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Why Rave is the worst thing Prince ever did... NEWS was dull. TRC was controversial. Musicology was run of the mill. But Rave...Rave is simply an awful Prince album. One so bad, it opposes everything that Prince represented at his best.
I mean, you could argue that NEWS was at least a daring experiment for a widely released Prince album. You could argue that TRC was Prince at his most inspired peak in years regardless of how you felt about the message. You could argue that Musicology was a solid return to his pop roots. You could even argue that a lame album like NPS was at least more consistent in its mediocrity (and technically an NPG album anyway). But Rave is Prince at his lowest. It all goes to hell early with the cover. 
What the hell is that?! A serious looking Prince dressed up in some strange Blue Man Group knock-off? Definitely strange, and not in the cool Princely way. Then we get to the absurd song order, where there's just zero cohesion. The album flows more awkwardly than a pre-teen's first sexual experience. There are some good songs here, but they're thrown together like a bucket of paint being splashed against a wall. Only on an album like Rave can you go from a great sounding, simple song like Tangerine suddenly stopping so we can hear wretched, pandering pop like So Far, So Pleased. And how is it possible that some of his most uninspired/offensively bad songs ever, like Every Day in a Winding Road and Hot Wit U can be scattered on the same album as the brilliant, heartbreaking I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore? It just makes the album more painful to listen to when the quality seems to randomly range anywhere from great to depressingly lame. And what's with all the guest stars? Since when has Prince needed to rely on flavours of the month on an album? Eve's rap contributes nothing but a see through cameo, and the same goes for Gwen and Sheryl Crow. They serve no purpose other than to give the album a phony "big time" feel. It winds up just feeling pathetic, like that girl in Joy in Repetition who's begging the guy to love her. But that brings us to the album's single most annoying quality; it absolutely reeks of desperation. Vile, blatant desperation. Prince often sounds like a reluctant child being pushed back into the spotlight on this album with trite, generic numbers like Baby Knows and generic R&B. It's a comeback album with an artist who doesn't sound like he really gives a damn. He's made clear commercial attempts before, but he never sounded as flat out bored and pressured as he does here. To top off the schizophrenia of Rave, we get subjected to a long silence and then a fucking advertisement of all things. That seems to sum the album up perfectly in a way. I just had to vent. I listened to this album again recently, and it's just such a mess. The world is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel.
"You still wanna take me to prison...just because I won't trade humanity for patriotism." | |
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Rave is great!! -sexxydancer The world is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel.
"You still wanna take me to prison...just because I won't trade humanity for patriotism." | |
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wow, I agree with just about all of that! When I think about which records I've re-listened to lately, I've listened to NPS more than this record (ouch). There's just too much nonsense on this album to deal with skipping tracks to get to the few good ones. (random rant - as a dj, it annoys me that Pretty Man is only a bonus track on the CD and not the vinyl!).
But since when was NEWS a widely distributed album? Seemed pretty small & specialized to me since I've only seen it @ NPGMC, Amoeba in San Francisco, etc... (yes, I know, sideways digression) [Edited 12/4/06 21:20pm] | |
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Well on the plus side he looked the sexiest he ever looked during that time so at least he still had his looks right?  | |
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Krystal666 said: Well on the plus side he looked the sexiest he ever looked during that time so at least he still had his looks right?
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Krystal666 said: Well on the plus side he looked the sexiest he ever looked during that time so at least he still had his looks right?
Yeah, except he's dressed in a skin tight blue garbage bag.  The world is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel.
"You still wanna take me to prison...just because I won't trade humanity for patriotism." | |
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PurpleKnight said: Krystal666 said: Well on the plus side he looked the sexiest he ever looked during that time so at least he still had his looks right?
