The Hits 2 - Prince (CD 1993)

The Hits 2 is a must-own CD for anyone who likes music. Of any kind. Prince has left an indelible mark on pop, rock and R+B, and this collection showcases him at his most polished and influential. Any fan will tell you, these aren t the best songs Prince put out between 1978-93, but they are the most catchy, the most fun and the most accessible.

The uncomfortable thing about Prince (and something that turns a lot of people off) is that he wants to be everything at once, a collection of natural paradoxes and oxymorons. He s masculine and feminine a mustache with eye liner, a hairy chest with a woman s butt. He wants to be a man and a woman, be a disciple and a sex fiend, a living legend and a cutting-edge performer.

Not to beat this duality metaphor into the ground like a misguided Honors English class discussion, but Prince s contradictions extend to his music as well. His songs are simplistic and hugely produced all at the same time, he wants to be the hardest rocker and funkiest rapper, he can switch from little-girl falsetto to deep-masculine baritone, etc.

Controversy (1981) I don t know why they chose this as an album opener, since it s from a transitory period. Still flirting with disco while at the same time easing into the new-wave synth format, "Controversy" exists on its synth line, drumline and simple guitar riff. It s also damn funky. This version cuts off the "Lord s Prayer" interlude from the seven-minute original track.

Dirty Mind (1980) Title song to his first truly masterful album, "Dirty Mind" was originally an unfinished demo. Everything about it is just cool. Not brilliant, cool. Fun. It s a great song to sing along to in your car, unless you have morals or something.

I Wanna Be Your Lover (1979) This is such a disco song, from the porno guitar to the open high-hat percussion. It s falsetto and sort of unpolished but incredibly catchy and above par for the year "Y.M.C.A." went to #1.

Head (1980) Sounds like something you d hear at Studio 54 on Wesson Oil Orgy Night. Clipped drum machine beat, undisguised sexual innuendo and a flashy Dr. Fink synth solo. A lot of the one-word dance singles of Prince future would be built around this song s formula.

Do Me, Baby (1981) One of Prince s big ambitions was to perfect and carry on the Marvin Gaye do-me ballad. This track was his first real effort to create a smoldering, piano lust song the chords tower, his falsetto voice oozes with sensuality (FYI: I can t keep a smile off my face while writing this, but still ) and it s just plain mesmerizing. My only quibble with this edited version is that it fades out just before Prince s climactic "Yeah-yeah-yeah-YEAAA-A-A-A-AH!" yell.

Delirious (1982) This 1999 track shows a real progression from the first few Prince dance attempts. His trademark computerized bongo drums make one of their first appearances here, as does a whistling synth line and a contagious chorus. It s Prince s own perverted version of an Elvis Presley song.

Little Red Corvette (1982) Prince s first real pop masterpiece by which I mean, it can convincingly play on the radio and wow die-hard fans all in one neat package is another ode. The fade-up synth line (sampled unmercifully by Lil Wayne, Fat Pat, et al.) and epileptic cymbals set the stage for what begins as mid-tempo ballad and ends with two blistering guitar solos and provocative bridges. Too bad he only plays a minute of it in concerts now.

I Would Die 4 U (1984) This is probably my least favorite song from Purple Rain, but like all the songs from that album and increasingly fewer of his songs since it creates its own intricate sonic universe. The high-energy cymbals, hydraulic-brake drum bursts and filtered vocals spice up what is essentially a massive ego trip. "I m not a woman / I m not a man / I am something that you ll understand." Right.

Raspberry Beret (1985) Bryant Gumbel s favorite song. Do with that information what you will. "Raspberry Beret" is one of the few true upsides to Prince s brief psychedelic period and one of the great Prince sing-alongs. As such, it s not one of my favorite songs from the man (the B-side, "She s Always in My Hair," is MUCH better), but the whimsical production saves it from being just another radio hit.

