Review from UK music monthly Classic Pop (April 2019 / Issue 51):

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Credited with piloting the success of Bruce Springsteen and Whitney Houston, legendary US label head Clive Davis also reignited the career of Santana in 1999 when he persuaded the fading guitar virtuoso to record the star-packed, pop-focused Supernatural album. It was to sell 30 million copies.

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Flushed with this success, in the same year Davis tried to repeat the trick with Prince. Deep into his Symbol phase, the star was also in the commercial doldrums: his previous two albums, Crystal Ball / The Truth and The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale had charted in the US at No.62 and No.85 respectively. Davis persuaded his increasingly reclusive, selfindulgent charge to aim at the pop market and fl ing open the doors of Paisley Park to a stream of guest star names.

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The result was one of the most unfairly maligned albums in Prince’s canon. Even by his tumescent standards, it was sex-obsessed. Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic was a lush paean to carnal delights. The Greatest Romance Ever Sold was a sultry boudoir smooch; Hot Wit U found him telling rapper Eve, “I wanna get you underneath the cream and do the marshmallow.” Naturally, the guest slots caught the eye. Public Enemy’s Chuck D added a rugged rap to Undisputed, while Gwen Stefani harmonised sweetly on the engaging So Far, So Pleased.

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The critics sniffed, it didn’t sell 30 million copies, and Prince’s big comeback stayed on hold until Musicology five years later. Yet Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic remains a bafflingly underrated gem, a true pop genius hard at work and play.

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- IG

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See also this now self-locked thread: http://prince.org/msg/7/457789

still can't make up my mind on this one! Without a doubt it has the sound of compromise & even borderline desperation. Cetyainly some little pop gems on there but as per the relationship soured so quickly with Clive etc....likewise seeing P doing shit kids TV shows across Europe was NOT cool!

That said he looked fucking amazing in this period , we got some decent videos & who could forget the Motherless Child Septimo performance!

YES, hooray.. ok this isn't news now.. however I have already ordered this set!


I will buy both the vinyls, colored (purple);


I do own the cd's but I am enjoying the "Ultimate Rave" cd artwork (yes don't hate me).


And.. Rave IN2 is a rather great album I love the long versions of Prettyman, and The Greatest Romance (and several others)

+ Beautiful Strange is wonderful..


No doubt I am gonna buy it..

[Edited 3/29/19 6:35am]

for the danish fans:


Buy / pre-order "Ultimate Rave"


Rave In2 Vinyl and Rave Un2 Vinyl (both are 2LP at only 189 dkr.)


( Edit 189 DKR is = about 28 USD )


Here at iMusic.dk link :

https://www.imusic.dk/pag...ave+prince

[Edited 3/29/19 6:41am]

OperatingThetan said:

skywalker said:

OperatingThetan said:

In terms of sales, 'Crystal Ball' was never conceived as a commercial hit and 'Old Friends 4 Sale', a contractually obliged collection of vault songs with little promotion, hardly had much chart potential to begin with. Other than that, I agree with the review. I've always considered the success of 'Musicology' to be more to do with timing and promotion and Prince simply being Prince and more publically understandable again, than any major difference in quality.

Agreed. As we know, sales has very little to do with “quality” of music and a lot to do with promotion. Prince missed the mark in how he promoted Rave compared to say, Musicology, Diamonds and Pearls. Prince blamed Arista/Clive Davis. Both likely were to blame.

He promoted Rave quite strongly in Europe and did a lot of promotional performances, latenight talkshows, evening shows, MTV, VIVA, etc.etc. but there´s not one performance or interview among them that I really liked. The song or single choices were poor, most of the shows he performed on were not exactly the ideal audience to promote a Prince album and he seemed a bit lost to me.

I find the album itself quite ok, there are some really nice songs on it but there are also a few really filler songs on it that I can´t stand and that tarnish the album as a whole (the Sheryl Crow cover with Larry is something I can´t listen to, then there´s the slow and boring TGRES single and video, and some nice songs start ok and end silly, for example Sun, Moon and Stars).

I´ll probably buy this release because my version of In2 was sold at Paisley without a proper jewel case and my Rave concert is a VHS, so I need to get the DVD but then again, I don´t think I´ll ever watch that lame and fake NYE show ever again.

Like I said above, there are some nice songs on it but it was a weird time to be a fan in 1999.

