"The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" is a song recorded by American musician Prince, under his unpronounceable stage name called the "Love Symbol". It was released as the only single from his twenty-third studio album Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999). It was issued on October 5, 1999, in several different formats, including a 12-inch single, CD single, and a maxi single. Prince solely wrote and produced it, while Mike Scott provided guitar strings for the track. Several music critics found the single reminiscent to the works on his previous studio album, Diamonds and Pearls (1991). The track is a smooth hip hop and soul ballad, featuring Prince's multi-layered vocals in the chorus. A B-side remix of the single entitled "Adam and Eve", featured a guest rap from Eve, while the Neptunes remix featured a guest rap from Q-Tip. The former version was included on Prince's first remix album, Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic (2001). The single became a minor hit, peaking at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100. An accompanying music video was created shortly after Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic became available for purchase. Composition and release Musically, "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" is a smooth hip hop and soul ballad, unlike his previous pop music efforts. It was solely written and produced by Prince himself. The singer uses multi-layered vocals, a deep falsetto, and a downtempo melody throughout its chorus. The album version of the single has a duration of five minutes and twenty-nine seconds, while the radio edit lasts for four minutes and thirty seconds. Several different physical releases of the single occurred shortly after its release on October 5, 1999, as it was marketed as Prince's "comeback" song. A 12" included eight different versions of the song, including the radio edit, the album version, the "Adam & Eve" remix, plus five additional remixes. The US CD single included the radio edit and Jason Nevins Remix of the track, plus a ten-second "Call Out Research Hook". Also, the Spanish CD single only contained the radio edit of the song. Reception Critical reception The track was generally well received by music critics. Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club said "[it] is more Diamonds and Pearls good than Sign O' the Times great." Chuck Taylor, a columnist for Billboard, called the single "entirely satisfying" and appreciated it for being unlike other songs on the radio. Entertainment Weeklys Chris