| Crystal Ball Volume II is an unreleased album intended to act as a follow-up to the 1998 release Crystal Ball. Similar to the first set, Crystal Ball Volume II was planned to include previously-unreleased outtakes and remixes. The album was planned as a 2CD set to be shipped with packaging for The Truth and Kamasutra albums that were included in the original Crystal Ball 5CD package, so that the two discs could take their place in the package instead.
The album was announced during Prince: A Celebration in June 2000, when iMac computer screens at Paisley Park Studios offered names of a selection of albums for fans to vote for to be released next, and within the option for Crystal Ball Volume II track names were shown which users could vote on for inclusion on the album. The list showed 22 tracks, and 17 tracks were eventually chosen by fans. If Crystal Ball Volume II followed the model of the first album, with ten tracks per disc, it seems that three other tracks had already been selected and were not shown for voting, but it is not known which three tracks these were (if this is indeed accurate).
The tracks offered and voted for include a much wider scope of recording sessions than the original Crystal Ball set, mostly ranging from 1980-1991 (with one track recorded in 1999). American Jam was the earliest-known recording to be included, recorded in May or June 1980. Strange Way Of Saying Eye Love U was recorded at some point in 1981 (under its original title, Strange Way). Turn It Up was recorded in mid-January 1982, along with U’re All Eye Want (using its original title, You’re All I Want), which also had significant work done on it in mid-May 1991. Xtraloveable was recorded in early April 1982 (under its original title, Extraloveable), with some additional recording in 1983. Prince’s original version of Girl O’ My Dreams first recorded in Spring-Summer 1982 , then re-recorded in June 1986. Lust U Always was also recorded at some point in 1982. Wonderful Ass was recorded in late November 1982 or early 1983, with significant additional work by Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin in 1984. Electric Intercourse is thought to be the live recording made on 3 August 1983 at First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USA (during the same concert where the released live versions of I Would Die 4 U, Baby I’m A Star and Purple Rain were also recorded). Katrina’s Paper Dolls was recorded in March 1983. Love And Sex was recorded in late February 1984 but Prince later reused the title for an otherwise-unrelated 1986 recording. It is not known which song was selected for this compilation. Others Here With Us and Evolsidog were recorded in mid-April 1985. Kiss - Xtended Version (Never released b4) (a previously-unreleased version, distinct from Kiss (Extended Version)) is presumably a mix from early 1986. Everybody Want What They Don’t Got and Adonis & Bathsheba were recorded in July 1986. 3 Nigs Watchin’ A Kung Fu Movie was recorded in early January 1987. Eye Wonder was recorded in August 1989 (using the original title, I Wonder). What Should B Souled was the latest-known recording to be included, from early Summer 1999 (the only one recorded while using the name  ).
The following tracks were on the initial list, but were not selected by fans for the album: She’s Just A Baby (recorded early 1981), If It’ll Make U Happy (recorded early April 1982), Girl (which may have been an alternate version of the b-side of America, originally recorded in Spring-Summer 1982 or Prince’s original version of The Time’s track Girl, recorded in April 1981, or an entirely different track), Gotta Stop (Messin’ About) (already released as the b-side of the 12" version of Let’s Work (in the USA and Canada only) and in 1993, included on The B-Sides compilation (included as the third and final disc on The Hits / The B-Sides) and Come Elektra Tuesday (recorded late May 1985).
Xtraloveable was re-recorded and released by Prince in 2011. Many of the other songs planned or selected for this compilation were released posthumously on the Deluxe Expanded edition of Purple Rain in 2017 (Wonderful Ass, Katrina’s Paper Dolls and the studio version of Electric Intercourse), the Super Deluxe editions of 1999 Super Deluxe Edition in 2019 (If It’ll Make U Happy, Turn It Up and U’re All Eye Want) and Sign O’ The Times in 2020 (Adonis & Bathsheba, Everybody Want What They Don’t Got). The two songs recorded with the title Love And Sex were both released in 2017 (the 1984 track) and 2020 the 1986 track.
3 Nigs Watchin’ A Kung Fu Movie, American Jam, Evolsidog, Eye Wonder, Lust U Always, Others Here With Us, Strange Way Of Saying Eye Love U and the alternate versions of Kiss - Xtended Version (Never released b4), Girl O’ My Dreams and Xtraloveable remain unreleased.
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Track listing
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Full tracklisting is not known, but the 17 tracks listed below were voted for inclusion on the album (listed below in alphabetical order):
On top of those 17 tracks What Should B Souled and Wonderful Ass are thought to have been slated for this compilation too.
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All tracks written by Prince, except where noted (assumed)
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Personnel
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- Orchestral Players on Others Here With Us :
- Violins - Isabelle Daskoff, Francine Walsh, Mari Botnik, Pam Gates, Janice Gower, Karen Jones, Betty Moor, Irma Neumann, Assa Drori, Bill Hymanson, Oscar Chasow, Ron Clark, Henry Ferber, Erne Granat, Ed Green, Bill Hybel, Reggie Hill, Pat Johnson, Don Palmer, Sheldon Sanov, Joe Schonbrun, Terry Schonbrun and Harold Wolf
- Violas - Pam Goldsmith, Margot Maclaine, Carol Mukagawa, Myer Bello, Alan Deverich, Norman Forrest, Alan Harshman, Jorge Moraga and David Stock
- Cellos - Jim Arkatoff, Ray Kelley, Ray Kramer and Fred Seykora
- Basses - Chuck Dominico and Arni Egilsson.
- Woodwinds - Gene Cipriano, Don Ashworth, John Clarke, Dave Edwards, Gary Foster, Jim Kanter, John Lowe, Dick Mitchell, Jack Nimitz, Joe Soldo and Bob Tricarico
- Trumpets - Ray Brown, Rich Cooper, Bob Findley, Larry Ford, Bob O’Donnell and Al Vizutti
- Trombones - Garnett Brown, Charles Loper, Morris Repass and Bill Watrous
- French Horns - Marni Johnson, David Duke, Joe Myer, Brian O’Connor, Calvin Smith and Jim Thatcher
- Tuba - Tommy Johnson
- Tympani and percussion - Brent Fischer
- Other musical personnel to be added (where known)
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| Production
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- Prince - producer (assumed)
- Femi Jiya - engineer
- Other production details unknown.
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High ◄
