When "Rave" came out I listened to it once, then immediately sold the CD. I hated it, couldn't stand the whole "light" adult-rock vibe of the album. Always put it at the top of my list of least favorite Prince records.

Just decided to give it another listen, and -- hey! -- it's not nearly as bad as I remember. Still won't be in my top ten list anytime soon, and there definitely some yawners on there, but it's not at all as un-listenable as I remember.

Guess I'll have to track down "Rave In2," which I never bothered getting...

I've always loved Come... (...ahem). It's probably a minor release in his catalog but it felt very cohesive at the time and I enjoyed playing it from beginning to end.

Rave is a good album, not great... but there are several songs on there I really like.

floralelephants said:

I am listening to all Prince and protege albums chronologically. I finally made the ultimate iPad playlist. Made another playlist of boots and another of 12". Have not made it to Rave. I am just about finished with Come. I remember hearing Come for the first time on release day. At the end, I remember thinking: is that it?! I haven't listened to it for a long time. The only time I have heard Come tracks is when I listen to my homemade Gold mixes. I am really surprised at how well this album has aged. I am looking forward to Rave as it is another album I have not pulled out in years. [Edited 5/7/16 13:04pm]

Count on this to happen a lot now that we so definitely have to shed the "but he didn't have a hit in years" mentality.

Stripped of the "was this hit material or not" approach, what we are left with is "was this quintessential Prince or not?".

With the passage of time, it won't matter if a song was not considered "edgy" or the "latest", and with his death, all that matters from now on is if the song expresses the essence of the artist, whether audiences reacted to it or not at the time. This happens with almost every major body of work by an iconic artist, no matter the art. There is great admiration for his earlier work, but now that he is forever gone and that he is one of the greatest musical references of our times, his entire legacy will be examined as a whole, and there will simply be songs from different eras that will exemplify his style, among less remarkable recordings.

Not everything Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, The Beatles or Brian Wilson composed was as enthralling as their masterpieces. Some J.S. Bach is dull to play, some Beatles songs were just ok (for them) compared to others, the same will apply to Prince.

[Edited 5/7/16 14:08pm]

Aerogram said:

Aerogram said:

floralelephants said:

I am listening to all Prince and protege albums chronologically. I finally made the ultimate iPad playlist. Made another playlist of boots and another of 12". Have not made it to Rave. I am just about finished with Come. I remember hearing Come for the first time on release day. At the end, I remember thinking: is that it?! I haven't listened to it for a long time. The only time I have heard Come tracks is when I listen to my homemade Gold mixes. I am really surprised at how well this album has aged. I am looking forward to Rave as it is another album I have not pulled out in years. [Edited 5/7/16 13:04pm]

Count on this to happen a lot now that we so definitely have to shed the "but he didn't have a hit in years" mentality.

Stripped of the "was this hit material or not" approach, what we are left with is "was this quintessential Prince or not?".

With the passage of time, it won't matter if a song was not considered "edgy" or the "latest", and with his death, all that matters from now on is if the song expresses the essence of the artist, whether audiences reacted to it or not at the time. This happens with almost every major body of work by an iconic artist, no matter the art. There is great admiration for his earlier work, but now that he is forever gone and that he is one of the greatest musical references of our times, his entire legacy will be examined as a whole, and there will simply be songs from different eras that will exemplify his style, among less remarkable recordings.

Not everything Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, The Beatles or Brian Wilson composed was as enthralling as their masterpieces. Some J.S. Bach is dull to play, some Beatles songs were just ok (for them) compared to others, the same will apply to Prince.

[Edited 5/7/16 14:08pm]

Yes, well said. I think part of the reason I didn't take to "Rave" the first time was that it didn't conform to my taste: the kind of spare, angular, funky Prince I like so much. (For the record, I'd loved "Newpower Soul" the year before -- and still do.) So, naturally, I thought he'd "lost it." Only in retrospect is it easier to see that that's just not what he was doing at the moment: On the contrary, he put together an album of melodic, mostly sweet-sounding jams meant to curry favor with mainstream audiences (and possibly Clive Davis). With that in mind, I get the album better than I did on first listen, and am able to enjoy it more.

And yeah, Come is holding up really well!

I wasn't crazy about "Rave" when it came out. It seemed Clive was trying too hard to get the Santana "Supernatural" success with "Rave". I think I listened to it once or twice and put it away....The other day I heard "Prettyman", "Undisputed" and "So Far, So Pleased" and they didn't sound that bad. I really think "So Far" should have been the single/video release..No Doubt was huge in the late 90's and that could have really pushed the record a bit......I'll have to dig it out and revisit it.

SPYZFAN1 said:

I wasn't crazy about "Rave" when it came out. It seemed Clive was trying too hard to get the Santana "Supernatural" success with "Rave". I think I listened to it once or twice and put it away....The other day I heard "Prettyman", "Undisputed" and "So Far, So Pleased" and they didn't sound that bad. I really think "So Far" should have been the single/video release..No Doubt was huge in the late 90's and that could have really pushed the record a bit......I'll have to dig it out and revisit it.

IIRC, So Far, So Pleased was intended to be a single but Stefani's label wouldn't agree to it or something like that.

Ahhhh....the good old labels. Thanks for that info.

jtfolden said:

Hit or miss collection. Some real solid tracks as usual.

The following would have been a tight album:

1. "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic"

2. "Undisputed" (featuring Chuck D)

3. "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold"

4. "Hot Wit' U" (featuring Eve)

5. "So Far, So Pleased" (featuring Gwen Stefani)

6. "Man'O'War"

7. "Baby Knows" (featuring Sheryl Crow)

8. "I Love U, but I Don't Trust U Anymore" (featuring Ani DiFranco)

9. "Wherever U Go, Whatever U Do"

10."Prettyman"

The only song off of either version which I’ve never been too thrilled with is “Baby Knows.” Otherwise “Rave” is a compelling couple of albums. Love ‘em!