[img:$uid]http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/MMikeyBee/Prince%20and%20related/Prince%20record%20and%20mag%20covers/CrystalBall-flyer.jpg[/img:$uid]

My copy of the mail order version of Crystal Ball came with a T-Shirt as well (I got one of the white Emancipation: Love, Sex & Liberty T's). I also got a copy of The War on cassette too.

The CD version of The War was for sale on 1-800-NEW-FUNK for a short while, but it very quickly went out of stock and was never re-pressed.

BorisFishpaw said:

My copy of the mail order version of Crystal Ball came with a T-Shirt as well (I got one of the white Emancipation: Love, Sex & Liberty T's). I also got a copy of The War on cassette too.

The CD version of The War was for sale on 1-800-NEW-FUNK for a short while, but it very quickly went out of stock and was never re-pressed.

Did your copy of The War come IN the box w/ the shirt and CB?

I did not get my copy of The War (cassette) until what had to be 6 months later or more. In fact, I had no clue people were even receiving them and I had, at first, thought that they had fucked up yet again and charged me for something I didn't order.

Spinlight said:

BorisFishpaw said:

My copy of the mail order version of Crystal Ball came with a T-Shirt as well (I got one of the white Emancipation: Love, Sex & Liberty T's). I also got a copy of The War on cassette too.

The CD version of The War was for sale on 1-800-NEW-FUNK for a short while, but it very quickly went out of stock and was never re-pressed.

Did your copy of The War come IN the box w/ the shirt and CB?

I did not get my copy of The War (cassette) until what had to be 6 months later or more. In fact, I had no clue people were even receiving them and I had, at first, thought that they had fucked up yet again and charged me for something I didn't order.

I think most peoples' copies of The War turned up months after. However, mine was actually in the box with the CD and T-Shirt. It was actually wrapped up in the T-Shirt, so when I pulled the T-Shirt out of the box, the cassette just fell out with it. I remember wondering what the hell it was (and whether I'd been charged for it!). I can't remember exactly when it turned up, but it was definitely late, and well after I'd already gone out and bought a copy of the 4-disc jewel box Crystal Ball in a record store.

MikeyB71 said:

[img:$uid]http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/MMikeyBee/Prince%20and%20related/Prince%20record%20and%20mag%20covers/smpart.gif[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/MMikeyBee/Prince%20and%20related/Prince%20record%20and%20mag%20covers/109571B.jpg[/img:$uid]

Both regular jewel box and round box had the booklet. Whether it was just the retail versions i do not know.

And as for it being a "deluxe" booklet, well, that is a matter of opinion.

Sorry, i do not have scans.

Was it the same booklet that came in the jewel box and round box? i.e, will the jewel box booklet fit the round box casing?

SEXUALCHOCOLATE said:

MikeyB71 said:

[img:$uid]http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/MMikeyBee/Prince%20and%20related/Prince%20record%20and%20mag%20covers/smpart.gif[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/MMikeyBee/Prince%20and%20related/Prince%20record%20and%20mag%20covers/109571B.jpg[/img:$uid]

Both regular jewel box and round box had the booklet. Whether it was just the retail versions i do not know.

And as for it being a "deluxe" booklet, well, that is a matter of opinion.

Sorry, i do not have scans.

Was it the same booklet that came in the jewel box and round box? i.e, will the jewel box booklet fit the round box casing?

Yes, the booklet that came with my jewel box was round.

Its the same size as a cd.

That is the booklet pictured in the bottom picture with the cd on top.

[Edited 9/3/10 17:21pm]

MikeyB71 said:

squirrelgrease said:

It was originally part of a share/donation tree where CD-Rs were distributed to those that asked. The mail order arm of 1-800-New Funk and the website offered pressed copies for sale($10?) sometime after that, but sold out pretty quickly. I'm not sure of a specific date where silvers were offered to the public, but I got mine post-haste as I expected there to be strong demand. I also received two cassettes(at different times) and a tiny t-shirt with my Crystal Ball order.

From The Truth Issue #2:

[img:$uid]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n276/squirrelgrease/TheTruth-2-4/TheTruth02_War.jpg[/img:$uid]

Yes, the copies i have seen of The war on cd are not the cd-r, they are proper pressed up cd's with a card sleeve with the artwork.

It is one of very few Prince cd's that i have not managed to buy yet, it is very rare to find one on cd now, but mainly because prices are so high. I will have to bite the bullet and buy one some day before prices become too silly.

[Edited 9/3/10 12:32pm]

An eBay'd CD copy of The War just went for about $240 US last week or so and 31 bids were placed. It made me rethink keeping my silver copy...

Thing is, that CDs value seems to fluctuate quite a bit for some reason, so one never knows how it will sell.

Spinlight said:

squirrelgrease said:

That is interesting, I didn't know that tidbit.

