Fans of the Artist had been waiting for a motherlode collection of his massive out-takes, remixes and unreleased work ever since The Hits/The B-Sides whetted their appetites for hard-to-find Artist tracks in 1993. The Crystal Ball four-disc compilation is more than satisfying for true Artist devotees.

Routinely ransacking compact disc and vinyl boutiques for rare bootlegs of much of the material found on Crystal Ball used to be an expensive and disappointing hobby. By the time precious gems like Movie Star and Sexual Suicide hit fans’ ears, they usually sounded as if they were recorded underwater. On this new release, these favorite underground ’80s tracks sound closer to their original masters than most fans could have dreamt. Outside of Vanity, Apollonia, Kim Basinger or Mayte, perhaps, few people have heard these songs in their full glory.

The standout track on this compilation is the lush Crucial, the song that was replaced by Adore on the Artist’s 1988 Sign O’ The Times masterpiece. This joint has the Artist mixing synth-funk with electric guitar and saxophone to produce a beautifully mesmerizing love ballad.

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Guitar fans will enjoy The Truth, the fourth disc of the set comprised of new acoustic tracks. Still, the real meat of this collection is rare the 3 discs of cuts formerly known as bootleg.