PurpleYoda3121 said:

Love it, great work!

Thanks!

jaawwnn said:

bonnie184 said:

but he had no hits past TMBGITW

I said "best of" not greatest hits. If they had been willing to fight for TMBGITW for 4ever they could have done that, the last thing we need is yet another compilation of the same tracks with 1 new additional hit.

[Edited 3/31/17 19:29pm]

WB didn't release the single version which is why it wasn't on there. they don't own the rights. it's quite common for artists who have been on multiple labels to have more than 1 best of per label, now that Universal own the post WB material we might get one. lets get the first real posthumous release out the way.

rusty1 said:

This thread is so unreal.. Prince's last Top 10 hit was in 1994.. His last run of hits was from 1990 to 94... 95 on where's the greatest hits?

This is a good point. So maybe a different title for this type of compilation would be a good idea, perhaps something like The Best of Prince, 1994 - 2016. Prince's catalogue is so large that I think it would be a good idea to take the best songs off of each album from 1994 onward. Also, it's hard to find a lot of the non-Warner Brothers albums. I haven't listented to most of material between Emancipation and Plectrumelectrum because it's out of print or was never released through a major label.

bigd74 said:

rdhull said:

bluegangsta said:

I love this, but the lack of Come material is disturbing.

Which is proof that his catalogue (released and unreleased) deserves the care, retrospectives, and tradition that companies have given to the Miles Davis career.

You would have Davis' fusion, electro, bop periods etc. Princes' music needs the same preservation.

Agree with that.

TheDigitalGardener said:

gubbins4ever said:

Another point that's been raised on this thread is what role previously released singles should play in a collection. Should a collection be all singles, ignore singles and go for the "best" tracks, or hover between these extremes? My track list opted for a middle-ish path but may not have included enough singles. The difficulty with the post-1993 singles is that few of them have remained lodged in the public consciousness. For instance, how many non-fans remember Space and would value its inclusion on a collection more as a result? The only benefit to including a song like that just because it was a single would be as a historical record. But I'm not sure that is a worthy enough reason for including it.

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The problem as I see it is not that there isn't ample quality music to include on a post-1993 greatest hits set. There is! The problem is how to deal with the poor single choices. The singles off Come, Emancipation, Rave, and 3121, to name just some examples, were weak choices. Should a greatest hits set perpetuate these mistakes (if you agree that they were) or attempt to elevate new songs as representatives of these albums?

I think if your goal is a companion to "The Hits/The B-Sides," then you do need to pay more attention to which songs were released as singles and made some sort of dent on the charts. "I Hate U" may not be remembered well by casual fans, but it was #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and seems to be a fan favorite here (if not your or my personal favorite).

Along those lines, here are some more of your exclusions that at least dented the charts (or won awards). Prince stopped having major hits, but there were still minor ones. (I realize you've already noted some of these things, but I think they merit greater consideration.)

Love Sign - #32 R&B

Letitgo - #31 Hot 100, #9 R&B Airplay
Get Wild - #19 UK
The Good Life - #29 UK
Dinner with Delores - #36 UK
Betcha By Golly Wow - #31 Hot 100 -- and the original is familiar to casual listeners
Somebody's Somebody - #15 R&B
The Greatest Romance Ever Sold - #23 R&B
U Make My Sun Shine - #59 Hot 100
Last December - reportedly big in Japan, though I don't have chart data
Call My Name - #27 R&B, and a Grammy winner
Te Amo Corazon - #7 Canada
Satisfied - #22 Adult R&B
The Song of the Heart - Golden Globe winner and Grammy nominee
Guitar - #13 NLD
Dreamer - Grammy nominee
Better with Time - #22 Adult R&B
Rock and Roll Love Affair - #22 Adult Contemporary
Fallinlove2night - #29 Adult R&B
Breakfast Can Wait - #26 Adult R&B, #27 R&B Digital
This Could Be Us - #19 Adult R&B
Baltimore - #2 Billboard Twitter Trending
Stare - #7 Billboard Twitter Trending
Creep (Live at Coachella) - could go on The Rarities, reached #1 on Billboard Twitter Trending chart after Prince died

I'm not saying all of those should be included, but from a commercial standpoint I'd have to give some of them more weight than some personal favorites you did include.

