''Ultimate'' is a

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

by American recording artist

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. It was released on August 22, 2006, by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

. The two-disc set contains a disc of some previously released hits (some in single edit form; only "

My Name Is Prince "My Name Is Prince" is a song by American musician Prince and his backing band the New Power Generation, released in September 1992 by Paisley Park and Warner Bros. as the second single from their 1992 ''Love Symbol'' album. The song is about Pri ...

" had not been on a previous hits collection), and another of extended

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

es of hits and a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, most of which had only been previously released as

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compa ...

Release date controversy

The album was originally slated to be released in North America on March 14, 2006, but was canceled just days before its release. This is likely due to Prince not wanting competition with his new ''

3121 ''3121'' (pronounced "thirty-one twenty-one") is the thirty-first studio album by American musician Prince. Released on March 21, 2006 (3/21) by NPG Records and distributed, under a "one-album deal", by Universal Music, the album reinforced Pr ...

'', scheduled to be released only one week later. However, promo copies of the album had already been sent to some retailers and were sold before the album's recall. A second release date of May 22 was proposed, but was again canceled and the album's future was unknown for a time. Three months later, it was officially released on August 22, 2006, to generally positive reviews.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 61 on the ''Billboard'' 200 the week of September 9, 2006; the next week it dropped to number one hundred twenty-three. It remained on the chart for sixteen weeks. The week following Prince's death the album sold 40,000 units and hit a new peak of four on the ''Billboard'' 200 during the week of May 14, 2016; it was the first time that ''Ultimate'' rose into the top 10 of the chart. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

the album opened at number 24 on September 2, 2006; the next week, it fell to number 29 and left the chart three weeks later. Almost one year later, it re-entered at number 6 during the week of August 11, 2007. The week following Prince's death, the album re-entered on the chart at number 10 and the next week; on May 5, 2016, it reached and peaked at number three. ''Ultimate'' remained on the UK Albums Chart for twenty seven weeks. It was certified platinum by the BPI on January 24, 2014, denoting shipments of 300,000 units.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the AllMusic credits. * Annette Atkinson – standup bass * Tommy Barbarella – sampling * Timothy Barr – standup bass * Don Batts – engineer * Allen Beaulieu – photography * Steve Beltran – mixing * Mathieu Bitton – art direction, creative director, design * Joe Blaney – engineer, mixing * Atlanta Bliss – brass, trumpet, vocals * Boni Boyer – Hammond organ, vocals * Gary Brandt – engineer * Denyse Buffum – viola * Keith "KC" Cohen – mixing * David Daoud Coleman – cello * Lisa Coleman – keyboards, vocals * David Z. – arranger * Damon Dickson – percussion, background vocals * Dr. Fink – keyboards * Shelia E – guest artist * Sheena Easton – vocals * Mark Ettel – assistant engineer * Dave Friedlander – engineer * Lowell Fulson – composer * Rosie Gaines – organ, sampling, vocals, background vocals * Tom Garneau – engineer, mixing * Ron Garrett – remix assistant * Mick Guzauski – engineer, remixing * Ray Hahnfeldt – engineer * Michael Hutchinson – engineer, remixing * Coke Johnson – engineer * Suzie Katayama – cello * Jeff Katz – photography * Michael Koppelman – engineer, mixing * Matt Larson – engineer * Eric Leeds – brass, flute, saxophone, vocals * David Leonard – engineer * Tony M. – rap, background vocals * Peggy Mac – engineer * Jimmy McCracklin – composer * Peggy McCreary – engineer, mixing * Wendy Melvoin – guitar, vocals * Michael B. – drums * Eddie Miller – engineer, mixing * Bob Mockler – engineer, remixing * New Power Generation – guest artist * Steve Noonan – engineer * Novi Novog – viola, violin * Sid Page – violin * Ross Pallone – engineer * Tim Penn – engineer * Shep Pettibone – editing, producer, remixing * Brian Poer – engineer * Prince – arranger, audio production, engineer, mixing, producer, remixing, string arrangements, various instruments, vocals * Prince & the Revolution – guest artist * David Rivkin – engineer * Susan Rogers – engineer * Bob Rosa – mixing * Levi Seacer Jr. – bass, rhythm guitar, vocals, background vocals * Sheila E. – drums, percussion, remixing, vocals * The Steeles – main personnel * Sonny T. – bass, background vocals * David Tickle – engineer * Junior Vasquez – editing * Larry E. Williams – tray photo * Laury Woods – viola * Bobby Z – percussion

Promo versions

A two disc promo version of ''Ultimate'' was sent to radio stations and record stores in Spring 2006. This version has a different track listing from the official release. The promo features a few songs not on the official release, though it excludes the "Let's Work" remix. The promo also presents the songs in rough chronological order as opposed to separating out the remixes. The two disc version is speculated to be the first track listing; Prince later changed the track listing to remove some of the explicit language.

Two disc promo

In-house promo sampler

# " Purple Medley" # "I Wanna Be Your Lover" # "Little Red Corvette" (Dance Mix) # "Let's Go Crazy" (Special Dance Mix) # "Erotic City" (12" Version) # "Kiss" (Extended Version) # "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" # "Cream"

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2006 greatest hits albums Prince (musician) compilation albums Albums produced by Prince (musician) Warner Records compilation albums Rhino Entertainment compilation albums