I for one think this is a masterpeice. I love every track, although, I feel it was released at the wrong time. If it had been released right before or right after The Gold Experience, it would have been well recieved. So Far, So Pleased is awesome, it sounds like it's straight from the late 80's early 90's. Just bad marketing, and bad timing. Awesome album. That's my opinion.

i don't like it but there are some people on here who do, for whatever reason.

i will admit that i think the 'rave in2' remix album is an improvement, and there are several re-worked tracks on that disc that i like.

I like Rave Un2,but I LOVE Rave In2!

nice album. with some nice songs, maybe even underrated. but not really great, imho.

ditto on the ravein2
[Edited 11/19/07 20:52pm]

I wouldn't quite go as far as masterpiece myself.

I mean, it IS good... really good.
But not quite up there with some of the other albums I love 2 death.

I really like this album, but a lot of people have been saying how bad it is... and how the production is terrible... [their words, not mine]

All but one of the songs on it I enjoy for one reason or another and with there being so many songs on here relative to some of his other albums, that's a major plus.

Some of the songs are stronger than the others, but the highest points are so good that it brings the album up even more.
Man O' War, Love U, but don't Trust U anymore, and The Greatest Romance are some of the most beautiful songs he's ever written. In the first two, he's hurting, but he uses the music to enhance his feelings so they can be understood. That's one of those talents that makes him as great as he is and sets him apart.

Sun/Moon/Stars is one of my favorites too, but for personal reasons. And I dig the rap (a lot of people hate it, but its ).

I like it.


I don't LOVE it.

I always thought that Rave was D&P, but not as tacky. It has the overall poppy tone to it, though a bit more melancholy. Not a "Great" album by any means, but I don't understand all the hatred towards it.

Rave In2 offered some interesting remixes, but I didn't think it much of an improvement. I even liked a few songs on Rave Un2 better.

Either way, I just don't get all the hatred folks harbor towards that album-- New Power Soul was more annoying to me.

in all fairness, it is a shite album, one of the unforgetable ones, has a few moments, but nothing to glorify in

Whitnail said:

Trim some of the poorness from both albums, make sure both Strange But True and Beautiful Strange are on the final album, and you have one fantastic album, IMO

Imago said:

Compared to Rave, NPS is evil incarnate. A purple kick to the crotch with steel toe pumps. It's like Bob George fulfilled his promise and came to my house and kicked my ass, twice.

"Come on" is nice though.

savoirfaire said:

Both albums?

Whitnail said:

In2 and un2

Imago said:

haha... I agree with you there. And seriously, when I was debating whether to get Rave or D&P, someone told me to go for Rave instead. Which I did when I saw it (plus it was a couple of bucks cheaper for being used... still runs great).

And NewPower Soul... after listening to Rave for a week, if there was a time I questioned ...it was that night... and it was a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach after I listened through it. Even with the songs I took out of the line-up, I find it difficult to get back to that album. So I most likely will shelve it for longest lengths of time than any other I own.

The great songs are among the best... but the good tracks keep it from reaching the Super status that my top 6 albums have... okay top 5. Sounds kinda weird giving Planet Earth "super status" when its still practically brand new.

But I find myself coming back to Rave quite a bit after that week. So maybe its just one of those albums I'll advocate for even though few others believe its any good.
Just one of those albums I wanted cuz he was promoting it like crazy with those interviews (Larry King especially). TGRES was the first song I heard of it (beautiful video )... and the most memorable dream I had of Prince was of him during the time of this album's release... it all adds up

ElCapitan said:

ah ok, I unfortunately only have one of them "Un2", but I cant imagine the other being much better, not that i would still like to hear it

Whitnail said:

"In2" is worth it just for "beautiful strange".

Imago said:

Now, that's the truth. I can't stand NPS 2 this day, but Rave is a good album. I LOVE "Whereever U Go, Whatever U Do". It is truly one of his 90s masterpieces.

Imago said:

I never thought about it like that, you're right


It makes sense, as both were intended to be commercial

Anxiety said:

mmmm hmmm.. What a phenomenal song to be buried into an obscure remix release...

