To beef up the points made:

"Beautiful Strange" was the title of an interview he did with Mel B from The Spice Girls. It was around 1998, right about when NewPowerSoul was hitting the streets.

The SONG can be found in part on that interview.

The studio version can be found on Rave IN2 The Joy Fantastic, which was the special edition of Rave UN2 The Joy Fantastic. It was released only through 1800NEWFUNK. I ordered mine online for $15 and got it about six weeks later. You might find it on eBay, or even Amazon.com used from an independent seller. It comes in a jewel case, not a plastic digipak like Rave Un2 did. It has the same artwork on front (although I've always thought Prince's eyes were looking AT you instead of down). The artwork inside is different too, as is the CD label itself.

I THINK the version that was on NPGMC (streamed or on the interview) was a bit LESS produced than the one on the Rave IN2 album. That CD version is bit more trippy, but basically the same song. Just extra psychedelic guitar soloing over certain parts.

B(eautiful) Strange....

My favorite.... Especially the live version at Nighttown....

To beef up the points made:

"Beautiful Strange" was the title of an interview he did with Mel B from The Spice Girls. It was around 1998, right about when NewPowerSoul was hitting the streets.

The SONG can be found in part on that interview.

The studio version can be found on Rave IN2 The Joy Fantastic, which was the special edition of Rave UN2 The Joy Fantastic. It was released only through 1800NEWFUNK. I ordered mine online for $15 and got it about six weeks later. You might find it on eBay, or even Amazon.com used from an independent seller. It comes in a jewel case, not a plastic digipak like Rave Un2 did. It has the same artwork on front (although I've always thought Prince's eyes were looking AT you instead of down). The artwork inside is different too, as is the CD label itself.

I THINK the version that was on NPGMC (streamed or on the interview) was a bit LESS produced than the one on the Rave IN2 album. That CD version is bit more trippy, but basically the same song. Just extra psychedelic guitar soloing over certain parts.

Prince made some sort of comment about Madonna "stealing" the title for her Beautiful Stranger single. It was referred to on his website at the time, I guess in jest.

Beautiful Strange version 1(VHS) - Prince on guitar solo
Beautiful Strange version 2(RaveIn2) - Mike Scott on guitar solo

squirrelgrease said:

hmm can't remember the booklet credits right now but....maybe the solos are by Prince and the rhythm guitar in the backgrounde from Mike Scott....any idea?

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)
hidden bonus track:
14. Prettyman (Extended Version) (5:35)

Produced by Prince
Arranged, composed and performed by xcept where indicated
Additional arrangements by Prince
Recorded and mixed at Paisley Park Studios by Hans-Martin Buff and
“Baby Knows” and “So Far, So Pleased” mixed at Electric Lady, New York, assisted by Steve Mandel
“Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic” recorded and mixed by Femi Jiya with HM Buff
All computer programming by Kirk A. Johnson and
NPG orchestra arranged and conducted by Clare Fischer and recorded by Arne Frager at O’Henry Studios, Burbank, assisted by Jeff Shannon and Victor Carrillo
Horns arranged by Michael B. Nelson and
Engineering by HM Buff
Mastered by Tony Dawsey at Masterdisk, NYC
Art direction, photos and design by Steven Parke

