OK folks. What's your opinion on the 'Rave Unto...' live DVD? What are the special features like?

I've got all the commercialy available albums. What should I be going for next? The 'Rave' DVD or the 'Rave' remix CD? Or should I start buying the New Power Generation albums?

Help me

daned said:

I was considering buying the DVD as well. Have it on video, but wanna know what added extras you get with the dvd.

What i can tell you is that the next thing you should do is buy NPG's "Exodus". It's slammin'!

Yes the Rave DVD is excellent,the extras arent really all that great but the actual concert is fantastic .

The only good thing about the Rave remix CD is Beautiful Strange JMHO

Much love Pochacco

DVD: B
Extra's: C

i have heard that the Rave in2 album has been sold out on NPGMC.

YES! buy Rave DVD! i love it . . . . & Exodus plush

Pochacco said:

Doesn't it have the Neptunes remix of 'Most Beautiful...etc'? Surely that must be pretty good?

Pochacco said:

Would you get it on DVD even if you had it on video?

XNY said:

What are the extra's, if that's not too much bother?

well, I do remember taping the show from VH1 a few years back

Then I watched it and promptly taped over it, knowing that even old reruns of 'MacGuyver' were more interesting to watch

it didn't move me at all."She's always in My Hair" which is one of my Jams by Prince sounded tired.while I wasn't totally crazy about "Rainbow Children" I do however enjoy the live Box Set glad he flipped the script.Rave felt like a Musical Grave IMHO.

Sly said:

Amen. People do not realise what a great album that is. And that it's very much a Prince album even though he isn't credited. btw, If your buying it and don't know much about it do not get excited by the 21 tracks. There is only about 9 songs, but they are all great and the interludes work damn well.

daned said:

If I remember correctly, there are some shortened versions of a George Clinton song, some jamming with Larry, some discussions with Lenny, Morris, George, Ananda(sp?)Lewis talking about prince, and some short essays by prince about something...(who knows?)

They're not much to go on. The video is worth getting, but compared to some live DVD's and video's I've seen, it could have been a bit better. The overall sound is a little flat, the crowd seems too quiet-esp later in the concert, the his last performance of '1999' is by far not his best. Other than, it's great.

I think it might have been a good idea to play two or 3 concerts and take the best footage from all of them, rather than rely on one show(notably, the Time footage is from the day before).

I wouldn't recommend the DVD... The editing is truly awful, I get a headache from trying to watch it (the shot jumps from camera to camera really quickly and far too often).
It's very amateurish and the performances weren't that good.

ian said:

Does sound a bit dodgy. What a
Exodus it is then.

I love the Rave DVD it's one of my favorites.

daned said:

Although I agree with Ian on most of his points, it's technically Prince's first live release(or 2nd if you count SOTT the movie). There are some bright spots, and I think it's good enough to recommend to a Prince fan--if you are one.

the 'rave' dvd is nice, not good or mindblasting
but it is always nice to see him preform
but i prefer sott or parade(detroit)
rave-remix is a money maker

Partyboy said:

Co-sign. Exodus is The Black Album for the 90's. Awesome disc.

As for Rave 2000, I thought it was fantastic. There aren't really and DVD extras to speak of, but it's worth having jut for the sound. I didn't see or hear one thing that was "tired" on the whole thing, except Cynthia's cracking voice on 'Everyday People" and having to hear 'Fly Away" yet AGAIN.

Anyone who doesn't think this performance is wonderful is spoiled rotten.

ian said:

He's got a point about the editing. The thing cuts every 3 seconds. I disagree about the performance comment though.

I recently watched it again & I have to agree - the editor went nuts on it. Some stuff is nice but @ times the cutting/freezing/dissolving is just overboard.

HOWEVER I think it's worth getting Not ALL the performances are inspired but the good ones are SO good, they outweigh the bad: Nothing Compares 2 U, She's Always In My Hair (I liked it), Lenny's 2 songs (fuller arrangement of the songs), hell the little blues section alone is worth it (Red House/Purple House).