KoolEaze said:

skywalker said:

OperatingThetan said: Agreed. As we know, sales has very little to do with “quality” of music and a lot to do with promotion. Prince missed the mark in how he promoted Rave compared to say, Musicology, Diamonds and Pearls. Prince blamed Arista/Clive Davis. Both likely were to blame.

He promoted Rave quite strongly in Europe and did a lot of promotional performances, latenight talkshows, evening shows, MTV, VIVA, etc.etc. but there´s not one performance or interview among them that I really liked. The song or single choices were poor, most of the shows he performed on were not exactly the ideal audience to promote a Prince album and he seemed a bit lost to me.

I find the album itself quite ok, there are some really nice songs on it but there are also a few really filler songs on it that I can´t stand and that tarnish the album as a whole (the Sheryl Crow cover with Larry is something I can´t listen to, then there´s the slow and boring TGRES single and video, and some nice songs start ok and end silly, for example Sun, Moon and Stars).

I´ll probably buy this release because my version of In2 was sold at Paisley without a proper jewel case and my Rave concert is a VHS, so I need to get the DVD but then again, I don´t think I´ll ever watch that lame and fake NYE show ever again.

Like I said above, there are some nice songs on it but it was a weird time to be a fan in 1999.

The songs for the French shows were poorly chosen.

One show he shouldn't have done at all, Tout Lara Fabian: this was variety songs for yo grandma, the anti-hip show by excellence, young people made lots of fun of him for playing there. TGRES was the right song I guess, but still... He shouldn't have done that show.

Hit Machine was targeted at teens, so TGRES was the last thing to play there because the kids would fall asleep, it should have been a Undisputed, Hot Wit U or So Far So Pleased, something loud and dynamic the kids could relate to.

Nulle Part Ailleurs had a hipper audience, basically 15-35 metropolitan target, and there playing Alphabet St. was OK but old news, and Baby Knows was a terrible choice because it was a very typically American, almost redneck song, not what this sophisticated audience would want. Prettyman would have been perfect for this one because funk was making a come back at the time, thought any of the 3 I mentioned above could have worked.

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Now I realize Prince wasn't supposed to know the demographics of each foreign TV show, but either he or the label should have had people who did to advise him.

databank said:

KoolEaze said:

He promoted Rave quite strongly in Europe and did a lot of promotional performances, latenight talkshows, evening shows, MTV, VIVA, etc.etc. but there´s not one performance or interview among them that I really liked. The song or single choices were poor, most of the shows he performed on were not exactly the ideal audience to promote a Prince album and he seemed a bit lost to me.

I find the album itself quite ok, there are some really nice songs on it but there are also a few really filler songs on it that I can´t stand and that tarnish the album as a whole (the Sheryl Crow cover with Larry is something I can´t listen to, then there´s the slow and boring TGRES single and video, and some nice songs start ok and end silly, for example Sun, Moon and Stars).

I´ll probably buy this release because my version of In2 was sold at Paisley without a proper jewel case and my Rave concert is a VHS, so I need to get the DVD but then again, I don´t think I´ll ever watch that lame and fake NYE show ever again.

Like I said above, there are some nice songs on it but it was a weird time to be a fan in 1999.

The songs for the French shows were poorly chosen.

One show he shouldn't have done at all, Tout Lara Fabian: this was variety songs for yo grandma, the anti-hip show by excellence, young people made lots of fun of him for playing there. TGRES was the right song I guess, but still... He shouldn't have done that show.

Hit Machine was targeted at teens, so TGRES was the last thing to play there because the kids would fall asleep, it should have been a Undisputed, Hot Wit U or So Far So Pleased, something loud and dynamic the kids could relate to.

Nulle Part Ailleurs had a hipper audience, basically 15-35 metropolitan target, and there playing Alphabet St. was OK but old news, and Baby Knows was a terrible choice because it was a very typically American, almost redneck song, not what this sophisticated audience would want. Prettyman would have been perfect for this one because funk was making a come back at the time, thought any of the 3 I mentioned above could have worked.

.

Now I realize Prince wasn't supposed to know the demographics of each foreign TV show, but either he or the label should have had people who did to advise him.

Yes, Hot With U or So Far, So Pleased or maybe even Wherever U Go , Whatever U Do would have been much better choices.

And yes, the TV shows and the songs he chose did not match at all.

Weird times and bad planning.