You can actually still listen to and download WAV files of Crystal Ball snippets from the cached L4OA site: http://web.archive.org/we...groove.htm

That's awesome! I remember playing those so many times, over and over. I had never heard "Dream Factory" or "Calhoun Square" or (obviously) "Make Yo Mama Happy" at that point and was REALLY impressed with "Days of Wild" because I think his live versions have always eclipsed the studio track (which I've always found as being rather bland and repetitive).

I'm really getting nostalgic looking at the L41A site. Back when I respected Prince still and he was still weird enough to be charming. Now he's just fucking annoying.

I completely agree about the studio version of Days Of Wild. Give me that Crystal Ball overdubbed live cut any day.

Spinlight said:

December 30, 1997

Big news on the Ball set
CRYSTAL BALLERS - 2 assist in distribution, a major retail outlet has xspressed interest...4 now they shall go unnamed... every1 who ordered the Crystal Ball, please b patient...shipping will b gin when the final details r worked with this distributor. wants it available everywhere when the mailing starts... there is now an added surprise 4 the friends who pre-ordered early!! 1-800-NewFunk will deliver... naysayers will eat words on toast when the Ball drops!

The post that started it all (the huge divide between Prince fans on AMP). Naysayers, indeed.

Yeah. Walking into Best Buy and seeing Crystal Ball on the shelves really pissed me off since my pre-ordered copy had yet to arrive. That said, if there were no takers on the retail front, the set may have been scrapped as Prince wanted 100,000 orders before proceeding.

BorisFishpaw said:

Spinlight said:

Did your copy of The War come IN the box w/ the shirt and CB?

I did not get my copy of The War (cassette) until what had to be 6 months later or more. In fact, I had no clue people were even receiving them and I had, at first, thought that they had fucked up yet again and charged me for something I didn't order.

I think most peoples' copies of The War turned up months after. However, mine was actually in the box with the CD and T-Shirt. It was actually wrapped up in the T-Shirt, so when I pulled the T-Shirt out of the box, the cassette just fell out with it. I remember wondering what the hell it was (and whether I'd been charged for it!). I can't remember exactly when it turned up, but it was definitely late, and well after I'd already gone out and bought a copy of the 4-disc jewel box Crystal Ball in a record store.

That's exactly what happened to me - including purchasing a retail petri-dish copy. I also got the same t-shirt as you.

squirrelgrease said:

Spinlight said:

That's awesome! I remember playing those so many times, over and over. I had never heard "Dream Factory" or "Calhoun Square" or (obviously) "Make Yo Mama Happy" at that point and was REALLY impressed with "Days of Wild" because I think his live versions have always eclipsed the studio track (which I've always found as being rather bland and repetitive).

I'm really getting nostalgic looking at the L41A site. Back when I respected Prince still and he was still weird enough to be charming. Now he's just fucking annoying.

I completely agree about the studio version of Days Of Wild. Give me that Crystal Ball overdubbed live cut any day.

Give me the version on 'The Dawn 4.1' with that NPGMC guitar version mixed in. That is my jam. Apart from 'Jam' by Michael Jackson (Luv4U don't lock!) or Paul Wellers' old band 'The Jam' or just Jam which is called Jello in the USA, all other fine jams but not to be confused with DOW.

Marrk said:

squirrelgrease said:

I completely agree about the studio version of Days Of Wild. Give me that Crystal Ball overdubbed live cut any day.

Give me the version on 'The Dawn 4.1' with that NPGMC guitar version mixed in. That is my jam. Apart from 'Jam' by Michael Jackson (Luv4U don't lock!) or Paul Wellers' old band 'The Jam' or just Jam which is called Jello in the USA, all other fine jams but not to be confused with DOW.

That is a tasty track.

BorisFishpaw said:

The CD version of The War was for sale on 1-800-NEW-FUNK for a short while, but it very quickly went out of stock and was never re-pressed.

Well, I'll be damned.

squirrelgrease said:

MikeyB71 said:

Yes, the copies i have seen of The war on cd are not the cd-r, they are proper pressed up cd's with a card sleeve with the artwork.

It is one of very few Prince cd's that i have not managed to buy yet, it is very rare to find one on cd now, but mainly because prices are so high. I will have to bite the bullet and buy one some day before prices become too silly.

[Edited 9/3/10 12:32pm]

An eBay'd CD copy of The War just went for about $240 US last week or so and 31 bids were placed. It made me rethink keeping my silver copy...

Thing is, that CDs value seems to fluctuate quite a bit for some reason, so one never knows how it will sell.

Prices on ebay(UK) are similar. I have missed out on a few copies due to me not having the available cash at the time. In the last year or so i have seen still sealed copies of The War on cd, sell for between £70-80 (a bargain) and up to £150 (pounds sterling).

I would keep a hold of your copy squirrel, imo.

And i am gonna treat myself to a copy for christmas, hopefully.

My current downloaded copy is just not the same.

The cassettes seem to sell quite cheaply on ebay, no more than £30-40 in the UK, which is still a lot come to think of it.

[Edited 9/4/10 3:10am]