It's also great to have a document w/ such clear, closeup shots of him and his crotch :O

XNY said:

correction:
it was Prince's 3rd official concert release . . . . Prince & the Revolution *Purple Rain Live* was released on VHS . . .the Syracuse NY show.really awesome,tho the picture is dodgy even for 1985,its great 2 have that show on tape,& any performance of Darling Nikki is worth the tape alone 4 me
Nikki

Yup - agree it's not mind-blowing, but well worth owning and, as CalhounSq said, it's worth it for that Blues jam alone - the guitar solo just screams from the guitar!

I enjoyed watching Prince essentially play second-fiddle on guitar for most of Lenny's 2 songs (what a supporting guitarist he makes), though when he does break free to solo after Lenny, you know who the master is!!! Funny though, Lenny seems very lost in Fly Away - the new, funkier and much faster arrangement is too much for him to keep up with!

The crowd are pretty shit though, but thats mainly because they were invited, VIP guests, which I though was a ludicrous move anyway - they just don't even seem to be alive and most are just checking to see is they are on camera!

The sound isn't great (though it is good) and, strangely is not in full DTS!!! Though it says DTS 5.1, there are only 4 speakers active - there is no centre channel information at all - quite bizarre!

And, isn't this his 7th live release? Perhaps I could have something cleared up here. Years ago (it is now somewhere with a long-gone "friend" of mine) I had a VHS copy of a Prince concert from the Parade years and Wendy and Lisa get the crowd to sing Happy Birthday to Prince. It seemed like an official release to me, though I did not have an official copy(!), but I have never been able to find it for sale. Was it only televised? What was it called. It is an absolutely amazing concert, especially Prince's funky keyboard playing!! I'm dying to get hold of another copy - anyone help?

So, for live performances we have;
Prince and the Revolution - Live '85 Syracuse
This Parade concert (above)
Sign Of the Times
Lovesexy 1 and 2
(And do we include)
The Undertaker
The Sacrfice of Victor (aftershow at Bagley's)
and, of course, Rave un2 the Year 2000.

I'm surprised so many people seem to have forgotten all these live, official releases!

Please note moderators - I am not asking for a bootleg copy of that concert - just somewhere I can buy it! Thought a bit of clarification was in order!! Before I get the snip - oo-er!

XNY said:

Emm actually there was Prince & The Revolution Live (Syracuse), Sign O The Times movie, Lovesexy Live 1, Lovesexy Live 2. And the Diamonds and Pearls video, and the video had live performance footage on there.

Ian - I didn't think that D&P and videos could count as "live" performances, as they are mainly videos, with live snippets. However, looking at all this live material that is already released, it kind of moots the point that ONA is his first official live album. I mean, strictly speaking, it is true, but it does imply that Prince has never released any live material!

I've got all the commercialy available albums. What should I be going for next? The 'Rave' DVD or the 'Rave' remix CD? Or should I start buying the New Power Generation albums?

Help me [/quote]


If there's any good second hand stores in your area, I'd highly recommend collecting vinyl 12"es with extended versions. So much fun! (of course there's bootleg collections but it's just not the same as finding that record you've been looking for...)

ian said:

You're both right...the syracuse show was his first. I never considered it because it's such a load of crap to watch. I feel bad for anyone who had to sit thru about an hour of dove noises and 'I'm so blue...blah blah'.

Mindflux said:

It's a shame he never released live albums in the past... particularly with the 1995 NPG, I thought that was such a great band.

Agreed, Ian - but, at least there is the Undertaker video (which is crying out to be released on DVD!!!) to enjoy!

So, can anyone provide me with an answer about the Parade concert I mentioned previously?? Hmmm?

The birthday show from Detroit 86 with The Revolution was an edit of the actual concert. I think it lasts for an hour. It was used for television and wasn't released as an official video. To bad because it's HELLA GOOD!!!