The Hits/The B-Sides

The Hits/The B-Sides
Box set by Prince
Released	September 10, 1993
Recorded	Summer 1976[1] – May 1993[2]
Genre	Dance-rock[3] funk[4] pop[5]
Length	225:53
Label	Paisley Park Warner Bros.
Producer	The New Power Generation Prince The Revolution Tommy Vicari
Prince chronology
Love Symbol Album (1992) The Hits/The B-Sides (1993) Come (1994)
Singles from The Hits/The B-Sides
"Pink Cashmere" Released: August 31, 1993 "Peach" Released: November 18, 1993 "Controversy" Released: December 11, 1993

The Hits/The B-Sides is a box set by American recording artist Prince. It was released on September 10, 1993 by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album is a comprehensive 3-disc set consisting of many of his hit singles and fan favorites.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Robert Christgau	B+[7]
Entertainment Weekly	A[4]
MusicHound	4.5/5[8]
NME	6/10[5]
Q	[9]
Rolling Stone	[9][10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[11]

Album information

In 1993, Prince wanted to release Goldnigga, the debut album by his band The New Power Generation but Warner Bros. refused and instead decided to finally release the greatest hits collection it had wanted to release two years earlier when Prince instead got Diamonds and Pearls released.

Discs one and two were released separately, under the titles The Hits 1 and The Hits 2 respectively, but The B-Sides disc could only be obtained by purchasing the full set. The separate Hits discs and the full set were all released on the same day. Most of the songs (A-side and B-sides) on The Hits/The B-Sides are represented in their edited single form. This was necessary due to time constraints, and the nature of a greatest hits collection; exceptions to this were "Alphabet St.", "7", "Little Red Corvette", "Sexy MF", "Let's Go Crazy", and "Purple Rain". This compilation marks the first time the single version of "Kiss" was made available on CD. The third disc of B-sides also featured the 7" edits, with the exceptions of "200 Balloons", "17 Days", "Gotta Stop (Messin' About)", "Horny Toad", "Irresistible Bitch", "I Love U in Me", "God", and "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" which were all original full-length recordings from the original singles.

Among the previously unreleased material was the rare live version of "4 the Tears in Your Eyes", only previously released in a 1985 TV broadcast for the Live Aid concerts. Also included was a live version of "Nothing Compares 2 U", recorded live January 27, 1992, at Paisley Park with The New Power Generation. The other four new tracks were outtakes. The oldest track was "Power Fantastic", a moody ballad once considered for the Dream Factory project of 1986. Another ballad, "Pink Cashmere", was broadcast before some of the Lovesexy World Tour shows, dating it back to 1988 originally for his abandoned Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic project. "Peach" and "Pope" were more recent, and both were played live during some 1993 after shows. "Pope" was actually in the short-lived musical ballet Glam Slam Ulysses, which also spawned several songs later released on Come and The Gold Experience. Live jams of "Peach" often extended into the title track of Chaos and Disorder.

While Prince had very little interest in the project, he insisted that his longtime manager Alan Leeds write the liner notes instead of Rolling Stone journalist Neal Karlen. According to Prince biographer Per Nilsen, the record company paid Prince to not get involved with the making of this compilation.

The Hits/The B-Sides originally debuted and peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1993. The album sold 40,000 equivalent copies (24,000 in pure album sales) in the week following Prince's death,^[12] thus allowing the album to re-enter the Billboard 200 at number 6.^[13]

Track listing

All songs performed by Prince, except where noted.

Disc one: The Hits 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
1.	"When Doves Cry" (single edit)	Prince	Purple Rain (1984)	3:48
2.	"Pop Life" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	Around the World in a Day (1985)	3:42
3.	"Soft and Wet"	Prince Chris Moon	For You (1978)	3:03
4.	"I Feel for You"	Prince	Prince (1979)	3:25
5.	"Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"	Prince	Prince	3:48
6.	"When You Were Mine"	Prince	Dirty Mind (1980)	3:43
7.	"Uptown" (single edit)	Prince	Dirty Mind	4:09
8.	"Let's Go Crazy" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	Purple Rain	4:39
9.	"1999" (single edit) (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	1999 (1982)	3:37
10.	"I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" (single edit)	Prince	Sign o' the Times (1987)	3:40
11.	"Nothing Compares 2 U" (live) (featuring Rosie Gaines)	Prince	Previously unreleased	4:58
12.	"Adore" (edited version)	Prince	Sign o' the Times	4:41
13.	"Pink Cashmere"	Prince	Previously unreleased	6:15
14.	"Alphabet St."	Prince	Lovesexy (1988)	5:39
15.	"Sign o' the Times" (single edit)	Prince	Sign o' the Times	3:43
16.	"Thieves in the Temple"	Prince	Graffiti Bridge (1990)	3:20
17.	"Diamonds and Pearls" (single edit) (performed by Prince and The New Power Generation)	Prince	Diamonds and Pearls (1991)	4:20
18.	"7" (performed by Prince and The New Power Generation)	Prince Jimmy McCracklin Lowell Fulsom	Love Symbol Album (1992)	5:09