Whether a song was a "poor" choice for a single is up to the individual listener. I personally like some of the excluded singles, and some I prefer in remixed form (the Sherm Stick Edit of "Letitgo," the Jason Nevins remix of "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold," the Universal Love version of "Space," and the "reloaded" version of "Extraloveable"). Maybe using a remix edit or two could make a few of your rejected tracks more palatable to you.

I think if your goal is a companion to "The Hits/The B-Sides," then you do need to pay more attention to which songs were released as singles and made some sort of dent on the charts.

I think you are right and thanks for the list of suggestions. There needs to be more singles on this compilation to be representative of this era and what Prince himself felt represented his work. Yesterday, I added more singles to The Hits 3 and listened to the compilation last night. And it actually sounded about as good as the previous version.

.

Here's the current draft (newly added songs - all singles - are in bold with an explanation; singles are asterisked):

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1. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World* (single version)

2. Space* - Space isn't widely remembered and in some ways marks the end of Prince's hit period and the beginning of his stint as a more "underground" artist. This song's positioning aptly heralds this shift and the rest of the disc.

3. Interactive

4. Baby Knows

5. Dinner With Delores* - This song provides a different flavor to this disc and is a nice mellow break from higher energy tracks.

6. The Work Pt. 1*

7. Old Friends 4 Sale

8. Eye Hate U* (7" Edit w/o Guitar) - Fits into the darker portion of this disc.

9. What’s My Name?

10. Letitgo* (Original Radio Edit) - After 3 darker songs, this song signals that Prince is ready to put the past behind him.

11. I Like It There

12. Betcha By Golly Wow!* - Depending on your mindset this song is incredibly cheesey or brimming with love and joy. If you're in the right mood this can hit home.

13. The Greatest Romance Ever Sold* - A single that Prince clearly put a lot of hope in and the one song on this disc I struggle with because of how stiff it feels. But it does represent the Rave project. Could it be better positioned?

14. The Holy River* (radio edit)

15. The Truth* - Perhaps actually a better track than Circle of Amor because of how more clearly Prince's guitar work stands out.

16. A Case Of U

17. The One (edit)

18. The Love We Make

19. Gold*

.

Now, all 11 singles from the 1994-2002 albums are included on this disc.

.

Songs removed from the previous Hits 3 draft: Dolphin, Race, Come On, Journey 2 The Center Of Your Heart, Circle Of Amor.

.

Possible room for improvement with this draft

.

TGRES: It's a weak love song compared to other ballads on this disc and it's hard to find a good position for it in the song sequence. But as Rave's sole single it does represent that album so it's hard not to include it. Suggestions?

No vault tracks: Including several vault songs was a feature of The Hits 1 and 2 which helped make the discs more appealing to fans. But we just don't have enough to choose from right now. If this disc were official, probably we'd remove a song or two to make way for some vault tracks.

.

Overall, though, I'd say this is a stronger collection and more representative of the era. What are your thoughts? I'll have a crack at overhauling The Hits 4 soon.

^ Include the single edit of the Jason Nevins remix of TGRES for a little more commercial-friendly version of the song.

.

.

I think the problem with a hits collection or best of from this period is that most of his best songs from this period were not released as singles. So either you have a compilation of singles that is largely a very mediocre collection with just a couple of worthwhile inclusions, or you have a collection of album tracks, the contents of which would always be argued over forever since everyone has their favourites - the demand for either of these is not really there.

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Even a collection of singles contains very, very few well known songs. Even if songs like Letitgo and Eye Hate U performed well in certain countries at the time, you're basically looking at TMBGITW, Musicology and Black Sweet with a dozen other "filler" tracks. It's not worth putting out.

Since there weren't really any hits post 1995, I went with songs that were singles or concert staples:

1. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

2. Endorphinmachine

3. Days of Wild [Live]

4. Eye Hate U (this was actually the last Prince song to really be a 'hit,' considering it did reach # 12 in the U.S.)

5. Betcha By Golly Wow

6. The Love We Make

7. Old Friends 4 Sale

8. The Greatest Romance Ever Sold

9. Musicology

10. Call My Name

11. Te Amo Corazon

12. Black Sweat

13. Guitar

14. Dreamer

15. Breakdown

16. Funknroll

17. Rock and Roll Love Affair

18. Purple Rain [Atlanta 4/14/2016] - Hidden Track

[Edited 4/5/17 9:44am]

Great effort. I love anything like this, even though we'd all have differing lists.

gubbins4ever said:

.

