I've been listening to this album for a week. I don't know why critics and many of the fans criticized this album. I had to get a new copy because my old copy was all messed up. My favorite tracks are: the title track, Undisputed, The Greatest Romance Ever Sold, Tangerine, The Sun, The Moon,and Stars, Man O' War, Silly Game and Wherever U Go Whatever U Do. Did anybody get that statement about the lambs in the liner notes? Overall, I think it's a excellent album but, it took me a few listens to fully appreciate this album. Does anybody else dig this album?

I LOVE this album...did you check out Prettyman yet??? I can't stop playing it!

one of my least favorites, though oddly enough i really enjoy the remixed version of the album.

I'm a sucker for "The Greatest Romance..."

never mind hearsay..the critics mostly all a large thumbs up.....however the fans.....

jonylawson said:

really? i remember the critics' response being lukewarm at best...not that the critics are the end-all/be-all, but i remember his 'critic's darling' pass had expired from sometime in the early '90s up until TRC came out.

I think it's a pretty mediocre Prince album. It's weird--now and then I get the urge to listen to it, mostly cuz the album cover is funky and calls to me. But once I do listen, it feels empty and lacks substance. Tastes great, less filling. At first listen you think, hey this sounds cool, but then the songs don't stay with you.

The song "Rave" has style, a nice experiment.

"Undisputed" has that funky drum groove and Chuck D, but it doesn't do it for me.

"The Greatest Romance" is one of my favorites, only because I first heard it while sipping a cappucino in a corner cafe in Pisa, Italy, having the most romantic time of my life. I like the tune but it's not a great song--very ordinary.

"The Sun and Moon..." -- one of the best trax, great vocals, beautiful

"Tangerine"...if only it were longer.

"So Far, So Pleased" It sounds like the perfect pop record. But why does it bore the hell out of me?

"Baby Knows" --I like this one. This is funky and fun.

"I Love You But I don't trust you"....lacks something IMO

"Wherever You Go" is a really nice Prince song. It might have stood out more if it didn't sound like he'd done it before a hundred times.

"Strange But True"---very Princely, sounds like something from "Controversy"...yet very forgettable.

"Pretty Man"--hard to not like this jam, but it's nothing extraordinary.

True, critics were fairly lukewarm to this one.

I like it though, and it's got a couple of my favorite Prince songs ever on it (Man O' War, Silly Game, Strange But True). Tangerine, So Far, and The Greatest Romance are very good tunes aswell.

Unfortunately, that amounts to only 6 tracks on a 16 track album that I really, really like. I love playing those tunes, but I find myself hitting the skip button a lot.

It's just a near-miss.

The only track I like is the title track.

This is also Prince's "Michael Jackson" album.....bringing in damn guest artists.

This record is okay, but compared to any of the Prince records I can't live without (which is pretty much everything in the 80's plus a few others), it's unlistenable. I mean really. Compare it to "Lovesexy", or "Controversy". There is no comparison.

vainandy said:

No, actually that a Quincy Jones gimmick!!!

silverchild said:

Anything is better than TRC!

But Rave makes Prince kind of soft.

Well, it's been my experience that Rave was the right album at the wrong time. Since the title track was written around the time right after Lovesexy, so it's like Roadhouse Garden in that coulda-woulda-shoulda sense. The only flaw in the album is that he tries to bring back the "MPLS Sound" that he created, but didn't adjust the production values according to the sound of the late 90s, so where it was supposed to sound like a live instrument (the keyboard flute in Silly Game, for example), it sounded like anything but live.

How I feel about the album? When I first got it, I was thinking it was one of his best, but as time passed, I thought of it as more like a B-tier album, alongside the likes of Musicology and Purple Rain: Not the best album, but certainly a good album. (I will now duck from the rocks and bottles that people will throw at me, for considering Musicology in the same class as Purple Rain).

Well, at the time it was released, a lot of us thought it was a great album -- a sign of better things to come. Afterall, his previous album was NPS.

Krystal666 said:

Prettyman is my favorite track on the album, dance-wise. It's just funky like he know he be.

poetbear68 said:

The lyrics are funny too. You just know Prince is that into his himself! Heh Heh.

"Rave..." is a good album but not one of my faves!

The title track is amazing! I love, love, love it!

Rave: CD and Remix CD Versions PALE in comparisons to live versions

Undisputed: CD Version sounded kinda strange to me. Like something was missing. The Remix version had everything it needed.

TGRES: Very good song. Shitty video. Really Shitty video. The mixes were strange, but the Adam and Eve mix was cool because it has the "Silicon" rap on it.

Sun Moon Stars: One of those cool Prince songs that I dig but really shouldn't as nothing really stands out other than it's just kinda pleasing. Like Condition of the Heart and Soul Sanctuary

Tangerine: Um...cute. I can't see this going much longer than the time Prince allotted it. Maybe a live version would be nice.

Hot Wit U: The CD Song is pretty tight, but its a pretty breezy song. The Remix is HORRIBLE. He really should have just went straight Dancehall with it instead of what every kind of hybrid he did.

So Far So Pleased: uh.....er...um...blah. Not enough Gwen. Not enough FUNK. He really could have done something sKa with it or anything. Everytime I hear it I think of Contest Song.

Baby Knows: Great song. I think he hit it good on this one. Good rhythm, changeups, Camille, and not too much Sheryl Crow.

I Love U: Considering he cut it in like 4 takes, it's amazing.

Silly Game: I like this song. Pretty woodwind/synth, but the lyrics only relate to Prince fans.

Man O War: When I first heard this, I actually said "Are you fucking kidding me?" The Piano/Keyboard has a very nice sound to it, though.

wherever u go: I like Lenny's version better. Alot better. Very by the numbers, and kinda feels like it lacks effort. Sonicly, however, it's very nicely produced. I always notice that when I hear this song.

Strange But True: Underrated. This could have a 12 minute mix and I think I'd still enjoy it.

Pretty Man: Nice track. I've actually pulled it out just for this track.
[Edited 4/26/05 23:00pm]

Is Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic the remix version?

It's my least favorite Prince album (excluding NPG releases.)

Dauphin said:

What's that called???

MattyJam said:

"Again"

i like pretty man and its an ok album

What was that Lamb story all about in the case? Was it some kind of history lesson?!

doctamario said:

yep.

though "remix" is a little misleading, because most of the songs were pretty much exactly the same.

the addition of beautiful strange immediately made it a better album though.

You know, there are some treats on RAVE. I like the album, it was during my rediscovering of Prince period, so back then he could do no wrong.

Man 'o' War was my Jam and my screen name on the old school black and purple org.

I really dig this album. Sure it has a few fillers but overall its pretty good. Recently though, i was on NPGMC and in the Reflection Room they had Undisputed but it was different version. I found out it was from the Rave IN2 CD, which i've never heard but hear that its awesome. It sounded so much better as the remix. If he had released that version to the public, he might've gotten better reviews.

Prince should've taken the best from the original and the best from the remixed version and made a tight ten track disc.

How's this?

Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (far, far superior to the original!)
Hot Wit U (Nasty Girl version... again, far better than the original)
The Greatest Romance Ever Sold
Baby Knows
The Sun The Moon & Stars
I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore
Strange But True
Beautiful Strange
Silly Game
Wherever U Go Whatever U Do

That's a really tight pop album.

I think may of us do find it as one of his weakest, but I have some fond memories of listening to it at the heart of winter in 1999-2000. There's something wintery about some of the songs on that record. It was quite perfect to listen to in a candle-lit room, for some reason I can't tell why.

"Cold warmth"?