Prince: The Albums - #20.1, Crystal Ball (Done)

[SHOOTER]

Rank 1-10
Crystal Ball
Dream Factory
Acknowledge Me
Ripopgodazippa
Love Sign
Hide the Bone
2morrow
So Dark
Movie Star
Tell Me How U Wanna B Done

Crystal Ball, Pt. 1

We are officially TWENTY albums deep into Prince's catalog! Let's celebrate by ranking one of his more...fun experiments in the studio (and his next-to-last multi-disc release).

SPOILER: Click to show

{Acknowledge This}
Ezekiel 23:20–21 tim singingrulebritannia filthy God Ling-Ling .indulgecountry newpower Linnethia Monique samo🦕 Zach
Unhinged Sir Benji mamooshka LBTrocks
Mirago Kanenrá:ke fearlessarrow @antigonerising

[Sir Benji]

On to the good shit LOOK AT GOD. The only thing I don’t like about Crystal Ball is that the songs are not in chronological order. This is gonna be a hard one for me because Disc 1 is my favorite 😭😔😑

[Deleted]

When is 3121 cumming?

My fav Prince album

[Sir Benji]

I need to do this 😑

[SHOOTER]

Sept 24, 2020 3:33:05 GMT -5 @phillippe said:

When is 3121 cumming?

My fav Prince album

We are going in order but we'll get there soon, lil nasty!

[SHOOTER]

Crystal Ball, Pt. 1 (5 Days Left)

1. SHOOTER
2. samo🦕
3. newpower
4. tim

Progress...

SPOILER: Click to show

{Acknowledge This}
tim singingrulebritannia filthy God Ling-Ling .indulgecountry newpower Linnethia Monique samo🦕 Zach Unhinged Sir Benji mamooshka LBTrocks Mirago Kanenrá:ke fearlessarrow @antigonerising

[Sir Benji]

I’ll have this in by the due date 😅

[SHOOTER]

Crystal Ball (Reveals Pending)




Fun fact: Prince's first official box set, Crystal Ball, has little in common with the abandoned 3-disc project that preceded Sign o' the Times in the mid-80s aside from the inclusion of the title track, the slight edit of one song in particular and the fact it's also a 3-disc set (extended to 4 or 5 depending on which version fans ordered) at the time. Prince did not consider it a proper "album" release because it was entirely comprised of "bootlegged" material and "scraps" from his vault - no new material was written nor recorded specifically for this project. It was initially only available through phone pre-order (using 1-800 New Funk); over the next several months, Love4oneanother.com provided updates and said the album would only be produced when 100,000 orders had been placed. It was also one of the first albums to have digital liner notes presented online via CrystalBallCd.com. It was shipped out to fans starting in January 1998 followed by a retail release in March. Despite little promo from Prince and no official singles released, the album still peaked at a respectable 62 on the Top 200.

And, now, we'll attempt to rank our way through it. Stay tuned.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Rankagodarankdown}
newpower tim Sir Benji .indulgecountry Zach Mirago @antigonerising Linnethia Monique LBTrocks samo🦕

[Sir Benji]

YAS!

And OMG at the Best Buy ad oh the nostalgia 😭🥺

[Ezekiel 23:20–21]

There were just a handful of tracks that I liked between the three CDs. I did not like CD 1 enough to justify doing the ranking of it.

I bought this the day it came out in the round box edition. I was disappointed that the commercial release only had 4 CDs and not the 5. I know the 5th one was that instrumental Kamasutra album but it would have been nice to have then. I have since heard it and it was actually pretty good for what it was intended for.

[SHOOTER]

2night, hey, eye'm a movie star
Eye c myself on the silver screen
2night, it don't matter who U r
Eye'm the only star on the scene,
U know what eye mean?





*LOWEST SD*

newpower : 6
tim : 7
Sir Benji : 7

.indulgecountry : 8
Zach : 8
Mirago : 9
@antigonerising : 10
Linnethia Monique : 10
LBTrocks : 10
SHOOTER : 10
samo🦕 : 10

Movie Star was originally recorded in March 1986 and included on one of the final configurations of Dream Factory but ultimately abandoned once that project morphed into Crystal Ball.

"D'Angelo's favorite bootleg. This love 4 this track inspired its inclusion.

Imagine Morris Day doin' this. That's who it was written 4 - The Time." (Crystal Ball liner notes)

[SHOOTER]

Lavender oil cum from the bottle like eye do
Whenever eye think about me zippa rippin' so cool
All down the body and double between da thighs
Ripopgodazippa and U get a big surprise!





*4th-Lowest SD*

Zach : 3
@antigonerising : 4
tim : 5

SHOOTER : 7
Linnethia Monique : 8
Mirago : 8
LBTrocks : 9
newpower : 9
.indulgecountry : 9
Sir Benji : 9
samo🦕 : 9

Ripopgodazippa was recorded in October 1993 during the very first day of sessions for what would become The Gold Experience.

