Prince – The Hits / The B-Sides 1993

The Hits/The B-Sides is a box set by American recording artist Prince. It was released on September 10, 1993, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album is a comprehensive three-disc set consisting of many of his hit singles and fan favorites. 

In 1993, Prince wanted to release Goldnigga, the debut album by his band The New Power Generation, but Warner Bros. refused and instead decided to finally release the greatest hits collection they had wanted to release two years earlier when Prince instead got Diamonds and Pearls released.^{[citation needed]}

Discs one and two were released separately, under the titles The Hits 1 and The Hits 2 respectively, but The B-Sides disc could only be obtained by purchasing the full set. The separate Hits discs and the full set were all released on the same day. Most of the songs (A-side and B-sides) on The Hits/The B-Sides are represented in their edited single form. Exceptions to this were "Alphabet St.", "7", "Little Red Corvette", "Sexy MF", "Let's Go Crazy", and "Purple Rain". This compilation marks the first time the single version of "Kiss" was made available on CD. The third disc of B-sides also featured the 7-inch edits, with the exceptions of "200 Balloons", "17 Days", "Gotta Stop (Messin' About)", "Horny Toad", "Irresistible Bitch", "I Love U in Me", "God", and "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" which were all original full-length recordings from the original singles.

Among the previously unreleased material was the rare live version of "4 the Tears in Your Eyes", only previously released in a 1985 TV broadcast for the Live Aid concerts. Also included was a live version of "Nothing Compares 2 U", recorded live January 27, 1992, at Paisley Park with The New Power Generation. The other four new tracks were outtakes. The oldest track was "Power Fantastic", a moody ballad once considered for the Dream Factory project of 1986. Another ballad, "Pink Cashmere", was broadcast before some of the Lovesexy World Tour shows, dating it back to 1988 originally for his abandoned Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic project. "Peach" was regularly played on the Act I Tour (1993) and "Pope" was played live during some 1993 after shows. "Pope" was actually in the short-lived musical ballet Glam Slam Ulysses, which also spawned several songs later released on Come, The Gold Experience and Crystal Ball. Live jams of "Peach" often extended into the title track of Chaos and Disorder.

While Prince had very little interest in the project, he insisted that his longtime manager Alan Leeds write the liner notes instead of Rolling Stone journalist Neal Karlen. According to Prince biographer Per Nilsen, the record company paid Prince to not get involved with the making of this compilation.

Graphic designer David Carson did the art direction for the album, as he was extremely popular at the time for his fragmented style and unique use of typography. Carson had previously worked on magazines such as Surfer, Transworld Skateboarding, Beach Culture, Blue, and Ray Gun before striking out on his own into commercial art direction.