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4Ever - album by Prince, Warner Bros. Records (2016)

4Ever Prince • Warner Bros. Records • 2016
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2016
4Ever

2017

Review (4.5 / 5) Prince Biography Posthumous Releases Greatest Hits

4Ever

Warner Bros. Records

album

If he was awake… Prince was recording.

The release of 4Ever, Prince’s fourth greatest hits collection, was announced six months to the day following Prince’s death on 21 April 2016. Three previous greatest hits packages being released during his lifetime: The Hits/The B-Sides (1993), The Very Best Of Prince (2001) and Ultimate (2006). 4Ever is the first posthumous release of Prince’s studio work and is issued in partnership with NPG Records and Warner Bros Records, released in both CD and LP formats.

4Ever contains forty songs (aptly coinciding as Prince’s 40th charting album) all of which recorded during his tenure with the Warner, between 1978 and 1993. The compilation includes one previously unavailable track Moonbeam Levels, recorded by Prince at Sunset Sound on 6 July 1982 during the studio sessions that delivered the 1999 album. The song was considered for Purple Rain, then Around The World In A Day and even Parade but Prince could never find it a suitable home. Moonbeam Levels was finally included in the tracking configuration of Prince’s Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic project but was aborted in 1989. Moonbeam Levels is one of Prince’s most bootlegged tracks, it’s status was acknowledged and became the first track The Prince Estate would release from Prince’s vault. Susan Rogers, Prince’s sound engineer from 1983 to 1987 and who is credited to have created Paisley Park’s much storied vault, stated in an earlier interview that Moonbeam Levels was one of his best works and deserving of being the very first track released from the vault in the event of Prince’s death. So it was.

4Ever features a 12-page booklet of previously unreleased photos by Herb Ritts, the same session which shot the cover images for The Hits/The B-Sides compilation of 1993. Ritts died in 2002. 4Ever also heralded the inaugural release of NPG Records under the management of The Prince Estate. NPG Records was Prince’s independent label he founded in 1993 due to his dispute with Warner Bros Records, until 2016 when passing into the ownership of The Prince Estate, formed to administer his legacy and music catalogue as a result of his sudden death and without leaving a Will.

All of Prince’s five US number 1 singles are represented in the compilation, including Batdance which was omitted on Previous greatest hits packages due to licensing restrictions. Once again, Prince’s first and only UK chart topping single The Most Beautiful Girl In The World is not included in the greatest hits configuration. 4Ever was released on 22 November 2016 and entered the top-40 in both the US and UK, receiving the UK’s Gold certification on 5 May 2017.

Prince 4Ever
Photography by Gary Gershoff

Data

Producer
Prince
Label
NPG Records
Distribution
Warner Bros. Records
Cover/Design
Justine Walpole
Released
9 years ago on 22 November 2016
Running Time
2:34:53
US Chart Peak
33
US R&B Peak
4
UK Chart Peak
21
Orig. Formats

Tracklist

Disc 1

  1. 1999 [Edit]
    1999 1999 (1982)
    [feat. Jill Jones, Lisa Coleman, and Dez Dickerson] (3:39)
  2. Little Red Corvette [Edit]
    1999 1999 (1982)
    [feat. Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (3:09)
  3. When Doves Cry [Edit]
    Purple Rain Purple Rain (1984)
    [Prince & The Revolution] (3:48)
  4. Let's Go Crazy [Edit]
    Purple Rain Purple Rain (1984)
    [Prince & The Revolution] (3:50)
  5. Raspberry Beret
    Around The World In A Day Around The World In A Day (1985)
    [Prince & The Revolution] (3:35)
  6. I Wanna Be Your Lover [Single Version]
    Prince Prince (1979)
    (3:00)
  7. Soft And Wet [Edit]
    For You For You (1978)
    (3:05)
  8. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? [Edit]
    Prince Prince (1979)
    [feat. André Cymone] (3:51)
  9. Uptown [Single Version]
    Dirty Mind Dirty Mind (1980)
    (4:11)
  10. When You Were Mine [Edit]
    Dirty Mind Dirty Mind (1980)
    (3:46)
  11. Head
    Dirty Mind Dirty Mind (1980)
    [feat. Lisa Coleman] (4:46)
  12. Gotta Stop (Messin' About) [Edit]
    Dirty Mind Dirty Mind (1980)
    (2:57)
  13. Controversy [Single Version]
    Controversy Controversy (1981)
    (3:39)
  14. Let's Work [Edit]
    Controversy Controversy (1981)
    (3:02)
  15. Delirious [Edit]
    1999 1999 (1982)
    (2:41)
  16. I Would Die 4 U [Edit]
    Purple Rain Purple Rain (1984)
    [Prince & The Revolution] (3:59)
  17. Take Me With U [Edit]
    Purple Rain Purple Rain (1984)
    [Prince & The Revolution] (3:44)
  18. Paisley Park
    Around The World In A Day Around The World In A Day (1985)
    [Prince & The Revolution] (4:45)
  19. Pop Life [Edit]
    Around The World In A Day Around The World In A Day (1985)
    [Prince & The Revolution] (3:45)
  20. Purple Rain
    Purple Rain Purple Rain (1984)
    [Prince & The Revolution] (8:41)
Running Time
76 min, 51 sec

