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Prince’s three-disc collection, The Hits/The B-Sides, is definitely career-spanning and a great assortment of singles and rarities. However, if you’re looking to buy a cheaper single disc collection of all the biggest hits, this is not your collection. If you’re looking for a document of Prince at the height of his musical powers, this is what you should be looking for. The two greatest hits discs are wonderful, but I’d rather focus on the real reason to buy this compilation: the b-sides. I’ll review the two greatest hits collections on their individual pages.
The b-sides range in quality from the absolutely sublime (“Erotic City”) to dreadful (“La, La, La, He, He, He”). At times these songs are just as great as any of the album cuts on Dirty Mind, 1999 or Purple Rain. But “Another Lonely Christmas” is just a bad song, and a clumsy mixture of the sacred and profane which Prince does so brilliantly elsewhere. “God” is a great song showcasing that at his heart Prince is a very spiritual songwriter. And “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?” and “Irresistible Bitch” rank just as high as any of the greatest hits collections choices. Same goes for “She’s Always In My Hair.”
But the greatest b-side cut is also one of the absolutely filthiest. “Erotic City” is one of the best songs that Prince has ever done. That bump and grind beat is a classic. The mixture of male and female voices outranks “U Got the Look” and meets “1999.” “Erotic City” has lyrics which would make the titular “Darling Nikki” blush. That’s why it’s fantastic. Prince is always at his best either being absolutely filthy or laying bare his soul. Why this song was cut from Purple Rain completely baffles me. It would have made the record, which is already one of my favorites and I think one of the greatest things ever, even more stellar. DOWNLOAD: “Erotic City,” “Irresistible Bitch,” “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?”
