Crystal Ball (1998)
Disc One
1. Crystal Ball
2. Dream Factory
3. Acknowledge Me
4. Ripopgodazippa
5. Love Sign
6. Hide the Bone
7. 2morrow
8. So Dark
9. Movie Star
10. Tell Me How U Wanna Be Done
Disc Two
1. Interactive
2. Da Bang
3. Calhoun Square
4. What’s My Name
5. Crucial
6. An Honest Man
7. Sexual Suicide
8. Cloreen Baconskin
9. Good Love
10. Strays of the World
Disc Three
1. Days of Wild
2. Last Heart
3. Poom Poom
4. She Gave Her Angels
5. 18 & Over
6. The Ride
7. Get Loose
8. P Control
9. Make Your Mama Happy
10. Goodbye
Prince’s second consecutive triple CD set. But unlike the brilliant Emancipation, this one is a very different beast altogether. First, a bit of context:
By the mid-1990s, the World Wide Web was becoming a household name. Websites about everything and anything were popping up left and right. Naturally, fans of artists like Prince jumped on board, creating sites to celebrate their hero. But Prince himself? Not so thrilled. You’d think any artist would appreciate fans paying tribute this way, but the Purple One wasn’t having it. He even threatened legal action—especially when it came to clips of his songs being shared online.
Ironically, he used that very same internet tool to release this 1998 album. Disgusted with the music industry, the record labels, and the whole business machine, he decided to cut out the middlemen entirely. Fans who wanted the new album could order it directly from a website and avoid all the usual channels. Sounds ahead of its time, right? Except this was 1998—before the days of TIDAL, iTunes, and instant digital downloads. Back then, “buying music online” often meant finding a mailing address on a site and sending a check.
And that’s where things got messy. Without delving into every detail, the whole operation was poorly managed. Orders were delayed, production lagged, and some fans even had to physically cut out their own CD artwork. The promised “Crystal Ball” jewel case looked less like a mystical orb and more like a petri dish.
In the end, none of the hype was justified. This triple CD set is basically a patchwork of sub-par leftovers spanning back as far as 1983. There’s zero continuity, and the whole package feels thrown together. Sure, if you dig deep enough, you’ll find some decent material. But 30 songs to unearth six or seven good tracks? It’s easy to see why these cuts didn’t make their original albums.
Unsurprisingly, this release marked the start of a downward spiral for Prince. While he would still drop a couple more great albums later, his eccentric behavior and oddball projects like this one alienated too many fans. It certainly didn’t help when major retailers stocked this mammoth set months after the initial chaos, likely enraging those who’d struggled to get it during the initial launch.
Oh, and I think there were a couple of bonus CDs too. I listened to one where Prince just demoed songs with an acoustic guitar. Interesting? Maybe. Entertaining? Not really.
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