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. It’s 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.

oh yeah!

The problem I have with this album is that the songs that have longer unedited versions are ALL better in their original state. Especially La, La, La and Escape. Escape works way better for me in it's full-length version.

Cerebus said:

The problem I have with this album is that the songs that have longer unedited versions are ALL better in their original state. Especially La, La, La and Escape. Escape works way better for me in it's full-length version.

I'm hoping soon Warners release a singles boxset with all the 12" as individual discs.

This was a milestone in my Prince fandom as not too long after I became a fan this was publicized on TV as being reduced to £12.99 and when I stuck that 3rd disc in my CD payer...my passion went to obsession, nice to see the b-sides were shown some respect having a cd dedicated to 'em back in the day... Would be an absolute weet dream if one day a super boxset was released with EVERY B-SIDE in their full glory of 12 inchness

I remember buying this on the day it came out in the UK, i bought the 3 disc cd and the VHS video at the same time, the girl in the record shop gave me a promo poster too, which i still have to this day.

I mainly bought it for the unreleased tracks that were on it, i was dying to hear Power Fantastic and Pink Cashmere.

The video was also a big deal for me, i had seen a few of the videos but did not have the full versions in good quality.

I just recently bought a couple of spare copies of The Hits/The B-Sides as my local record shop was selling them for £5 each.

I think i remember paying close to £40 for the original 3cd and VHS.

Good collection, though i am not keen on releases like this, unless they contain things i don't have.

This CD is what made me less of a casual Prince fan and started me collecting his pre Purple Rain albums. I'd known about Purple Rain, had the CD bla bla bla... My college roommates and I used to act out the Darling Nikki scene when we needed a break from studying.

Anyhoo, I was a little shoplifting minx along with my roommates and we were in Tower Records one afternoon (skipping class of course!) and I saw this. I WANTED IT. But it was too big to seal... so I just decided to buy the damn thing. (Yeah I was shoplifting but really didn't NEED to. Chalk that up to dumb college antics.)

It was the best investment. Songs I never even knew existed! I fell in love with Pink Cashmere the second I heard it. She's Always In My Hair, 17 Days and Power Fantastic were like gold to me..... that was when I really decided to start collecting pre Purple Rain stuff. I was like if this was the kind of music he was leaving OFF albums, imagine what was ON them?

The one thing I didnt like was how in the HELL could they put the edited When Doves Cry on there? Dumb dumb dumb. The ending is like the best part!

[Edited 9/30/10 13:14pm]

At the time, I was most excited to hear "Gotta stop (messin' about)" as it was the only b-side I had never heard. I had known of the song but never found it. I even had "Power fantastic" on a boot. I was a little dissapointed in the different version of "4 the tears in your eyes".

I now have "Gotta stop (messin' about)" on a few different records:

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The then unreleased Peach, Pink Cashmere, The Pope, Nothing Compares 2 U, and Power Fantastic made this set. Otherwise the Edits of many of the songs ruined it for me, escpecially for the B-sides.

Swa said:

It's amazing how I never really looked at that Peach cover until now...wow.

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