Yeah, except he's dressed in a skin tight blue garbage bag.  He could be wearing a barrel and still look like a million bucks.  | |
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this iz, again, another cd that he doesnt play anymore. as for the outfit, i could care less. i'm here for the music. the appearances dont bother me so much. its a first and therefore a different approach for prince. the one song that i have a problem with iz the remx of "rave" on in2 the joy cd. it was a bad idea to make a techno version. the original iz better. | |
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i bet you write long winded movie reviews on IMDB.
Im glad we all dont share the same opinions here because I certainly dont think its as bad as you say. The lowest point on the album imo is Larry Graham.I hate everything he ever got involved with with Prince.And hearing him on Everyday is a Winding Road preaching to us is cringeworthy and made me puke in my mouth a little. As for the solution to your problem with the long silence and then a fucking advertisement.....eject it from your before the long silence starts....that was easy wasnt it? Fuck the funk - it's time to ditch the worn-out Vegas horns fills, pick up the geee-tar and finally ROCK THE MUTHA-FUCKER!! He hinted at this on Chaos, now it's time to step up and fully DELIVER!!
KrystleEyes 22/03/05 | |
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I only read the first sentence as I didn't want to waste any more time on this awful, awful album, but I agreed with that first sentence whole-heartedly.
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Tangerine is small but great
I love you but i dont trust u anymore is a masterpiece prettyman is funky title track is pure prince baby knows is cool as ice the suun moons and stars is beautiful strange but true is cool. its not so bad as people say. but hot with you is the worst ever the low points on this album are disgusting :p |
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I like that one
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I agree it may be his worst, and a Cheryl Crow song  | |
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What about Rave In2? I think In2 tried to pickup the pieces and I think it did a great job because I bought that one first, never bought RaveUn2. | |
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Damn y'all! I liked it!
The Greatest Romance Ever Sold was my jam and Prince was looked so damn fine in the video, I forgave him for the blue space suit and ponytails on the cd cover! Pretty Man was classic Prince including the fact that it was a hidden track. Wherever U Go, Whatever U Do is still one of my favorite songs! The rest of it was ok and had it's moments, not his best work but not the worst I've ever heard either. Just another case of different strokes for different folks, I guess.  | |
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Thank God somebody mentioned Greatest Romance..... u know u want 2...so do it
www.myspace.com/newoikkinrock www.myspace.com/freerfilms my 2 bestest talented friends want u 2 hear and c them | |
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Certainly not my favourite album by a long way, but not an album I hate as much as that. I thought the blue suit was a) a beautiful colour and b) another great unique Prince look, with his Grafitti Bridge-esque beard he looked younger than ever and it made a pretty strong album cover if you ask me with the cool font.
All the tracks PurpleKnight likes I dislike and vice versa, which just goes to show you can't please all the people all of the time. Apart from Chuck D you can't hardly hear the guest appearances, I'd prefer if they were higher in the vocal mix if you ask me, a proper duet! Yes, it was an attempt at a commercial sound but it never stops sounding like unique Prince creations at the same time. I actually really like Sheryl Crow and the brilliant song 'Everyday is a Winding Road'; though Prince's isn't a patch on her version, I still kinda enjoy it even with Larry Graham preaching. I reckon a good half of the album are gems; it's just that my favourites are going to be completely different to other people's. I tend to think this is similar to how Emancipation would have sounded if it had been compressed into 1 disc like so many people say it should have. | |
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I think it's easily his weakest album (if we are allowed to exclude Kamasutra).
But I can think of many things that Prince has done which are worse. From some of his ridiculous lawsuits against members of his fanbase (actually, 'ridiculous exertions of legal pressure' is more accurate), to 1999: The New Master. There's a Bumhole in my Heart. |
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PurpleKnight said: NEWS was dull. TRC was controversial. Musicology was run of the mill. But Rave...Rave is simply an awful Prince album. One so bad, it opposes everything that Prince represented at his best.