Possible room for improvement with this draft

.

TGRES: It's a weak love song compared to other ballads on this disc and it's hard to find a good position for it in the song sequence. But as Rave's sole single it does represent that album so it's hard not to include it. Suggestions?

No vault tracks: Including several vault songs was a feature of The Hits 1 and 2 which helped make the discs more appealing to fans. But we just don't have enough to choose from right now. If this disc were official, probably we'd remove a song or two to make way for some vault tracks.

.

Overall, though, I'd say this is a stronger collection and more representative of the era. What are your thoughts? I'll have a crack at overhauling The Hits 4 soon.

I think you've struck a nice balance between singles and album cuts now. There's always going to be a bit of compromise. It would surely be different if you were aiming for a personal best-of, but that isn't your stated goal. (I'd still lobby for "Somebody's Somebody"--perhaps the LiveStudio Mix for something different [and shorter]--as it's a track I like that also saw a bit of chart/radio action.)

As has already been suggested, try the Jason Nevins Remix Edit of "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold." Unlike a lot of outside remixes, I think this one improves the song.

[Edited 4/6/17 6:45am]

[Edited 4/6/17 6:46am]

gubbins4ever said:

Prince released an incredible amount, over 25 albums and 400 unique songs, of quality music after 1993. And yet, how many people beyond the fans are familiar with this vast body of work? Imagine holding in your hands something that would finally celebrate Prince’s post-1993 output, raise its status among the general public, and provide a starting point to penetrate this overwhelming amount of music and discover its many gems. In short, we need a post-1993 greatest hits set.

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That’s what I’ve set out to achieve and I’d like your help. Luckily, we have a first-class template to follow: The Hits / The B-Sides. I propose a sequel to this collection: Prince 1994-2015: The Hits / The Rarities. Following its predecessor’s structure, this set would include 3 discs: The Hits 3 (1994-2002), The Hits 4 (2004-2015), and The Rarities (2000-2015). As with The Hits / The B-Sides, songs on each disc would be arranged stylistically and non-chronologically, allowing for a creative sequencing that would help listeners hear the tracks in a different way. Songs would be accessible and easily enjoyed by a general audience. There would be a well-chosen mix of commercially successful tracks, singles, fan/critic favorites, live favorites, and an unreleased gem or two.

.

The post-1993 period was different to 1978-1993. There were fewer singles; few commercial hits; more controversial single choices (including a focus on ballads); and a greater amount of darker music, reflecting Prince’s struggles, especially in the 1990s. A compilation would need to reflect this.

.

Embarking on this project a couple of months ago, I rejected the idea of this a casually-produced fan playlist of my personal favorite songs. Instead, I imagined myself as a record label having been tasked with producing an official 1994-2015 compilation (this set includes no 2016 material). I spent hours selecting and arranging songs, researching their histories on Princevault, and weeks went by as I listened to version after version of track selections, constantly changing and refining song sequences. Ultimately, the aim was to produce a mind-blowing collection that would demonstrate how much amazing music there was in this period.

.

As hard as I tried to objectively produce the best possible collection, it's difficult to escape one's own tastes. That’s why, your input can help refine the current version. Of course, you could completely discard the below sequences and produce something radically different but it could be more rewarding to build on what's already been created. It’s up to you and I encourage you to listen to the below sequences for yourself to be able to start finessing them. We can’t exclude subjectivity from this project but multiple minds can produce new revelations.

.

To begin, we’ll look at the track list for all 3 discs, before exploring each disc in detail.

.

Here we go…

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THE HITS 3 (1994-2002)

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1. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (single version)

2. Interactive

3. Baby Knows

4. The Work Pt. 1

5. Old Friends 4 Sale

6. Dolphin

7. What’s My Name?

8. I Like It There

9. Race

10. Come On (edit)

11. The Holy River (radio edit)

12. Journey 2 The Center Of Your Heart

13. A Case Of U

14. Circle of Amor

15. The One (edit)

16. The Love We Make

17. Gold

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THE HITS 4 (2004-2015)

