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How Good Is Prince's Crystal Ball? I'm bought the box set, but I don't even know how good it is. I went 2 www.npgmc.com to listen 2 some of the samples. The title track sounds downright funky. I remember someone saying that this was originally going to be his 1987 release but the selfish pepole at Warner Bros. told Prince to make it into a double album that is now considered a masterwork, "Sign O The Times". So, why is this called Crystal Ball? Is it a set full of unreleased stuff or is it set of new material. I'm really confused. I bought the limited edition from www.amazon.com and it hasn't even shipped yet. If anyone has this set, tell me how good it is.. Is is worth buying or should I buy a copy of Graffiti Bridge? [This message was edited Wed Jul 28 20:30:59 2004 by silverchild] Check me out and add me on:
www.last.fm/user/brandosoul "Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley | |
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Disk one - track 4 -  God bless everyone. NO exceptions. | |
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It's good if you can find it cheap. Stuff like "Crystal Ball" and "Dream Factory" are classics, but slightly altered from the way they were back in the day. Plus there IS some useless stuff that's interesting to hear once, but not really essential ("Poom Poom," "Cloreen Baconskin") and 4 or so remixes that are really useless.
However, there's some good stuff in there, and The Truth (Disc 4) is a pretty good album of non-Vault material. I'd rank it equally as Graffiti Bridge, but that's really arguable... | |
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Kissmequick said: Disk one - track 4 - 
Disc One - track 2  | |
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It rivals the movie Graffiti Bridge in artistic value and playability. | |
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s'ok. if you can find a good deal on it, it's definitely worth owning. | |
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psykosoul said: Kissmequick said: Disk one - track 4 -
Disc One - track 2
 God bless everyone. NO exceptions. | |
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Disc 4 (The Truth) is very easy to like. The rest is an oft-overpriced collection of highs and lows of Prince material. I understand there is a version of "The Crystal Ball" that comes with a fifth cd, "The Kama Sutra", which, unfortunately, I have never heard. So I can't comment on that one. Anyone else? The Only One with the Power to Save Us is Ourselves | |
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As three disc sets go, it beats the hell out of Emancipation, but as with a lot of P's stuff, there is some filler in the unecessary remixes which by and large don't come close to the originals.
It's essential though for the title track and other songs which were to make up the Dream Factory/Crystal Ball/Sign O the Times era and also some gems which were deleted from the Gold Experience. The Truth album, which makes up disc 4 is a fairly demoish collection of mostly very interesting songs....but again there is some filler and I think most people agree it was a good move to include it as part of this set and not have it be a stand alone album. Kamasutra doesn't come with the retail version and it is mostly a piece of crap anyway, but other than that... Get it! . [This message was edited Sat Jul 17 23:47:39 2004 by mrdespues] | |
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disc 3..track one  | |
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emmanuel said:
Disc 4 (The Truth) is very easy to like. The rest is an oft-overpriced collection of highs and lows of Prince material. I understand there is a version of "The Crystal Ball" that comes with a fifth cd, "The Kama Sutra", which, unfortunately, I have never heard. So I can't comment on that one. Anyone else? Kamasutra is an odd piece. Despite how "out there" it is, I never hear much bashing of it at all, althought most wouldn't tell you that it's very good either. It's a very interesting single listen for Prince fans, and then you can tuck it away as a nice collector's piece. I've listened to it entirely once, put it on random with my other 4 CB CDs a few times, and have actually suck out the CD to listen to specific songs from it maybe half a dozen times. Problem is, the "kamasutra" theme itself isn't very good, actually I think it's really bad, but it keeps recurring throughout the album, which weakens it as a whole. Also there are good sections of movements on the album, but they segue songs weird and trax aren't always where you'd think they'd be. Therefore, you get a good piece of a song followed by the kamasutra theme at the end, so it's very unfriendly to throw onto mix CDs, even bizarre out there ones that this album would only be appropriate for. "Knowledge is preferable to ignorance. Better by far to embrace the hard truth than a reassuring faith. If we crave some cosmic purpose, then let us find ourselves a worthy goal" - Carl Sagan | |
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savoirfaire said: I never hear much bashing of it at all, althought most wouldn't tell you that it's very good either.
