/Crystall_Ball_(Prince_box_set_-_cover_art).jpg
.jpg){kind=link}
I bought this at the height of my Prince phase right around the time it came out -- and for me it was a great introduction to not only Prince's unreleased material but also the dichotomy of his 80s work and his more R&B-oriented 90s work (the latter of which comprises a lot of this). People can have legit gripes with the heavy weight of the track selection toward Gold Experience]-era outtakes, with the fact that he probably touched up a bunch of the 80s classics here ("Crystal Ball" and "Sexual Suicide" both have different mixes than the boots), and the general superiority of a number of actual bootlegs. Plus, the liner notes read like they were written by a screenwriter for [i]The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
But as an overview of music the man felt unfit for release for various reasons, it's pretty fascinating. As a pure genre exercise, it's exhausting, with Broadway ("Strays of the World"), guitar blooze ("The Ride"), "reggae fusion" ("Ripopgodazippa"), Primus-y thrash funk ("Da Bang"), in addition to everything else the guy did. There's also several remixes and new songs spun out of from traveling down rabbit holes of old ones ("So Dark," "Tell Me How U Wanna B Done").
Highlights for me include:
Crystal Ball -- pretty much my favorite Prince song ever and the first place I heard it. Fractal Camille.
Cloreen Baconskin -- Morris Day and Prince jamming on bass and drums for 15 minutes with a ridiculously raspy rap from Prince. 'Nuff said.
P. Control-- with the gospel choir singing "Puss-ehhhhh!!! Puss-ehhhhh!!! PUSS-EHHHHHH!!!" -- this is absolutely the best version of a great late period classic.
Make Your Mama Happy -- amazing nod to Fresh-era Sly and the Family Stone.
Movie Star -- would-be Time track for Morris Day.
Crucial -- replaced on SOTT by Adore ... I prefer this, actually (Sacrilege!).
I'm leaving off The Truth, as it was included but not bootlegged material (my favorite there is "Dionne" for sure). But regardless of how uneven it may be, this set reminds me several times over what it is I love about Prince. What say u?
Poll Results
| Option | Votes |
| "Cloreen Baconskin" - 15:37 (recorded 1983) | 3 |
| "Good Love"† - 4:55 (recorded 1986) | 3 |
| "Crystal Ball"* - 10:28 (recorded 1986) | 2 |
| "Crucial"* - 5:06 (recorded 1986) | 2 |
| "Last Heart"* - 3:01 (recorded 1986) | 1 |
| "Movie Star"* - 4:26 (recorded 1986) | 1 |
| "Sexual Suicide"* - 3:40 (recorded 1985) | 1 |
| "Acknowledge Me"* - 5:27 (recorded 1993) | 1 |
| "P Control"‡ - 6:00 (recorded 1995) | 1 |
| "Make Your Mama Happy" - 4:01 (recorded 1986) | 0 |
| "Strays of the World" - 5:07 (recorded 1993) | 0 |
| "Days of Wild" (Live)* - 9:20 (recorded 1995) | 0 |
| "Get Loose"‡ - 3:31 (recorded 1994) | 0 |
| "Poom Poom" - 4:32 (recorded 1996) | 0 |
| "The Ride" (Live)* - 5:14 (recorded 1995) | 0 |
| "She Gave Her Angels" - 3:53 (recorded 1996) | 0 |
| "18 & Over"* - 5:40 (recorded 1994) | 0 |
| "An Honest Man"* - 1:13 (recorded 1985) | 0 |
| "Dream Factory"* - 3:07 (recorded 1985) | 0 |
| "Ripopgodazippa" - 4:39 (recorded 1993) | 0 |
| "Love Sign" (Shock G's Silky Remix)‡ - 3:53 (recorded 1994) | 0 |
| "Hide the Bone" - 5:04 (recorded 1993) | 0 |
| "2morrow" - 4:14 (recorded 1995) | 0 |
| "So Dark"‡ - 5:14 (recorded 1994) | 0 |
| "Tell Me How U Wanna B Done"‡ - 3:16 (recorded 1992) | 0 |
| "Interactive" - 3:04 (recorded 1993) | 0 |
| "Da Bang" - 3:20 (recorded 1995) | 0 |
| "Calhoun Square"* - 4:47 (recorded 1993) | 0 |
| "What's My Name" - 3:04 (recorded 1993) | 0 |
| "Goodbye" - 4:35 (recorded 1995) | 0 |
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 28 April 2016 13:34 (seven years ago) link