4Ever (album)

4Ever
Greatest hits album by
Prince
ReleasedNovember 22, 2016 (2016-11-22)
RecordedDecember 1976 – May 1993
Genres
Length155:06
Labels
ProducerPrince
Prince chronology
Hit n Run Phase Two
(2015)		 4Ever
(2016)		 Anthology: 1995–2010
(2018)

4Ever, also known as Prince 4Ever, is a greatest hits album by American recording artist Prince, released on November 22, 2016, by NPG Records and Warner Bros. Records.[1][2][3] It is the first Prince release following the musician's death on April 21, 2016.[4]

Album information

The two-disc set features 40 songs from Prince's tenure with Warner Bros. Records and features recordings from all of his albums between 1978's For You and 1993's The Hits/The B-Sides. It is the first Prince compilation to include his number-one hit single "Batdance" from the soundtrack album to the 1989 film Batman.[5] Aside from "Purple Rain", single edits of songs were used over album versions when possible.[6]

4Ever features the first official release of the song "Moonbeam Levels", which had previously circulated on bootlegs of Prince's unreleased material in a low-quality form.[7] The song had been recorded in 1982 during the sessions for 1999 and was subsequently considered for the unreleased 1988–89 album Rave unto the Joy Fantastic.[8]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarStar[9]
The Irish TimesStarStarStarStar[10]
PopMatters9/10[6]
The Sydney Morning HeraldStarStarStarStar[11]

4Ever received positive reviews from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote in an AllMusic review that while 4Ever was not a definitive album, "in terms of consumer value, it might be the best single Prince compilation".[9] Chris Gerard stated in a PopMatters review that "by and large, Prince 4Ever is [a successful compilation], and its inclusion of the lesser-known singles adds greatly to its appeal".[6] Tony Clayton-Lea stated in the Irish Times that the compilation "may seem like a futile exercise" because Prince's hits were already well known, but it served as a great introduction to Prince's music.[10] Craig Mathieson wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald that 4Ever was "the starter kit Prince greatest hits package", although he lamented that no songs released after 1993 could be included because they were past Prince's tenure with Warner.[11]

Critics also anticipated that 4Ever was an indicator of more Prince music being released posthumously, given the inclusion of "Moonbeam Levels". Gerald said 4Ever was "obviously intended to be the opening salvo in what fans can expect to be many years worth of posthumous Prince releases".[6] Mathieson also noted the abundance of unreleased Prince music in his review.[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Prince, except where noted.

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Original releaseLength
1."1999" (single version) 1999 (1982)3:38
2."Little Red Corvette" (single version) 19993:08
3."When Doves Cry" (single version) Purple Rain (1984)3:48
4."Let's Go Crazy" (single version) Purple Rain3:50
5."Raspberry Beret" Around the World in a Day (1985)3:35
6."I Wanna Be Your Lover" (single version) Prince (1979)3:00
7."Soft and Wet"
For You (1978)3:05
8."Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" Prince3:50
9."Uptown" (single version) Dirty Mind (1980)4:12
10."When You Were Mine" Dirty Mind3:45
11."Head" Dirty Mind4:45
12."Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" non-album single (1981)2:57
13."Controversy" (single version) Controversy (1981)3:39
14."Let's Work" (single version) Controversy3:04
15."Delirious" (single version) 19992:41
16."I Would Die 4 U" (single version) Purple Rain3:00
17."Take Me with U" (single version) Purple Rain3:44
18."Paisley Park" Around the World in a Day4:45
19."Pop Life" Around the World in a Day3:45
20."Purple Rain" Purple Rain8:42
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Original releaseLength
1."Kiss" (single version) Parade (1986)3:46
2."Sign o' the Times" (single version) Sign o' the Times (1987)3:43
3."Alphabet St." (single version) Lovesexy (1988)2:26
4."Batdance" (single version) Batman (1989)4:07
5."Thieves in the Temple" Graffiti Bridge (1990)3:21
6."Cream" Diamonds and Pearls (1991)4:13
7."Mountains"
Parade4:00
8."Girls & Boys" (single version) Parade3:28
9."If I Was Your Girlfriend" (single version) Sign o' the Times3:46
10."U Got the Look" Sign o' the Times3:47
11."I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" (single version) Sign o' the Times3:41
12."Glam Slam" (single version) Lovesexy3:30
13."Moonbeam Levels" Previously unreleased (1982)4:06
14."Diamonds and Pearls" (single version) Diamonds and Pearls4:20
15."Gett Off" (UK single remix) Diamonds and Pearls4:00
16."Sexy MF"
Love Symbol (1992)5:26
17."My Name Is Prince" (single version)
  • Prince
  • Tony M.
Love Symbol4:04
18."7" (single version)
Love Symbol4:23
19."Peach" The Hits/The B-Sides (1993)3:48
20."Nothing Compares 2 U" (single version) The Hits/The B-Sides4:19

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for 4Ever
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] Platinum 300,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Aswad, Jem (October 21, 2016). "Prince Greatest-Hits Collection, '4Ever,' Due Nov. 22; 'Purple Rain' Deluxe Edition – With Unreleased Songs – Coming in 2017". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  2. ↑ Deerwester, Jayme (October 21, 2016). "Two new Prince albums coming; 'Prince4Ever' arrives Nov. 22". USA Today. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  3. ↑ Yoo, Noah (October 21, 2016). "Prince Purple Rain Reissue, Greatest Hits Album Announced". pitchfork.com. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  4. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (October 21, 2016). "Unreleased Prince Songs Prepped for Greatest Hits, 'Purple Rain' Reissue". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Prince's Unreleased Songs To Feature In 2 New Albums". International Business Times. October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Gerard, Chris (November 23, 2016). "Prince: 4EVER". PopMatters. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  7. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (October 21, 2016). "Unreleased Prince Songs Prepped for Greatest Hits, 'Purple Rain' Reissue". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  8. ↑ Ahmed, Tufayel (October 21, 2016). "Two new Prince albums are coming—including a 'Purple Rain' reissue". Newsweek. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review: 4Ever AllMusic. Retrieved March 22, 2019
  10. 1 2 Clayton-Lea, Tony (November 21, 2016). "Prince 4Ever album review: 40 of the best from the late, great pop genius". The Irish Times. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 Mathieson, Craig (December 14, 2016). "Album reviews: David Bowie, Prince, Phil Collins, Randy Newman, Kate Miller-Heidke". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Prince – 4Ever". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Prince – 4Ever" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Prince – 4Ever" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Prince – 4Ever" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Prince Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Prince – 4Ever" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Prince – 4Ever". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Prince – 4Ever" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2017. 3. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Official Irish Albums Chart on 17/2/2017 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Prince – 4Ever". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  23. ↑ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Prince – 4Ever". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 30/12/2016 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Prince – 4Ever". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 23/12/2016 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart on 9/12/2016 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Prince Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Prince Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 33: del 9.8.2019 al 15.8.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2016". Ultratop. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  33. ↑ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  34. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2017". Ultratop. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  37. ↑ "British album certifications – Prince – 4Ever". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 28, 2025. Select albums in the Formats field. Type 4Ever Prince in the "Search:" field.
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