I mean, you could argue that NEWS was at least a daring experiment for a widely released Prince album. You could argue that TRC was Prince at his most inspired peak in years regardless of how you felt about the message. You could argue that Musicology was a solid return to his pop roots. You could even argue that a lame album like NPS was at least more consistent in its mediocrity (and technically an NPG album anyway). But Rave is Prince at his lowest. It all goes to hell early with the cover.
What the hell is that?! A serious looking Prince dressed up in some strange Blue Man Group knock-off? Definitely strange, and not in the cool Princely way. Then we get to the absurd song order, where there's just zero cohesion. The album flows more awkwardly than a pre-teen's first sexual experience. There are some good songs here, but they're thrown together like a bucket of paint being splashed against a wall. Only on an album like Rave can you go from a great sounding, simple song like Tangerine suddenly stopping so we can hear wretched, pandering pop like So Far, So Pleased. And how is it possible that some of his most uninspired/offensively bad songs ever, like Every Day in a Winding Road and Hot Wit U can be scattered on the same album as the brilliant, heartbreaking I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore? It just makes the album more painful to listen to when the quality seems to randomly range anywhere from great to depressingly lame. And what's with all the guest stars? Since when has Prince needed to rely on flavours of the month on an album? Eve's rap contributes nothing but a see through cameo, and the same goes for Gwen and Sheryl Crow. They serve no purpose other than to give the album a phony "big time" feel. It winds up just feeling pathetic, like that girl in Joy in Repetition who's begging the guy to love her. But that brings us to the album's single most annoying quality; it absolutely reeks of desperation. Vile, blatant desperation. Prince often sounds like a reluctant child being pushed back into the spotlight on this album with trite, generic numbers like Baby Knows and generic R&B. It's a comeback album with an artist who doesn't sound like he really gives a damn. He's made clear commercial attempts before, but he never sounded as flat out bored and pressured as he does here. To top off the schizophrenia of Rave, we get subjected to a long silence and then a fucking advertisement of all things. That seems to sum the album up perfectly in a way. I just had to vent. I listened to this album again recently, and it's just such a mess. come on go listen to Emancipation!! now that was a let down | |
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It's not one of my favorite Prince albums,either.In fact,I haven't played it in several years.But I do like a handful of songs...
"Silly Game" "So Far,So Pleased" "Wherever You Go,Whatever You Do" I agree with you about the song order.What was Prince thinking?! The album has no "flow" whatsover. | |
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SexyBeautifulOne said: DPretty Man was classic Prince
Replace "Prince" with "James Brown" and "classic" with "okay album filler" and you're closer to the truth. © Bart Van Hemelen
This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties, and confers no rights. It is not authorized by Prince or the NPG Music Club. You assume all risk for your use. All rights reserved. | |
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PurpleKnight said: NEWS was dull. TRC was controversial. Musicology was run of the mill. But Rave...Rave is simply an awful Prince album. One so bad, it opposes everything that Prince represented at his best.
I mean, you could argue that NEWS was at least a daring experiment for a widely released Prince album. You could argue that TRC was Prince at his most inspired peak in years regardless of how you felt about the message. You could argue that Musicology was a solid return to his pop roots. You could even argue that a lame album like NPS was at least more consistent in its mediocrity (and technically an NPG album anyway). But Rave is Prince at his lowest. It all goes to hell early with the cover.