Then you mustn't be logging in this place too often! Most people hate it with a passion. . [This message was edited Sun Jul 18 1:38:12 2004 by mrdespues] | |
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psykosoul said: Kissmequick said: Disk one - track 4 -
Disc One - track 2 No no no... Disc 2, track 3    I never met you, but I LOVE you & I will forever!! Thank you for being YOU - my little Princey, the best to EVER do it | |
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I love Crytsal Ball, especially "Sexual Suicide" "Hide The Bone" "Calhoun Square" "Days of Wild" "18 & over" "Acknowledge Me" "Crucial" "Moviestar" "Good Love" There some other really good songs on there and it is definitely worth buying
I have only listened to half of "The Truth" and couldn't get into it. Haven't heard it since and don't care to | |
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Janfriend said: I have only listened to half of "The Truth" and couldn't get into it. Haven't heard it since and don't care to
   You're killing me w/ this one!! So you've never heard "The Other Side of the Pillow", "One of Your Tears", "Fascination" or "Comeback"? OY, somebody take me out  I never met you, but I LOVE you & I will forever!! Thank you for being YOU - my little Princey, the best to EVER do it | |
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CalhounSq said: Janfriend said: I have only listened to half of "The Truth" and couldn't get into it. Haven't heard it since and don't care to
You're killing me w/ this one!! So you've never heard "The Other Side of the Pillow", "One of Your Tears", "Fascination" or "Comeback"? OY, somebody take me out I hear ya'. A lot of the first three discs I loved but I could not get into the accoustical shit. I'm so sick of the accoustical trend that is out now. I feel like singing "Comb By Ya" (I don't know if I spelled that right or not....that goes to show how much I am into it). Andy is a four letter word. | |
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vainandy said: I hear ya'. A lot of the first three discs I loved but I could not get into the accoustical shit. I'm so sick of the accoustical trend that is out now. I feel like singing "Comb By Ya" (I don't know if I spelled that right or not....that goes to show how much I am into it). I don't mind a good acoustic song, but a whole album of it makes me sick | |
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silverchild said: I'm bought the box set, but I don't even know how good it is. I went 2 www.npgmc.com to listen 2 some of the samples. The title track sounds downright funky. I remember someone saying that this was originally going to be his 1987 release but the selfish pepole at Warner Bros. told Prince to make it into a double album that is now considered a masterwork, "Sign O The Times". So, why is this called Crystal Ball? Is it a set full of unreleased stuff or is it set of new material. I'm really confused. I bought the limited edition from www.half.com and it hasn't even shipped yet. If anyone has this set, tell me how good it is.. Is is worth buying or should I buy a copy of Graffiti Bridge?
The Crystal Ball set released in 1998 is a 3CD set of previously unreleased material dating from 1982 - 1996 (please correct me if a year or two out there folks). With the set also comes a 4th disc of new material (at the time of release), the album is called The Truth, and it's a semi-acoustic piece. There's also a 5th disc, Kamasutra, which is pretty much worthless, instrumental toss-off IMO, this disc was only available at the time to those who purchased through Prince's official merchandise avenue, 1800 New Funk. The original Crystal Ball album from 1986 was a 3 LP set, understandable Warners regarded this outlandish idea as an unprofitable and difficult proposition to sell/market - so Prince agreed to pare the album down to 2 LPs - released, as you rightly say as Sign O' The Times. The only relation the 1998 release has to the 1986 project is the title track. If you're into Prince, you will get a kick out of this release, but it is by no means perfect. As for Graffiti Bridge, sure get that too - there's something of merit on all his albums, even the terrible ones there's the odd song - you know roses grow from manure  | |
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silverchild said: I'm bought the box set, but I don't even know how good it is. I went 2 www.npgmc.com to listen 2 some of the samples. The title track sounds downright funky. I remember someone saying that this was originally going to be his 1987 release but the selfish pepole at Warner Bros. told Prince to make it into a double album that is now considered a masterwork, "Sign O The Times". So, why is this called Crystal Ball? Is it a set full of unreleased stuff or is it set of new material. I'm really confused. I bought the limited edition from www.half.com and it hasn't even shipped yet. If anyone has this set, tell me how good it is.. Is is worth buying or should I buy a copy of Graffiti Bridge?
