A CELEBRATION: The Hits / B-Sides

The Hits / The B-Sides.

When entered the music store on the day of its release, I was immediately drawn to the triple CD set – I mean who wouldn’t be. The promise of all those b-sides on CD. Come on now.

So rushing home I placed Disc 1 in the CD player to be greeted with When Doves Cry. An obvious opener, after all this was The Hits, so how better to open the CD than with one of his biggest. As the CD played on the anticipation for Nothing Compares 2 U built. Hearing it as a live recording took me back to the Diamond & Pearls tour and hearing it live for the first time. A beautiful soulful interpretation (or is it a cover – can an artist really cover their own song?) the duet was a masterstroke allowing a new twist to be given. Both Rosie and Prince are in fine voice, and for a live recording the mix is perfect.

Pink Cashmere hooked me immediately with that flanging hi hat and that slight falsetto voice. A song of dedication it’s not your typical love song. The production and arrangement is impeccable, with those stings and those classic prince backing vocals. This soon became a fave in my book, reminding me slightly of If I Was Your Girlfriend, and a Gemini twin to a later release Underneath The Cream. It’s everything we love in a prince ballad, a lush seductive groove that is one moment playful the next passionate.

Peach is steeped in classic rock – once again the influence of T-Rex is there and the song holds a striking resemblance to Cream. The use of cartoonish sound effects in the track is amusing, but for me the track is pretty much a buy the numbers rock tune. Nothing wrong with it, but it doesn’t thrill me either.

The first time I heard Pope I was hooked. With its more modern (at the time) hip hop beat it would at a later date remind me of Love Sign in the groove. One of the rare occasions that Prince actually delivers a rap with style. The whole lyrical one upmanship of the song is cool and mixed with just the right mix of wit to carry it off. Whilst not one of his strongest songs, it did get a far blasting on mix tapes of that time.

And as much as I liked the new stuff, it was the b-sides I was looking to. Hearing them on CD was cool and showed really the versatility of Prince as an artist (maybe it was the pressure being off them needing to be hits).

HELLO, written in response to the media beat up surrounding his no show at the We Are The World recording the song is one of the few times Prince fires back almost point by point to the criticism being levelled at him. It’s a funky tune with biting lyrics and whirling melody. Such a shame the 12” version was included (this goes for all the b-sides).

200 Balloons the b-side to Batdance was so obviously written for the parade scene in Bat Man (replaced by Trust) I can’t help but watch the movie and not hear this song at that moment. Obviously Prince thought it was good enough to incorporate into the main groove of Batdance, it’s a track that is such a moment in time in that album that it’s hard to separate it as a Prince song in it’s own right. Although I do love the “cry, cry, cry I love it when you moan” part and hearing Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic and House in Order sampled throughout. Like the man says himself “the funk is multilayered”.

Escape, a reworking of Glam Slam feels a little flat and under produced. I never really was drawn into the track, especially with the complex and unexpected A-side it was partnered with.

Gotta Stop (Messin’ Around) is quintessential Dirty Mind era funk rock with that unmistakable touch of new wave. For me it actually has more appeal than some of the weaker tracks on Dirty Mind and I would have like to have known where Prince would have placed it.

Delirious anyone? I mean Horny Toad. With the same rockabilly beat and melody structure the song unfortunately feels limp rather than the raucous rocker it should be.

Ok so just when the arrangement of the b-sides made me think it wouldn’t be a disc most would get through Feel U Up comes on with the come on and is a cool funk seduction. Reminiscent of Jesse Johnson album in its sonic landscape the track blurs the line between Camille and Prince in classic way.

The first time I heard Girl I fell in love with it, and knew it would be one of my favourite b-sides. With it’s pulsing heart beat, and electro twanged harpsichord swirling around and around the mix the track just bristles with desire, almost panting as Prince pleads his case. Pure seduction perfection the whole track feels like a sea of electricity.

Now I know a lot of people cringes at the surgery line in I Love U in Me, but I feel that this song gets too much flack when really it is a hidden gem. It’s raw, stripped back like the lover he lusts and one of the best make out jams the guy has ever made. Lyrically explicit it’s the dirty side of Prince that was so prevalent the early part of his career. But rather than played for shock value the track is honest and plays out like a love song in its truest form. I think if he ever played it live he would even convince the haters.

Now there is no argument about Erotic City. Its history is legendry, as is the debate of what word is actually said. There is no escaping this track though. From the opening beat to the brooding bass, this song is pure brilliance and a funk classic. Put this on at any party and immediately everyone starts getting freaky – it just has that effect. It slithers and slides its way into you and never lets you. Classic.

Shockadelica (thanks Jesse) has Camille front and center and has all the elements of a SOTT track that makes it irresistible. It’s dark and menacing and just draws you in with its slow burn. When you hear it it makes you long for the Camille project to be an official release.

Irresistible Bitch is just that. Buried in that funk beat you and slapping bass it is oh so appealing. One of my favourite tracks to drum to, the flurry of rolls and accents is on point and epitomises Prince’s style when he lays down a beat. It’s dirty funk at it’s best. The track seems to expand and contract both musically and lyrically with its love hate phrasing, and that breakdown at 3:12 just takes the track to another level and brings in the jam for the final minute.

Scarlet Pussy was a song I actually was shocked by. Is it a Camille track, or Black Album, or LoveSexy – it seems to fit in with all moods and is obviously influenced by the whole P-Funk stylings and almost counters in perfect mix to Atomic Dog. Too this day it still is a guilty pleasure.

