Crystal Ball
Box set by
Prince
ReleasedJanuary 29, 1998
Recorded1983–1996
Genre
Length149:10
LabelNPG
ProducerPrince
Prince chronology
Emancipation
(1996)		 Crystal Ball
(1998)		 The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The A.V. Clubfavorable[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]
Rolling Stone[4]
Yahoo! Musicfavorable[5]

Crystal Ball is a box set by American recording artist Prince. It includes Crystal Ball, the artist's twentieth studio album, which is a three-disc set of "previously bootlegged" material, together with a fourth disc, The Truth, the twenty-first studio album by Prince.

The box set was initially only available through direct orders by phone and internet. The direct order edition included a fifth disc, an instrumental studio album by The NPG Orchestra titled Kamasutra. Shipment of this limited edition 5-CD version started on January 29, 1998, approximately two months before the release of the 4-CD version to retail stores on March 21, 1998.

The album Crystal Ball is Prince's second triple album in succession, following Emancipation. Each of the three CDs contain ten tracks and last fifty minutes, resembling Emancipation's 12-song, sixty-minute disc lengths.

In 2018, NPG Records released Crystal Ball and The Truth digitally on Spotify, iTunes, Tidal, and Apple Music.[6]

In 2021, a special limited vinyl edition of The Truth was released on Record Store Day.[7]

Crystal Ball

Crystal Ball
Studio album by
Prince
ReleasedJanuary 29, 1998
Recorded1983; 1985–1986; 1991–1996
Genre
LabelNPG
ProducerPrince

The album is largely made up of tracks recorded in two periods: 1985–1986 and 1993–1996. The only exception is "Cloreen Bacon Skin", recorded in March 1983.

No tracks were recorded especially for this album (although "2morrow" was recorded after his last album, Emancipation, was completed, so Crystal Ball was the first album for which it could be considered). Additionally, the album contains seven remixes or alternate versions of previously-released tracks, "Love Sign" (Shock G’s Silky Remix), "So Dark" (a remix of "Dark"), "Tell Me How U Wanna B Done" (a remix of "The Continental"), "Interactive", "Good Love", "Get Loose" (a remix of "Loose!"), and "P. Control" (Remix).

As such, this album marks the first time material has been re-used from one album to another, although this album should perhaps not be viewed as a cohesive, canonical piece in the way others could. Prince avoided using tracks that strongly featured the Revolution, as he intended to release a companion album, Roadhouse Garden, in 1999, containing previously unreleased Prince and the Revolution material (this album remains unreleased, however).

Copyright information on the album is given as 1997. No singles were released from the album, although "Love Sign" and "P. Control" had both previously been available as promo-only singles connected to their original albums, 1-800-NEW-FUNK and The Gold Experience, respectively. Although videos for "Acknowledge Me", "Interactive" and "18 & Over" were made a few years before this release (and not connected to any albums), they were not used as promotional tools for Crystal Ball. "Days of Wild" was released as a limited-release single in 2002, using a different live version than included here.

Prince did not tour or make any TV appearances to support the album. The album reached number 62 on the Billboard 200, and number 59 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Prince, except where noted

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Crystal Ball*" (recorded 1986) 10:28
2."Dream Factory*" (recorded 1985) 3:07
3."Acknowledge Me*" (recorded 1993) 5:27
4."Ripopgodazippa" (recorded 1993)Prince, Sonny T., Michael Bland4:39
5."Love Sign (Shock G's Silky Remix)‡" (recorded 1994) 3:53
6."Hide the Bone" (recorded 1993)Prince, Brenda Lee Eager, Hilliard Wilson5:04
7."2morrow" (recorded 1996) 4:14
8."So Dark‡" (recorded 1994) 5:14
9."Movie Star*" (recorded 1986) 4:26
10."Tell Me How U Wanna B Done‡" (recorded 1992) 3:16
Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."Interactive" (recorded 1993)3:04
2."Da Bang" (recorded 1995)3:20
3."Calhoun Square*" (recorded 1993)4:47
4."What's My Name" (recorded 1993)3:04
5."Crucial*" (recorded 1986)5:06
6."An Honest Man*" (recorded 1985)1:13
7."Sexual Suicide*" (recorded 1985)3:40
8."Cloreen Bacon Skin" (recorded 1983)15:37
9."Good Love†" (recorded 1986)4:55
10."Strays of the World" (recorded 1993)5:07
Disc three
No.TitleLength
1."Days of Wild (Live)*" (live; recorded 1995)9:19
2."Last Heart*" (recorded 1986)3:01
3."Poom Poom" (recorded 1996)4:32
4."She Gave Her Angels" (recorded 1996)3:53
5."18 & Over*" (recorded 1994)5:40
6."The Ride (Live)*" (recorded 1995)5:14
7."Get Loose‡" (recorded 1994)3:31
8."P Control‡" (recorded 1993)6:00
9."Make Your Mama Happy" (recorded 1986)4:01
10."Goodbye" (recorded 1991)4:35

Notes

  • * – denotes song edited/revised for this album & can be found in original form on unofficial bootlegs.
  • ‡ – denotes remix of already released song.
  • † – Found in full form on Bright Lights, Big City soundtrack.

