The Hits/The B-Sides

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 three-disc set consisting of many of his hit singles and fan favorites.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Christgau's Consumer GuideB+[5]
Entertainment WeeklyA[2]
MusicHound Rock4.5/5[6]
NME6/10[3]
Q[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Tom HullA–[10]

The Hits/The B-Sides
Box set by
Prince
ReleasedSeptember 10, 1993 (1993-09-10)
RecordedSeptember 1977 – May 1993
Genre
Length225:53
Label
Producer
Prince chronology
Love Symbol Album
(1992)		 The Hits/The B-Sides
(1993)		 Come
(1994)
Alternative cover
Album covers for The Hits 1 and The Hits 2
Singles from The Hits/The B-Sides
  1. "Pink Cashmere"
    Released: August 31, 1993
  2. "Peach"
    Released: November 18, 1993
  3. "Controversy"
    Released: December 11, 1993
  4. "Pope"
    Released: February 23, 1994

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 they 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. 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" was regularly played on the Act I Tour (1993) and "Pope" was 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.

Commercial performance

In the United States the album debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200 the week of October 2, 1993 with more than 87,000 copies sold combining the two abbreviated versions, Hits 1 and Hits 2; the last two debuted at numbers 46 and 55, respectively, the same week.[11] The next week, the album dropped to number 32 on the chart.[12] It was present on the chart for 18 weeks.

The week following Prince's death, the album sold 40,000 equivalent copies (24,000 in pure album sales) thus allowing the album to re-enter the Billboard 200 at number 6.[13][14] The next week it sold 106,000 units and hit a new peak of number four on the chart.[15] The album was certified platinum by the RIAA on September 14, 1993 for shipments of one million.[16]

As of April 2016 Hits 1 has sold 1,451,000 copies and Hits 2 sold 1,738,000 units according to Nielsen SoundScan, combined, they sold over 3,189,000 copies in the United States.[17]

In the United Kingdom the album debuted and peaked at number four the week of September 25, 1993, the next week it fell off to number 12 and remained on the chart for 18 weeks.[18] Hits 1 debuted and peaked at number five on September 25, 1993 while Hits 2 opened at number six the same weeks and two weeks later it reached and peaked at number five.[18] The Hits/The B Sides was certified gold by the BPI on July 22, 2013 denoting shipments of 100,000 units.[19]

Track listing

All songs performed by Prince, except where noted.

Disc one: The Hits 1
No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
1."When Doves Cry" (single edit)PrincePurple Rain (1984)3:48
2."Pop Life" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)PrinceAround 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"PrincePrince (1979)3:25
5."Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"PrincePrince3:48
6."When You Were Mine"PrinceDirty Mind (1980)3:43
7."Uptown" (single edit)PrinceDirty Mind4:09
8."Let's Go Crazy" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)PrincePurple Rain4:39
9."1999" (single edit; performed by Prince and The Revolution)Prince1999 (1982)3:37
10."I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" (single edit)PrinceSign o' the Times (1987)3:40
11."Nothing Compares 2 U" (live; performed by Prince and The New Power Generation featuring Rosie Gaines)PrincePreviously unreleased4:58
12."Adore" (edited version)PrinceSign o' the Times4:41
13."Pink Cashmere"PrincePreviously unreleased6:15
14."Alphabet St."PrinceLovesexy (1988)5:39
15."Sign o' the Times" (single edit)PrinceSign o' the Times3:43
16."Thieves in the Temple"PrinceGraffiti Bridge (1990)3:20
17."Diamonds and Pearls" (single edit; performed by Prince and The New Power Generation)PrinceDiamonds and Pearls (1991)4:20
18."7" (performed by Prince and The New Power Generation)
Love Symbol Album (1992)5:09
Total length:72:10

Disc two: The Hits 2
No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
1."Controversy" (single edit)PrinceControversy (1981)3:35
2."Dirty Mind" (single edit)
Dirty Mind3:49
3."I Wanna Be Your Lover" (single edit)PrincePrince2:58
4."Head"PrinceDirty Mind4:43
5."Do Me, Baby" (single edit)PrinceControversy3:57
6."Delirious" (single edit; performed by Prince and The Revolution)Prince19992:39
7."Little Red Corvette" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)Prince19994:56
8."I Would Die 4 U" (single version; performed by Prince and The Revolution)PrincePurple Rain2:56
9."Raspberry Beret" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)PrinceAround the World in a Day3:32
10."If I Was Your Girlfriend" (single edit)PrinceSign o' the Times3:46
11."Kiss" (single version; performed by Prince and The Revolution)PrinceParade (1986)3:46
12."Peach"PrincePreviously unreleased3:48
13."U Got the Look" (featuring Sheena Easton)PrinceSign o' the Times3:47
14."Sexy M.F." (performed by Prince and The New Power Generation)
Love Symbol Album5:26
15."Gett Off" (performed by Prince and The New Power Generation)PrinceDiamonds and Pearls4:30
16."Cream" (performed by Prince and The New Power Generation)PrinceDiamonds and Pearls4:13
17."Pope" (featuring Mayte)PrincePreviously unreleased3:28
18."Purple Rain" (performed by Prince and The Revolution)PrincePurple Rain8:40
Total length:69:49

Disc three: The B-Sides
No.TitleWriter(s)A-sideLength
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)"PrinceNon-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)
"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" (performed by Camille)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)PrincePreviously unreleased; studio version released on the USA for Africa album We Are the World (1985)3:24
20."Power Fantastic"PrincePreviously unreleased4:45
Total length:69:05

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[42] Platinum 15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[43] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[16] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Country Date Label
Germany[44] September 10, 1993 Warner
United Kingdom[45] September 13, 1993
United States[46]

References
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