the song rocks and was everything i wanted.

that being said, does it sound a little thin? i don't think it's cassette sourced, but i don't really think it sounds the best... certainly not much better than the circulating clip, which was already pretty hiss-free and clean. i guess what i'm trying to say is that, aside from the obvious exceptions like Large Room, Witness 2, Wally, etc the tracks we do have from the set perhaps already sound as good as they're gonna sound and this set isn't going to be revelatory in that regard.

ICNTTPOYM 79' sounds fuller and more warm than this, which I guess is just down to how he was recording at the time?

[Edited 8/6/20 16:50pm]

lustmealways said:

the song rocks and was everything i wanted.

that being said, does it sound a little thin? i don't think it's cassette sourced, but i don't really think it sounds the best... certainly not much better than the circulating clip, which was already pretty hiss-free and clean. i guess what i'm trying to say is that, aside from the obvious exceptions like Large Room, Witness 2, Wally, etc the tracks we do have from the set perhaps already sound as good as they're gonna sound and this set isn't going to be revelatory in that regard.

ICNTTPOYM 79' sounds fuller and more warm than this, which I guess is just down to how he was recording at the time?

[Edited 8/6/20 16:50pm]

Agreed! LOVE the track - incredible. I think it sounds a little bootleggy though and expected a much fuller sound. I listened on the Spotify app via Amazon Firestick and connected to a nice system. Maybe I'll try Tidal see if it sounds less thin.

lustmealways said:

the song rocks and was everything i wanted.

that being said, does it sound a little thin? i don't think it's cassette sourced, but i don't really think it sounds the best... certainly not much better than the circulating clip, which was already pretty hiss-free and clean. i guess what i'm trying to say is that, aside from the obvious exceptions like Large Room, Witness 2, Wally, etc the tracks we do have from the set perhaps already sound as good as they're gonna sound and this set isn't going to be revelatory in that regard.

ICNTTPOYM 79' sounds fuller and more warm than this, which I guess is just down to how he was recording at the time?

[Edited 8/6/20 16:50pm]

I agree, the mix feels like it lacks punch and his vocals are too high-pitched to fill out the empty spaces. Hopefully the sound on Large Room isn't a letdown, although almost anything is an improvement over the circulating bootleg.

lustmealways said:

the song rocks and was everything i wanted.

that being said, does it sound a little thin? i don't think it's cassette sourced, but i don't really think it sounds the best... certainly not much better than the circulating clip, which was already pretty hiss-free and clean. i guess what i'm trying to say is that, aside from the obvious exceptions like Large Room, Witness 2, Wally, etc the tracks we do have from the set perhaps already sound as good as they're gonna sound and this set isn't going to be revelatory in that regard.

ICNTTPOYM 79' sounds fuller and more warm than this, which I guess is just down to how he was recording at the time?

[Edited 8/6/20 16:50pm]

I think the thinner sound is more of a different creative direction for a track. There are many tracks from that period that I wouldn't neccessarily assign to the sound of Sign"O"The Times. i.e. Adonis & Bathsheba, Witness 4 The Prosecution Version (although the 2nd version does sound very SOTT to me), Everybody Want What They Don't Got, Baby Go Go etc. When you listen to the original Crystal Ball as a record it sounds entirely different in atmosphere than Sign"O"The Times – it is much more diverse, cohesive, there is more of a narrative/journey – its denser and fuller (such a shame it wasnt realsed at the time in the way he wanted). Losing the track Crystall Ball on Sign"O"The Times in the end really affected the record I feel. The orchestration of Clare Fisher had a prominent place on the title track and really added something very rich to the entire amtosphere of the Crystal Ball record. The only track left with Fishers input was Slow Love – which is probably my least favorite track of SOTT.

Guess what I am trying to say is that during this period, Prince was trying out all sorts of directions. I am curious to hear for example the version of Big Tall Wall on the SDE – as that also has somewhat of a sparse/thin arrangement on the versions that have been circulation. While that might also be the quality of the track itself being a bootleg thus far.

Mintchip said:

My partner, who prides himself on having a high threshold for different types of music, just stopped what he was doing to ask if I would please turn that shit off, because it was the worst thing he ever heard Luckily, Who cares what anyone else thinks, i really like Cosmic Day!