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1. 3121

2. Chocolate Box (edit)

3. Clouds

4. Future Baby Mama

5. Groovy Potential (edit)

6. Musicology

7. Dance 4 Me

8. Black Sweat

9. Crimson & Clover

10. Anotherlove

11. Hardrocklover

12. Dear Mr. Man

13. Breakdown

14. Future Soul Song

15. Black Muse (edit)

16. 1000 X’s & O’s

17. Way Back Home

18. Free Urself

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THE RARITIES (2000-2015)

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1. Cybersingle

2. Glasscutter

3. When Eye Lay My Hands On U

4. Hot Summer

5. If Eye Could Get Ur Attention

6. Cause & Effect

7. F.U.N.K. (edit)

8. Rich Friends

9. Magnificent

10. Boyfriend

11. Da Bourgeoisie

12. Silver Tongue

13. When Will We B Paid?

14. United States of Division (edit)

15. S.S.T.

16. Same Page Different Book

17. Northside (edit)

18. In A Large Room With No Light

19. Empty Room

.

————————

.

Very well done. But since this is entirely subjective (and please don't think Im picking on you), you're missing one glaring example on Hits 3, and that's "Dark" (Come version). Dark is probably my favorite 90s song, so yeah I'm likely bias. But I feel no 90s playlist of P material can be complete without out. Such a fucking beautiful, outstanding song. And for the later years playlist? For Hits 4, I'd add Call My Name, and The Dance (3121 version), and the acoustic version of Love is deserving of a spot on the Rarities one. You obviously put some serious time into this, and I think I can speak for many of us in saying we really appreciate it. It certainly doesn't go unnoticed.

For something like this, I'd like "The One U Wanna C" on here. I've always thought that was a really good track off of PE.

scratchtasia said:

gubbins4ever said:

.

Possible room for improvement with this draft

.

TGRES: It's a weak love song compared to other ballads on this disc and it's hard to find a good position for it in the song sequence. But as Rave's sole single it does represent that album so it's hard not to include it. Suggestions?

No vault tracks: Including several vault songs was a feature of The Hits 1 and 2 which helped make the discs more appealing to fans. But we just don't have enough to choose from right now. If this disc were official, probably we'd remove a song or two to make way for some vault tracks.

.

Overall, though, I'd say this is a stronger collection and more representative of the era. What are your thoughts? I'll have a crack at overhauling The Hits 4 soon.

I think you've struck a nice balance between singles and album cuts now. There's always going to be a bit of compromise. It would surely be different if you were aiming for a personal best-of, but that isn't your stated goal. (I'd still lobby for "Somebody's Somebody"--perhaps the LiveStudio Mix for something different [and shorter]--as it's a track I like that also saw a bit of chart/radio action.)

As has already been suggested, try the Jason Nevins Remix Edit of "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold." Unlike a lot of outside remixes, I think this one improves the song.

[Edited 4/6/17 6:45am]

[Edited 4/6/17 6:46am]

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback and collaborative creative process in this discussion. It's what I hoped for.

.

Yes, now we have a roughly 50-50 split between singles and album cuts, so there's the commercial element (the singles) and the quality deep cuts. For me, TGRES is the only thing that stands out. It's a weaker song and tips the disc in the direction of too many sugary ballads, preserving what I think was a mistake during that era of too many ballad singles (although it still wasn't a huge number - TMBGITW, BBGW, TGRES, and not too many more). But overall I quite like the disc and think it represents the era well. Now back to The Hits 4 for the same update...

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For consistency, I'd leave any remixes off but an additional disc of 1994-2015 remixes, like the second disc of Ultimate Prince, could be a great listen. Next project!

[Edited 4/7/17 10:44am]

kygermo said:

Very well done. But since this is entirely subjective (and please don't think Im picking on you), you're missing one glaring example on Hits 3, and that's "Dark" (Come version). Dark is probably my favorite 90s song, so yeah I'm likely bias. But I feel no 90s playlist of P material can be complete without out. Such a fucking beautiful, outstanding song. And for the later years playlist? For Hits 4, I'd add Call My Name, and The Dance (3121 version), and the acoustic version of Love is deserving of a spot on the Rarities one. You obviously put some serious time into this, and I think I can speak for many of us in saying we really appreciate it. It certainly doesn't go unnoticed.

