Has anyone heard this CD? Any comments?

It has some good songs on it, but the production sounds a little week. Very technical.
He does have a few guest musicians on it: Sheryl Crow, Ani Di Franco, Gwen Stefani and Maceo Parker to name a few.
Not my favourite either and disappointed by the version of "Rave".

It's not great, it's not bad... though people give it more of a bad rap than it deserves. If it had been released in the 80's people would be falling all over it, imo.

It was a failed attempt at a comback project for an artist to go back into the pop mainstream. It was a decent record, but it's definitely not his best. But there were some songs I actually liked on there.

It's not bad...but not great. I prefer the second version of the album called "Rave in2 the joy fantastic" that has this tracklist:

1. "Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic" – 5:13
2. "Undisputed" (The Moneyopolis Mix) – 5:45
3. "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" (Extended Remix) – 8:07
4. "Hot Wit U" (Nasty Girl Remix) – 4:22
5. "Tangerine" (Extended Version) – 2:13
6. "So Far, So Pleased" – 3:23
7. "The Sun, the Moon and Stars – 5:15
8. "Man O' War" (Remix) – 5:12
9. "Baby Knows" (Extended Version) – 3:52
10. "Eye Love U, but Eye Don't Trust U Anymore" – 3:33
11. "Beautiful Strange" – 4:55
12. "Silly Game" – 3:29
13. "Wherever U Go, Whatever U Do" – 3:15
14. "Prettyman" (Extended Version) – 5:35

Still, it's a shame that "Strange but true" was ommited!

I like Rave in2 better than Rave Un2. I like the extended version of "Tangerine", although the original is very short and sweet. It's got some songs that might annoy you, but it's got some gems. "I Love You But I Don't Trust You Anymore" is heartbreaking and beautiful.
[Edited 4/4/07 11:10am]

Yes I have it, not my favorite. But, I do listen to it. There are a few songs in there I really dig, "I love you, but I don't trust you anymore". Always makes me wonder if he was talking about Mayte. I also like "Silly game" and "The sun,the moon and stars".
"Rave unto the Joy 2000" was also a special pay-per-view on television special that was shown New Years Eve, 1999. I watched this and it made me appreciate the cd more.
There are a a few "guest appearences" including: Gwen Stefani, Sheryl Crow,
Ani DiFranco, and Eve.

Thanks for the enlightenment! I think I'm gonna give it a try.

One more thing- I always turn it up when "everyday is a winding road" comes on, he sings with Cherly Crow.

PaisleyPark5083 said:

No...Sheryl is not featured on that song, but on Baby Knows. Larry Grahan is the one that appears on "Everyday..."

dear god, yer right..I'm losing it!

PaisleyPark5083 said:

your license as a fam has been revoked!

still love the song, I pulled it out right now.....
my favorite line:

I've been living on compliments and herbal tea...

PaisleyPark5083 said:

I'm more fond of the original version from Shery Crow, Have nice memories about it

Just finished listening to "man O' war" god I love his sweet voice in that song!! How would you like to wake up to that sweet voice? damn!!

I'm considering this album myself. Have been since I started thinking about starting my collection.

I doubt that everything will be at the same level of greatness that I see in TGRES.

Prince mentioned that he wrote the title track around the same time as Kiss, which has me a little curious.
The fact I dreamt about the Prince from this time period leads me to believe that "Rave" will become a part of my collection soon enough. I feel like I've found a friend in "Rave" Prince... and I like his attitude during that time period. He seems a lot happier... well compared to his early years as anyway.

The happiness factor is why I'm considering Emancipation as well... but there's still plenty of time for me to make up my mind. I spent over $70 on 4 CD's, it'll be a while b4 i come into more money.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

In your city, can you buy it used? always a bargain!!

If you omit 3 tracks, replace a couple of ext/remixes and you have a fucken great CD.

Wipe the shit off the poo poo posts for this CD.

PaisleyPark5083 said:

haha

I always get that reactiion when people hear I spent that much on music... it's worth every cent to me. I love the CD's I have right now.

I live up in the Poconos, kinda in the middle of a small town of Marshall's Creek. We don't have a Best Buy as of yet... but FYE has proven very useful so far.
TGE used 4 $17.99 in mint condition= bargain.
I can't help bringing that up, I just consider myself lucky that I found it at all.

