The Hits/The B-Sides [Box] - Prince (Cassette 1993)

Since we've already reviewed the first two discs in this box set, I'll keep my comments about them to a minimum. And I'll get to them later. First we'll talk about the third disc, The B-Sides. For the reviews of the first two "Hits" discs, here's the links:

http://www.epinions.com/content_81072393860

http://www.epinions.com/content_81780379268

Onto the B-Sides. Anyone who buys Prince singles can tell you they rarely do it for the singles themselves, but the B-Sides which almost always prove to be, if not better, then just as good as the songs they're supposed to compliment. At least, that's why I've always bought Prince singles.

"Hello", the first B-side of what is without a doubt the true star of the box set, was, according to the liner notes, "one of the rare cases where he used the studio for personal commentary", after some members of the media questioned his reasons for opting out of the "We Are the World" sessions. "I told them that I didn't really want to sing / But I'd gladly write a song instead / They said okay and everything was cool / 'Till a camera tried to get in my bed". Rebuttal aside, there's just something about "Hello" that puts me off. Maybe it was the intention behind it. At first listen, it seems like just another Prince synth and drum song, but when the lyrics come in . . . it's just not a Prince Song, you know? Being the B-side to "Pop Life", this would be one of those rare cases where the single side dominated. Not so with the second song, "200 Balloons". Coupled with "Batdance" (the liner notes say "200 Balloons" was the prototype for "Batdance"), "200 Balloons" doubles the fun and halves the chaos. Not so sample-laden, but focusing more on the upbeat party feel of the eventual single, "200 Balloons" was always one of my favorites.

And after the "airy" "Glam Slam", anyone who turned that single over expecting more of the same was in for a big surprise. "Escape" comes on hard and strong with a pounding drum, a heavy bass, and a general 180 from the single.

Chronologically, "Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" would have been the first song--why they put them in whatever order they ended up in, I don't know, but to me chronologically makes as much sense as anything. Anyway. "Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" is classic old-school Prince. Drums, synth, and falsetto vocals. And if you expected this song to be about anything OTHER THAN sex, you don't know your late-70s, early-80s Prince. "All I want is a little time / Been playin' with myself so much I'm gonna go blind" Honestly, while it's not a bad song, it never really did much for me.

"Horny Toad" I never liked much either, until recently. What made it finally click in my head, I don't know. I'm just glad it did. B-side to "Delirious", "Horny Toad" is another synth tune with Prince in falsetto, but there's energy in this song, something in the music and his performance that suggests he was just having fun. "If I had your address / I'd come right to your door / I'd knock all day 'till you let me in / And then I'd knock some more / I ain't crazy / I'm just a horny toad / If you think I'm nasty / You ain't seen nothin' yet / I'm the kinda brother that the more you scream / The nastier I get".

And this is where the disc really starts to kick in. The songs so far have been alright, but nothing stellar. The next ELEVEN songs make it all right. The dancy, drum-driven "Feel U Up", the B-side to "Partyman" is going to be recognized one day as Vintage Prince, as will "Girl" and one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, "I Love U In Me". The wonderful piano and . . . is that a xylophone? . . . ballad is what Prince ballads are all about. It's not enough to sing about your woman, you've got to go that extra step and write the song nobody else will, and that's exactly what "I Love U In Me" is, the song nobody else would write. I think it's a testament to Prince's talent that he didn't feel the need to distract from the song's lyrics with overdone production, long solos or any of the screaming you'll find on his other ballads. This time it's beautiful, almost understated music, and lyrics as simple as they come. And let's be honest, it's 5 words every guy loves hearing.

"Erotic City" provides the perfect counterbalance with a heavy beat and downright dirty lyrics. "Every time I comb my hair / Thoughts of you get in my eyes / You're a sinner, I don't care / I just want your creamy thighs" I loved those lyrics when I was 17. 13 years later, they're still just as cool.

"Shockadelica" may just be my favorite song on the disc--coincidence that it was also the B-side to "If I Was Your Girlfriend", my favorite song in the world? I don't know. "Shockadelica" is a holdover from what was supposed to be the Camille record. It's a strange little song with great beats and a great, raspy vocal from Prince, definitely worth checking out.

