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. It was the last commercial release by Prince before he changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol.
Album information 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-inch 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, The Gold Experience and Crystal Ball. Live jams of "Peach" often extended into the title track of Chaos and Disorder.
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. The next week, the album dropped to number 32 on the chart. 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. The next week it sold 106,000 units and hit a new peak of number four on the chart. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA on September 14, 1993, for shipments of one million.
As of April 2016 Hits 1 has sold 1,451,000 copies and Hits 2 has sold 1,738,000 units according to Nielsen SoundScan; combined, they have sold over 3,189,000 copies in the United States.
In the United Kingdom, the album debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart the week of September 25, 1993, the next week it fell off to number 12 and remained on the chart for 18 weeks. 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. The Hits/The B Sides was certified gold by the BPI on July 22, 2013, denoting shipments of 100,000 units.
Track listing
Personnel Adapted from Benoît Clerc, Duane Tudahl, Guitarcloud, Mix, Morris Day and David Ritz, Jon Regen, and Michaelangelo Matos
Musicians
Prince – lead vocals , rap , backing vocals , electric guitar , acoustic guitar , twelve-string acoustic guitar , bass guitar , synthesizers , ARP Omni , ARP Omni 2 , ARP Pro Soloist , ARP String Ensemble , Ensoniq Mirage , Fairlight CMI , Minimoog , Polymoog , Oberheim Four Voice , Oberheim OB-X , Oberheim OB-SX , Oberheim OB-Xa , Oberheim OB-8 , Roland D-50 , Sequential Prophet VS , Yamaha DX7 , piano , Yamaha CP-70 , Yamaha CP-80 , Hohner Clavinet , Hammond organ , drums , Dynacord ADD-One , Linn LM-1 , LinnDrum , slapstick , claps , Pollard Syndrum , Pearl SY-1 Syncussion , cymbals , cuíca , Roland R-8 , programming , finger cymbals , percussion , finger snaps , Publison IM90 Infernal Machine Lisa Coleman – lead vocals , spoken vocals , background vocals , synthesizers , Oberheim OB-SX , electric piano , piano Sheila E. – lead vocals , backing vocals , drums , Linn LM-1 , claps , synth drum fills , cymbals , hi-hat , cowbells , timbales , percussion Wendy Melvoin – background vocals , electric guitar André Cymone – background vocals Brownmark – backing vocals , bass Doctor Fink – background vocals , synthesizers , ARP Omni , ARP Omni 2 , Memorymoog , Oberheim OB-Xa , Yamaha CP-70 Bobby Z. – Linn LM-1 , Simmons SDSV , Pearl SY-1 Syncussion , cymbals , drums Dez Dickerson – lead vocals , backing vocals , electric guitar solo Jesse Johnson – backing vocals Jill Jones – lead vocals , backing vocals Tommy Barbarella – synthesizers , Hammond organ Michael B. – drums Rosie Gaines – lead vocals , backing vocals , synthesizers , Hammond organ Kathy Jensen – baritone saxophone Levi Seacer Jr. – lead vocals , backing vocals , electric guitar Sonny T. – bass guitar Atlanta Bliss – trumpet Eric Leeds – saxophone , flute Novi Novog – alto violin , violin Boni Boyer – backing vocals Cat Glover – rap , backing vocals Lester Chambers – harmonica (sampled from "I Can't Stand It" (1967) by The Chambers Brothers) Morris Day – possible drums David Coleman, Suzie Katayama – cello Susannah Melvoin – backing vocals Bruce DeShazer, Marr Star – backing vocals David Z. – Yamaha DX7 , Linn 9000 Mayte – lead vocals , backing vocals Sheena Easton – lead vocals Dave Dickinson – backing vocals , percussion Brian Gallagher – tenor saxophone DJ Graves – scratching Dave Jensen, Steve Strand – trumpet Kirk Johnson – backing vocals , percussion Tony M. – rap Michael B. Nelson – trombone Brenda Bennett – lead vocals
Technical
Prince – producer , recording engineer (as "Jamie Starr") Tommy Vicari – producer , recording engineer David Leonard – recording engineer Peggy McCreary – recording engineer Gary Brandt – recording engineer Bob Mockler – recording engineer Don Batts – recording engineer Susan Rogers – recording engineer Coke Johnson – recording engineer Eddie Miller – recording engineer Arne Frager – recording engineer Joe Blaney – recording engineer Michael Koppelman – recording engineer Tom Garneau – recording engineer David Friedlander, Ray Hahnfeldt, Brian Poer – recording engineers Ray Hahnfeldt – recording engineer Steve Noonan – recording engineer Mick Guzauski, Ross Pallone – recording engineers David Rivkin – recording engineer David Hewitt, Kooster McAllister – recording engineers Mark Forrester – recording engineer Femi Jiya – recording engineer David Tickle – recording engineer Bill Jackson – recording engineer Lisa Coleman, Wendy Melvoin – string arrangement Clare Fischer – orchestra arrangement
Charts
The Hits/The B-Sides Weekly charts +Initial weekly chart performance for The Hits/The B-Sides Chart (1993) Peakposition +2005 weekly chart performance for The Hits/The B-Sides Chart (2005) PeakpositionDutch Albums (Album Top 100) 11 +Weekly chart performance for The Hits/The B-Sides upon Prince's death Chart (2016) PeakpositionAustralian Albums (ARIA)4Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)23German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 71 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 1Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 19 +2019 weekly chart performance for The Hits/The B-Sides Chart (2019) Peakposition
Year-end charts +Year-end chart performance of The Hits/The B-Sides on the year of Prince's death Chart (2016) Position New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 23 US Billboard 200 159
The Hits 1 Weekly charts +Initial weekly chart performance for The Hits 1 Chart (1993) PeakpositionCanada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 46European Albums (European Top 100 Albums) 10Spanish Albums (AFYVE)8 +Weekly chart performance for The Hits 1 upon Prince's death Chart (2016) PeakpositionAustralian Albums (ARIA) 40Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 53Dutch CombiAlbums (MegaCharts)55Dutch Midprice Albums (MegaCharts)11New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 17
Year-end charts +1993 year-end chart performance for The Hits 1Chart (1993)PositionEuropean Albums (European Top 100 Albums)91UK Albums (OCC)51
The Hits 2 Weekly charts +Initial weekly chart performance for The Hits 2 Chart (1993–94) PeakpositionCanada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 50European Albums (European Top 100 Albums) 11Spanish Albums (AFYVE)6 +Weekly chart performance for The Hits 2 upon Prince's death Chart (2016) PeakpositionDutch CombiAlbum (MegaCharts)46Dutch Midprice Albums (MegaCharts)9Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 70
Year-end charts +1993 year-end chart performance for The Hits 2Chart (1993)PositionEuropean Albums (European Top 100 Albums)68UK Albums (OCC)39
Certifications
Release history +Release dates for The Hits/The B-Sides Country Date Label Germany September 10, 1993 Warner United Kingdom September 14, 1993 United States
See also The Hits Collection, accompanying home video of select music videos from Prince.
References