Hi Guys,

OK - been a while since I've been here, but I had to share this one with you to get some constructive criticism of a compilation CD I am putting together.

The premise is that I have a female friend who I am going to introduce to Prince. She has a varied and eclectic taste in music, from Placebo, Gipsy Kings and Portishead through to Fleetwood Mac, Leonard Cohen and Dylan. We share alot of the same tastes, so I thought this would be easy....lol.....how wrong could I have been!!

I decided that most albums through to the Gold Experience probably need to be appreciated in full, so my idea was to pick a single track from each album starting at Emancipation through to Planet Earth. I decided to omit C&D simply because I wanted a true chronilogical album and nothing on there seemed to kick it off quite right (kop out I know).

I also omitted The Chocalate Invasion and The Slaughterhouse for fear of being accused of stuffing fillers into the mix, while anything N.E.W.S., however great, would be overdose for a single CD.

So here is the result - it is certainly open to tweaking, but I wanted honest opinions from you guys. Don't hold back now! Remember, I am trying to encompass "variation" and "greatness". And, I know, I kick it off with a cover version which maybe aint quite right, but it just seemed to work for me! And it is a kick-ass version

Emancipation (1996)
1 - One Of Us 5:19
Girl 6 (1996)
2 - How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore 3:53
Crystal Ball (1997)
3 - The Ride (Live) 5:14
The Truth (1997)
4 - The Truth 3:34
New Power Soul (1998)
5 - Wasted Kisses 3:00
Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (1999)
6 - I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore 3:36
The Vault (1999)
7 - Old Friends 4 Sale 3:28
The Rainbow Children (2001)
8 - Last December 7:57
One Nite Alone (2002)
9 - Avalanche 4:25
It Ain't Over (2002)
10 - Joy In Repetition (Live) 10:57
Xpectation (2003)
11 - Xhalation 2:04
Musicology (2004)
12 - Cinnamon Girl 3:57
3121 (2006)
13 - The Word 4:11
Planet Earth (2007)
14 - Chelsea Rodgers 5:41

Overall, I would say your selections are excellent; what follows are my choice cuts (some of which are the same) as it might provide you with another perspective. If there are "albums" I have not included, it is because I don't feel they are reflective of the true evolution of his music. Furthermore, if you want a better representation of this era, you can't limit yourself to just one song per album or be required to choose a song (as it just might not be strong enough).

The Love We Make
Comeback
The One
I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore
Last December
Avalanche
Xhalation
Silver Tongue
Reflection
SST
Song Of The Heart
The Word
Lion of Judah
F.U.N.K.

Jam of the Year
Get you groove on
New power Soul
Mad Sex
Old friends for sale
So far so pleased
The Work
1+1+1=3
Musicology
Cinnamon Girl
3121
Lolita
Black Sweat
Fury
The 1 U wanna C
Chelsea Rodgers

Interesting - The Love We Make "was" my original starter as of about 2 hours ago, but I had a change of heart as although it has a crecsendo anthem feel about it I didn't think it kicked off the disc quite as well. Reflection was also on the original cut but I felt the album needed a true pop/rock song so I made the switch. And as far as finding something from NPS, well The One was contender but to be honest I couldn't find anything from the album I really felt warranted inclusion. As Wasted Kisses is something of a surprise and has always been a favourite I sacrificed the flow of the album for personal choice.

Oooh I bet everybody's would be so different - that is why it is so hard. Just trying to pick a single track from Crystal Ball or Emancipation gave me enough headaches lol

Thanks for your ideas - food 4 thought indeed!


[Edited 4/13/08 5:56am]

The variations of cd's u can make are endless rearranements, sure to impress your girlfriend...I would start with "For You" and work my way up through the years, with one or two off of each album.