Publication: New Music Express [UK]
Date: March 18, 1998
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Title: Crystal Ball Review
Reviewed By: Mike Goldsmith

THE ARTIST
Crystal Ball
(NPG/4CD only)

IT'S NOT EVERYDAY DAY YOU get to draw parallels between Morrissey and The Artist but draw them we must.

First, both have dedicated their last few albums to obliterating the memory of the decent ones they made a decade earlier. Second, both have 'increasingly select' fanbases that consider such thoughts to be blasphemy. Lastly, said fanbases would kill their families twice over to own unreleased recordings of their heroes farting 'Barbie Girl' through a didgeridoo. If any of these concepts apply to you, 'Crystal Ball' scores a perfect (10) and the exit's on the left.

For the rest of us, 'Crystal Ball' sets the alarm bells ringing. 'Unreleased' or 'archive material' usually translates as 'utter toss not even fit for a B-side'. So when 'Crystal Ball' boasts four (!) CDs of the stuff and was previously available only via the Internet, to call this a slog would be kind.

And if only for the effort required to tally all the influences, a slog it indeed is. Dub, G-funk, blues, rock, swingbeat and, according to the overblown 'Strays Of The World''s sleevenotes, even Broadway musical all make an appearance. But these are the songs from underneath Prince's mattress and that can mean but one thing: shagging. Completely funked-up, 'Hide The Bone', 'Pussy Control' and 'Da Bang' are all as subtle as their titles suggest while '18 & Over' can't help but, um, stand out for its lilting phrase, "kemo sabe bone ranger".

Fun enough, but with 30 songs gleaned from a 25-year career, thankfully that's not the only dish on offer. 'So Dark' is a sweet '70s ballad, 'What's My Name?' shows Public Enemy figured on the royal playlist while both 'Movie Star' and the improvised 'Cloreen Bacon Skin' are superb, Prince in character and ripping the piss while the band get funky in the back. It's diverse stuff yet for the most part, always reminiscent of a Prince song you'd swear you've heard before.

Not so with the fourth and final disc. Featuring 12 new songs, 'The Truth' is The Artist's 'Unplugged' album and is a minor revelation. The overly earnest title track out of the way, it slips between '60s soul, acoustic funk and, for the bizarre 'Dionne', easy-listening exotica with ease. Declining "red meat/White fish (and) funky, funky blue cheese" over 'Animal Kingdom''s dolphin samples, The Artist's tongue remains lodged in his cheek for the most part but as the gags and the funk relent, one song stands out. It's a simple ballad, it clocks in at under two minutes and, unlike the outtakes that precede it, it sounds like nothing Prince, Squiggle or The Artist has ever recorded.

It's called 'Comeback' and while the rest of 'Crystal Ball' looks back, it's in here you can foresee the future. Hopefully. 7/10