I would agree. The title track certainly stands out for me.

I would aim for $20-25 for a copy. I got one for 23 and I bought one for my friend for 20 on Amazon. I've seen it here and there in record shops for $20, but they are only in about every 4 months or so... and they go lightning quick.

There are also several versions. All of the standard sets have 4 discs (3 Crystal Ball and 1 The Truth). One release comes in a clear circular case with a booklet (often called "The Petri Dish"). Another version comes in a old-style double CD case (like Emancipation) with a booklet. Some used copies also have home-printed CD case inserts for transferring the CD's from The Petri Dish to a jewel case. Lastly, there is a 5 disc set in The Petri Dish that also includes Kamasutra, but does not have a booklet (this version tends to be pricey because of its relative rarity).

Hope that helps.
[Edited 11/18/08 16:48pm]

Crystal Ball - Sparse, experimental 'Camille' voice track from the Sign O' the Times era.

Dream Factory - A loud, bouncy (kind of irritating) pop song from the Parade era.

Acknowledge Me - Gold era song similar in style to 'Now'

Ripopgodazippa - Another Gold era song. Think 'Billy Jack Bitch" played too slow.

LoveSign (Shock G's Silky Remix) - Takes the version from 1-800-New-Funk and makes it smooth and boring.

Hide The Bone - Great, upbeat, funky song from the early to mid 90's. Wouldn't have been out of place on the Come album.

2morrow - Generic Prince ballad.

So Dark - Not that different from the released version.

Moviestar - Funny Parade era outtake with mostly spoken vocals.

Tell Me How U Want 2 B Done - This is really just Carmen Electra's spoken part from 'The Continental. Not sure why it rates as a song.

Interactive - Rock song from 1994-ish. Guitar and keyboards. Similar to 'Endorphinmachine' but not as good.

Da Bang - Smooth, jazzy song with loud, jarring, chorus.

Calhoun Square - Great Pop/Funk song from the early to mid 90's. Would have fit nicely on Diamonds & Pearls next to 'Walk Don't Walk'.

What´s My Name - Slower, deeper, funkier song from the 90's. Almost has a club sound but more dark and ominous.

Crucial - From 1987 or so. The closest you'll get to 'Adore'.

An Honest Man - 1 minute a cappella number. Sounds more like the intro to a song than a song by itself.

Sexual Suicide - Bouncy, jazzy, horn-filled song from the Parade era.

Cloreen Bacon Skin - Prince on bass & vocals, Morris on drums. Long, funky, funny and not out of place on a Time album.

Good Love - From the unreleased Camille album. Think 'U Got the Look' meets 'Lovesexy'.

Strays Of The World - Power ballad from the Come sessions. Similar to the song 'Gold'

Days Of Wild - Some would say funkiest Prince song ever. From the Gold era.

Last Heart - Similar to Sexual suicide only with funky guitar in place of the horns.

Poom Poom - Funky, drum and bass oriented song. Kind of similar to 'Tick, Tick Bang'.

She Gave Her Angels - Beautiful guitar and piano driven ballad. Think 'Dolphin' meets 'Starfish and Coffee'

18 & Over - Basically the song 'Come' with different lyrics.

The Ride - Great blues number recorded live.

Get Loose - Not that different from 'Loose'

P. Control (Remix) - Not that different from the version on the Gold Experience.

Make Your Mama Happy - Jazzy pop song that sounds like one of the weaker tracks from Emancipation.

Goodbye - Ballad that sounds like one of the weaker tracks from Emancipation.

--

Then there's the acoustic disc, The Truth. The first two songs are everything you'd hope for in an acoustic Prince album but it goes down hill fast after that and quickly degenerates into a collection of really bland pop songs that didn't improve by playing them on the acoustic guitar.

--

If you can dig up the 5-disc version you get the instrumental 'NPG Orchestra'album Kamasutra which may be the worst thing he's ever done. It's basically Prince playing new age elevator music on the keyboard. I've never made it through the whole album without shutting it off.

If you can afford it buy it.

Listened to some of it today.