What the hell is that?! A serious looking Prince dressed up in some strange Blue Man Group knock-off? Definitely strange, and not in the cool Princely way. Then we get to the absurd song order, where there's just zero cohesion. The album flows more awkwardly than a pre-teen's first sexual experience. There are some good songs here, but they're thrown together like a bucket of paint being splashed against a wall. Only on an album like Rave can you go from a great sounding, simple song like Tangerine suddenly stopping so we can hear wretched, pandering pop like So Far, So Pleased. And how is it possible that some of his most uninspired/offensively bad songs ever, like Every Day in a Winding Road and Hot Wit U can be scattered on the same album as the brilliant, heartbreaking I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore? It just makes the album more painful to listen to when the quality seems to randomly range anywhere from great to depressingly lame. And what's with all the guest stars? Since when has Prince needed to rely on flavours of the month on an album? Eve's rap contributes nothing but a see through cameo, and the same goes for Gwen and Sheryl Crow. They serve no purpose other than to give the album a phony "big time" feel. It winds up just feeling pathetic, like that girl in Joy in Repetition who's begging the guy to love her. But that brings us to the album's single most annoying quality; it absolutely reeks of desperation. Vile, blatant desperation. Prince often sounds like a reluctant child being pushed back into the spotlight on this album with trite, generic numbers like Baby Knows and generic R&B. It's a comeback album with an artist who doesn't sound like he really gives a damn. He's made clear commercial attempts before, but he never sounded as flat out bored and pressured as he does here. To top off the schizophrenia of Rave, we get subjected to a long silence and then a fucking advertisement of all things. That seems to sum the album up perfectly in a way. I just had to vent. I listened to this album again recently, and it's just such a mess. I completely agree with you, but Clive Davis stupidly tried to repeat the Santana formula with Prince and it fell flat on its face. There are three sides to every story. My side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently | |
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BartVanHemelen said: SexyBeautifulOne said: DPretty Man was classic Prince
Replace "Prince" with "James Brown" and "classic" with "okay album filler" and you're closer to the truth. No, replace "Prince" with "KFed" or "Clay Aitken" and you've got a work of jaw-dropping genius. There are three sides to every story. My side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently | |
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BartVanHemelen said: SexyBeautifulOne said: DPretty Man was classic Prince
Replace "Prince" with "James Brown" and "classic" with "okay album filler" and you're closer to the truth.  | |
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Shapeshifter said: BartVanHemelen said: Replace "Prince" with "James Brown" and "classic" with "okay album filler" and you're closer to the truth. No, replace "Prince" with "KFed" or "Clay Aitken" and you've got a work of jaw-dropping genius. 
Don't ever put Prince and KFed in the same sentence again! | |
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clarityman said: PurpleKnight said: NEWS was dull. TRC was controversial. Musicology was run of the mill. But Rave...Rave is simply an awful Prince album. One so bad, it opposes everything that Prince represented at his best.
I mean, you could argue that NEWS was at least a daring experiment for a widely released Prince album. You could argue that TRC was Prince at his most inspired peak in years regardless of how you felt about the message. You could argue that Musicology was a solid return to his pop roots. You could even argue that a lame album like NPS was at least more consistent in its mediocrity (and technically an NPG album anyway). But Rave is Prince at his lowest. It all goes to hell early with the cover.
What the hell is that?! A serious looking Prince dressed up in some strange Blue Man Group knock-off? Definitely strange, and not in the cool Princely way. Then we get to the absurd song order, where there's just zero cohesion. The album flows more awkwardly than a pre-teen's first sexual experience. There are some good songs here, but they're thrown together like a bucket of paint being splashed against a wall. Only on an album like Rave can you go from a great sounding, simple song like Tangerine suddenly stopping so we can hear wretched, pandering pop like So Far, So Pleased. And how is it possible that some of his most uninspired/offensively bad songs ever, like Every Day in a Winding Road and Hot Wit U can be scattered on the same album as the brilliant, heartbreaking I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore? It just makes the album more painful to listen to when the quality seems to randomly range anywhere from great to depressingly lame. And what's with all the guest stars? Since when has Prince needed to rely on flavours of the month on an album? Eve's rap contributes nothing but a see through cameo, and the same goes for Gwen and Sheryl Crow. They serve no purpose other than to give the album a phony "big time" feel. It winds up just feeling pathetic, like that girl in Joy in Repetition who's begging the guy to love her. But that brings us to the album's single most annoying quality; it absolutely reeks of desperation. Vile, blatant desperation. Prince often sounds like a reluctant child being pushed back into the spotlight on this album with trite, generic numbers like Baby Knows and generic R&B. It's a comeback album with an artist who doesn't sound like he really gives a damn. He's made clear commercial attempts before, but he never sounded as flat out bored and pressured as he does here. To top off the schizophrenia of Rave, we get subjected to a long silence and then a fucking advertisement of all things. That seems to sum the album up perfectly in a way. I just had to vent. I listened to this album again recently, and it's just such a mess. come on go listen to Emancipation!! now that was a let down Yeah, it was, but Rave was so much worse! [Edited 12/5/06 6:12am] | |
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Shapeshifter said: PurpleKnight said: NEWS was dull. TRC was controversial. Musicology was run of the mill. But Rave...Rave is simply an awful Prince album. One so bad, it opposes everything that Prince represented at his best.