La, La, La, He, He, He is Prince at his most playful lyrically and combines all the elements of a classic SOTT track with an It/Hot Thing vibe with a touch of Beautiful Night – and when you have those influences swirling around it’s not a bad thing at all, and the track is simply joyous.

She’s Always In My Hair is all the things good in a princely world. One of my all time fave tracks b-side or not this track is beyond cool with its flanging percussive grove and bass, synth stabs and melodic cameo of Sex Shooter. Again when people speak of b-sides this has to be in the top 5, it’s just too funky for its own good.

Now when you talk b-sides 17 Days is at the top of my tree. With it’s elastic bass, shaking tambourines and rain drop melody the song just lays out heartbreak in a way that makes it so attractive and places you in the despair lyrically while musically it offers a glimmer of hope. I know I’m not alone thinking this song would have been a hit as an A-side at the time. The fact it was the b-side to When Doves Cry probably means it got a good airing none the less.

It’s no wonder Alicia Keys decided to cover How Come U Don’t You Call Me Anymore when she released her debut effort. This is a classic showcase for both vocal and piano technique without being overly flashy. One of the cool things with a track like this is that if you didn’t know when it was recorded you wouldn’t think of it as a 1999 offshoot. The track is just timeless.

Sometimes you just have to wonder at how brilliant this guy is. Another Lonely Christmas has a strange effect on me, the way the lyrics are arranged in the mix, the whole whining guitar and flittering drums just drip me in a funk that takes me back to all the lost loves in my life and the heartbreak seems all too present. And when lyrically he reveals that this isn’t just a break-up song, but a song of mourning the whole emotion of the track just goes to another level.

God is without doubt haunting. Its sparse arrangement and vocals allow the track to just float. With his own take on gospel Prince delivers a performance that goes beyond a moment behind a microphone and made many a listener rethink what they expected from Prince.

4 The Tears in Your Eyes was the track Prince offered up to We Are The World, a spiritual acoustic track it benefits from the influence of Wendy and Lisa in both arrangement and delivery. Not a track I listen to that much, but one that never fails to please.

Power Fantastic just goes to show what a brilliant composer is, and what wonderful performers Lisa and Wendy are. Again this epic track is a mix of haunting melody and sparse arrangement topped off with a beautiful vocal performance. A bridge between Purple Rain and Around The World In a Day and a fitting closer to the disc.

As much as the collection closed a chapter on Prince’s career, it also celebrated the music wonders that he had given and whetted the appetite for what was to come.

Swa

Really a fantastic collection/retrospective. A great introduction to Prince, and at the time, a great, portable collection of Prince music in a small package (you could take the hits/bsides on a short trip and not have to lug around a ton of cassettes or CDs. Now of course, you can download every Prince album on your tiny MP3 and take that with you).

I hadn't purchased a lot of Prince singles so the bsides were welcome and my first exposure to Pink Cashmere came from this album.

A lot of the songs are edited from their original version (for example, I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man cuts out the whole second-half guitar work), but it works for what it is.

Also, it sounds pretty good. Not all Prince albums are good sounding. SOTT, at least the batch mine is from, sounds horribly muted (at full volume it's really not that loud).

coltrane3 said:

Swa said:

Imago: "You look You know, that kind of super-hot, cuteness that gets a guy raped in prison. "

My cover of the "Crush" by Smashing Pumpkins: http://prince.org/msg/15/314710.

so much nonsense, it makes m weep. give me a day to ge over my boze and I'll show you.

btw for discussions on other records check out the index here:

http://prince.org/msg/7/312438

NC2U IS indeed a cover of a cover and a very week one at that too. I think it´s the low point in Prince´s recording carreer, totally unimaginative...

eelco said:

NC2U IS indeed a cover of a cover and a very week one at that too. I think it´s the low point in Prince´s recording carreer, totally unimaginative...

Imago: "You look You know, that kind of super-hot, cuteness that gets a guy raped in prison. "

My cover of the "Crush" by Smashing Pumpkins: http://prince.org/msg/15/314710.

zaza said:

eelco said:

NC2U IS indeed a cover of a cover and a very week one at that too. I think it´s the low point in Prince´s recording carreer, totally unimaginative...

I have to agree with you that version of NC2U which is on the "The Hits/B-sides" is very weak But how he played it in recent years (ONA Live, Montreaux) is fantastic!
[Edited 8/2/09 7:14am]

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[Edited 8/15/09 6:14am]

The quality of the extra cuts on this set and the b-sides make this a must-have. The liner notes are great.

Anyone else see that WalMart has been selling The Hits 1 in a digi-pack now? I don't go there too often, so I just noticed this recently.

squirrelgrease said:

Swa said:

squirrelgrease said:

Swa said:

Agreed, just wish they had included the 12" b-sides.

Swa

The 7" edits are just teases.

The whole collection is seriously godlike. Power Fantastic just proves to the world Prince is so much more than another pop singer, the man is an artist, a composer and a genius. The song just gives me goose pimples all the time. 17 Days does stand head and shoulders above everything else, its one of the reasons WDC did spend 5 weeks at number one. I love Gotta Stop Messin About, Shockadelica, I Love U in me and Shes always in my hair. Of the new songs not as good, but having Adore and If I was ur girlfriend on the disc was really great too. I bought this album in 93 as well when I was 17 and think I feel in love with Adore then and it encouraged to buy the back catalogue.
Superb set of discs (Although Ultimate Disc 2 came close, esp Lets Work remix)

A all the way

Swa said:

squirrelgrease said:

The 7" edits are just teases.

Still holding out for a CD-SINGLE type boxset - with all the WB singles released with original cover art and mixes.... you can call me a dreamer too.

Swa