Customer Reviews
2008-05-25
THE DARKER SIDE...
This cd has more adult oriented song's than the hit's 1 , this cd is good to explore more into the darker side of Prince's music if your a true fan , highly recommended.
2008-01-01
Like the first volume, great songs but they need to be heard in full...
I think it's interesting how Prince's two "Hits" albums are laid out. You know, the first presents you with the lyrically accessible material, and the second is just loaded with the things that make Prince such a controversial artist. There's the obvious hypersexualized Prince - song titles such as "Do Me, Baby", "Cream", "Gett Off", "Dirty Mind", "I Wanna Be Your Lover", "Head" and so forth should speak for themselves, plus "Little Red Corvette", "Delirious", and "Peach" are heavily, erm... metaphorical experiences. Hell, I'm surprised they didn't throw in "Darling Nikki" just for fun. But it also presents some of Prince's more Messianic material - "Purple Rain", "I Would Die 4 U". And, of course, you've got "Controversy", which addresses Prince's oft-question sexual orientation (not like it's anyone's business in the first place - besides, who gives a crap? It's the music that matters). "If I Was Your Girlfriend" is a whole different beast altogether, featuring Prince completely flipping gender roles on more than one occasion.
Now, here's the cool thing about Prince - he NEVER tried to carry a song on edgy lyrical content alone. Every one of these songs has a hook, a melody, a groove, and whatnot to stand on. So rather than just come off as a pervert, he comes off as an extremely talented pervert, which he is - all the discussion about his image and iconic status have blocked his merits as a singer, composer, and guitarist. That is just too bad.
Like the last "hits" album every tune here is fantastic. My favorites are the ones I discussed above - especially "Little Red Corvette" and "Purple Rain", though I've also got a soft spot for "Raspberry Beret". It's got a lot from Dirty Mind, one of my favorite Prince albums, and contains two of his best ballads, "Do Me Baby" (though sadly presented in edited form) and "Purple Rain".
My biggest problem with this is there are too many single edits - much like the first volume of Hits. "Controversy" is gutted, sadly; "I Wanna Be Your Lover" is one of those songs you need to hear in full; "Do Me, Baby", "Delirious", "Kiss" (TOTAL classic there), and "If I Was Your Girlfriend" also have amazing full versions. At least "Purple Rain" was untouched, because if they cut that one short I'd flip out. And wasn't "U Got the Look" a big hit? Because it missed the boat entirely.
It's true that neither of the "Hits" albums show off Prince's diversity, instead offering his funkiest hits - to quote Miles Davis, "Prince can certainly stretch", and you need to hear an album like Emancipation (my favorite Prince disc), Sign O' the Times (not one of my favorites but very diverse), Around the World in a Day, 1999, Controversy or Purple Rain to get the full idea of what Prince can do. But hey, the two "Hits" albums are a nice way to start your Prince collection, and that's all that counts. I'd also steer you towards Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999, Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day, and (for those looking for Prince at his most eccentric) the three-disc blowout Emancipation, a wonderful mix of ego, ambition, and a whole lotta music. I could go on about how this is missing a bunch of obscure Prince songs that I love - "Gotta Broken Heart Again", "Sexuality", "The Beautiful Ones" (arguably his best song, vying for that spot with "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man", "Little Red Corvette" and "Purple Rain"), "Temptation", "Paisley Park", "Play in the Sunshine", "3 Chains o'Gold", about half of Emancipation and so on and so forth, but what would be the good? That would take away further incentive to buy the original albums, which are amazing.
2007-10-24
Love It...
Never did I realize that I would fall in love with Prince's music so much. This is a great album, a must have for anyone and everyone.
2007-08-13
Best of B's...
This really is the best of Prince. B sides are well-captured here, along with the more commercial releases.
2007-01-15
Prince fan since before birth...
I'm only 19 years old, but i've been a Prince fan since before I was born because my mom loves him so much. I really like this album, I just wish some more songs from Purple Rain were grouped into this CD.
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