Disc two: The Hits 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
1.	"Controversy" (single edit)	Prince	Controversy (1981)	3:35
2.	"Dirty Mind" (single edit)	Prince Dr. Fink	Dirty Mind	3:49
3.	"I Wanna Be Your Lover" (single edit)	Prince	Prince	2:58
4.	"Head"	Prince	Dirty Mind	4:43
5.	"Do Me, Baby" (single edit)	Prince	Controversy	3:57
6.	"Delirious" (single edit) (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	1999	2:39
7.	"Little Red Corvette" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	1999	4:56
8.	"I Would Die 4 U" (single edit) (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	Purple Rain	2:56
9.	"Raspberry Beret" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	Around the World in a Day	3:32
10.	"If I Was Your Girlfriend" (single edit) (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	Sign o' the Times	3:46
11.	"Kiss" (single edit) (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	Parade (1986)	3:46
12.	"Peach"	Prince	Previously unreleased	3:48
13.	"U Got the Look" (featuring Sheena Easton)	Prince	Sign o' the Times	3:47
14.	"Sexy M.F." (performed by Prince and The New Power Generation)	Prince Tony M. Levi Seacer, Jr.	Love Symbol Album	5:26
15.	"Gett Off" (performed by Prince and The New Power Generation)	Prince	Diamonds and Pearls	4:30
16.	"Cream" (performed by Prince and The New Power Generation)	Prince	Diamonds and Pearls	4:13
17.	"Pope" (featuring Mayte)	Prince	Previously unreleased	3:28
18.	"Purple Rain" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	Purple Rain	8:40

Disc three: The B-Sides

No.	Title	Writer(s)	A-side	Length
1.	"Hello" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	"Pop Life" (1985)	3:24
2.	"200 Balloons"	Prince	"Batdance" (1989)	5:06
3.	"Escape"	Prince	"Glam Slam" (1988)	3:30
4.	"Gotta Stop (Messin' About)"	Prince	Non-album single (1981), later released as a B-side of "Let's Work" (1982)	2:55
5.	"Horny Toad"	Prince	"Delirious" (1983)	2:12
6.	"Feel U Up"	Prince	"Partyman" (1989)	3:44
7.	"Girl" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince Bobby Z. Matt Fink Lisa Coleman Brown Mark Wendy Melvoin	"America" (1985)	3:48
8.	"I Love U in Me"	Prince	"The Arms of Orion" (1989)	4:13
9.	"Erotic City" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	"Let's Go Crazy" (1984)	3:55
10.	"Shockadelica"	Prince	"If I Was Your Girlfriend" (1987)	3:31
11.	"Irresistible Bitch"	Prince	"Let's Pretend We're Married" (1983)	4:12
12.	"Scarlet Pussy"	Prince (but credited to his alter ego, Camille)	"I Wish U Heaven" (1988)	4:18
13.	"La, La, La, He, He, Hee"	Prince Sheena Easton	"Sign o' the Times" (1987)	3:22
14.	"She's Always in My Hair" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince Bobby Z. Fink Coleman Brown Mark Melvoin	"Raspberry Beret" (1985)	3:27
15.	"17 Days" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince Fink Coleman Melvoin	"When Doves Cry" (1984)	3:55
16.	"How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?"	Prince	"1999" (1982)	3:51
17.	"Another Lonely Christmas" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince Bobby Z. Fink Coleman Brown Mark Melvoin	"I Would Die 4 U" (1984)	4:52
18.	"God" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)	Prince	"Purple Rain" (1984)	4:03
19.	"4 the Tears in Your Eyes" (live)	Prince	Previously unreleased; studio version released on the USA for Africa album We Are the World (1985)	3:24
20.	"Power Fantastic"	Prince	Previously unreleased	4:45

Charts

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14]	5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15]	40
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[16]	5
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[17]	10
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18]	58
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19]	15
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[20]	11
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[21]	19
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22]	9
UK Albums (OCC)[23]	4
UK Albums (OCC)[24] The Hits 1	5
UK Albums (OCC)[25] The Hits 2	5
US Billboard 200[26]	19
US Billboard 200[27] The Hits 1	46
US Billboard 200[28] The Hits 2	54
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[29]	6
Chart (2016)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[30]	4
Italian Albums (FIMI)[31]	60
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[32]	1
US Billboard 200[33]	4

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[34]	Platinum	15,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[35]	Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[36]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country	Date	Label
Germany[37]	September 10, 1993	Warner
United Kingdom[38]	September 13, 1993
United States[39]		Paisley Park Warner Bros.

References

1. Soft and Wet, PrinceVault.com
2. Pope, PrinceVault.com
3. "The Definitive Guide to Dance-Rock". Spin. 21 (10). October 2005.
4. Browne, David (17 September 1993). "THAT #@?% (Prince symbol)!". Entertainment Weekly. p. 86. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
5. NME.COM. "NME Reviews - Prince : The Hits/The B-Sides - NME.COM". NME.COM.
6. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "The Hits/The B-Sides". AllMusic.
7. "Robert Christgau: CG: prince".
8. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 897. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
9. "Prince - Hits/The B-Sides CD".
10. Christian Wright (July 17, 1997). "Prince The Hits 1 Album Review". Rolling Stone.
11. "Prince: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
12. "Prince Dominates Album Sales After His Death". HipHopDX. April 25, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
13. "Prince Rules at No. 1 & 2 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart with 'The Very Best Of' & 'Purple Rain'". Billboard. April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
14. "Australiancharts.com – Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
15. "Ultratop.be – Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
16. "Danishcharts.com – Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
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20. "Norwegiancharts.com – Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
21. "Swedishcharts.com – Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
22. "Swisscharts.com – Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
23. "Prince | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved October 7, 2013.
24. "Prince | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved October 7, 2013.
25. "Prince | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved October 7, 2013.
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27. "Prince – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Prince. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
28. "Prince – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Prince. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
29. "Prince – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Prince. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
30. "Australiancharts.com – Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
31. "Italiancharts.com – Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
32. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
33. "Beyonce Earns Sixth No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Lemonade'". Retrieved May 2, 2016.
34. "New Zealand album certifications – Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
35. "British album certifications – Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Hits/The B-Sides in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
36. "American album certifications – Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
37. "The Hits/The B-Sides - Prince: Amazon.de: Musik".
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