Yes, it's a bit confusing that Prince decided to call the 1998 album of outtakes and previously bootlegged songs "Crystal Ball". It really has nothing in common with the original 1987 'Crystal Ball' album other than the title track. The released 'Crystal Ball' set does contain some great tracks and it definitely well worth having. It's just that it's put together in a strangely haphazard way which can detract from the quality of the music. There are tracks taken from various periods in Prince's recording career, but it's not a very evenly balanced cross section, as Prince avoided including any 'Revolution' tracks as he planned on releasing them seperately at the time (on 'Roadhouse Garden'). Also, the inclusion of several remixes and reworkings of tracks from '94-'95 is somewhat annoying, not because they're bad as such, but because they take up space that could have been given to more 'genuine' outtakes. Here's a quick overview of the Crystal Ball tracks in rough chronological order, so you can see where all the tracks originate from... CLOREEN BACON SKIN – March 1983 impromptu jam by Prince & Morris Day, recorded during sessions for The Time’s third album. SEXUAL SUICIDE – August 1985 AN HONEST MAN – November 1985 DREAM FACTORY – December 1985 LAST HEART – January 1986 MOVIE STAR – March 1986 CRYSTAL BALL – April 1986 MAKE YOUR MAMA HAPPY – August 1986 CRUCIAL – September 1986 GOOD LOVE – October 1986 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 ‘Come’/’Gold Experience’ period 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 2MORROW – November 1995 DA BANG – 1995 POOM POOM – August 1995 THE RIDE (LIVE) – October 28th 1995 (original from June 1993) DAYS OF WILD (LIVE) – December 12th 1995 (original from January 1994) SHE GAVE HER ANGELS - 1996 GOODBYE – 1996 outtakes from ‘Emancipation’. As you can see, the most heavily represented era is the 'Come'/'Gold Experience' (Dawn) era of 1993, with 10 of the tracks stemming from this time (though 3 of these appear in remixed form from '94). Only 1 track appears that was from the original 'Crystal Ball' album from 1987, and that's the title track. Though 'Crucial' also dates from this time, and is an outtake from the album (it was replaced by 'Adore'). . [This message was edited Sun Jul 18 5:21:06 2004 by BorisFishpaw] | |
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BorisFishpaw said: silverchild said: I'm bought the box set, but I don't even know how good it is. I went 2 www.npgmc.com to listen 2 some of the samples. The title track sounds downright funky. I remember someone saying that this was originally going to be his 1987 release but the selfish pepole at Warner Bros. told Prince to make it into a double album that is now considered a masterwork, "Sign O The Times". So, why is this called Crystal Ball? Is it a set full of unreleased stuff or is it set of new material. I'm really confused. I bought the limited edition from www.half.com and it hasn't even shipped yet. If anyone has this set, tell me how good it is.. Is is worth buying or should I buy a copy of Graffiti Bridge?
Yes, it's a bit confusing that Prince decided to call the 1998 album of outtakes and previously bootlegged songs "Crystal Ball". It really has nothing in common with the original 1987 'Crystal Ball' album other than the title track. The released 'Crystal Ball' set does contain some great tracks and it definitely well worth having. It's just that it's put together in a strangely haphazard way which can detract from the quality of the music. There are tracks taken from various periods in Prince's recording career, but it's not a very evenly balanced cross section, as Prince avoided including any 'Revolution' tracks as he planned on releasing them seperately at the time (on 'Roadhouse Garden'). Also, the inclusion of several remixes and reworkings of tracks from '94-'95 is somewhat annoying, not because they're bad as such, but because they take up space that could have been given to more 'genuine' outtakes. Here's a quick overview of the Crystal Ball tracks in rough chronological order, so you can see where all the tracks originate from... CLOREEN BACON SKIN – March 1983 impromptu jam by Prince & Morris Day, recorded during sessions for The Time’s third album. SEXUAL SUICIDE – August 1985 AN HONEST MAN – November 1985 DREAM FACTORY – December 1985 LAST HEART – January 1986 MOVIE STAR – March 1986 CRYSTAL BALL – April 1986 MAKE YOUR MAMA HAPPY – August 1986 CRUCIAL – September 1986 GOOD LOVE – October 1986 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 ‘Come’/’Gold Experience’ period 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 2MORROW – November 1995 DA BANG – 1995 POOM POOM – August 1995 THE RIDE (LIVE) – October 28th 1995 (original from June 1993) DAYS OF WILD (LIVE) – December 12th 1995 (original from January 1994) SHE GAVE HER ANGELS - 1996 GOODBYE – December 1996 outtakes from ‘Emancipation’. As you can see, the most heavily represented era is the 'Come'/'Gold Experience' (Dawn) era of 1993, with 10 of the tracks stemming from this time (though 3 of these appear in remixed form from '94). Only 1 track appears that was from the original 'Crystal Ball' album from 1987, and that's the title track. Though 'Crucial' also dates from this time, and is an outtake from the album (it was replaced by 'Adore'). . [This message was edited Sun Jul 18 3:35:09 2004 by BorisFishpaw] GREAT!  I was going to make a post asking if someone could list the complete set of CB with the year/era of original creation of the song! As always, boris, good job!