I appreciate your feedback! I also love Dark and am happy Prince performed that live in recent years. It's a true gem. My reason for keeping it off The Hits 3 is that a non-single next to 2 other songs (Letitgo, Space) from the same relatively obscure 1-disc album seems to go too far. This is why Greatest Hits collections aren't necessarily have all the best songs.

.

As for your Hits 4 suggestions:

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Call My Name - I might add this back in when revising The Hits 4, although this was only a promo single so it would need to be deemed an exceptional album track. I would say next to other ballads of this era - Future Baby Mama, Somewhere Here On Earth, Breakdown, etc. - for me Call My Name is a weaker track, but each to their own of course.

.

The Dance - Awesome song. I'll definitely look closer at that one.

.

Love (acoustic version) - I'd keep this off The Hits 4 and The Rarities because as the only alternate version consistency would be lost but as I mentioned elsewhere in this discussion a 1994-2015 remix disc similar to disc 2 of Ultimate Prince could be really cool and this version of Love would be a strong contender.

I like these tracklistings. Maybe I should throw mines out there.

Hey, this is a nice list. And a lot of work. I appreciate.

I know all songs from you Hits3 and Hits4 but, to be honest, only few from the Rarities. I found some of them in the meanwhile, but was unable to find Rich Friends, Magnificient and Boyfriend. Anyhow...

I understand that you want to collect as much as possible singles and "hits". However, I would miss two of my fav songs (which I don't know how much attention they got when they were released...);

- She gave her angels (Crystal Ball)

- U make my sun shine (Chocolate Invasion)

Here's a revised track list for The Hits 4 (2004-2015). The main thrust for the changes was to reflect feedback to include more singles. Comments are beside selected tracks.

.

Key:

* = Album single

** = Non-album single

*** = Promo single

Bold = Newly added track

.

.

1. Musicology* - Moved to the start of the disc, given that it's one of this era's most well known songs.

2. Chocolate Box (edit)

3. Clouds***

4. Te Amo Corazon* - Lead single off 3121, accompanied by a video. It has to be on here.

5. Guitar* - The start, some might say, of Prince's return to guitar-driven tracks, much stronger than Fury.

6. Screwdriver* - A great pumping rock track.

7. Fixurlifeup* - Only one song from Plectrumelectrum on this disc, but seems appropriate given the album is lesser known. A good socially-conscious song.

8. Dance 4 Me*

9. Black Sweat*

10. Xtraloveable* - A strong dance number. Even if many fans feel it pales in comparison to the original, I think most of the general public would enjoy it.

11. Future Baby Mama***

12. Crimson & Clover

13. Hardrocklover*

14. Baltimore* - An important song to Prince and the Sign 'O' The Times of its era. Difficult to find a place for this and Cinnamon Girl on this disc, though.

15. Cinnamon Girl* - For me this is the most difficult song on this compilation. We needed another Musicology album track because that album was a latter-day Prince hit, and Cinnamon Girl was a single so it seems the obvious choice. But where on this disc should it go? It and Baltimore are a 2-song socially-conscious pairing but Cinnamon Girl does pale in comparison to Baltimore. The pairing works well enough but this is the weakest part of this disc.

16. Future Soul Song - The last 3 songs on this disc go well together. Future Soul Song is Prince's dream of the future, Breakdown is him looking back at his life, and Free Urself is him passing the torch to us.

17. Breakdown*

18. Free Urself**

.

.

Album singles included from the 2004-2015 era: 12 (with the exception of Free Urself, this track list maintains The Hits 1 & 2's precedent of only including album singles)

Non-album singles included from the 2004-2015 era: 1

Promo singles: 2

Album singles not included here: 6 (Fury, Rock And Roll Love Affair, Breakfast Can Wait, Pretzelbodylogic, Fallinlove2nite, This Could B Us)

.

Number of singles on previous draft of The Hits 4: 6

Songs from previous draft of The Hits 4 removed for this draft: 3121, Groovy Potential, Anotherlove, Dear Mr. Man, Black Muse, 1000 X & O's, Way Back Home

.

Overall, this is a strong track list, stronger because of the additional singles included, the only weak point being Baltimore / Cinnamon Girl as discussed above. The flow of tracks is interesting (more so than a less creative chronological arrangement) and showcases just how much incredible music Prince produced during this era. This disc celebrates the incredible legacy of the 2004-2015 period.

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All that said, let's hear your feedback!