I mean, you could argue that NEWS was at least a daring experiment for a widely released Prince album. You could argue that TRC was Prince at his most inspired peak in years regardless of how you felt about the message. You could argue that Musicology was a solid return to his pop roots. You could even argue that a lame album like NPS was at least more consistent in its mediocrity (and technically an NPG album anyway). But Rave is Prince at his lowest. It all goes to hell early with the cover.
What the hell is that?! A serious looking Prince dressed up in some strange Blue Man Group knock-off? Definitely strange, and not in the cool Princely way. Then we get to the absurd song order, where there's just zero cohesion. The album flows more awkwardly than a pre-teen's first sexual experience. There are some good songs here, but they're thrown together like a bucket of paint being splashed against a wall. Only on an album like Rave can you go from a great sounding, simple song like Tangerine suddenly stopping so we can hear wretched, pandering pop like So Far, So Pleased. And how is it possible that some of his most uninspired/offensively bad songs ever, like Every Day in a Winding Road and Hot Wit U can be scattered on the same album as the brilliant, heartbreaking I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore? It just makes the album more painful to listen to when the quality seems to randomly range anywhere from great to depressingly lame. And what's with all the guest stars? Since when has Prince needed to rely on flavours of the month on an album? Eve's rap contributes nothing but a see through cameo, and the same goes for Gwen and Sheryl Crow. They serve no purpose other than to give the album a phony "big time" feel. It winds up just feeling pathetic, like that girl in Joy in Repetition who's begging the guy to love her. But that brings us to the album's single most annoying quality; it absolutely reeks of desperation. Vile, blatant desperation. Prince often sounds like a reluctant child being pushed back into the spotlight on this album with trite, generic numbers like Baby Knows and generic R&B. It's a comeback album with an artist who doesn't sound like he really gives a damn. He's made clear commercial attempts before, but he never sounded as flat out bored and pressured as he does here. To top off the schizophrenia of Rave, we get subjected to a long silence and then a fucking advertisement of all things. That seems to sum the album up perfectly in a way. I just had to vent. I listened to this album again recently, and it's just such a mess. I completely agree with you, but Clive Davis stupidly tried to repeat the Santana formula with Prince and it fell flat on its face. This is why Clive Davis gets on my nerves.He tries to repeat this same formula with many of his artists.He makes them put all these guest stars on their album then places a sticker on the CD,listing all the collaborations.It's a desperate marketing ploy.Yes,it worked for Santana but it won't work for everybody. | |
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[No need for that snip - luv4u]
Rave is much better than Musicology and literally pisses all over 3121. Some of the ballads on this album are amonst his finest... I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore, Silly Game, The Sun The Moon & Stars (how gorgeous is the strings on that one?). Whever U Go Whatever U Do could've been such a big hit if it were released. That song alone is more inspired than any of the drivel on 3121. The Greatest Romance is a great R&B jam and got a shit-load of airplay when it was released in the UK - more so than any Prince song since TMBGITW. Shame they fucked up the formatting of the single. It may be all over the place and have some pretty weak moments but at least the album HAS highlights. 3121 and Musicology have the occasional enjoyable song - but hardly anything that really excites. [Edited 12/5/06 7:03am] | |
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