The main reason for wanting to buy the book '21 Nights' was for this; unfortunately I really can't find a whole lot to enjoy when I listen to it.

There are a few tracks that I like: 1-5, to begin with, but only a few scarce tracks after that.

Most of the music is very jam-esque, with often little melody throughout; basically, if you don't like songs butchered you'd hate Prince's jam concerts. Sometimes the arrangements Prince achieves in his famous aftershows are quite interesting; here, however, you probably won't find much appeal either.

I do like the new song 'Indigo Nights' and what he did with 'Everyone Loves U In London', but really this is a rather bland performance with a pretty bland song list.

To call this a 'best of' is rather some sort of sacrilege to the ambition of such a compilation. It is in my opinion a great overview of her back catalogue, however, spanning from her earliest album to her latest.

Honestly, most of the tracks presented are either edited, remixed, etc. This seems to be a big turn-off for some fans (especially those thinking this could be a promising introduction to her music), but the truth is, I wouldn't own this CD if the items were merely the same material as presented on the albums.

There is some quality new music, my personal favorite being the new version of her great song Leysh Nat'Arak; while the editing may seem a bit harsh, take in the fact that this album has 16 tracks (making the edits rather necessary), which is pretty good compared to any hits compilation (though some of her actual hits are missing from this collection).

Some complaints I do have would be of course the above mention of some missing songs that deserve a spot in this collection, along with the excessive helping of new Leysh Nat'Arak tracks (one is certainly enough for me). I also feel I Put A Spell On You was thrown on here more to appeal to a broader crowd (it's one of her weakest tracks in my opinion, and very regressive to her sound).

Still, for the accomplished fan looking for some new material, or wanting to read some great and expansive liner notes, this is a great item to pick up.

This is one of my favorite early 90's albums by Muslimgauze (however long it took to actually get released in full). The tracks function more as a whole; much like the album's artwork (which perfectly suits it in my opinion) the album is repitive, very grey and inorganic, that might in one instant seem dull but really pulls you into the synthesized moodiness.

It's really not very similar to the bulk of Muslimgauze music, as the music is not derived primarily from samples, definitely more electronic in nature. It isn't without any samples, however, as Bryn used a number of spoken pieces and other noises which texturize throughout (honestly though I wouldn't like this album nearly as much if it were not for the sampling).

Overall it is a nice album, with excellent flow that you can easily dive into, but on the surface it's a little bland, as nearly every track is very similar, and while Muslimgauze does have a number of trademark ideals in his music, this is one that feels just a little too repetitive in that respect. Most tracks really don't stray from electronic drum patterns, keyboards, and samples, and little variation among them; then again, that clearly was what he was going for, and considering the mood you're in that could be exactly what you want.

It really is best to take the entire album in as one performance; maybe the entire album should've been a single track, it would've have a clearer impact on me at least.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much seeing as how it's a free mp3 album, but I just can't get into it at all.

While I enjoy a few tracks, namely Hafizz Maiden and Anti And A AK-47, and the title track, I feel the bulk of the album is pretty throw-away.

When I was first getting into Muslimgauze's music, I downloaded this album because, well, it's free, and thought it would serve as a good introductory album for me; since then I've purchased 5 other Muslimgauze albums and I feel they are all VASTLY superior to this mess.

Most tracks are pretty much just percussion beats looped for a varying number of minutes, mixed in with abrupt silence and occasional samples (classic Muslimgauze) but this time the whole vibe from the album seems very routine and shallow.

Apparently the album was recorded in one day (more classic Muslimgauze) but this actually sounds like it was recorded in one day, even an hour or so, since whatever length of effort he put into it seems missing in my ears.

I kind of think that it wasn't commercially released based on the fact that it isn't all that great, but that's just my bias on the whole matter. It isn't totally awful though, but for others interested in Muslimgauze, this is a horrible first example. Still, for collectors waiting for more unearthed brilliance from Muslimgauze, this is worth the effort of downloading.

My least favorite Prince album hands-down. Between the jazz/fusion muzak and desperate hip-hop dance numbers and the extremely shallow and predictable lyrics I really can't say I find anything remotely enjoyable in this album.

First, the lyrics are, as I said, predictable. You can pretty much guess each song's message via the title; for instance, 'Dear Mr. Man' is about writing a rhetorical letter to authority; 'A Million Days' talks about waiting for a lover; 'Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance' is perhaps the most interesting lyrically, but it's a stretch for me to say it's up to Prince's usual level of quality songwriting.

As far as the music goes, it's extremely bland. Jazz fusion worked pretty well I think in The Rainbow Children, but here songs like 'What Do U Want Me 2 Do?' and 'On The Couch' sound like the soundtrack to my local weather report channel. But what's worse, what I feel is the worst song Prince ever wrote, is 'Life O' The Party', a vomit-inducing dance song where the female's opening into the song with 'This is the life o' the...PAWTEH, We gonna do it right' already make me wretch. The lyrics are truly awful and bland, I'm embarrassed for Prince... 'We gonna have us a party, All r welcome 2, We ain't down with nobody, That don't party like we do'... is all I have left to say about it.

What confuses me most is how during this time period Prince actually released a number of albums, though only NPG club members got them, and the rest of us had to settle for this.

At least 3121 and Planet Earth have reclaimed his musical glory for me.

This album totally blows Prince's first two away. I don't know whether it's the overall musical accessability, or the fact that it's stemmed a large number of hits, but whatever the case this one seems like a solid effort, and despite its obvious age it holds a lot better musically over the past few decades than For You or Prince.