If I Was Your Girlfriend (1987) Die-hard Prince fans always pick this as one of their very, very favorites. It s a stripped down, bizarre track that s almost consists almost completely of computer-manufactured sounds. Fascinating percussion and drums and Camille vocals, particularly during the bridge, that you can t turn down. (For the uninitiated, in the mid-80s Prince recorded an unreleased album under the alter-ego name Camille. The eight or so Camille tracks are spread across a few albums and B-sides and all feature a higher-pitched, synth-distorted vocal.) Did I already use the word "mesmerizing"?

Kiss (1986) An absolutely brilliant #1 hit later desecrated by Tom Jones, "Kiss" shows just how obsessive the producers behind 80s dance hits should have been. Highlights include a bass drum line that almost sounds like repeating bursts of flames, multiple-Prince backing vocals and a jangly guitar.

Peach (1993) One of the trappings of most modern greatest-hits collections is the need to include a couple new songs in the bunch so fans who already have the old music will feel compelled to buy the new stuff. Well, as "Peach" shows, there s not much reason to buy The Hits 2 for the new tracks. The slipping of Prince music from art to product is well-documented, and this is one of the exits on that highway. I like "Peach" in a guilty-pleasure, rock-and-roll sort of way, but it s a far cry from the eleven tracks listed above and most of the tracks listed below. Cool guitar solo, though.

U Got the Look (1987) Duet with Sheena Easton. Need I go on? All detractions aside, it s from Sign O the Times, so it can t be all bad. Someone on the alt.music.prince newsgroup once pointed out that this isn t so much a great Prince song as a great 80s song. When you match it up against most of the other roller-rink anthems of the late Reagan years, "U Got the Look" can seem pretty damn fun.

Sexy MF (1992) Bad@ss. Ain t no other word for it. By his early years with the New Power Generation, Prince was ready to throw out his drum machines and start recording with a real band again. Oddly enough, it was also during this time that he recorded all his worst hip-hop music. "Sexy MF" has elements of both, but it owes more to jazz. Its hornline is tight and funky, and the rap from Tony M. actually _adds_ to the song. (See if you can say that about any of his work on Diamonds and Pearls.) Also, hands down, one of his most explicit songs.

Gett Off (1991) See previous. One of Prince s all-out sex jams, and the 10-minute version floating around on various CDR bootlegs is even better. Everything in this song from the opening scream to the New Jack swing drumbeat to the sensual "vocal icing" from Rosie Gaines is both sultry and catchy. If you wonder why they always play Prince music at strip clubs, listen to this.

Cream (1991) Kind of a cleaned-up flipside to "Gett Off," from the same album. This was Prince s last #1 hit, a guitar-driven hip-hop song that even VH1 found entertaining. It s also full of an element future incarnations of the NPG have strayed away from the organ. "Cream" is the worst kind of innuendo, but try to keep it out of your head afterward.

Pope (1993) The other new song on the set, "Pope" is more of the nondescript, by-the-numbers hip-hop that Prince was into around this time. It also suffers from Yoko syndrome he let his future wife, Mayte, sing on it.

Purple Rain (1984) Many die-hard Prince fans think the Purple Rain album is overrated. Certainly, the movie itself is nothing more than laughable, but the album is my favorite of all-time. The title track in particular is the closest Prince has ever come to a bonafide power-ballad rock anthem, and it s the perfect closer to a greatest-hits collection. The opening guitar chords, the sing-along chorus, the emotional fade-out solo it proves that all the hype over this man in 1984 was more than deserved. And if Leann Rimes and Phish have seen fit to cover "Purple Rain," then, hell, it must be good.

The Hits 2 is the stronger disc of the package for those unfamiliar with the various musical incarnations of Prince, but even for casual fans, I would recommend the three-disc Hits/B-Sides package. The other hits disc includes the two better new songs plus Prince cliches and classics like "When Doves Cry," "1999" and "7." The big winner, though, is the B-Sides disc. Some of Prince s very best stuff was relegated to limited exposure on the back of pressed vinyl. As of this posting, Epinions doesn t list the three-disc package, but I m telling you, slap down the $40 for that. You ll fall in love with this black/white/man/woman/rocker/funkateer/balladeer/freak just like I did.