Rave could´ve sold much better with a better strategy.

they wanted the adult contemporary market that gave santana a comeback .. nothing too edgy with lots of young guests to give it enough crossover apeal to get the parents to buy it too .. they should have released i love u but dont trust u anymore to all the norah jones market stations .. that was about all this album had going for it .. unfortunately the rest of the album does not really age well .. if the price keeps dropping on this collection i might get it just to have it .. i guess it is a fun way to release some already released material and i kinda dig that but it isn't really unfairly maligned in any way .. musicology was his best middle of the road tame and lame comeback attempt .. this was bland on bland at its most bland prince ... and that is not a michael bland reference at all .. cuz he was pretty great

KoolEaze said:

databank said:

The songs for the French shows were poorly chosen.

One show he shouldn't have done at all, Tout Lara Fabian: this was variety songs for yo grandma, the anti-hip show by excellence, young people made lots of fun of him for playing there. TGRES was the right song I guess, but still... He shouldn't have done that show.

Hit Machine was targeted at teens, so TGRES was the last thing to play there because the kids would fall asleep, it should have been a Undisputed, Hot Wit U or So Far So Pleased, something loud and dynamic the kids could relate to.

Nulle Part Ailleurs had a hipper audience, basically 15-35 metropolitan target, and there playing Alphabet St. was OK but old news, and Baby Knows was a terrible choice because it was a very typically American, almost redneck song, not what this sophisticated audience would want. Prettyman would have been perfect for this one because funk was making a come back at the time, thought any of the 3 I mentioned above could have worked.

.

Now I realize Prince wasn't supposed to know the demographics of each foreign TV show, but either he or the label should have had people who did to advise him.

Yes, Hot With U or So Far, So Pleased or maybe even Wherever U Go , Whatever U Do would have been much better choices.

And yes, the TV shows and the songs he chose did not match at all.

Weird times and bad planning.

Rave could´ve sold much better with a better strategy.

Yeah IDK I was 23 at the time and lots of friends my age came home all the time so they heard it a lot and they usually said they liked what they were hearing alright, it was quite in the zeitgeist for a mainstream R&B/pop album of that time

databank said:

RODSERLING said:

databank said:

The songs for the French shows were poorly chosen.

One show he shouldn't have done at all, Tout Lara Fabian: this was variety songs for yo grandma, the anti-hip show by excellence, young people made lots of fun of him for playing there. TGRES was the right song I guess, but still... He shouldn't have done that show.

Hit Machine was targeted at teens, so TGRES was the last thing to play there because the kids would fall asleep, it should have been a Undisputed, Hot Wit U or So Far So Pleased, something loud and dynamic the kids could relate to.

Nulle Part Ailleurs had a hipper audience, basically 15-35 metropolitan target, and there playing Alphabet St. was OK but old news, and Baby Knows was a terrible choice because it was a very typically American, almost redneck song, not what this sophisticated audience would want. Prettyman would have been perfect for this one because funk was making a come back at the time, thought any of the 3 I mentioned above could have worked.

.

Now I realize Prince wasn't supposed to know the demographics of each foreign TV show, but either he or the label should have had people who did to advise him.

Lol I remember the Hit Machine I was like 12. Charly and Lulu didn't know how to introduce him. It was like " And now Prince!" " No, he doesn't to be called Prince anymore" The performance and his appearance was weird. He looked like a has been that never got over the 80's like Culture Club. The song, TGRES was not only the piece of crap we all know, but the performance was in playback, and he hid his mouth with his hands constantly. No energy at all, it was like " please don't buy my records anymore" all over the performance. Prince was also dislikeable at the most, he didn't even said a word to the audience or to the hosters. A complete dushbag from head to toes. Even Culture Club (I think it was in the same show or shortly afterwards) had more energy and sympathy.

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So here's the video you're talking about:

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Whether you like the song or not is entirely up to you, but calling it a p.o.c. will make you look like a douchebag, not Prince. It's not one of his greatest compositions (just as some of his greatest hits aren't either), but it's a good song, arrangement and performance. Certainly above his average, which is already way above the industry average.
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I really don't know what you mean on "he looked like a has been" in the TV performance, because to me he lookes quite the opposite in this video: someone who's been able to constantly reinvent himself regardless of what's expected of him.
Yes, the performance was mostly (but not fully) playback: the horns and the background vocals were live, which to me (as a sound engineer) suggests a compromise have been made due to technical limitations of the TV studio. This solution only needed a few mics to be open and they could be easily mixed with the sound of the CD – but obviously Prince didn't have the multitrack recordings of the song with him (why would he? he always preferred playing live and was perfectly capable to do so) that would've allowed to use only the backing tracks. So he chose not to sing live, as his live voice would've interfered with the recorded vocal track.
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No, he is not covering his mouth "constantly" but only once (and not for the reason you suggest). And the rest of your memories are just as baseless, I really have no idea what you're talking about. He's done a fine performance, his lipsyncing is spot on all the way, which is actually something that real artists usually find extremely hard to do, only fakers like Madonna can perfect because for them that's the norm.
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RODSERLING said:

databank said:

The songs for the French shows were poorly chosen.

