Crystal Ball (Prince album)

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Crystal Ball
Compilation album by
Released	January 29[1]/March 3, 1998
Recorded	1983–1996
Genre	Pop, Rock, Funk
Length	???
Label	NPG Records
Producer(s)
Professional reviews
Allmusic.com
chronology
Emancipation (1996)	Crystal Ball (1998)	The Truth (1998)

Crystal Ball is a compilation album by Prince (then known as ), released in 1998. It consists of 3 discs, each with 10 songs. The 3-CD set was a much anticipated collection of "previously bootlegged" material and was announced late in 1996. It was released with The Truth album, and internet orders also included the instrumental album Kamasutra.

Contents 1 Album Controversy 2 Track listing 2.1 Disc one 2.2 Disc two 2.3 Disc three 3 Miscellanea 4 External links 5 Sources

[edit] Album Controversy

The album is a source of much controversy and a sore spot with many fans. Initially promised to be released in early 1997, Prince later stated that he wouldn't even press the album until he received a minimum of 50,000 pre-orders. Even after pre-orders were received, it was nearly a year before fans started receiving their copies. The shipping process was poorly managed and some fans received their orders months later, if at all. Fans were also promised a transparent package in the shape of an actual crystal ball; instead, when the album finally shipped, it appeared in a flat circular container that many fans dubbed "Crystal Petri Dish." Fans who pre-ordered the disc were directed to a website containing the liner notes and cover art for consumers to print, cut out, and place in their CD case.

The album was also made available in retail stores, which questioned the need for pre-orders in the first place. Furthermore, the album that appeared in stores contained an actual booklet with cover art liner notes, which the pre-ordered copies did not. As a peace-offering, Prince included a fifth disc, Kamasutra, which was not available in the version shipped to stores. (Some customers also received a New Power Generation t-shirt.) Also, many fans were sent a cassette tape of the newly recorded "The War" for free to make up for the fiasco.

The contents were also a point of contention with fans. Although advertised as a decades-spanning collection, most of the tracks were from the mid- to late-1990s. Also nearly a third of the tracks were remixes of previously released material. Some of the other tracks were unnecessarily edited; this was a particular problem since Crystal Ball's stated purpose was to eliminate the need for bootlegs, but fans needed bootlegs to hear the full versions of the songs. Many consumers also complained that there was room for more material on the three discs (which ran about 45 minutes each). Others complained that the "bonus" albums The Truth and Kamasutra were filled with sub-par material. All in all, the album was considered a debacle. Prince inadvertently alienated a large portion of his fan base due to his poor handling of the release [1], particularly in his sizable online fan community, where a number of anti-fan sites sprang up citing Crystal Ball as the catalyst.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Disc one

1. "Crystal Ball" – 10:28
2. "Dream Factory" – 3:07
3. "Acknowledge Me" – 5:27
4. "Ripopgodazippa" – 4:39
5. "Love Sign" (remix) – 3:52
6. "Hide the Bone" – 5:03
7. "2morrow" – 4:13
8. "So Dark" – 5:14
9. "Movie Star" – 4:25
10. "Tell Me How U Wanna B Done" – 3:15

[edit] Disc two

1. "Interactive" – 3:03
2. "Da Bang" – 3:19
3. "Calhoun Square" – 4:46
4. "What's My Name" – 3:03
5. "Crucial" – 5:06
6. "An Honest Man" – 1:13
7. "Sexual Suicide" – 3:39
8. "Cloreen Baconskin" – 15:37
9. "Good Love" – 4:55
10. "Strays of the World" – 5:07

[edit] Disc three

1. "Days of Wild" (live) – 9:19
2. "Last Heart" – 3:01
3. "Poom Poom" – 4:32
4. "She Gave Her Angels" – 3:52
5. "18 & Over" – 5:40
6. "The Ride" (live) – 5:13
7. "(Lemme See Yo Body) Get Loose" – 3:31
8. "P. Control" (remix) – 5:59
9. "Make Your Mama Happy" – 4:00
10. "Goodbye" – 4:34

[edit] Miscellanea

• Prince once planned to release a 3-LP album in 1986/1987 called Crystal Ball. That album was edited down to a 2-LP and renamed Sign 'O' the Times but the title track remained unreleased until 1998 on this compilation.

[edit] External links

• Crystal Ball lyrics
• Copy of the online booklet

[edit] Sources

1. ^ Love 4 One Another

Prince
Studio albums
For You | Prince | Dirty Mind | Controversy | 1999 | Purple Rain | Around the World in a Day Sign “☮” the Times | Lovesexy | Diamonds and Pearls | (Love Symbol) Come | The Black Album | The Gold Experience | Chaos and Disorder | Emancipation | The Truth Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic | The Rainbow Children | One Nite Alone... | Musicology | 3121
Soundtracks
Purple Rain | Parade | Batman | Graffiti Bridge | Girl 6
Live albums
One Nite Alone... Live!
Instrumental albums
Kamasutra | Xpectation | N.E.W.S
Internet albums
Xpectation | The Chocolate Invasion | The Slaughterhouse
Hits collections and compilations
The Hits/The B-Sides | Crystal Ball | The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale | The Very Best of Prince | Ultimate
EPs
The Beautiful Experience | 1999: The New Master
Films
Purple Rain | Under the Cherry Moon | Sign “☮” the Times | Graffiti Bridge
Related articles
The Revolution | New Power Generation | The Time | Madhouse | Vanity 6 | Apollonia 6 | Mazarati | Unreleased Prince projects
Top 10 singles (U.S. Hot 100)
"Little Red Corvette" | "Delirious" | "When Doves Cry" | "Let's Go Crazy" | "Purple Rain" "I Would Die 4 U" | "Raspberry Beret" | "Pop Life" | "Kiss" | "Sign “☮” the Times" | "U Got the Look" "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" | "Alphabet St." | "Batdance" | "Thieves In the Temple" "Cream" | "Diamonds and Pearls" | "7" | "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
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