It is interesting how this thread has gone. Initially most of the respondents really slammed it but eventually it became more positive in terms of people liking it though not calling it a hit. I think this is due to how the OP incorrectly said that it had the reputation among fans to be a classic like Purple Rain. This was so far from the truth, especially when it came out, that I think lots of people just had to go the other direction to set the record straight. That said, in retrospect it was no where near the artistic disaster that many people perceived it to be at the time of the release,imo. Just too many good songs and " I Love U but I Don't Trust U Anymore" has turned into a classic that he often sang in concert during the rest of his career.

[Edited 7/1/17 20:04pm]

Dont know how much it sold, but it was clear that Prince´s intention was to have the same kind of success that Santana had with ´Supernatural´ (a ´comeback´ with special guests). In this perspective, it was a flop.

I think that "So Far,So Pleased" should have been the first single,followed by "Baby Knows".A strong third single would have been "Wherever U Go,Whatever U Do".Great,timely videos for all three of these songs and the album might have had a chance (commercially).

TrivialPursuit said:

The singles should have been:

Baby Knows

Everyday Is A Winding Road

Man O' War

So Far, So Pleased (a planned single but canceled)

Wherever U Go, Whatever U Do

GustavoRibas said:

Dont know how much it sold, but it was clear that Prince´s intention was to have the same kind of success that Santana had with ´Supernatural´ (a ´comeback´ with special guests). In this perspective, it was a flop.

I have to admit,it was kinda strange to see Prince clearly following the Clive Davis/Supernatural approach as he tried to get a hit album.There were other times in the past when he was looking for a hit album (D&P comes to mind) but this time,it was a little too obvious.It felt weird.

SoulAlive said:

GustavoRibas said:

Dont know how much it sold, but it was clear that Prince´s intention was to have the same kind of success that Santana had with ´Supernatural´ (a ´comeback´ with special guests). In this perspective, it was a flop.

I have to admit,it was kinda strange to see Prince clearly following the Clive Davis/Supernatural approach as he tried to get a hit album.There were other times in the past when he was looking for a hit album (D&P comes to mind) but this time,it was a little too obvious.It felt weird.

.

- Yes, and the worst thing is he only did half of what Santana did. The special guests´ voices didnt have much of a spotlight and it seems they were only there to sing background vocals for Prince. And the promotion really sucked (dont know why).

.

With Diamonds and Pearls, he did the right thing.

[Edited 7/2/17 18:16pm]

GustavoRibas said:

SoulAlive said:

I have to admit,it was kinda strange to see Prince clearly following the Clive Davis/Supernatural approach as he tried to get a hit album.There were other times in the past when he was looking for a hit album (D&P comes to mind) but this time,it was a little too obvious.It felt weird.

.

- Yes, and the worst thing is he only did half of what Santana did. The special guests´ voices didnt have much of a spotlight and it seems they were only there to sing background vocals for Prince. And the promotion really sucked (dont know why).

.

With Diamonds and Pearls, he did the right thing.

[Edited 7/2/17 18:16pm]

The promotion for RAVE was huge, it didn't suck... If you look at the TV and talk show appearances for Prince's entire career the RAVE era has some of the most promotional appearances. Along with D&P and MUSICOLOGY, those were the most promoted albums of his career, exluding the PURPLE RAIN phenomon which practically was a blockbuster...

RAVE simply flopped commercially barely going GOLD in U.S.A. and selling very poorly overseas. That year visibily, artistically, stylistically, he just wasn't "IN" that's the truth. Yes it was 1999 and he had that theme song of the year, but the charts were ruled by weird hip/hop rock (Limp Bizkit) cheesy boy bands and pop acts like Brittney Spears, NYSNC, BACKSTREET BOYS, and heavy dark metal acts which were all million plus sellers such as KORN, ORGE, MARYLN MANSON... His music just wasn't "IN" at the time, nor his image, and to be honest the RAVE album overall in his catalouges legacy is supbar to below subpar in most critic's and fan's opinions.

It's a milestone, alright. About halfway through press stop, put it back in the case, then throw it a mile and watch it drop like a stone.

BoraBora said:

TrivialPursuit said:

The singles should have been:

Baby Knows

Everyday Is A Winding Road

Man O' War

So Far, So Pleased (a planned single but canceled)

Wherever U Go, Whatever U Do

I think the 1st single was to be SFSP, definitely.

It is the catchiest of all songs, good for remixes and a duet with a then in auge singer like Gwen Stefani.

Anyway, I can't see "Everyday Is A Winding Road" as a potential single.

I think it is one of the worst tracks ever released by P, a bad mashup of a drunk "Sleep Around" with a drunk Sheryl Crow song. Not deserving an album release.

Everyday is a winding road "should have been a single"? ...You gotta be kidding.

I have no idea why people like So Far So Pleased..

Never liked this song, and a single release would have been bad

Best song on Rave is The Greatest Romance, too bad the beautiful musicvideo was released 3 or 4 months too late, long after the single was released.

the single, Greatest Romace reminds of the 2 other great singles "7" & "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World"...

feeluupp said:

GustavoRibas said:

.

- Yes, and the worst thing is he only did half of what Santana did. The special guests´ voices didnt have much of a spotlight and it seems they were only there to sing background vocals for Prince. And the promotion really sucked (dont know why).

.