One show he shouldn't have done at all, Tout Lara Fabian: this was variety songs for yo grandma, the anti-hip show by excellence, young people made lots of fun of him for playing there. TGRES was the right song I guess, but still... He shouldn't have done that show.

Hit Machine was targeted at teens, so TGRES was the last thing to play there because the kids would fall asleep, it should have been a Undisputed, Hot Wit U or So Far So Pleased, something loud and dynamic the kids could relate to.

Nulle Part Ailleurs had a hipper audience, basically 15-35 metropolitan target, and there playing Alphabet St. was OK but old news, and Baby Knows was a terrible choice because it was a very typically American, almost redneck song, not what this sophisticated audience would want. Prettyman would have been perfect for this one because funk was making a come back at the time, thought any of the 3 I mentioned above could have worked.

.

Now I realize Prince wasn't supposed to know the demographics of each foreign TV show, but either he or the label should have had people who did to advise him.

Lol I remember the Hit Machine I was like 12. Charly and Lulu didn't know how to introduce him. It was like " And now Prince!" " No, he doesn't to be called Prince anymore" The performance and his appearance was weird. He looked like a has been that never got over the 80's like Culture Club. The song, TGRES was not only the piece of crap we all know, but the performance was in playback, and he hid his mouth with his hands constantly. No energy at all, it was like " please don't buy my records anymore" all over the performance. Prince was also dislikeable at the most, he didn't even said a word to the audience or to the hosters. A complete dushbag from head to toes. Even Culture Club (I think it was in the same show or shortly afterwards) had more energy and sympathy.

Charly and fucking Lulu!! Lawd I had so totally forgotten about those clowns

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Apparently it was not entirely playback on those EU shows: the horns and I believe some of the vocals too at least were live, but there was tape too.

Kares said:

RODSERLING said:

databank said: Lol I remember the Hit Machine I was like 12. Charly and Lulu didn't know how to introduce him. It was like " And now Prince!" " No, he doesn't to be called Prince anymore" The performance and his appearance was weird. He looked like a has been that never got over the 80's like Culture Club. The song, TGRES was not only the piece of crap we all know, but the performance was in playback, and he hid his mouth with his hands constantly. No energy at all, it was like " please don't buy my records anymore" all over the performance. Prince was also dislikeable at the most, he didn't even said a word to the audience or to the hosters. A complete dushbag from head to toes. Even Culture Club (I think it was in the same show or shortly afterwards) had more energy and sympathy.

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So here's the video you're talking about:

https://www.youtube.com/w...nOueRZDB_I

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Whether you like the song or not is entirely up to you, but calling it a p.o.c. will make you look like a douchebag, not Prince. It's not one of his greatest compositions (just as some of his greatest hits aren't either), but it's a good song, arrangement and performance. Certainly above his average, which is already way above the industry average.
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I really don't know what you mean on "he looked like a has been" in the TV performance, because to me he lookes quite the opposite in this video: someone who's been able to constantly reinvent himself regardless of what's expected of him.
Yes, the performance was mostly (but not fully) playback: the horns and the background vocals were live, which to me (as a sound engineer) suggests a compromise have been made due to technical limitations of the TV studio. This solution only needed a few mics to be open and they could be easily mixed with the sound of the CD – but obviously Prince didn't have the multitrack recordings of the song with him (why would he? he always preferred playing live and was perfectly capable to do so) that would've allowed to use only the backing tracks. So he chose not to sing live, as his live voice would've interfered with the recorded vocal track.
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No, he is not covering his mouth "constantly" but only once (and not for the reason you suggest). And the rest of your memories are just as baseless, I really have no idea what you're talking about. He's done a fine performance, his lipsyncing is spot on all the way, which is actually something that real artists usually find extremely hard to do, only fakers like Madonna can perfect because for them that's the norm.
.