Album Credits
Chuck D: rhyme animal on “Undisputed”
Eve: rhyme on “Hot Wit U”
Gwen Stefani: co-lead vox on “So Far, So Pleased”
Sheryl Crow: co-lead vox and harmonica on “Baby Knows”
Ani DiFranco: acoustic guitar on “Eye Love U, But Eye Don’t Trust U Anymore”
Maceo Parker: sax on “Prettyman”
Prince: all instruments and vox on "Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic" Rhonda Smith: bass on “So Far, So Pleased” and acoustic bass on “Tangerine”
Marva King: background vox on “So Far, So Pleased” and "Beautiful Strange"
Michael Bland: drums on “Baby Knows”
Kirk A. Johnson: drums on “So Far, So Pleased” and additional percussion on “Man O’ War”
Adele C.: ‘Queen’ on “Undisputed”
Kip Blackshire: background vox on “Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic”, "Baby Knows" and vocoder vox on “Undisputed”
Bros. Jules: Scratches on “Undisputed”, “Hot Wit U” and “Prettyman”
Mike Scott: guitar on “The Greatest Romance Ever Sold” and "Beautiful Strange"
NPG chants on “Undisputed” by Kirk A. Johnson and Morris Hayes
Strings on “The Sun, The Moon And Stars”, “Man O’ War” and “Silly Game” by the NPG Orchestra Horns performed by the Hornheads: Michael B. Nelson, Dave and Kathy Jensen, Kenny Holmen and Steve Strand
Appreciation: Clive Davis, NPG, L. Londell McMillan, Kirk A. Johnson, Hans-Martin Buff, Larry and Tina Graham, Manuela Testolini, Takumi, Parke, Jaqui Thompson, Mayté and the Creator
Props and Favors due 2: Chuck D, Sheryl Crow, Eve, Gwen Stefani, Maceo Parker, Ani DiFranco, Kip, DuJuan & Jonnie Blackshire… and U
Open yo mind, timespace&darknessdonotexist

The credits are not specific as to lead, but it's commonly understood that Mike Scott did the solo on the Rave In2 CD.

it's the unreleased version that was played on the interview he had with mel b. no you can't obtain it "legally" and if you don't remove that link from your post, i will be forced to hurt you

It has the same artwork on front (although I've always thought Prince's eyes were looking AT you instead of down). The artwork inside is different too, as is the CD label itself.

ernestsewell said:

In fact his eyes are really looking at you instead of down. That was the only difference between the 2 photo's. Look closely, you will see that the eyes are different.

B(eautiful) Strange....

My favorite.... Especially the live version at Nighttown....

ernestsewell said:It has the same artwork on front (although I've always thought Prince's eyes were looking AT you instead of down).

Um.....that's pretty much what I said.

This is what you said, looked like you weren't sure about the difference. doesn't matter

tomds said:

punkofthemonth said:

actually beautiful strange was released officially on vhs, which included the edited cafe de paris show (the actual show was almost twice in lenght - i was there) the interview with mel b, the come on promo video, and the full length original version of beautiful strange video, which is basically clouds floating about and parts of the lyrics across the screen. i bought a copy of the vhs with proper packaging at paisley park in june 2000. it was also broadcast on channel 4 in 1998 as part of a prince evening, and i think it was also broadcast in other countries. i can't remember if parts of it were on npgmc or not, but i don't recall off the top of my head right now.

at the start of the show there is a clip of prince playing beautiful strange in the studio, playing his hohner direct injected to the soundesk and singing into a mic with a pair of sony hd9000 (i think that's the proper code, the 9000 bit is right) headphones on. the recording stops mid song as the phone rings and prince picks it up to be advised that mel b has arrived

personally i thought the original version was better

rave in2 was originally given away free when members joined the first version of npgmc, much later on there was an option to buy copies but i understood that most if not all didn't have any artwork and just came in a plain jewelcase. they had a bunch of copies on sale in just the jewelcase at paisley at one of the cellys at least. i think they also found another batch at a later time and put them on sale for $5

unique said:

Defunct Beautiful Strange VHS order page: http://web.archive.org/we...code=Music

Defunct Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (incorrectly called Rave Un2) order page): http://web.archive.org/we...code=Music

There was a problem with the artwork for the original Jewel Case Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic tray cards. The spine still said Rave Un2, where the rest of the artwork was correct as In2. I think this is why artwork was removed from the cases and sold that way. Folks were buying those $5 Raves like mad at the Celly.

MusicToday handled some (or all) sales of the Rave In2 CD. They even had NOS copies a couple of years ago. I bought one of the last ones. Interestingly, it had the incorrect spine artwork.

bstrange said:

Yes that live version is amazing! Prince's screaming blending into Candy's sax solo and his guitar solo--great arrangement. And then Rhonda's bass solo
She proves her bonafides in that performance.