Disc 2

  1. Kiss
    Parade Parade (1986)
    [Prince & The Revolution] (3:46)
  2. Sign O' The Times [Single Version]
    Sign O’ The Times Sign O’ The Times (1987)
    (3:44)
  3. Alphabet Street [Edit]
    Lovesexy Lovesexy (1988)
    [feat. Cat Glover] (2:25)
  4. Batdance [Edit]
    Batman Batman (1989)
    (4:07)
  5. Thieves In The Temple
    Graffiti Bridge Graffiti Bridge (1990)
    (3:21)
  6. Cream
    Diamonds And Pearls Diamonds And Pearls (1991)
    [Prince & the New Power Generation] (4:13)
  7. Mountains
    Parade Parade (1986)
    [Prince & The Revolution] (3:58)
  8. Girls & Boys [Edit]
    Parade Parade (1986)
    [Prince & The Revolution] (3:28)
  9. If I Was Your Girlfriend [Edit]
    Sign O’ The Times Sign O’ The Times (1987)
    (3:46)
  10. U Got The Look
    Sign O’ The Times Sign O’ The Times (1987)
    [duet with Sheena Easton] (3:48)
  11. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man [Edit]
    Sign O’ The Times Sign O’ The Times (1987)
    (3:48)
  12. Glam Slam [Edit]
    Lovesexy Lovesexy (1988)
    (3:31)
  13. Moonbeam Levels (4:06) 1
  14. Diamonds And Pearls [Edit]
    Diamonds And Pearls Diamonds And Pearls (1991)
    [Prince & the New Power Generation] (4:20)
  15. Gett Off [Remix]
    Diamonds And Pearls Diamonds And Pearls (1991)
    [Prince & the New Power Generation] (4:00)
  16. Sexy MF
    Love Symbol Love Symbol (1992)
    [Prince & the New Power Generation] (5:26)
  17. My Name Is Prince [Single Version]
    Love Symbol Love Symbol (1992)
    [Prince & the New Power Generation] (4:04)
  18. 7 [Edit]
    Love Symbol Love Symbol (1992)
    [Prince & the New Power Generation] (4:23)
  19. Peach
    The Hits 2 The Hits 2 (1993)
    (3:48)
  20. Nothing Compares 2 U
    The Hits 1 The Hits 1 (1993)
    [Prince & the New Power Generation] (4:19)
Running Time
78 min, 14 sec

1 Previously unreleased.

4Ever album review

Warner Brothers’ fourth Prince greatest hits compilation is a step up from 2001’s Very Best Of Prince. 4Ever is Prince Estate’s first music release following the icon’s death on April 21, 2016. Containing only the hits spanning 1978 to 1993 it is sound coverage of his most popular tracks and well as some not so obvious inclusions (Glam Slam and Peach) pleasing to see in the track listing. 4Ever packages 40 songs of which 39 are his best performing singles.

Surprisingly, Prince’s highest charting UK single The Most Beautiful Girl In The World is omitted. Warner never seem to acknowledge Prince’s releases on the label post 1993. Although it is refreshing to see Batdance finally putting in an appearance, given the licensing complexities with the Batman soundtrack for previous greatest hits packages. Thereby Partyman is the second surprise omission. But despite this, the saving grace of 4Ever (and 4ever owing itself to the inclusion of this) the set publishes for the first time the mother of all Prince outtakes: Moonbeam Levels. Its inclusion elevates 4Ever to an impossible to resist purchase. The arrival of 4Ever served a more practical purpose to settle Prince’s death tax.

Yet don’t judge the album on one song alone as there are edited versions of singles not previously published in CD format, thus for the sake of completeness is a worthy addition to Prince (and music fans’) collection. As ever with compilations the quality of the content boils down to the pick of songs and you can tell with this release. Where it is obvious to include every crowd-pleasing hit, to narrow a playlist down to just 40 from the era when Prince was at his peak, the tracks compiling 4Ever were chosen out of genuine care. This is more the greatest hits compilation of an entire musical decade. Prince continues to astound even from beyond the grave.

4Ever is rated 4.5 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.

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