Prince (August 21 / 22, 2006) – Ultimate Album Release

GlamSlamEscape
Aug 21, 2006
6 min read

Ultimate is Prince’s fifth compilation of his Warner Bros. studio material, arriving in August 2006, five years after The Very Best Of Prince. The collection focuses exclusively on recordings from the Warner Bros. era, covering twelve studio albums released between 1979 and 1993. Several tracks appear in extended or remixed form, sourced from 12" and CD singles, and each disc presents its selections in a loose chronological sequence based on their original single release dates.

The first disc contains single edits or album versions, while the second disc features remixes and extended versions previously available only on singles. There is no overlap between the discs. Disc one includes seventeen tracks, sixteen of which had appeared on The Hits 1 or The Hits 2, and ten of which were included on The Very Best Of Prince. Disc two contains eleven tracks; although none had appeared on a prior compilation in their extended or remixed form, seven had appeared on The Hits 1 or The Hits 2 in album or single‑edit versions, one (“She’s Always In My Hair”) had appeared on The B‑Sides, and seven had appeared on The Very Best Of Prince in their standard versions.

Only “My Name Is Prince,” “Let’s Work,” and “Hot Thing” had never appeared on any previous compilation in any form.

An early configuration was prepared in late 2005–early 2006 with a different tracklist, planned for release on 21 March 2006. Prince cooperated with the project and revised the proposed tracklist. When his new album 3121 was announced with the same release date, Ultimate was postponed. Packaging had already been printed and CDs pressed, and because the recall occurred at short notice, more than 1,000 copies reached shops in the USA and Australia in mid‑March 2006, and in Greece on 17 April 2006.

Disc 1

• I Wanna Be Your Lover — 2:57

• Uptown — 4:09

• Controversy — 7:15

• 1999 — 3:37

• Delirious — 2:38

• When Doves Cry — 3:47

• I Would Die 4 U — 2:56

• Purple Rain — 8:40

• Sign O’ The Times — 3:42

• I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man — 3:39

• Alphabet St. — 5:38

• Diamonds And Pearls — 4:19

• Gett Off — 4:31

• Money Don’t Matter 2 Night — 4:47

• 7 — 5:08

• Nothing Compares 2 U — 4:57

• My Name Is Prince — 4:03

Disc 2

• Let’s Go Crazy (Special Dance Mix) — 7:36

• Little Red Corvette (Dance Remix) — 8:22

• Let’s Work (Dance Remix) — 8:02

• Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix) — 6:18

• She’s Always In My Hair (12" Version) — 6:31

• Raspberry Beret (12" Version) — 6:34

• Kiss (Extended Version) — 7:16

• U Got The Look (Long Look) — 6:40

• Hot Thing (Extended Remix) — 8:30

• Thieves In The Temple (Remix) — 8:08

• Cream (N.P.G. Mix) — 4:50

Musicians

Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted (credited as Camille for lead vocals on U Got The Look (Long Look))

Lisa Coleman - background vocals on Controversy, Little Red Corvette (Dance Remix), Raspberry Beret (12” Version), co-lead vocals on 1999, keyboards and background vocals on Let’s Go Crazy (Special Dance Mix), Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix), I Would Die 4 U and Purple Rain

Morris Day - drums on Controversy (uncredited, possible involvement on the album version) and Let’s Work (Dance Remix)

Dez Dickerson - co-lead vocals on 1999, guitar and vocals on Little Red Corvette (Dance Remix)

Jill Jones - co-lead vocals on 1999, vocals on Kiss (Extended version) (uncredited)

Jesse Johnson - background vocals on 1999 (uncredited)

Wendy Melvoin - guitars and background vocals on I Would Die 4 U, Purple Rain, Let’s Go Crazy (Special Dance Mix) and Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix), background vocals on Raspberry Beret (12” Version)

Brown Mark - bass guitar and background vocals on I Would Die 4 U, Purple Rain, Let’s Go Crazy (Special Dance Mix) and Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix),

Dr. Fink - keyboards on I Would Die 4 U, Purple Rain, Let’s Go Crazy (Special Dance Mix) and Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix)

Bobby Z. - drums and percussion on I Would Die 4 U, Purple Rain and Let’s Go Crazy (Special Dance Mix)

Novi Novog - violin on Purple Rain and Raspberry Beret (12" Version)

Suzie Katayama - cello on Purple Rain and Raspberry Beret (12" Version)

David Coleman - cello on Purple Rain and Raspberry Beret (12" Version)

Sheila E. - drums on Alphabet St. and U Got The Look (Long Look), synth drum fills on Diamonds And Pearls (uncredited), drums and background vocals on Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix)

Jonathan Melvoin - tambourine on Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix) (uncredited)

Eric Leeds - saxophone on Alphabet St. and Kiss (Extended version), flute on Gett Off, sampled on Cream (N.P.G. Mix) (from ♥ Or $)

Atlanta Bliss - trumpet on Alphabet St.