Charts

Chart performance for Crystal Ball
Chart (1998) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[9] 62

The Truth

The Truth
Studio album by
Prince
ReleasedJanuary 29, 1998
RecordedNovember 1996
GenreAcoustic
Length43:25
LabelNPG
ProducerPrince
Singles from The Truth
  1. "The Truth"
    Released: February 14, 1997

The Truth is the twenty-first studio album by Prince. It was released as the fourth CD in the Crystal Ball box set. The arrangements are mainly based around the acoustic guitar, augmented with elaborate production effects, multi-layered vocals, and occasional percussion and percussive effects. A CD single was released prior to the album, consisting of the record's first two tracks. In 2018, NPG Records released The Truth digitally on Spotify, iTunes, Tidal, and Apple Music.[6] In 2021, a special limited vinyl edition of The Truth was released on Record Store Day.[7]

Track listing

  1. "The Truth" – 3:34
  2. "Don't Play Me" – 2:48
  3. "Circle of Amour" – 4:43
  4. "3rd Eye" – 4:53
  5. "Dionne" – 3:13
  6. "Man in a Uniform" – 3:07
  7. "Animal Kingdom" – 4:01
  8. "The Other Side of the Pillow" – 3:21
  9. "Fascination" – 4:55
  10. "One of Your Tears" – 3:27
  11. "Comeback" – 1:59
  12. "Welcome 2 the Dawn" (acoustic version) – 3:17

Charts

Chart performance for The Truth
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[10] 24
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] 31
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[12] 26
Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] 73
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[14] 2
US Billboard 200[9] 64

Kamasutra

Kamasutra
Studio album by
The NPG Orchestra
ReleasedFebruary 14, 1997 (cassette)[15]
January 29, 1998 (box set)[16]
Recorded1995
Genre
Length40:57
LabelNPG
ProducerPrince

Kamasutra is an instrumental studio album by The NPG Orchestra. It was first released on cassette on February 14, 1997, and later in the limited edition Crystal Ball box set as the fifth CD on January 29, 1998, by NPG Records. The album was written to be played during Prince's wedding to Mayte Garcia in 1996. The tracks range in style from classical music, jazz, and experimentations with various sounds. For example, the track "Cutz" uses the sound of scissors snipping as its basis. Another track, "The Plan", was previewed in an excerpt on the 1996 3-CD set Emancipation.

Track listing

  1. "The Plan" – 2:02
  2. "Kamasutra" – 11:49
  3. "At Last... The Lost Is Found" – 3:38
  4. "The Ever Changing Light" – 3:00
  5. "Cutz" – 3:03
  6. "Serotonin" – 0:46
  7. "Promise/Broken" – 3:45
  8. "Barcelona" – 2:17
  9. "Kamasutra/Overture #8" – 3:13
  10. "Coincidence or Fate?" – 3:22
  11. "Kamasutra/Eternal Embrace" – 4:02

Personnel

  • Airiq Anest – programming
  • Michael Bland (as Michael B.) – drums, background vocals
  • Tommy Barbarella – guitar, recorder, background vocals, engineering
  • Joe Blaney – engineering
  • Bonnie Boyer – voices
  • Hans Buff – engineering, mastering
  • Keith "KC" Cohen – programming
  • Morris Day – drums
  • Steve Durkee – engineering
  • D.K. Dyson – percussion, vocals, vox continental
  • Carmen Electra – vocals
  • Clare Fischer – arranger, conductor, orchestration
  • Dave Friedlander – engineering
  • Brian Gardner – mastering
  • Tom Garneau – engineering
  • Ray Hahnfeldt – engineering
  • Heidi Hanschu – engineering
  • Fred Harrington – engineering
  • Tim Hoogenakker – engineering
  • Kimm James – engineering
  • Kathy Jensen – clarinet
  • Femi Jiya – engineering
  • Kirk Johnson – percussion, programming, production, beat programming, vox continental
  • Kirk "KjustinJ" Johnson – percussion, vocals, production, beat programming
  • Kaj – programming
  • Shane T. Keller – engineering
  • Kirky J. - mixing
  • Michael Koppelman – engineering
  • Eric Leeds – horn, saxophone
  • David Leonard – engineering
  • Peggy Mac – engineering
  • Mayte – vocals, background vocals
  • Susannah Melvoin – vocals, background vocals
  • Mr. Hayes – guitar, background vocals
  • Steve Noonan – engineering
  • Original – bass
  • Parke – design, concept, package concept
  • Ricky Peterson – programming, production
  • Brian Poer – engineering
  • Prince – arrangements, vocals, multi-instruments, noise, production, mixing, FX vocals, instrumentation, vox continental
  • Susan Rogers – engineering
  • Mike Scott – guitar
  • Shock G – mixing
  • Rhonda Smith – bass, percussion, vocals
  • Sonny T. – guitar, horn, vocals, background vocals, engineering
  • David Tickle – engineering
  • Tom Tucker – engineering
  • Ric Wilson – mastering
  • David Z – engineering
  • Chuck Zwicky – engineering

References

  1. ↑ AllMusic review
  2. ↑ Klein, Joshua (March 29, 2002). "Prince: Crystal Ball". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Crystal Ball – EW.com". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Crystal Ball". Rolling Stone.
  5. ↑ "Prince Reviews on Yahoo! Music". September 28, 2011. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. 1 2 Birzniece, Elsa (August 16, 2018). "23 Prince albums made available to stream for the first time". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  7. 1 2 "RSD '21 Special Release: Prince - the Truth".
  8. ↑ https://princevault.com/index.php?title=Album:_Crystal_Ball
  9. 1 2 "Prince Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – Prince – The Truth". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Prince – The Truth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Prince – The Truth". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Album: Kamasutra - Prince Vault". www.princevault.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Love 4 One Another -The Future". Archived from the original on January 30, 1998. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
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