ChocolateBox3121 said:

you've outdone yourself with this one

that "tra-la-la-la-la-la" refrain, is ear splitting awful

billymeade said:

Perhaps its just me, but I am liking how the voice sounds ecstatic (as mentioned above) and is sped up to emphasize the effect. BUT at the same time it does not sund rushed, it is actually quite slow, and measured, and the metronomic drums underline that.

To me its like hearing Kiss the first time, or even Sign of the Times - the acoustics are unsual and take time to establish in the brain, and that can lead to an initial 'dislike' that then turns into love over time.

(I like it from the beginning, though)

[Off topic snip - luv4u]

IstenSzek said:

lavendardrummachine said:

I might be alone on this but it doesn't sound like Camille to me, it sounds like a demo tracking for a song he intended to give a female artist who sounded like Debbie Gibson. Might have wrked for Jill's album.

or the bangles?

i don't really see this as a camille track either. it's just a weird track and i love that about it

although, it was recorded just 10 days after he completed the Camille album, so who knows, it
may have been something he recorded as a possible b-side for a possible Camille single?

or maybe he just wanted to see how far he could push Camille before it became something else
completely and then he lost interest and started working on Crystal Ball?

[Edited 8/6/20 15:44pm]

Yeah, all of that crossed my mind too.

I think picturing him deciding he pushed it too far also works to guess the evolution of Crystal Ball becoming something else, or why he abandoned Camille.

ofofoffjoff said:

I am also not sure about it being a Camille track. I also think that the notion of a sped-up-vocals in a track by default making it a "Camille" track is a very simplistic way of looking at it. I think the Camille persona was a much more complex concept with a variety of outcomes – it was more of an attitude and his way of creatively totally abandoning his musical past of Prince & The Revolution in order to reinvent himself musically. Tracks like Dream Factory, Love or Money, Erotic City (all pre Camille) are definetly not Camille tracks. Scarlet Pussy was listed as a Camille track but was recorded with slowed-down vocals. So while most Camille tracks are with of course the sped-vocals it ain't the rule.

Cosmic Day is a killer track. I also thought for a moment it potentially being a demo track for a female artist; Madonna? Dale Bozzio? But then I am not sure – guide vocal demos are very different imo – in the sense that it often misses the passion Prince usually puts in his vocal delivery. Cosmic Day sounds very passionate to me, ecstatic in fact, a sense of urgency! the guitar is mind blowing.

Dale Bozzio is also a good guess with the intro.

It's the backing vocals that just don't sound Camille to me. Sounds like it could realistically be a woman, like you could sing over it and it would be well masked.

That's him doing background right, I haven't lost my mind? It's a different voice than Camille, like he's processing it to really sound female instead. Maybe just seeing how far he could take it.

He didn't do that with Manic Monday or Shiela, or Vanity demos, but maybe he did for Dale or ...I don't know, Taja Sevelle? A lot of the guide tracks are toned down but some of those final versions are still restrained in terms of passion too. "Never be another fool" goes all out with passion.

I hate the track, but am always happy to see and hear what was left behind. I think it's a fascinating look behind the curtain. But it was left off every album he ever released so he had reservations about it.

Good call.

.

[Edited 8/6/20 20:24pm]

I can see why it was unreleased!

JudasLChrist said:

I can see why it was unreleased!

You may need glasses then...

ThirdStrike said:

JudasLChrist said:

I can see why it was unreleased!

You may need glasses then...

All I need is the right to my own opinion without org folks getting all touchy.

Now finally hearing the song in full it is definitely a better song than I gave it credit for after hearing the snippet. The guitar solos are great and it stretches out engagingly. I feel if the mix/sonics were cleaner this would be an amazing Prince record cause it's SO different to anything else in his catalogue. I can hear the SOTT era similarities in sound to Crucial, ICNTTPOYM which makes it a fascinating addition to this upcoming SDE. I think this was unlucky to not get on SOTT album.

AvocadosMax said:

I’m loving this so much, I’ll go as far to say this is probably in my top 20 Prince tracks of all time. No cap.

Wow, that's a big call! I'll have to give it time to settle, but I certainly see it as likely among my top 100, maybe even my top 50. I will say that I think it is likely to be a strong contender for my favorite song among the vault discs on the upcoming deluxe. There are songs I haven't heard, but among the ones I have, only "Power Fantastic", "The Cocoa Boys", "Witness 4 the Prosecution (Version 1)", and "Wally" make me think about it. If the full version of "Crystal Ball" was on this, it would be game over to all comers, but as it stands, "Cosmic Day" could very well be the cream of the vault crop on this release for me.