Watching this footage again, I'd like to make a statement:

In the name of all French people, I apologize for Charly and Lulu. I swear we removed them from TV since (at least I hope we did! Did we?)

And in case someone thinks this is as good as it's ever going to get, because doing more would be impossible: let me introduce you to the latest box set from King Crimson: http://www.superdeluxeedi...earth-box/

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This box set features 18 CDs, 3 x blu-ray audio, one blu-ray video and two DVD-Audio discs. The first three CDs are devoted to enhanced version of the studio albums The ConstruKction Of Light (2000) and The Power to Believe (2003). The former has been remixed (by Don Gunn) and features all new drums by Pat Mastelotto and has a new moniker The ReconstruKction Of Light. The Power to Believe is featured as an extended/enhanced stereo mix and includes the studio version of Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With and Level 5.

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The next four CDs feature the instrumental/improvised ProjeKcts, er, projects, described as “research and development” by Robert Fripp. These are all new to CD and each ‘ProjeKct’ each CD features a different line-up.

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A further 11 CDs feature live recordings (several new to CD, with some material previously unreleased) from the 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2008 tours.

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Note that they have several box sets like this. Yet Prince fans claim such things would be impossible to compile, to prodice and to sell.

BartVanHemelen said:

And in case someone thinks this is as good as it's ever going to get, because doing more would be impossible: let me introduce you to the latest box set from King Crimson: http://www.superdeluxeedi...earth-box/

.

This box set features 18 CDs, 3 x blu-ray audio, one blu-ray video and two DVD-Audio discs. The first three CDs are devoted to enhanced version of the studio albums The ConstruKction Of Light (2000) and The Power to Believe (2003). The former has been remixed (by Don Gunn) and features all new drums by Pat Mastelotto and has a new moniker The ReconstruKction Of Light. The Power to Believe is featured as an extended/enhanced stereo mix and includes the studio version of Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With and Level 5.

.

The next four CDs feature the instrumental/improvised ProjeKcts, er, projects, described as “research and development” by Robert Fripp. These are all new to CD and each ‘ProjeKct’ each CD features a different line-up.

.

A further 11 CDs feature live recordings (several new to CD, with some material previously unreleased) from the 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2008 tours.

.

Note that they have several box sets like this. Yet Prince fans claim such things would be impossible to compile, to prodice and to sell.

And the most interesting thing is that those are albums were originally released 3 decades after the band's golden age, not historically significant albums.

His worst album ever

Kobe said:

His worst album ever

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Thank you for your insight.

Kares said:

feeluupp said:

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It would've been nice to have some consistency in regards to the packaging format of the rereleases. Why is this a completely different format than Purple Rain Deluxe? I'm not a fan of that one either, but the Estate should've decided on one packaging format (and a couple of recurring, but subtle design elements such as a numbering system to the official releases) BEFORE they started reissuing anything and they should've stuck to it since.
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I know design is not the most important thing, we all want the music, as much as we can get from the vault, but still, design IS important too – and it helps sell too, when it's done right.
Three years ago I started thinking about how I would approach a complete reissue program for Prince's back catalog and for his vault and one of the first things I decided was that it should be a series of releases with identical physical dimensions and a few recurring, easily identifiable design elements on the spine and back, so people can clearly distinguish the official, Prince Estate releases from not only the previous Prince releases, but from other artists too.
Having a unique, consistent visual element on all releases (while also recreating the original artwork to the smallest details) and making sure that everything's produced to a very high standard encourages people to collect the whole series even if it's just a rerelease of something they've bought many years before. Having a numbering system for the entire official catalog (similarly to how Frank Zappa's releases are numbered, for example) also helps sales, as it makes people be aware of the depths of his catalog. If they buy just a few albums and they see on one of them that it's "No.14" and the other says "No.65" of the official Prince Vault Releases, they will realise how much of Prince's music they aren't even aware of and it will encourage them to seek out more and perhaps to collect the entire series.
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[Edited 4/14/19 14:07pm]

Kares said:

It would've been nice to have some consistency in regards to the packaging format of the rereleases. Why is this a completely different format than Purple Rain Deluxe? I'm not a fan of that one either, but the Estate should've decided on one packaging format (and a couple of recurring, but subtle design elements such as a numbering system to the official releases) BEFORE they started reissuing anything and they should've stuck to it since.
.
I know design is not the most important thing, we all want the music, as much as we can get from the vault, but still, design IS important too – and it helps sell too, when it's done right.
Three years ago I started thinking about how I would approach a complete reissue program for Prince's back catalog and for his vault and one of the first things I decided was that it should be a series of releases with identical physical dimensions and a few recurring, easily identifiable design elements on the spine and back, so people can clearly distinguish the official, Prince Estate releases from not only the previous Prince releases, but from other artists too.
Having a unique, consistent visual element on all releases (while also recreating the original artwork to the smallest details) and making sure that everything's produced to a very high standard encourages people to collect the whole series even if it's just a rerelease of something they've bought many years before. Having a numbering system for the entire official catalog (similarly to how Frank Zappa's releases are numbered, for example) also helps sales, as it makes people be aware of the depths of his catalog. If they buy just a few albums and they see on one of them that it's "No.14" and the other say's "No.65" of the official Prince Vault Releases, they will realise how much of Prince's music they aren't even aware of and it will encourage them to seek out more and perhaps to collect the entire series.
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100% agree with all of that

Kares said:

It would've been nice to have some consistency in regards to the packaging format of the rereleases. Why is this a completely different format than Purple Rain Deluxe? I'm not a fan of that one either, but the Estate should've decided on one packaging format (and a couple of recurring, but subtle design elements such as a numbering system to the official releases) BEFORE they started reissuing anything and they should've stuck to it since.

.

It's unfortunately common. Duran Duran's deluxe editions are a ridiculous mess, for instance.

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There are plenty of DVD sets with inconsistent artworks, ditto books, etc.

BartVanHemelen said:

Kares said:

It would've been nice to have some consistency in regards to the packaging format of the rereleases. Why is this a completely different format than Purple Rain Deluxe? I'm not a fan of that one either, but the Estate should've decided on one packaging format (and a couple of recurring, but subtle design elements such as a numbering system to the official releases) BEFORE they started reissuing anything and they should've stuck to it since.

.

It's unfortunately common. Duran Duran's deluxe editions are a ridiculous mess, for instance.

There are plenty of DVD sets with inconsistent artworks, ditto books, etc.

.

I know, but this really should not be the case with the Prince releases. His estate had (in fact, still has) a chance to start a whole new chapter and embark on a major release program for Prince's recorded legacy. It should be well designed, professionally researched, curated and produced – and the end result should be a unique, very high quality, desirable and collectable series that look great on the shelf. It should easily run well above a hundred or two hundred releases and continue to be financially profitable. (Yes, I'm convinced all this could be achieved if the Estate would listen...)
I have worked out a packaging format that could look gorgeous, could use the same dimensions for all sorts of releases and that is adoptable for almost anything from a single disc album to a multi disc set with a thick book. It can be done.
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https://www.rockcellarmag...s-feature/

But again the estate is not in control of this packaging and such, BMG did all that stuff then for this one off album, just like 3121 was handled by another source and Planet Earth was handled by another, pretty much ALL of his reissues especially after he left WB i am sure are going to be totally bizarre some may be special some may not even be remastered, its a crapshoot.

lastdecember said:

But again the estate is not in control of this packaging and such, BMG did all that stuff then for this one off album, just like 3121 was handled by another source and Planet Earth was handled by another, pretty much ALL of his reissues especially after he left WB i am sure are going to be totally bizarre some may be special some may not even be remastered, its a crapshoot.

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The Estate CAN be in control if they want to. They license the material to WB and Sony.

Kares said:

lastdecember said:

But again the estate is not in control of this packaging and such, BMG did all that stuff then for this one off album, just like 3121 was handled by another source and Planet Earth was handled by another, pretty much ALL of his reissues especially after he left WB i am sure are going to be totally bizarre some may be special some may not even be remastered, its a crapshoot.

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The Estate CAN be in control if they want to. They license the material to WB and Sony.

At this point I think labels are coming to them and saying lets puts this out this way and that out that way. I mean no one was really calling for a RAVE reissue, I think this was more a chance to get his final works back in the stores or at least in print. Since basically everything he did after 1995 is really gone unless you get it used, I mean loyals have it but i think with this stuff they are just trying to get it back on the market again, RAVE is hardly a re-issue, its a package of 3 things already out put together in a sleeve. The artwork was all there, the photoshoots were in the possession of the label or whomever so its not really hard to box this one up and ship it and maybe you sell a thosand copies or so maybe.