Prince Album: “Hits 2”

Even though "The Hits 2" is just one-third of the set "The Hits/The B-Sides," this single disc compilation has enough brilliant material to stand entirely on its own. It's a freaky ride through the darker side of Prince's music during the Warner Brothers years, and at least half of these singles have "masterpiece" written all over them. Groundbreaking tracks like the eyebrow-raising "Head," the flawless "Kiss," and "Little Red Corvette" (one of the great American rock singles) show that Prince was one of the most vital musicians of the 1980s. Not only was he prolific (he released one album every calendar year), but he's the only artist in the 1980s to release FOUR classic albums in one decade: "Dirty Mind," "1999," "Purple Rain," and "Sign O the Times." Madonna couldn't do it. Neither could Bruce Springsteen. Michael Jackson came close, but still no cigar. Even Prince's "lesser" singles like "Sexy M.F." and "Cream" had more to offer than much of Top 40 radio. Of course, diehard fans are strongly recommended to get his 3 disc set that has a slew of his b-sides, but first-time listeners can't go wrong with picking this one up.

This is THE HITS 2, released as an individual disc for fans who didn't want to shell out the extra money to buy the 3 CD set which also included a b-sides disc. This is a great buy for casual fans who want a general overview of Prince's music. Hopefully after hearing it, you'll want to look into his other great albums!

The disc contains 16 of his hits, and 2 new songs. The songs are illogically sequenced, in no real special order from release of the singles (which would have made it more coherent). The new tracks, "Pope" and "Peach", don't really fit with the other songs, or the other new songs from HITS 1, but they are great songs nonetheless.

Some highlights among the set include "If I Was Your Girlfriend", "Raspberry Beret", "I Would Die 4 U", "Controversy", "Dirty Mind", "Little Red Corvette", "Kiss", and of course "Purple Rain". Other hits on the set include "Delirious", "Do Me, Baby", "I Wanna Be Your Lover", "Cream", "Gett Off", "U Got The Look", "Sexy M.F.", and more.

THE HITS 2 is a stronger collection as whole than THE HITS 1, but if you buy this one, it goes without saying that THE HITS 1 is also a must buy.

In 1993 Prince released a 3 CD set, called The Hits/The Bsides. Fans who wanted the bsides bought that collection, because that was the only way to get a hold of that cd. As well he also released the first two discs, The Hits 1 and 2 as separate discs. This one is The Hits 2, my favorite of the two. This one features hits ranging from his early hits to his early 90's hits. The grooves are undeniable, irresistable. No one can do a song like this, he was revolutionary because this music was new and exciting, no one else had ever created music like this. My favorites on here include Controversy, Diry Mind, I Wanna Be Your Lover, I Would Die 4 U, Raspberry Beret, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Kiss, and Purple Rain. This is a must have for fans of R&B/soul/funk/urban music. This is a great cd to start your Prince collection with if you are a new fan. Essential recording.

While I found "The Hits 1" to be fairly bland and tedious, "The Hits 2" is more palatable. The lyrics to "Controversy" set the stage to let you know this is no ordinary pop performer, traversing gender, race and decorum barriers over the course of the CD. "Am I black or white / Am I straight or gay?" indicate the man (?) has had some serious fun challenging precepts and provoking minds. Unfortunately, his music has not always been up to that task. "Controversy," "Head" and "Delirious" are memorable enough, but ostensible "hits," such as "Dirty Mind," "Do Me Baby" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover," are pedestrian at best. "If I Was Your Girlfriend" is a throw back to 1960's Motown and is rather good, though instead of Mary Wells or the Chiffons singing this love song to a would-be boyfriend, we get Prince in his usual falsetto. Bizarre. Anyway, highlights are too numerous to mention, though standouts for me are "Peach" and "Sexy M.F." This CD is not for children.

I think it's interesting how Prince's two "Hits" albums are laid out. You know, the first presents you with the lyrically accessible material, and the second is just loaded with the things that make Prince such a controversial artist. There's the obvious hypersexualized Prince - song titles such as "Do Me, Baby", "Cream", "Gett Off", "Dirty Mind", "I Wanna Be Your Lover", "Head" and so forth should speak for themselves, plus "Little Red Corvette", "Delirious", and "Peach" are heavily, erm... metaphorical experiences. Hell, I'm surprised they didn't throw in "Darling Nikki" just for fun. But it also presents some of Prince's more Messianic material - "Purple Rain", "I Would Die 4 U". And, of course, you've got "Controversy", which addresses Prince's oft-question sexual orientation (not like it's anyone's business in the first place - besides, who gives a crap? It's the music that matters). "If I Was Your Girlfriend" is a whole different beast altogether, featuring Prince completely flipping gender roles on more than one occasion.

Now, here's the cool thing about Prince - he NEVER tried to carry a song on edgy lyrical content alone. Every one of these songs has a hook, a melody, a groove, and whatnot to stand on. So rather than just come off as a pervert, he comes off as an extremely talented pervert, which he is - all the discussion about his image and iconic status have blocked his merits as a singer, composer, and guitarist. That is just too bad.

Like the last "hits" album every tune here is fantastic. My favorites are the ones I discussed above - especially "Little Red Corvette" and "Purple Rain", though I've also got a soft spot for "Raspberry Beret". It's got a lot from Dirty Mind, one of my favorite Prince albums, and contains two of his best ballads, "Do Me Baby" (though sadly presented in edited form) and "Purple Rain".

My biggest problem with this is there are too many single edits - much like the first volume of Hits. "Controversy" is gutted, sadly; "I Wanna Be Your Lover" is one of those songs you need to hear in full; "Do Me, Baby", "Delirious", "Kiss" (TOTAL classic there), and "If I Was Your Girlfriend" also have amazing full versions. At least "Purple Rain" was untouched, because if they cut that one short I'd flip out. And wasn't "U Got the Look" a big hit? Because it missed the boat entirely.

It's true that neither of the "Hits" albums show off Prince's diversity, instead offering his funkiest hits - to quote Miles Davis, "Prince can certainly stretch", and you need to hear an album like Emancipation (my favorite Prince disc), Sign O' the Times (not one of my favorites but very diverse), Around the World in a Day, 1999, Controversy or Purple Rain to get the full idea of what Prince can do. But hey, the two "Hits" albums are a nice way to start your Prince collection, and that's all that counts. I'd also steer you towards Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999, Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day, and (for those looking for Prince at his most eccentric) the three-disc blowout Emancipation, a wonderful mix of ego, ambition, and a whole lotta music. I could go on about how this is missing a bunch of obscure Prince songs that I love - "Gotta Broken Heart Again", "Sexuality", "The Beautiful Ones" (arguably his best song, vying for that spot with "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man", "Little Red Corvette" and "Purple Rain"), "Temptation", "Paisley Park", "Play in the Sunshine", "3 Chains o'Gold", about half of Emancipation and so on and so forth, but what would be the good? That would take away further incentive to buy the original albums, which are amazing.