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The Very Best Of Prince Prince album
Warner Bros. Records
albumWhen you don’t own the master tape, they can take the master recording and put it on different compilations
As Prince’s second greatest hits compilation released under Warner Bros Records, The Very Best Of Prince focuses on the most popular songs recorded during his tenure with the label, covering from 1979 to 1991, and are tracked in their chronological order of original release. The Very Best Of Prince, released on 30 July 2001, features Prince’s most recognisable songs in his catalogue unlike Warner’s inspired greatest hits compilation of 1993 The Hits/The B-Sides that also included B-sides and rarities. Such was his outrage at Warner with the 2001 release, Prince abandoned plans to press ahead with his Prince: A Celebration greatest hits tour of the US that summer to starve it from promotion.
Despite having severed ties with Warner Bros Records on 31 December 1999, the embittered dispute, still ongoing in 2002, with his former label saw Prince also reschedule his entire One Nite Alone… Tour so that its timing could not be construed to endorse or unintentionally promote Warner’s release of The Very Best Of Prince. Despite this, the compilation sold extremely well and on 18 August 2001 charted in the US Billboard 200 at number 66. The compilation certified Gold by RIAA on 12 November 2002 for passing 500,000 units. Inadvertently due to Prince’s extensive touring the compilation was eventually upgraded to Platinum certification (1 million units) on 21 September 2004.
Following Prince’s death on 21 April 2016, The Very Best Of Prince re-entered the charts that 7 May drastically improved to the top spot and deliver Prince his fifth US chart topping album. That same week also witnessed Purple Rain (#2), The Hits/The B-Sides (#6), 1999 (#31), Ultimate (#61), Sign O’ The Times (#95), HITNRUN Phase One (#147), and Prince (#160) all similarly return to the Billboard 200 album chart. The Very Best Of Prince consequently became the year’s eighth best-selling album in the US.
The most represented albums on The Very Best Of Prince are Purple Rain and Diamonds And Pearls, featuring four songs apiece. For You and Batman are the only two of the fourteen albums produced during Prince’s Warner tenure not represented in the compilation. The omission of Batdance from Batman – albeit a Platinum certified US chart topping hit single which sold 1 million units – is the result of licensing restrictions with the comic book trademark. Prince’s four other US chart topping singles When Doves Cry, Let’s Go Crazy, Kiss and Cream appear on The Very Best Of Prince. Oddly, all three of Warner’s greatest hits compilations overlook Prince’s post 1991 successes even though he topped the UK chart with The Most Beautiful Girl In The World in 1994, released on Prince’s independent label NPG Records. Other post 1991 top-20 hits 7 (1992) and Letitgo (1993), released under Warner Bros, are also omitted. After Purple Rain and 1999 The Very Best Of Prince is Prince’s most successful chart performing album, racking up a total of 68 weeks in the Billboard 200.
Cover story
The artwork of The Very Best Of is formed of nine images of Prince shot by three photographers. Starting and ending with two photos taken by Jeff Katz during the Batman era, albeit no song from that album is included in the compilation. Katz also provides three images from the photo session for Parade. The remaining four comprise two images from Bob McNamara for Graffiti Bridge and two by Allen Beaulieu from 1999 and Dirty Mind.
Data
- Producer
- Prince
- Label
- Warner Bros. Records
- Distribution
- Warner Bros. Records
- Cover/Design
- Jeff Katz, Bob McNamara and Allen Beaulieu
- Released
- 25 years ago on 21 July 2001
- Running Time
- 73:18
- US Chart Peak
- 1
- US R&B Peak
- 72
- UK Chart Peak
- 2
- Orig. Formats
-
Tracklist
- (2:57)
- [feat. Lisa Coleman, Dez Dickerson and Jill Jones] (3:35)
- (4:58)
- [Prince & The Revolution] (3:49)
- [Prince & The Revolution] (4:39)
- [Prince & The Revolution] (8:45)
- [Prince & The Revolution] (2:57)
- [Prince & The Revolution] (3:31)
- [Prince & The Revolution] (3:31)
- (3:44)
- [duet with Sheena Easton] (3:58)
- [feat. Cat Glover] (5:38)
- (3:19)
- [Prince & the New Power Generation] (4:27)
- [Prince & the New Power Generation] (4:12)
- [Prince & the New Power Generation] (4:20)
- [Prince & the New Power Generation] (4:48)
Singles from The Very Best Of Prince
The Very Best Of Prince produced no singles.
The Very Best Of Prince album review
Warner Brothers appear to believe Prince’s career ended when his contract with then expired. Let’s face it, this disc showcases how remarkable his Warner career was. Containing all the stuff the casual fan should already have heard, although is good stuff at that. Yet we all know this CD is a half-baked effort to rinse as much money as possible out of the Purple Reign legacy that was running out of steam by 2002. Or so they thought! Does The Very Best Of Prince really contain his ‘very best’? Going by unit sales and familiarity, yes.
Perhaps the album would have been better named Essential Prince since the ‘very best’ of his work will not be found here. That’s what happens when an industry exec, not the artist, chooses the track list. With all these hits in one place though The Very Best Of Prince saves album hopping and sometimes, even for the most obsessive Prince fan, hearing all the hits in one sitting fulfils a guilty pleasure. Though this is all stuff fans own and know note for note. It sold well and so keeps Warner happy, yet The Very Best Of Prince is not quite the perfect album. For that simple reason it is wonderfully nostalgic of an era when Prince reigned supreme. Use this album only as a gateway to better material found elsewhere.
The Very Best Of Prince is rated 4.5 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.
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