Prince (November 15, 1999) – The Greatest Romance Ever Sold

Single EU: 5-Track Remix CD

Issued in Europe during 1999, The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (The Remix CD) expanded the single campaign with five versions of the song, including mixes by Jason Nevins and The Neptunes. November 15, 1999 is used as the archive date for this Chronicle, although the exact European release day has not been independently confirmed.

DETAIL / INFORMATION

DETAIL	INFORMATION
Artist	Prince
Title	The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (The Remix CD)
Chronicle Date	November 15, 1999
Confirmed Release Period	1999
Territory	Europe
Labels	Arista / NPG Records
Catalogue Number	74321 72704 2
Format	CD Single
Tracks	5
Related Album	Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic
Writer	Prince
Producer	Prince

RELEASE DATE NOTE

INTRODUCTION

The European Remix CD is confirmed as a 1999 release. An exact European day and month have not been independently established. November 15, 1999 is therefore used as the Chronicle filing date to associate this edition with the documented UK launch period. It should not be regarded as a confirmed release date for this specific European edition unless further contemporary evidence establishes that date.

The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (The Remix CD) formed part of the wider campaign surrounding Prince’s Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic period, expanding the single through a five-track collection of radio and extended remix treatments. The European CD combined the Original Radio Edit with contributions from Jason Nevins and The Neptunes. Q-Tip featured on the Neptunes versions, while the overall configuration gave the release a stronger remix emphasis than the standard single edition.

PRIMARY RELEASE ARTWORK

FRONT ARTWORK	BACK ARTWORK

DISC	INNER / ADDITIONAL ARTWORK

RELEASE DETAILS

BACKGROUND / RELEASE HISTORY

BACKGROUND	RELEASE HISTORY
The Greatest Romance Ever Sold was the principal single associated with Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic. The wider campaign generated numerous edits and remixes, resulting in substantially different configurations across territories and formats.	This five-track edition was issued for the European market during 1999 as catalogue 74321 72704 2. The exact European release date remains unconfirmed, so the edition is treated separately from the documented November 15 UK release.
The remix campaign brought Jason Nevins and The Neptunes into the project, providing alternate treatments alongside Prince’s original recording.	A corresponding European double 12-inch edition appeared under the closely related catalogue number 74321 72704 1.

THE REMIX CD / COLLECTOR INTEREST

THE FIVE-TRACK CONFIGURATION	COLLECTOR INTEREST
The CD begins with the Original Radio Edit before moving through shorter and extended remix treatments by Jason Nevins and The Neptunes.	The closely related catalogue numbers used for the European CD and double 12-inch make the releases easy to confuse with other editions from the extensive international campaign.
Q-Tip appears on the Neptunes mixes, while the Jason Nevins material is represented by both a shorter Remix Edit and an Extended Remix.	For archive purposes, treating this European Remix CD separately keeps its five-track configuration distinct from the contemporaneous UK and US releases.

REMIXES / PRODUCTION

JASON NEVINS	THE NEPTUNES
Jason Nevins Remix Edit Jason Nevins Extended Remix	Neptunes Remix Edit featuring Q-Tip Neptunes Extended Remix featuring Q-Tip
Both provide alternative treatments of Prince’s original recording within the five-track programme.	Q-Tip’s appearance distinguishes the Neptunes mixes from the original recording and Jason Nevins versions.

PERSONNEL / PRODUCTION

PERSONNEL	PRODUCTION / REMIXES
Prince – vocals, instruments, writing, production Q-Tip – featured vocals on Neptunes remixes	Prince – producer Jason Nevins – remix The Neptunes – remix HM Buff – engineer Parke – design / photography

EUROPEAN CD SINGLE – 74321 72704 2

The European five-track Remix CD was issued in a J-card case and carried catalogue number 74321 72704 2.

RELATED EUROPEAN VARIANT

FORMAT	CATALOGUE / DETAILS
CD Single – The Remix CD	74321 72704 2 – 5 tracks
Double 12" Single	74321 72704 1 – 8 tracks

The double 12-inch is retained here only as the directly related European vinyl counterpart. It can be documented separately if required.

FORMAT-SPECIFIC CONTEXT

CD PRESENTATION	REMIX PROGRAMME
The release was presented as a European CD single with five tracks and a J-card case.	Rather than introducing unrelated material, the complete programme concentrates on The Greatest Romance Ever Sold through radio, remix and extended-remix treatments.
Catalogue number 74321 72704 2 distinguishes the CD edition from the related European double 12-inch, which uses 74321 72704 1.	Jason Nevins contributes two versions, while The Neptunes contribute two versions featuring Q-Tip.

NOTES

NOTES	NOTES
• Territory: Europe. • Confirmed year: 1999. • Exact European release day remains unconfirmed. • Chronicle filed under November 15, 1999. • Catalogue: 74321 72704 2.	• Format: five-track CD single. • Related album: Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic. • Jason Nevins contributes two remix versions. • The Neptunes contribute two remix versions. • Q-Tip features on the Neptunes mixes.

COMPLETE EU CD TRACKLIST

TRACKS 1–3	TRACKS 4–5
1. The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (Original Radio Edit) – 4:33 2. The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (Jason Nevins Remix Edit) – 3:54 3. The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (Neptunes Remix Edit featuring Q-Tip) – 3:45	4. The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (Jason Nevins Extended Remix) – 6:49 5. The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (Neptunes Extended Remix featuring Q-Tip) – 5:08

TRACK-TIME NOTE

The documented actual playing times above differ from some of the times printed on the original release artwork for tracks 1–4. The actual playing times are used in this Chronicle.

SOURCES / COPYRIGHT & ARCHIVAL USE

SOURCES

Prince Vault

Sleevographia2

Discogs

COPYRIGHT & ARCHIVAL USE

All magazine scans, photographs, and original text excerpts referenced in this entry remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This Chronicle entry is a transformative, non-commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference. No ownership of the original material is claimed or implied.