Following on from my Emancipation post (where i basically just put the songs i liked, and filled the gaps with some of the quality outtakes that didnt make the original cut) I thought I'd also post what i have for the original RAVE album which never came to be.

Prince in the 80s is untouchable, but it seemed the public perception of his music began to wane at the end of the 80s. The Batman album seemed to damage his artistic credibility (but not his box-office appeal) and there are some who argue he never truly got back on track (instead pursuing what was trendy at the time in the 90s - instead of innovating).

I'm in the opposite camp as, whilst Batman was a bit flimsy and piecemeal, the outtakes and b-sides from the late 80s post-Lovesexy era are stellar.

As time has gone on, and more music has leaked, its become clear to me that the reason for Batman's lower quality control was most likely due to the rights of the songs being signed away for the soundtrack. Even at this early point it seemed perhaps Prince was hoarding great music in his vault, whilst releasing merely satisfactory albums to the general public/record label.

A lost album from this period was the original RAVE UNTO THE JOY FANTASTIC album, abandoned once the Batman soundtrack offer came along. Whilst the true final configuration for any 'lost' album may never be known, we do enough about what material was considered for it to have a good idea.

Using all the best rips/sources I could find I managed to cobble together a pretty good mixtape of this material (with another tape, 88-89 Outtakes, compiling everything else from this surprisingly great period - to be posted at another date).

One last point, whilst this mixtape is missing some of the material considered for this project (ie: Moonbeam Levels) I assumed he was going to rerecord that track, as the original song doesn't really fit otherwise. I've tried to make this mix a cohesive listen

[RAVE UNTO THE JOY FANTASTIC] - Love this. Having heard the original demo, its clear that the 1988 studio version was nearly untouched, bar some editing and the dual-track guitar solos overlapping at the end. I quickly edited the 99' version back, so it starts on the first drum beat - and ends on the vocal chorus refrain... sounds much better to my ears, and leads on great to the next track

[IF I HAD A HAREM] - from what i have read there was only ever a patchy sounding demo of this, even on the original circulating tapes. I enjoy it, but its place here is more for historical purposes as opposed to a great listening experience

[THE VOICE INSIDE] - having checked, i tried to find the best possible rip of this. Its probably eighties Prince at his most "chuck everything at it and hope it sticks" mood. Bit of an over-the-top song, but its fun.

[MELODY COOL] - Princes original vocal version. Sounds a bit unfinished, but good sound quality on the rip i have.

[PINK CASHMERE] - Could have used the original demo, with the synth strings, but i figured here i'd compromise and use the HITS version. Great song, and in a final 80s album configuration i image he probably would have had Fischer do the strings anyway.

[ELEPHANTS & FLOWERS] - Original demo version, again in very good quality. I can't remember where i found it.

[GOD IS ALIVE] - I quite enjoy this song. It goes on a bit long, so ruins the flow a little bit, but this isn't meant to be perfect! There is also a refrain pt2 kind of thing out there, but couldnt really fit it in.

[STILL WOULD STAND ALL TIME] - Not my favourite song, but its a good sounding early version of it - free of the GRAFFITI BRIDGE embellishments that dogged a lot of the final songs that got released.

[BIG HOUSE] - one of the later leaks, from an 6 track industry tape that appeared i believe. Its only a brief taster of a song, but I like it and it definitely fits that late 80s tribal party kinda vibe some of these songs had (ie: The Voice Inside, The Line, Trust)

[WE GOT THE POWER] - Not so good a rip of this, but certainly listenable and one of the more enjoyable tunes. Not sure about its place at the end of the tape, but from all the cobbled-together tracklists i've seen it seems this was near the end. Considered switching it with Still Would Stand All Time

[GOOD JUDY GIRLFRIEND] - Haha! Morbid curiosity here, as i saw it listed on the photo of the original tracklist. This unfortunately is the Carmen Electra version, which i somehow got a hold of. Not great, and again more for historical purposes. Here's hoping the original surfaces, along with Am I Without U and Stimulation - the other outtakes from this period.

So there you have it. Again, its all good fun and a lot of these songs i really like - listening in this configuration helps me give them some kind of home on my iPhone. There is a lot of stronger material compiled on another mixtape that i will post at another time.

How do fellow org-ers feel about this period/album tracklist? Would love to hear

[Edited 3/15/19 5:19am]