Crystal Ball is an unreleased studio album by Prince recorded throughout 1986. The album was planned to consist of 3 LPs and cover a broad range of musical styles.
Evolution of the album
The beginnings of Crystal Ball can be traced to late 1985 with a concept album called Dream Factory . Since the release of Purple Rain , each successive album included more of a collaborative effort between Prince and female band members Wendy and Lisa. Dream Factory was the pinnacle of this collaborative effort. Dream Factory evolved quickly from a 9-track single album to a double-LP with an ever-changing tracklist of songs. A large body of tracks were considered or rejected. A final configuration of the album was finally decided upon and the album was mastered. During 1986 however Wendy and Lisa had become increasingly disillusioned with Prince's decision to expand the Revolution with non-musicians, such as Wally Safford and Gregory Allen Brooks, and Prince's increasing machismo that these new members brought with them. Unhappy and vocal about their feelings, they were eventually convinced to remain with the band and to go on tour that year with the "Hit N Run - Parade Tour" shows. However, Prince felt spurned and by the end of the tour he had already decided he would dissolve The Revolution once the tour was complete. Hence, the album was never released. Interestingly those songs that went on to gain an official release, sometimes years later, had the contributions made by Wendy & Lisa either toned down, or removed altogether.
Once Prince had decided to abandon the project he set to work, recording on his own. He recorded a track, "Housequake", in a sped-up vocal style similar to the title track of Dream Factory . Pleased with the results, Prince continued to record in this style and ended up recording an entire album of songs with this new vocal style. Prince fashioned the idea of releasing the album under the pseudonym Camille with no picture on the album cover to mystify the public and see if the album would stand on its own without Prince's name attached to it. The album reached the mastering stage but as Prince continued recording songs, he felt the need to expand beyond a single album. Eventually he decided to combine various tracks from Dream Factory , Camille and other newly recorded tracks into a 3-LP opus called Crystal Ball . His record company at the time, Warner Bros., balked at the idea, convinced the sales would be slim on a triple album, especially on the heels of the relatively poorly-selling Parade . Warner Bros. and Prince compromised and agreed to a double album. Disappointed, Prince cut 7 tracks but quickly added a duet with Sheena Easton. The set was renamed Sign o' the Times and the title track appropriately describes a chaotic state of the world which coincided with Prince's own troubles. It is rumored that the forced editing of his masterpiece started the long decline of Prince's relationship with Warner Bros. that would later result in a very public battle with the record company.
Releases over time
Though 7 tracks were cut from Crystal Ball , they have all been released in some form over the years. "Shockadelica" was the first to be publicly released as the B-side to "If I Was Your Girlfriend" in 1987. "Rockhard in a Funky Place" was slated to be the closing track on The Black Album which was shelved by Prince in late 1987 and heavily bootlegged by fans. It finally saw a limited official release in 1994. "The Ball" was reworked and given new lyrics and became "Eye No", the opening track to Lovesexy in 1988. Later in 1988, "Good Love" was released on the soundtrack to Bright Lights, Big City . Prince used the track "Joy in Repetition" on his Graffiti Bridge soundtrack in 1990 (and many critics hailed it as the best track on the album). In 1998, Prince revived the concept of Crystal Ball with the release of a 3-CD album of the same name. The title track was the same one from the original 3-LP version; however, the set had little to do with the original concept other than the title track, a slight edit of "Good Love" and the fact that it contained 3 discs. Finally in 2001, a live rehearsal of "Rebirth of the Flesh" recorded with the Sign "☮" the Times band was released on Prince's website, this version however had a profanity edited from the lyrics. Though the studio version officially remains in the vault, it has surfaced occasionally on file sharing programs.
Track listing
Side 1
- "Rebirth of the Flesh"
- "Play in the Sunshine"
- "Housequake"
- "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker"
Side 2
- "It"
- "Starfish and Coffee"
- "Slow Love"
- "Hot Thing"
Side 3
- "Crystal Ball"
- "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
- "Rock Hard in a Funky Place"
Side 4
- "The Ball"
- "Joy in Repetition"
- "Strange Relationship"
- "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"
Side 5
- "Shockadelica"
- "Good Love"
- "Forever in My Life"
- "Sign "☮" the Times"
Side 6
- "The Cross"
- "Adore"
- "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night"
See also
- Prince
- A list of unreleased Prince albums
References
- Hahn, Alex (2003). Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince . Allworth Communications, Inc.. ISBN 1581152833.
- Barker, David (2006). 33 1/3 Greatest Hits . Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 124–130. ISBN 0826419038.
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