46 Days

Lore & Background

During the recording sessions that would eventually lead to his 1987 album Sign o' the Times, Prince started recording "The Ball" at the end of July after rehearsals for the Parade Tour, with horns being overdubbed a couple days later. The song was in some configurations of Crystal Ball and would have segued into "Joy in Repetition", however was ultimately dropped. During the recording sessions for Lovesexy, Prince revisited, rewrote, and rerecorded the track, becoming the studio version of "Eye No".

In Their Own Story

The studio lights hum at 2 a.m. outside Minneapolis. Rain streaks the tall windows of the control room, and the engineer has long since gone home, leaving only the red glow of the 'on air' sign and the low murmur of tape spinning. On the desk, a half-empty coffee cup sits beside a stack of lyric sheets in a cramped, looping hand. The singer has just walked out, leaving the last take running—something raw, something that sounds like a question he can't quite finish. The tape keeps rolling. Outside, the city is quiet, and the only sound left in the room is the soft, endless hiss of the machine, holding everything in amber light, waiting for someone to press play.

Reader's Guide

"Eye No" opens with chords on the synthesizer and a poem written and spoken by Ingrid Chavez. Rolling Stone writer David Browne described the song as "a jumbled barrage of Sly Stone wails, fatback bass lines, a grinding sax, wah-wah guitar and swarming backup vocals that continually collide with each other". While "Eye No" is viewed as "sterile", "The Ball" is viewed as a "stankier", Fairlight-driven groove. This may be due to the production of the former being collaborative featuring the members of Prince's band at the time, whereas the latter is primarily Prince. Eric Leeds did state he preferred "The Ball", saying "it was just a little fresher to me." The song's lyrics also make reference to "Crystal Ball", "Train", and Sheila E.'s "Romance 1600".

Did You Know?

• The song's lyrics reference "Crystal Ball", "Train", and Sheila E.'s "Romance 1600".
• Eric Leeds preferred the earlier version "The Ball", calling it "a little fresher".
• "Eye No" opens with a poem written and spoken by Ingrid Chavez.