It's really just more of the same for the greater part of the second side. "Irresistible B!tch", "Scarlet Pu**y", "La, La, La, He He Hee" (written on a dare, so the notes say, when Prince was challenged to write an entire song from those syllables, and believe me, he succeeded), "She's Always In my Hair", and "17 Days" are just one great song after another, Prince set free of whatever confines he'd established in writing a record. With all these great songs collected in one place, is it any wonder what is really just a collection of the non-album songs comprise one of my favorite Prince records? Momentum is still strong with "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore", a song showcasing Prince's skill with the piano as pounding keys set the beat. Alicia Keys recently covered this song, giving it the moment in the sun it deserved all along. Some love songs are just too good to be hidden on the back of a single (in this case "1999").

"Another Lonely Christmas" is a strange little song, I've always thought, a song sung to a dead lover who died 7 (or 8?) years ago on Christmas. It's a great song, but not one of my favorites. In fact, at this point, I usually lose interest and just take the tape out and listen to something else because the next song, "God", while hailed as a "classic" (and I'll never understand why), is maybe ten lines while Prince plays the piano, and then begins his usual screaming fit. I simply have no use for this song. It starts off with promise, a song praising God and there's nothing wrong with that, but when it breaks out into the screaming, the whole thing just falls apart and I no longer care. If anything made me listen to the disc past "God", it would be "4 the Tears in Your Eyes", an alternate version of which appeared as the B-side to "We Are the World" (remember the line from "Hello" at the beginning of this review?) It's a very understated, simple song, powerful in lyrics and music, a worthy companion to the song Prince chose not to contribute to. And "Power Fantastic" wraps up the disc. The notes say "previously unreleased" and if you ask me, it shoulda stayed that way. It was the first song recorded in Prince's home studio, so it probably has some kind of significance there, but as a song, and as a "classic B-side" . . . it's not only "previously unreleased", it's also "presently unworthy". Or maybe I'm being too hard on it. Maybe if it had been included on the Dream Factory record for which it was intended, a record that never happened, it would have fit into the mix better. But here . . . I've just listened to 19 songs before it, 10 of which will always and forever be, for me, classic Prince songs, it's sadly lacking and no way to end a record. Put it in the middle, or toward the beginning, but you don't end a record as good as this, with a song as bad as this.

Now, let's say a few words about the box set as a whole.

Can you believe there are STILL people who generally don't listen to Prince music, people who see him as "that weird guy who sings all those songs about sex"? Sure, he's got his share of those, but if nothing else, the box set shows that, subject matter aside, Prince is a brilliant musician, a gifted songwriter, a man worthy of the praise his music has earned. No, not every song on the "Hits" deserves to be there, but most of them do. And the songs that weren't hits, does that make them bad songs? Of course not. And you don't buy box sets to validate a singer's hit-making ability anyway, you buy a box set to get what should be a good overview of their career--at least that's why I buy them, but then again I only own 2 box sets--this one and Bowie's "Sound Vision", and that one was a birthday present (thanks, lunchbuddy). However, the casual listener, the person who generally doesn't buy Prince records, is certainly not going to pick up the box set, so this is really made for the fans anyway. If that's the case, don't include the single-versions, give us the album versions we love. Don't give us 2 discs of singles, some of which were hits. Give us one disc of actual HITS, another of non-album, non-B-side tracks (or a disc of non-single album tracks, the ones we know because we have the records, the ones that are just as good as the singles, but were never released), and then the B-sides. Anyone who's followed Prince's career, there's only 5 songs here they wouldn't have previously heard. "Nothing Compares 2 U"--and the Sinead O'Connor version is just as good as the Prince version on The Hits 1, "Pink Cashmere"--which was a single, if you looked hard and quick enough, "Peach"--another single if you got to it in time, "Pope", and "Power Fantastic". So in truth, only 2 songs here would have been truly unavailable to a true Prince fan, because a true Prince fan would probably have most if not all of the B-sides, as well (I only had 4 prior to buying the box set). So what's so special about this set that makes someone already familiar with the work shell out the $40 for it anyway? The same thing that would have made me buy it even if I had every song on here already--because it completes the set. And that's really it. If you're not a Prince fan, you won't buy it, if you are a Prince fan you will, but even then you might go straight to the separately-released Hits 1 or 2 and miss the one that's really worth the money. So if you ask me--and if you're reading my review, then you kinda did--the box set is a worthy purchase, even if you've got most of these songs already on records or singles. If nothing else, buy it because it'll give you all the songs you know and love on 3 easy-to-carry discs as opposed to 20 CD and 2 1/2 dozen 45s or cassette singles. Who cares why you buy it, just know that the box set is worth the money, and that's it.