Mixed with rudimentary early electronica (evident in the title track) with some funk and pop-rock the whole album is very solid.

The only track I really don't care for would have to be 'Gotta Broken Heart Again', which to me is very mainstream and not really all that impressive. The thing that really wins me over are the first 2 tracks, from the thumping keyboard-laden opening track to the surf-guitar sounding 'When You Were Mine'. 'Do It All Night' is a bit more filler in my ears, along with 'Gotta Broken Heart Again', which to me are very mainstream and not really all that impressive (Do It All Night sounds like some The Cars would write).

'Uptown's a great track, but not one I listen that often. And of course you have two of the most controversial Prince songs, played back to back for an even mightier impact: 'Head' and 'Sister', both of which are pretty obvious in content based on their titles; the great thing about these two songs are the incredible musicianship, however, and extremely clever lyrics.

'Party Up' is pretty obvious too, a dancey track which is fun to hear but not for repeated listens, but it does close the album on an interesting note.

Definitely Prince's more 'out there' releases from his early catalogue. While I'm glad he discontinued his funkier origins for a more anti-stereotypical blend of music (which the album's title track and others clearly present lyrically as well).

There's still a lot of funkiness to some of the tracks though, which mix into a great combination with the more sterile and abrasive synths of an early new wave sound; I think of this album as a pre-mature 1999, where Prince's signature 80's sound really starts to bloom. The one problem I have with 1999 is that Prince, in my opinion, kind abandoned potential for melody in exchange for pure electronics (take for instance the lengthy bouts of electronic percussion). Controversy, however, is all about clever melodies with a taste of funk and new strengths in his song-writing skills that his earlier 3 albums only hinted at.

There are a few dull moments for me though; some of the instrumentation gets a little predictable, and the long ballad 'Do Me, Baby' is one track I usually avoid. A lot of the album's finest moments for me are the more experimental ones, like, of course, the 7 minute title track, 'Ronnie, Talk To Russia', and 'Annie Christian'.

Controversy is definitely a favorite early Prince album of mine, and while I can't give it a perfect score, it's challenging nature is what really attracts me to it.

Another fantastic piece of music from a maestro of noise. Much in the style of Ab Ovo and Ordier, Gilbert manages to supply seemingly chaoticly generated noise with almost melodic values.

The one thing that does bother me a little would be the slight monotony of the album as a whole. Each track tends not to stray too far from where it began; the 26 minute Zeros does graduate from its shadowy and quiet opening into noisier levels like he'd done with the title tracks of Ab Ovo and Ordier, but it's much more stagnant, along with the other more droning/howling tracks presented here. I'd hate to say it, but after a few listens some of the album has begun to lose my interest a bit.

Still, the sounds that Gilbert has conjured are excellent; almost makes waiting so long for a new release worth it.

Not really worth bothering with. I like this single; it's one of my favorite songs from 'Rave', but the mixes are ridiculously mainstream and bland. In a word, the mixes could contain vocal samples from any pop artist's single from the 90's and paste it onto a CD. One thing I really dislike the album for are the guest rap's, and, well, there are even more of those absurdly annoying song fillers in these mixes.

I'd have to say the only remix I do kind of care for is Jason Nevins Mix, which has an interesting disco-esque feel to it which is really kind of fun, if listened to occasionally.

Overall, I don't really find anything worth getting this for unless you really enjoy remixes of any sort and/or a total completist.

I partially disagree with the other reviewer's statement that this is the album Crystal Ball finally being released (in a strange format). Rather, I think the title Crystal Ball was used primarily to appeal to Prince's audience who knew of the Crystal Ball; that, and that so much bootlegged material derives from CB sessions (some of which, but really very little, appears on this compilation).

I read that this compilation was actually released to 'end the need for bootlegs', yet of course this is less a godsend for die hard fans and more a let-down. When I first got this compilation, however, I had no idea of these expectations of it and I just loved it; still do, though with the knowledge I have now kind of does disappoint to a degree. Honestly though, I tend to enjoy Prince's outtakes more than some of his commercially released material, so this box set is still of great musical value to me.

CB has a few of my favorite Prince tracks (Crucial, Interactive, Dream Factory, Crystal Ball, Love Sign, and a few others), and even though some of them are allegedly different versions from popular bootlegged copies the ones presented here are still great, that I don't really see what the problem is (I have alternate versions of a few of the tracks I listed on bootlegs and I can safely say the ones presented here are better both in sound and musical quality).

One major disappointment for me (and this is I think the worst complaint fans have had) is the fact the the material on the 3 discs could easily be placed on 2 CD's for how short they are. With that said why the reason for some of the edited tracks? I own two 3-CD set boots of outtakes, remixes, demos, etc. that easily double the length of CB (and they cost me a lot less than a new copy of this compilation; there may be some hiss and other distortion on them, along with no liner notes, but the price is certainly much more agreeable).

Still, with what has been provided to long-awaiting fans via this release, at least in my mind, I really can't complain.

The Truth, however, never plays in my ears. I've never cared much for acoustic music (though Prince's occasional acoustic remixes of his music are pretty neat), but the music itself is totally dismissable to me. I'd never have bothered owning it if it were not part of this release. I do have to admit that the song 'Welcome 2 The Dawn' isn't bad; it has a more epic--more Prince-like--style to it, rather than college student friendly folk music like the rest of the album (you know what I mean? People sitting in a circle while some long-haired fellow sings about lost loves, dreams of the future, or how nobody understand him, that sort of thing is what I see when I try listening to The Truth).

But anyway!... that's it.