It's a shame the songs are edited, because if they were not, people who likes only one period (the old or the most recent stuff) could make their own CB set, with a non strict cronological order "This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one I've left behind A simple prop to occupy my time This one goes out to the one I love" - R.E.M. | |
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silverchild said: I'm bought the box set, but I don't even know how good it is. I went 2 www.npgmc.com to listen 2 some of the samples. The title track sounds downright funky. I remember someone saying that this was originally going to be his 1987 release but the selfish pepole at Warner Bros. told Prince to make it into a double album that is now considered a masterwork, "Sign O The Times". So, why is this called Crystal Ball? Is it a set full of unreleased stuff or is it set of new material. I'm really confused. I bought the limited edition from www.half.com and it hasn't even shipped yet. If anyone has this set, tell me how good it is.. Is is worth buying or should I buy a copy of Graffiti Bridge?
It's a great set to have... in fact, it's a must have for 'The Truth' album alone. But even without it, tracks like Crystal Ball, Movie Star, Acknowledge Me, 2morrow, Hide the Bone, Last Heart, Goodbye, She Gaver Her Angels, What's My Name, are all essential. It's true, they could have ommitted some of the remixes but what can you do. The problem is the fans are so familiar with his unreleased music that we all could have suggested far better tracks than stuff like 'tell me how u wanna be done' . It's definitely a buy. | |
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Oh... how could I forget 'Sexual Suicide'-- Girls and boys much funkier cousin! | |
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Ronny said: silverchild said: I'm bought the box set, but I don't even know how good it is. I went 2 www.npgmc.com to listen 2 some of the samples. The title track sounds downright funky. I remember someone saying that this was originally going to be his 1987 release but the selfish pepole at Warner Bros. told Prince to make it into a double album that is now considered a masterwork, "Sign O The Times". So, why is this called Crystal Ball? Is it a set full of unreleased stuff or is it set of new material. I'm really confused. I bought the limited edition from www.half.com and it hasn't even shipped yet. If anyone has this set, tell me how good it is.. Is is worth buying or should I buy a copy of Graffiti Bridge?
It's a great set to have... in fact, it's a must have for 'The Truth' album alone. But even without it, tracks like Crystal Ball, Movie Star, Acknowledge Me, 2morrow, Hide the Bone, Last Heart, Goodbye, She Gaver Her Angels, What's My Name, are all essential. It's true, they could have ommitted some of the remixes but what can you do. The problem is the fans are so familiar with his unreleased music that we all could have suggested far better tracks than stuff like 'tell me how u wanna be done' . It's definitely a buy. I agree! But "She Gave Her Angels" is one of my top 3 favorite Prince songs, so I'd buy it just for that! | |
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Kissmequick said: Disk one - track 4 -
Co-sign!!! But, I like a lot of it. It was well worth the money. S Filthy cute and baby U know it | |
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mrdespues said: Most people hate it with a passion. As an "album" it sucks. As a compendium of tracks that you can always go back to cannibalise in order to create your very own compilations for whatever purpose then it's a must-have. It should be viewed as the latter. There's nothing here to "hate"  .
. "You don't frighten us, English pig dogs. Go and boil your bottoms, sons of a silly person." | |
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I remember someone saying that this was originally going to be his 1987 release but the selfish pepole at Warner Bros.
 The world is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel.
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Is it "suppose" to say BOOTLEG on the disk??  | |
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u've asked about every album now!
do ur own research. its not like our opinions will change the fact u'll buy everything u can find anyway! www.riotcitywrestling.com
*************************************************************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Prince,Flava Flav,Seal, 3 hour aftershow party,nuff said!" (13/5/12 - Sydney Austra | |
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Janfriend said: I love Crytsal Ball, especially "Sexual Suicide" "Hide The Bone" "Calhoun Square" "Days of Wild" "18 & over" "Acknowledge Me" "Crucial" "Moviestar" "Good Love" There some other really good songs on there and it is definitely worth buying
I have only listened to half of "The Truth" and couldn't get into it. Haven't heard it since and don't care to dw,i was like that,then oneday i woke up & discovered something incredible in it,u'll get there www.riotcitywrestling.com
*************************************************************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Prince,Flava Flav,Seal, 3 hour aftershow party,nuff said!" (13/5/12 - Sydney Austra | |
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Love it!!!!!
Interactive 18 & Over Crucial Goodbye Srays of the World Days of Wild(with language) Ripopgodazippa Acknowledge Me Movie Star She Gave Her Anels Hide the Bone Crystal Ball All good to great tracks. We love a compilation like this is we never had it. Picture yourself without it. Then you will cme to appreciate it more. (Insert something clever here) | |
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