Publication: Music News Of The World [Internet]
Date: February 17, 1998
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Title: "Exploring Prince's Crystal Ball"
Reviewed By: Chris Nelson

The Artist provides a look inside his tape vault.

Addicted To Noise Staff Writer Chris Nelson reports : By the time the final pre-ordered copies of Crystal Ball reach eager Prince fans as expected in late March, those who received the album when it was first shipped in January will probably have just completed their final assessment of this mammoth, 53-track collection.

Composed of three CDs of previously bootlegged material, plus a mostly acoustic album called The Truth and an instrumental disc called Kamasutra, Crystal Ball offers a fascinating look into the famously creative mind of The Artist Formerly Known As Prince. While the collection was initially available only through The Artist's "Love 4 One Another" website and 1-800-NEW FUNK telephone line, the latest plan devised at The Artist's Paisley Park headquarters call for also selling it (without Kamasutra) at Best Buy, Musicland and Blockbuster stores beginning in early March. Those who ordered it by mail began receiving their copies within the past two weeks.

While Crystal Ball, as an album, does not compare to Prince's best work (such as Sign O' The Times, Purple Rain or even Diamonds and Pearls), it's not meant to. Rather, this set is a trip through his tape vault, which has long been known to be full of unreleased material.

What emerges is a portrait of The Artist as a grown man, alternately angry at those around him and at peace with himself -- and at his best, down and dirty funky.

The first disc of bootlegged material opens with "Crystal Ball," a 10-minute apocalyptic vision replete with bells and train whistles, as if it to suggest a journey into a new world. It's a fitting metaphor, as the 10 songs here feel as if the door has been opened into The Artist's ultra-active but relatively closed world at Paisley Park studios, where fans are forever hearing of private parties and late-night jam sessions.

One can picture small crowds getting down to the groove of "Dream Factory," the contemporary R&B of "Love Sign" or the reggae lilt of "Ripopgodazippa." Similarly, it's easy to envision a sleepless Artist working out tracks that ultimately found no home on his other records (the bitter "So Dark," a throwaway like "Movie Star" or the explicit "Tell Me How U Want 2 B Done").

Disc Two continues the trip with testimonies of love ("Crucial," "Honest Man") along with guitar blasts in songs such as "Da Bang," which contrasts noir verses with church-shouting choruses, and "Calhoun Square." Among the best cuts here is the dark "What's My Name." "Take my name, I don't need it ... Take my fame, I can't use it," The Artist sings in a likely reference to his contractual battles with Warner Bros. Records. The song's instrumental chorus then explodes in a fury of bass popping, organ, wailing sirens and nasty turntable scratching as if to prove that despite the terms of legal agreements, it is The Artist who is in control where things matter most -- that is, in the music.

Crystal Ball fully blossoms on its third disc, which The Artist opens with the righteous assertion on "Days of Wild" that "I can tear shit up, y'all, that's my style!" "18 & Over" (with its refrain, "I wants to bone ya") serves as an explicit how-to on both sexual positions and deep down, late night funk-making. Among the other standouts here are the live guitar showcase "The Ride" and a remix of "P Control," the latter of which boasts phatter beats and mad scratching to topple the original version of the song from The Gold Experience. Meanwhile, "Get Loose" clocks major bpm's to suggest that The Artist was on the techno tip a long time ago, but just wasn't interested in exploring it. "Take that, you sorry motherfuckers," is his confident retort to doubters who claim he's lost touch with times.

While the three bootleg discs offer plenty for fans to pour over, many have been most excited about the Truth, touted as The Artist's first all-acoustic album (although that's somewhat of a misnomer, as several songs feature electric bass and synthesizer). On the downside, The Truth contains some cuts ("Circle of Amour," "Animal Kingdom," "Fascination") that could have come from a Windham Hill new-age sampler. Other tracks ("Dionne," "The Other Side of the Pillow") playfully sound like movie themes from post-war romantic comedies. At its best, however, The Truth returns to The Artist's oft-explored theme of salvation. Whereas in the past, he mixed spirituality and sexuality, on songs such as "The Truth," "Don't Play Me" and "Third Eye," The Artist now melds the notion of salvation with truth in artistry and control over one's own creativity.

As for Kamasutra, the word in Artist fan circles is that the album was only added to the set as a bonus to mail-order purchasers after it was decided that The Truth and Crystal Ball would be included for retail stores. Kamasutra's 11 delicate instrumental tracks are less the work of an orchestra than a new-age ensemble, and as such they are a must only for hard-core Prince devotees. [Tues., Feb. 17, 1998, 9 a.m. PST]