FirstCircle said:

thank you very much well ive purchased it off ebay for £30 (english pounds) and im sure ill like it...ill let ya know

December1984 said:

Great review...I agree with most of it.
I would add that Acknowledge Me is often brought up when Prince's best rap is asked...nice rap on that one. Seriously, GET IT!

December1984 said:

awwww thanks 4 taking the time 2 type that man much appreciated and ill let yall know what i think when i get it...that Days Of Wild sounds great tho, and im freezing my nuts off here u know y? ur 2
[Edited 11/18/08 18:01pm]

Anyone that can listen to "karmasutra" all the way through is the ultimate die-hard LOL. The excerpt on the "emancipation" disc was fine but thats it LOL.


"comeback" is one of my all time fav Prince songs though. Gorgeous.
[Edited 11/18/08 18:18pm]

One of my favs just because it's so raw and natural, natural to FUNK, that is.
[Edited 11/19/08 5:14am]

Love it.

It is a definite must have in your Prince collection... Buy It.

For crying out loud!!!! If your going to log into Prince.org, u should be comfortable buying ANY/if not ALL Prince/Paisley Park/NPG album(s), if not... DELETE your fucking prince.org account.

MADN ESS!!!!!

sovembol said:

Go easy on the man. I have been a member of the Org, for a few years now. There are still certain things that I don't have and would like some opinions on it. A good example would be "Come". I wanted it, but wasn't sure about it. I came here and everyone had a different take on it. I ended up not getting, mainly due to me NOT feeling comfortable with everyone's thoughts on it.

XxAxX said:

Agreed

sovembol said:

Even albums that have "Jughead" on them?!?

In a word.....YES.

thesexofit said:

Gosh all the people keep talking about Kamasutra and how bad it is and how nobody can listen to it and I'd just love to have an own opinion about it, but I can't get it nowhere. The copies sold on the internet are way too expensive, plus I have CB and Truth, so I'd throw the money out of the window.

Kamasutra is actually the last thing that's missing in my collection apart from Rave In2..

RodeoSchro said:

I miss this album...and I waited for the store to open so I could've brought it It has been taken from my parents house. I would like to own it again.

I have CB, overall it is quite good,some average/poor trax, then again there are some excellent trax too, it's not that expensive, if you can , get the 3CD set in the jewel case, there is a version of it in the clear circular "container" which houses 5 CDs, CB I,II,III plus the Karmasutra CD and the Truth CD.

This is annoying for storage, damage to CDs etc. Looking back though it might be well worth getting the 5 CD set just for the Truth CD which is brilliant.

Who put you off getting "Come"? Super Album, dark inner soul comes to the fore.

Peace & Be Wild!

Dave1992 said:

i have no problems with kamasutra ..cutz is one of those tracks that makes me

L4OATheOriginal said:

Ahhhh stop talking about it, I'm going insane!

I was actually going to post how I had been listening to CB and digging it quite a bit lately. There's some really strong stuff on this CD and to me it represents so many different directions he could have gone into but didn't for whatever reason. From the haunting "She Gave Her Angels" to the shoulda been single "Acknowledge Me" to all of these tracks I only had on crappy bootleg casettes before CB was released (title tracke, Movie Star, etc,) it is a nice little treasure trove of keepsakes. And there is some crap on there too, maybe one too many songs that showed that P. was listening to quite a bit of Dr. Dre in the early 90s. Overall, very worthwhile but "The Truth" is so bad that it almost unlistenable to me.

it has good love on it
buy it

Dave1992 said:

oh come on u know everytime u pick up a pair of scissors u think of that song

shorttrini said:

Actually man, I must say ive only been a fan for a few years and i think "newer" fans have a completely diffrent view on P,s music than teh older ones and I 2 wasnt 2 sure about buying Come, However I seen it in HMV in the 2 for £10 sale, I brought that and Diomands and Pearls and no-1 can deny that Come dosent seem 2 have dated very much....when you compare it 2 the rest of his 90s output and that includes Symbol, Diomands and Pearls, TGE, Emancipation. Atfirst I didnt quite get its "dark and gloomy" feel apart from maybe the "Commercial Sounding" tracks (Come, Space,Pheromone,Race and Letitgo)
But I have 2 say it really is a brilliant album and would actually be in my top 5 easily