The Ball

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The Ball
Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition
from the album
Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition
Song details
Performer: Prince
First Released: 25 September 2020 - Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition album
Album(s): Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition
Writer(s): Prince
Producer(s): Prince
Live Appearances
First and last live appearance:
Performed regularly on tour:
  • none
Performed occasionally in shows:

The Ball is a track recorded by Prince on 25 July 1986 at the Washington Avenue Warehouse in Edina, Minnesota, with horn overdubs done a few days later at the Galpin Blvd Home Studio. The party segue was likely recorded during rehearsals at the Washington Avenue Warehouse,Edina, Minnesota in that same week. The Ball was included as the fourth track on the second disc on the 30 November 1986 configuration of the Crystal Ball triple LP, segueing directly into Joy In Repetition.

When the album developed into Sign O’ The Times, the track was removed (along with Crystal Ball). On 11 December 1987, Prince re-recorded the track with new lyrics as Eye No No (see Eye No No for details), but kept the original segue ending the track (which was also used at the beginning of the released version of Joy In Repetition).

In September 2020 the song was as the seventh track of Vault Tracks part 2, one of the discs with previously unreleased tracks included with the Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition.


Recording Information
Recording Sessions
Date Studio Additional info
Between 22 & 31 July 1986 (assumed) Washington Avenue Warehouse,
Edina, MN, USA 		‘party’ coda (probably from rehearsals with The Revolution
25 July 1986 Washington Avenue Warehouse,
Edina, MN, USA 		Tracking, overdubs, mix
Between 27 July 1986 (assumed) Galpin Blvd Home Studio,
Chanhassen, MN, USA 		Horn overdubs, mix
Recording Personnel

Versions
Released Versions
Title Length Released Version Additional info
The Ball 4:34 Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition Studio


Sampled, Referred to, Quoted in...
Title Length Released Version Additional info
Eye No No 5:47 Lovesexy Studio Reuses music from The Ball
Unreleased Versions
Title Version Additional Info
The Ball Studio version seguing into Joy In Repetition, unlike the version released on Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition, that fades out.
 
Additional Information
See also Trivia
  • The song reuses the line "All for one, one for all, fun for everyone," from the track Romance 1600 (the line is a paraphrase of the motto "All for one, one for all" from The Three Muskateers). The same line in Spanish (Una para todos, y todos para uno) is also said by Mayte at the beginning of We March.
References
Bada Boom   < < < All Songs Unreleased Songs > > >   The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
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