Speaking of my youth, Prince Rogers Nelson was a pretty big element. 1999 and Purple Rain were just as important to me as Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I lost the vibe around the time of Lovesexy though, and never came back around.
My sister dropped Prince’s Ultimate on me as a Christmas present. I finally ripped the tracks to my iPod last week and have been enjoying it immensely. It’s definitely flawed, although I don’t quite agree with the Discogs.com reviewer that it’s “A real half-assed effort,…” Short edits of When Doves Cry and 1999 are criminal. And for someone like Prince, there’s always other stuff you wish was in the compilation, e.g. Erotic City, Another Lonely Christmas, Anotherloverholenyohead, and a personal favorite of mine: D.M.S.R.
Having said that, some of the extended remixes are definitely worth having. Controversy, Let’s Go Crazy, and Kiss are particularly good. And I always enjoyed Pop Life, but the Fresh Dance Mix is new to me and a really good variation. Oddly, the dance remix for Little Red Corvette didn’t really work to my ears. The album version was just the right serving.
Of course now I’m starving for more. May have to take a trip to the MP3 store for 1999. I mean how can you live without Lady Cabdriver, Automatic, and International Lover?