The Very Best of Prince

Last updated

The Very Best of Prince
Prince Very.jpg
Greatest hits album by
Prince
ReleasedJuly 31, 2001 (2001-07-31)
Length73:18
Label Warner Bros.
Producer
Prince chronology
Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic
(2001)		The Very Best of Prince
(2001)		 The Rainbow Children
(2001)
Digital cover
TheVeryBestofPrinceAlt.Cover.png
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]

The Very Best of Prince is a greatest hits album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on July 31, 2001, by Warner Bros. Records. The album contains most of his commercially successful singles from 1979 to 1991 including the US number 1s "When Doves Cry", "Let's Go Crazy", "Kiss" and "Cream".

Contents

The Very Best of Prince does not include the US number 1 hit "Batdance" most likely due to the licensing of the character Batman. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine believed that the Batman album was unofficially being written out of Prince's discography. [1] All the songs included in this compilation were all previously included in the 3-disc box set The Hits/The B-Sides (1993), with the exception of "Money Don't Matter 2 Night".

Commercial performance

On the chart dated August 18, 2001, The Very Best of Prince debuted at number 66 on the US Billboard 200. [5] As of September 21, 2004, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 1 million copies in the United States. [6]

The Very Best of Prince sold 179,000 album-equivalent units (100,000 in pure album sales) in the week following Prince's death, [7] thus allowing the album to re-enter the Billboard 200 at number one; this makes the album Prince's fifth number-one on the chart. [8] The following week the album fell to number two on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 391,000 equivalent copies (216,000 in pure album sales) behind Beyoncé's Lemonade . [9] In 2016, the album has sold 660,000 recognized copies in the United States in addition to the over 2 million copies sold prior to 2016. [10]

Track listing

All songs are written by and credited to Prince, except where noted.

The Very Best of Prince track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."I Wanna Be Your Lover" (single edit)  Prince (1979)2:58
2."1999" (single edit; credited to Prince & the Revolution)  1999 (1982)3:37
3."Little Red Corvette" (credited to Prince & The Revolution) 19994:56
4."When Doves Cry" (single edit; credited to Prince & the Revolution)  Purple Rain (1984)3:47
5."Let's Go Crazy" (credited to Prince & the Revolution) Purple Rain4:40
6."Purple Rain" (credited to Prince & the Revolution) Purple Rain8:40
7."I Would Die 4 U" (single version; credited to Prince & the Revolution) Purple Rain2:56
8."Raspberry Beret" (credited to Prince & the Revolution)  Around the World in a Day (1985)3:32
9."Kiss" (single edit; credited to Prince & the Revolution)Prince, arr. by David Z Parade (1986)3:46
10."Sign o' the Times" (single edit)  Sign o' the Times (1987)3:42
11."U Got the Look" (featuring Sheena Easton) Sign o' the Times3:47
12."Alphabet St."  Lovesexy (1988)5:38
13."Thieves in the Temple"  Graffiti Bridge (1990)3:21
14."Gett Off" (credited to Prince and The New Power Generation)  Diamonds and Pearls (1991)4:31
15."Cream" (credited to Prince and the New Power Generation) Diamonds and Pearls4:13
16."Diamonds and Pearls" (single edit; credited to Prince and the New Power Generation) Diamonds and Pearls4:19
17."Money Don't Matter 2 Night" (credited to Prince and the New Power Generation)Prince, Rosie Gaines Diamonds and Pearls4:47

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for The Very Best of Prince
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [49] 2× Platinum140,000^
Belgium (BEA) [50] Platinum50,000*
Canada (Music Canada) [51] Gold50,000^
Germany (BVMI) [52] Gold150,000‡
Netherlands (NVPI) [53] Platinum80,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [54] Platinum15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [55] 3× Platinum900,000‡
United States (RIAA) [6] Platinum2,660,000 [10]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. 1 2 Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
  3. ↑ "Very Best of Prince CD Album".
  4. ↑ "Rolling Stone Album Guide". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on March 20, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Prince's 'The Very Best Of' Album Headed for No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  6. 1 2 "American album certifications – Prince – The Very Best of Prince". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved November 28, 2013.
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  9. ↑ "Beyonce Earns Sixth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Lemonade'". Billboard. May 1, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
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  53. ↑ "Dutch album certifications – Prince – The Very Best Of" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers . Retrieved September 8, 2018.Enter The Very Best Of in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2005 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
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