Cat - vocals on Alphabet St.

Boni Boyer - vocals on Alphabet St.

Ingrid Chavez - vocals on Alphabet St.

Rosie Gaines - co-lead vocals on Diamonds And Pearls, co-lead vocals and keyboards on Gett Off, Nothing Compares 2 U and Cream (N.P.G. Mix)

Michael B. - drums on Diamonds And Pearls, Gett Off, Money Don’t Matter 2 Night, Nothing Compares 2 U and Cream (N.P.G. Mix)

Levi Seacer, Jr. - guitar on Diamonds And Pearls, Gett Off, Nothing Compares 2 U and Cream (N.P.G. Mix), bass on Money Don’t Matter 2 Night

Sonny T. - bass guitar on Diamonds And Pearls, Gett Off, Nothing Compares 2 U and Cream (N.P.G. Mix)

Tommy Barbarella - keyboards on Diamonds And Pearls, Gett Off, Nothing Compares 2 U and Cream (N.P.G. Mix)

Kirk Johnson - percussion and background shouts/vocals on Gett Off and Cream (N.P.G. Mix)

Damon Dickson - percussion and background shouts/vocals on Gett Off

Tony M. - vocals on Gett Off and rap on My Name Is Prince

Chuck Thomas - drums (uncredited, sampled loop from Tramp by Lowell Fulson) on 7

Michael Nelson - trombone on Nothing Compares 2 U

Brian Gallagher - tenor saxophone on Nothing Compares 2 U

Kathy Jensen - baritone saxophone on Nothing Compares 2 U

Dave Jensen - trumpet on Nothing Compares 2 U

Steve Strand - trumpet on Nothing Compares 2 U

Susannah Melvoin - background vocals on Raspberry Beret (12" Version)

Sid Page - violin on Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix)

Marcy Dicterow-Vaj - violin on Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix)

Denyse Buffum - viola on Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix)

Laury Woods - viola on Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix)

Tim Barr - Stand-up bass on Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix)

Annette Atkinson - Stand-up bass on Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix)

Tony Christian - background vocals (as Mazarati) on Kiss (Extended Version)

Craig "Screamer" Powell - background vocals (as Mazarati) on Kiss (Extended Version)

Jerome "Romeo" Cox - background vocals (as Mazarati) on Kiss (Extended Version)

Marr Starr - background vocals (as Mazarati) and keyboards (uncredited) on Kiss (Extended Version)

Aaron Paul "Ace" Keith - background vocals (as Mazarati) and keyboards (uncredited) on Kiss (Extended Version)

Kevin "Blondie" Patricks - drums (uncredited) on Kiss (Extended Version)

Sheena Easton - co-lead vocals on U Got The Look (Long Look)

Camille - lead vocals U Got The Look (Long Look)

Lester Chambers - harmonica (sampled from I Can’t Stand It by The Chambers Brothers, uncredited) on Thieves In The Temple (Remix)

Jevetta Steele - backing vocals (as part of The Steeles) on Thieves In The Temple (Remix)

Fred Steele - backing vocals (as part of The Steeles) on Thieves In The Temple (Remix)

JD Steele - backing vocals (as part of The Steeles) on Thieves In The Temple (Remix)

Jearlyn Steele - backing vocals (as part of The Steeles) on Thieves In The Temple (Remix)

Bonnie Raitt - sampled slide guitar (uncredited) on Cream (N.P.G. Mix)

Clare Fischer - string orchestration on Cream (N.P.G. Mix) (sampled from High Fashion)

George Brown - drums on Cream (N.P.G. Mix) (uncredited, sampled loop from Chocolate Buttermilk by Kool & the Gang)

Charts & Certifications Table

Region	Country / Chart	Peak	Weeks
America	The Billboard 200	61	5
	Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums	31	7
	The Billboard 200 (re‑entry)	55	6
	The Billboard 200 (re‑entry)	6	10
Europe	Austria	46	3
	Belgium (Flanders)	46	11
	Belgium (Wallonia)	52	4
	Denmark	6	9
	France	12	6
	Netherlands	39	7
	Portugal re‑entry	14	4
	Switzerland	58	2
	UK	6	12
Pacific	New Zealand	3 (1 week at #1)	10

SOURCES Discogs, 45 World, Wikipedia, BBC Official Charts, Prince Vault, Sleeveographia2

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