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Prince

Prince Album: “The Very Best of Prince”

Prince Album: “The Very Best of Prince”
Description :
Personnel: Prince (vocals, various instruments); Wendy, Dez Dickerson (vocals, guitar); Bonnie Boyer (vocals, Hammond organ); Rosie Gaines (vocals, organ); Lisa Coleman (vocals, keyboards); Sheila E. (vocals, drums, percussion); Sheena Easton, Camille, Tony M. (vocals); Levi Seacer Jr. (guitar, bass, background vocals); Miko (guitar, background vocals); Eric Leeds (flute, horns, background vocals); Atlanta Bliss (horns); Matt Fink (keyboards, background vocals); Tommy Barbarella (keyboards); Brown Mark, Sonny T. (bass, background vocals); Bobby Z., Michael B. (drums, percussion); Kirk Johnson, Damon Dickson (percussion, background vocals); Mayte, Mazarati (background vocals). <p>Engineers include: Gary Brandt, Peggy McCreary, David Leonard. <p>Producer: Prince. <p>Compilation producer: Gregg Geller. <p>Digitally remastered by Keith Blake. <p>Considerably more streamlined than previous compilations THE HITS 1 and THE HITS 2, the 17 songs that make up THE VERY BEST OF PRINCE offer a nice tour through the Purple One's chart successes for Warner Brothers from 1978 to 1993. Mixed in among chart toppers like the quirky "When Doves Cry," Hendrix-fueled mania of "Let's Go Crazy" and stripped-down funk of "Kiss" are enough brilliant moments to make you wish the guy had focused more on music and less on the identity shifts that characterized most of the '90s. <p>Starting with the 1979 #1 "I Wanna Be Your Lover," Prince's pop sensibilities and inquisitive nature have found him cleverly bouncing back and forth between the twin poles of sex and spirituality. Whether it's the runaway pledge of faith found in "I Would Die 4 U," sly lasciviousness of "Gett Off" or battle-of-the-sexes throw-down with Sheena Easton on "U Got The Look," this Minneapolis native's way with a hook makes more of an impression in retrospect than his ability to shock. Other highlights include the millennial jam "1999," chilling view of the world "Sign O' The Times," gorgeous "Diamonds And Pearls" and irresistible "Alphabet Street."
Customers Rating :
Average (3.5) :(171 votes)
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71 votes
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30 votes
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22 votes
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16 votes
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32 votes
Track Listing :
1 I Wanna Be Your Lover Video
2 1999 Video
3 Little Red Corvette Video
4 When Doves Cry Video
5 Let's Go Crazy Video
6 Purple Rain Video
7 I Would Die 4 U
8 Raspberry Beret Video
9 Kiss Video
10 Sign O' The Times Video
11 U Got The Look Video
12 Alphabet St.
13 Thieves In The Temple Video
14 Gett Off Video
15 Cream
16 Diamonds And Pearls Video
17 Money Don't Matter 2 Night Video
Album Information :
Title: The Very Best of Prince
UPC:081227427221
Format:CD
Type:Performer
Genre:R&B - Funk
Artist:Prince
Guest Artists:Sheena Easton; Wendy & Lisa; Sheila E.; Rosie Gaines; Dez Dickerson
Label:Warner Bros. Records (Record Label)
Distributed:WEA (distr)
Release Date:2001/07/31
Original Release Year:2001
Discs:1
Length:73:20
Mono / Stereo:Stereo
Studio / Live:Studio
T. C Lane (Marina, CA USA) - August 02, 2001
54 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
- Prince on the Pop Charts 1979-1991

The Hits/B Sides covered Prince's last years's on Warner Brothers, but this odd release focuses on 1979-1991 only. The idea is to cover his biggest crossover Pop Top 40 hits. No album cuts and if an album didn't have a Top 40 single (Like Controversy or Dirty Mind) it was skipped. So, while it's missing 4 Top 10's from this period: Batdance, Pop Life, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man and Delirious, all 4 of those are the least played of Prince's Top 10's. As for the inclusion of the Top 30 Money Don't Matter Tonight, well it's a great song that the compilers must have thought deserved a second chance. But at 73 minutes Warner had time to squeeze in the under 3 minute "Delirious", especially considering that the versions of When Doves Cry and 1999 are the single edits. And that's the rub of this whole set. Using single edits (when they had time for the album length versions), no liner notes, no alternate takes and live cuts to entice the Prince collector and cutting off the whole affair in 1991, when The Hits/B Sides didn't, makes for a compilation that can only be recommended for those who are skeptical of Prince and need a reason to take a chance. Nice cover photos, though. For Prince Newbies Only.

Angela Watts (Michigan) - August 15, 2001
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
- I agree with the other reviewers

Get the "Hits/B sides" collection...its a much better collection of his music, instead of the same ol plain jane stuff they overplayed on the radio. Looks like its just another way a record company to make a quick buck off of a musical genius. (Especially since he's not getting ANY money for it....what a ripoff!)

Aaron (Ohio, USA) - March 19, 2003
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
- Cool For Casual Fans

I am a casual Prince fan so this suits me. Prince is a fantastic artist. One of the greats of the last few decades so I definitely understand the more hard-core Prince fans getting ticked off at obvious ommisions. This covers Prince's 80's hits pretty well including the "Purple Rain" singles "When Doves Cry," "I Would Die 4 U," and the title track. It also includes Prince standards such as "Raspberry Beret," and "1999." And who can forget the classic "Kiss?" I happen to be one of the people that find "Get Off" oddly amusing so I enjoy the track along with "Cream." But I'm happy to see my favorite Prince song of all time on this CD and that is the beautiful ballad "Diamonds and Pearls." Prince at his pop best. Even though I find this CD up to my own standards, I definitely think "The Most Beautiful Girl In the World" should have been included along with maybe "Controversy." That would've gotten it 5 stars from me.

For people just discovering Prince, or who just like him for the pop hits, this will most likely satisfy. For the bigger fans, I recommend looking elsewhere. :)

Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN) - August 22, 2001
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
- Guilty Pleasure

I see that a lot of Prince's diehard fans are appalled with the release of this album as is Prince himself. I can certainly understand why and I can hardly blame Prince or his fans being upset at this single disc collection of Prince's hits. I for one have never fawned over Prince. He is good but I don't consider him a god to rock and roll. I do however have found some of this music enjoyable which are the songs found on this album. I won't call myself a fan of Prince but rather a casual listener of his music. Maybe there could have been more music added to this best of collection of Prince's songs, considering Prince's extensive catalog of music. I'll admit that Warner Bros. only put together Prince's more popular songs. For the casual listener this is one of the best best of collections I've heard in the past few years. I enjoyed listening to all the songs I grew up on hearing on the radio like "When Doves Cry" and "Little Red Corvette". This album is a good party album for people who just want to hear Prince's more popular songs.

Customer review - August 02, 2001
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
- Misleading Title

Prince could not have been consulted on this album as if he had been there would be a very different song list. Do yourself a favor if you are considering buying this album, buy The Hits and the B-Sides, a 3CD set which is much closer to "Best Of" than this thrown together group of songs. Actually, if you really want the Best Of Prince, buy his albums. Many of his best songs are those you have not ever heard.