If I ever do see Rave, I'll be sure to pick it up. It's on my priority list along with D&P and Emancipation. I'm interested in the latter portions of that era when his name was ... the comparsion between TGE, Emancipation & Rave should be an interesting one... and I look forward to that day.

damn! I love this cd more then I thought I did. I just finished listening to: "wherever U go, whatever U do" what an inspirational song indeed, perfect ending.
[Edited 4/4/07 11:57am]

the handful of fantastic trax makes up for the bad ones. tho it doesnt work well as a complete album. 'i love u but i dont trust u anymore' alone makes it worth having.

piepie1976 said:

Yup, I think this is one of the rare cases for Prince where being eclectic just didn't work... taken separately, many of the tracks are quite good.

I don't give a shit about them haters

I like it

I love U but I don't Trust U Anymore and Man O' War r my favourites.



.
[Edited 4/4/07 16:31pm]

[Edited 4/4/07 16:30pm]

Peeps need to stop procrastinatin' and get all of the out-of-print CDs while they're still fairly inexpensive.

Black Album - OOP *Watch for counterfeits, bootlegs
Emancipation - OOP
Crystal Ball - OOP
Gold Experience - OOP
Rainbow Children - NOS(New, Old Stock) only
One Nite Alone-Piano - OOP
One Nite Alone Live Box - NOS only
New Power Soul - OOP
Exodus - OOP
Gold Nigga - OOP *Watch for counterfeits
Girl 6 - OOP
Rave Un2 - OOP
Rave In2 - OOP
Musicology - NOS only?
3121 - NOS only?

Doubtful to be re-pressed:

The Vault... Old Friends 4 Sale
Chaos And Disorder
The Very Best Of Prince
Come

From a certain point of view, your standard Prince album - an eclectic mix of styles and genres, with a few great songs and a few duff ones but with everyone having a different opinion of what those would be.

For me personally, too many ballads and mid-tempo songs, Rave, Baby Knows, Prettyman, So Far So Pleased are my favourites. Better than some albums and somewhat under-rated but nowhere near his best.

I'm in no position to make this kind of call... but this is what pleases me the most about an album.

A good album has unity around a central idea.
Musicology unites musically, bringing "real, old-school" music back, with Prince playing nearly all of the instruments on all the songs. Simplicity is also a common thing that is built upon through a song's progression (Musicology itself is a good example of this)
TGE is a very diverse, unique album unlike the others I own. There's no central unity, per say, but the whole album is like a linked chain. I call it a spiritual journey for Prince, exploring diff. aspects of personal interest, (sex, love & spirituality). Each track corresponds to one of these three things and by the album's end, Prince finds enlightenment in Gold.
Purple Rain I like to call a journey as well, although it took me a few listens to figure it out. Each track in place shows Prince maturing, both lyrically and musically. His attitude also matures quite a bit. First he starts as a crazy kid, then a teenager raging on hormones. You first start to see personal growth in "When Doves Cry" when he reevaluates himself. His cocky attitude takes on a different form in the following 2 tracks, and the title track needs no explanation. Its cryptic lyrics and musical arrangement tell me that Prince has come to grips with himself and has become a better man.

3121, I've yet to figure out, though. It's very diverse, musically and subject wise. All I have so far is that the beginning is an introduction to the party that the album is and it shows Prince experiment with the sounds of today's music, but by the album's end, he gets back to his old ways with 'The Dance' and 'Get on the Boat'.

Unlike any of the other CD's I own, Prince's albums I try to see as a whole as well as the pieces of the puzzle. I've never seen that before in an album and its interesting breaking everything down and putting it together to discover what Prince's angle was regarding the arrangement of the album.
That's a really good quality in an album and as long as there's a subtle connection between the tracks based on their order, I'll be pleased with it. As for as genres go, I'll pretty much like everything as long as its not like "My name is Prince" or "Now".

OK, it's been a few weeks and I just wanted to share with you all that I LOVE THIS ALBUM. It has become one of my favorites. Favorites jams include but are not limited to:
"The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" This one makes me cry.
"Hot Wit U" This one makes me want to be a NASTY gal
"Tangerine" Awww, all warm and fuzzy. Favorite line: take your picture, use it as a coaster and drink the overflow. Holy fn shit, that's beautifully put. Only P can do that. nod:
"The Sun, the Moon and Stars – One word: WOW! It makes me want to fall in love again.
"Eye Love U, but Eye Don't Trust U Anymore" Ouchy ouchy ouchy! It hit home. Made me cry too. Wuaaa!

This CD is like a riding an emotional roller coaster. I can't believe I avoided it for so long. WHYYYYY?

Cheers!