"Inspired by an episode on a weight lifting bench... Chanté Moore's Precious was the background music - NPG hornz are featured with Kathy J. on clarinet, Michael B. and Sonny T. also groovin' underneath." (Crystal Ball liner notes)

[Zach]

I'm just surprised I wasn't alone in ranking this top half.

[SHOOTER]

Please don't hold my hand 'cuz eye will
Damn sure understand and kill
The other boys in the band who want U...





LBTrocks : 2
@antigonerising : 3
.indulgecountry : 4
Linnethia Monique : 5

Sir Benji : 6
samo🦕 : 7
Zach : 7
SHOOTER : 8
tim : 9
newpower : 10
Mirago : 10

2morrow was initially tracked in November 1996 and premiered during radio jock Tom Joyner's Emancipation Special that same month; in subsequent press, Prince cited this as being the only new song he'd recorded since Emancipation was completed as he had entered "studio rehab" per Mayte's request. It contains a repeated sample of the chorus of The Most Beautiful Girl In The World.

"Inspired by Corrie, the girl from the Love4OneAnother* experience, but not necessarily true. An unknown member of the NPG had a crush on her." (Crystal Ball liner notes)

*Love 4 One Another was a 1995 "concert film" produced by Paisley Park and VH1 about a woman who travels from Texas to Minneapolis in search of Prince, believing he is her soulmate.

[SHOOTER]

Playing hard to get is getting hard to play
How can I resist?
Love has got me saying, baby
"Give it up - bang, bang - before it be gone!"...





*5th-lowest SD*

.indulgecountry : 2
SHOOTER : 2
samo🦕 : 5

@antigonerising : 6
Linnethia Monique : 6
Mirago : 6
LBTrocks : 7

tim : 8
newpower : 8
Sir Benji : 8
Zach : 9

This was another record tracked during the November 1993 recording sessions in France. The original lyrics were penned by songwriters Brenda Lee Eager and Hilliard Wilson who also wrote the lyrics to Somebody’s Somebody (from Emancipation). Eager had originally given that song to her friend Mavis Staples to record for her 1992 album The Voice (released via Paisley Park). Prince liked those lyrics and asked Eager for more material; Hide The Bone was born as a result.

"Original lyrics by Brenda Lee Eager and Hilliard Wilson. Once NPG got it, the dogs buried it in the yard and, when it was finally found, it sounded like this. Recorded by the NPG - Tommy Barbarella, Sonny T. and Michael B., guitars and vocals by yo mama!" (Crystal Ball liner notes)

[SHOOTER]

U took my sex and my money
Took all my self-esteem
U had the nerve to think it was funny
I never knew a bitch so mean...





*4th-highest SD*

@antigonerising : 2
samo🦕 : 2
.indulgecountry : 3
Linnethia Monique : 4
Sir Benji : 5

LBTrocks : 6
Zach : 6
newpower : 7
Mirago : 7
SHOOTER : 9
tim : 10

The original version of Dark was released on 1993's Come. It's unclear when exactly this remix was recorded.

"completely redone, phatter joint than the original." (Crystal Ball liner notes)

[.indulgecountry]

Oct 21, 2020 0:38:09 GMT -5 SHOOTER said:

.indulgecountry : 2
SHOOTER : 2

Taste! The other hoes don't know how to hide and it shows.

[SHOOTER]

Shall I go in a circle like the merry-go-round
That you and your girlfriends used to ride all up and down?
Talk to me, baby...





*3rd-highest SD*

Linnethia Monique : 3
LBTrocks : 3
newpower : 3
SHOOTER : 3
samo🦕 : 4
Mirago : 4
@antigonerising : 5

tim : 6
.indulgecountry : 7
Sir Benji : 10
Zach : 10

Tell Me How U Wanna B Done is actually a remix by NPG percussionist Kirk Johnson of a portion of The Continental from 1992's Love Symbol. The rap on the song is performed by Carmen Electra.

"During the summer of '95, this joint was a favorite of Erotic City Dancers in L.A. and MPLS. Kirky J. did the remix and was rewarded by getting the producer job on Emancipation...PHAT! Carmen Electra is featured on honey-dipped vocal. Video is available upon clearance from Carmen's conscience."* (Crystal Ball liner notes)

*It is unknown if a video does actually exist.

[SHOOTER]

As bombs xplode around us and hate advances on the right
The only thing that matters, baby, is the love we make 2night
As little babies in make-up terrorize the western world
The only thing that matters, baby, is love between a boy and girl...





*HIGHEST SD*

Mirago : 1
Zach : 1
newpower : 2
Sir Benji : 2
tim : 3
LBTrocks : 5
SHOOTER : 5

samo🦕 : 8
@antigonerising : 9
Linnethia Monique : 9
.indulgecountry : 10

Crystal Ball was first cut in April 1986 with an extended version including orchestration arranged/conducted by Clare Fischer emerging a few months later. The version included on the album's 1998 release is this exact version from 1986 left untouched for 12 years.

"The song Crystal Ball was written in a deepbluefunk depression as Prince pondered his future in a music business that had become more business than music.