But I think I like the original version from the Scary Spice video more without the additional guitar overlays.
[Edited 11/19/07 23:47pm]

I never understood why people hated this album so much, maybe because they expected so much from it, the year 2000, so much promotion, etc. TGRES was probably a little disappointing for a single release, it didnt chart and therefore the whole album went down as a commercial disappointment. I was shocked when he came out with In2 as Prince usually kills commercially dissappointing records and moves onto the next. But it shows that he thought Rave was special and perhaps "unfinished", yes he could have been rushed into releasing it in order to fulfill business pressures... In terms of mixing quality it is superb too, its clearly an album with a lot of effort behind it, it doesnt sound rough or underproduced like PE, maybe TOO polished, but overall I like the fact that a lot of Prince went into it.

Some of the collaborations on Rave really were well intentioned, at the time gwen stafani, sheryl crow, Chuck D, etc were all really famous or becoming really famous at the time - the choices were excellent, perhaps it's their "influence" on this record which was understated though.. not sure - but I do love the Chuck D rap on Undisputed - it really saves the song in my op.

For some reason, Ive always liked the corny pop tunes, like Baby Knows, So far so pleased, etc. they just make me feel happy, I always thought they worked well and should have been singles. TGRES was really Prince's people wanting another TMBGITW..

The dissappointments for me were everyday is a winding road (worse than the original-forgettable really), whereever you go (too plastic), strange but true - i know lots of people like this song, but really whats it saying and who cares???

Other songs, silly game, the moon, sun.. etc really remind me of the year 2000 and the great fun I had that year - so although they arent the best songs, they have left me with good memories..

I like it a lot, both the DVD and the CD.

I don't hate it, but have to admit it doesn't find it's way into the CD player very often.

Rave isn't a bad album at all & some of the guest contributions enhance what's already a solid collection of tunes. I do think a lot of people hate it because it was such an obvious attempt to get him back in the spotlight. Prince's previous hits didn't seem so calculated & this left a sour taste for a lot of fans.

Riding Santana's coattails was never going to work as lightning does not strike twice in the same place. Unfortunately, it also seemed to give birth to the Prince-by-the-Numbers albums that followed, like Musicology, 3121 & Planet Earth. Formulaic junk that the Prince of yesteryear probably wrote in his sleep.

Maybe he's still sleeping? Somebody wake him up so we can get some decent music from the man!!!!

No.
I hate this album.

To me, it sums up the last 10 years of Prince's steady decline into mediocrity.

This album is Prince at his most desperate to get back into the limelight.

He looked like a clown, and lame ass duets with Sheryl Crow and Gwen Stefani, just made the whole thing come across as "hey! i'm still cool! look at who i got!!!!"


Yuk.

love it...
like the gwen stefani duet.. and absolutely love sun moon and stars, such a smooth reggae like vibe, and also love the rap (i like prince's raps all round though really)

tho to be fair, there is only 2 prince cd's im no huge fan of..rainbow children and slaughterhouse - tho both have their moments.

savoirfaire said:

both are good - i'll take that song however i can get it!

LOVE It! Great Production, Great Songs, Great Packaging, Excellent DVD!

Rave brings back memories from the day, Love it!!

I agree w/ Butterscotch (I like your avatar).."Rave" was a weak attempt to get back in the public eye..I didn't buy the duet with Eve. Eve??..She wouldn't take any mess from P in real life if they hooked up.

I think P missed the mark with making a video with Gwen. No Doubt was huge at that time and "So Far" probably would have been a huge hit."Strange" and "Prettyman" reminded me of the old P. "Tangerine" with Ani was cool too.

Like "Planet Earth", I listened to "Rave" once or twice and I stored it away on the shelf.

I love "Rave" I've got Christmas called the "Rave Christmas" because of the
blue-green color scheme...I'm so happy that Christmas ornaments, are getting
cooler. My Christmas tree is gonna be brighter during the day. With thanks to
China, and whomever else is involved.

I was disappointed after the first listen, nothing really stood out that much. Gone back to it a few times but to me it's just like D&P: a bid a commercial success. Production is a bit plastic, overall too contrived for my liking. Rave In2 only slightly better imo.

the duets on 'rave' might have been interesting if he would have mixed his partners to a level where we could hear them!