His only solace during this time was a continuing search 4 a soul mate. All that matters is the love we make 2night. The notion of making love during the apocalypse was an interesting notion 2 us at the time.

Susannah Melvoin lends her voice 2 the track and Clare Fischer arranged and conducted the orchestra. All other noises r made by Prince." (Crystal Ball liner notes)

[.indulgecountry]

Glad I wasn't alone in tanking the title track. I... did not care for that at all.

[SHOOTER]

Oct 21, 2020 21:23:28 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Glad I wasn't alone in tanking the title track. I... did not care for that at all.

I figured you weren't submitting a list cuz you couldn't make it through the first track!

[SHOOTER]

Eye take a pill to wipe away my doubts
But a pill can't cure my being alone
Vodka and 7 straight 2 my brain
Put me under false impressions, hide all my pain
Somebody help me, eye'm losing control...





*5th-highest SD*

Sir Benji : 1
samo🦕 : 1
tim : 2
newpower : 4
SHOOTER : 4
Mirago : 5
Zach : 5

.indulgecountry : 6
Linnethia Monique : 7
@antigonerising : 8
LBTrocks : 8

Dream Factory was first sketched out in December 1985 recording sessions before morphing into what was to be the title track for the New Power Generation's fourth album. After the group disbanded and the album abandoned, the song resurfaced in 1989 as a potential contender for The Time's Corporate World album. In 1995, a small sample of the song was heard in a club scene on DJ Gets Jumped, a segue from the 1995 Exodus album by the New Power Generation.

"written 4 a turn coat who, after a quick brush with success, lost themselves in a haze of wine, women and pills...or so the fiction goes? This person is not Prince - "Listen 2 the story of a man eye'm not." (Crystal Ball liner notes)

...those lyrics speak volumes in hindsight though.

[SHOOTER]

Everyday that goes by is another day I want you more
I'd give a million dollars to see you baby standing at my door...





*3rd-lowest SD*

newpower : 1
.indulgecountry : 1
Linnethia Monique : 2
Mirago : 2
Sir Benji : 3
tim : 4
LBTrocks : 4
Zach : 4

SHOOTER : 6
samo🦕 : 6
@antigonerising : 7

Acknowledge Me was created in October 1993 and considered for inclusion on both The Gold Experience and NPG's Exodus album before finding a home on Crystal Ball. Despite not being attached to an album at the time, a video for the song was featured in the 1994 Beautiful Experience TV special, another "concert film" of Prince's about a woman who gains access to a wealth of his videos and comes to realize she is the 'most beautiful girl in the world'.

"Originally recorded 4 The Gold Experience and replaced by P. Control. Intro voice is by Bonni Boyer, sampled from a dope track called "The Line" (2 be relased at a later date)."* (Crystal Ball liner notes)

*"The Line" remains unreleased as of 2020.

---

In the day of where and why we all belong
Don't nobody want to hear a silly love song
And if they did then we would sing it on the news
While U're aiming your gun at me and eye'm aiming back at U...





*2nd-lowest SD*

@antigonerising : 1
Linnethia Monique : 1
tim : 1
LBTrocks : 1
SHOOTER : 1
Zach : 2
samo🦕 : 3
Mirago : 3
Sir Benji : 4
newpower : 5
.indulgecountry : 5

The original version of Love Sign, credited to Nona Gaye & Prince, was released on 1-800 New Funk, a 1994 NPG Records compilation of mostly-unreleased material; the remix by Shock G. (a.k.a. Humpty Hump from Digital Underground) was the version included on Crystal Ball.

"Remix by Shock G. was gettin' ready 2 come out, when Prince's record company at the time refused license 2 release another single on his own (after the phenomenal success of the release of The Most Beautiful Girl in the World). Sample includes a replayed version of D.M.S.R." (Crystal Ball liner notes)

*and as @antigonerising 's correctly ID'd, an unaccredited sample of Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick's La Di Da Di.

[Sir Benji]

The remix also samples Prince’s own DSMR from his 1999 album.

I can’t at the remix being #1. It is WAY better than the original. The video was all over BET when it was out. I’m surprised it wasn’t bigger on radio in the US.

[SHOOTER]

Oct 22, 2020 19:42:05 GMT -5 Sir Benji said:

The remix also samples Prince’s own DSMR from his 1999 album.

I can’t at the remix being #1. It is WAY better than the original. The video was all over BET when it was out. I’m surprised it wasn’t bigger on radio in the US.

That is what the quote said, ma'am!

[.indulgecountry]

At least I liked the song that won (this album was close 50/50 for me), but damn @ my #1 being so close.

[Sir Benji]

Oct 22, 2020 20:20:25 GMT -5 SHOOTER said:

Oct 22, 2020 19:42:05 GMT -5 Sir Benji said:

The remix also samples Prince’s own DSMR from his 1999 album.

I can’t at the remix being #1. It is WAY better than the original. The video was all over BET when it was out. I’m surprised it wasn’t bigger on radio in the US.

That is what the quote said, ma'am!

Lmao oop