With Diamonds and Pearls, he did the right thing.

[Edited 7/2/17 18:16pm]

His music just wasn't "IN" at the time, nor his image, and to be honest the RAVE album overall in his catalouges legacy is supbar to below subpar in most critic's and fan's opinions.

the songs just weren't really that good. Greatest Romance was a good chouice I think and one of the better tracks on the record. The Santana break out single deserved all the praise it got. I don't think trendiness or being "in" was the major issue. Santana wasn't "in" at the time either. I think the Hot Wit U (Nasty Girl Mix) from Rave in2 might have gotten some club play of they'd pushed it.

thedance said:

I have no idea why people like So Far So Pleased..

Never liked this song, and a single release would have been bad

Best song on Rave is The Greatest Romance, too bad the beautiful musicvideo was released 3 or 4 months too late, long after the single was released.

the single, Greatest Romace reminds of the 2 other great singles "7" & "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World"...

Same. SFSP is one of the weaker trax. Just because it has Gwen on it and she was popular doesn't mean it's worthy as a single. Santana's "Smooth" didn't just kill because Rob Thomas was on it. It was a great song.

thedance said:

I have no idea why people like So Far So Pleased..

Never liked this song, and a single release would have been bad

Best song on Rave is The Greatest Romance, too bad the beautiful musicvideo was released 3 or 4 months too late, long after the single was released.

the single, Greatest Romace reminds of the 2 other great singles "7" & "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World"...

The fact that TGRES is a better "Prince" song than SFSP doesn't make it a good choice for a single intended to climb the charts.

If you think of the 1999 music scene, then SFSP is probably the only RUJF track with a single potential.

As many of you I strongly prefer TGRES as a P song (and also others, I find SFSP too "light"), but a single is chosen for a commercial goal.

nextedition said:

I never heard any call it a milestone. Think its one of his worst albums.

I agree. After this album I got away from Prince for a few years. Glad I came back but, I hated this album.

BoraBora said:

thedance said:

I have no idea why people like So Far So Pleased..

Never liked this song, and a single release would have been bad

Best song on Rave is The Greatest Romance, too bad the beautiful musicvideo was released 3 or 4 months too late, long after the single was released.

the single, Greatest Romace reminds of the 2 other great singles "7" & "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World"...

The fact that TGRES is a better "Prince" song than SFSP doesn't make it a good choice for a single intended to climb the charts.

If you think of the 1999 music scene, then SFSP is probably the only RUJF track with a single potential.

As many of you I strongly prefer TGRES as a P song (and also others, I find SFSP too "light"), but a single is chosen for a commercial goal.

Agree, but I don't think SFSP would have been a better choice, as a lot posters here seem to be arguing for. If he wanted to go full on commercial, there's a few other tracks he could have went with depending on what market he was aiming for, but its not as if there was a gaint list of temendous tracks on the album that the world needed to hear or that otherwise might have exploded.

feeluupp said:

The promotion for RAVE was huge, it didn't suck... If you look at the TV and talk show appearances for Prince's entire career the RAVE era has some of the most promotional appearances. Along with D&P and MUSICOLOGY, those were the most promoted albums of his career, exluding the PURPLE RAIN phenomon which practically was a blockbuster...

RAVE simply flopped commercially barely going GOLD in U.S.A. and selling very poorly overseas. That year visibily, artistically, stylistically, he just wasn't "IN" that's the truth. Yes it was 1999 and he had that theme song of the year, but the charts were ruled by weird hip/hop rock (Limp Bizkit) cheesy boy bands and pop acts like Brittney Spears, NYSNC, BACKSTREET BOYS, and heavy dark metal acts which were all million plus sellers such as KORN, ORGE, MARYLN MANSON... His music just wasn't "IN" at the time, nor his image, and to be honest the RAVE album overall in his catalouges legacy is supbar to below subpar in most critic's and fan's opinions.

.

- Really? I remembered Prince insisted a lot on TGRES and did a DVD with the name similar to the album, but never understood why he didnt play stuff from the album there and I dont remember many videos and TV appearances with the songs (different from Santana).

.

And I agree that his music wasnt IN at the time, but the production and the songs didnt help, too. Sounded flat and dated. And The Greatest Romance is a very nice song to relax, but a DJ played it here in Brazil once at a dance club and people looked bored and left. If he wanted a ´comeback´ like Santana...

GustavoRibas said:

feeluupp said:

The promotion for RAVE was huge, it didn't suck... If you look at the TV and talk show appearances for Prince's entire career the RAVE era has some of the most promotional appearances. Along with D&P and MUSICOLOGY, those were the most promoted albums of his career, exluding the PURPLE RAIN phenomon which practically was a blockbuster...

RAVE simply flopped commercially barely going GOLD in U.S.A. and selling very poorly overseas. That year visibily, artistically, stylistically, he just wasn't "IN" that's the truth. Yes it was 1999 and he had that theme song of the year, but the charts were ruled by weird hip/hop rock (Limp Bizkit) cheesy boy bands and pop acts like Brittney Spears, NYSNC, BACKSTREET BOYS, and heavy dark metal acts which were all million plus sellers such as KORN, ORGE, MARYLN MANSON... His music just wasn't "IN" at the time, nor his image, and to be honest the RAVE album overall in his catalouges legacy is supbar to below subpar in most critic's and fan's opinions.

.

- Really? I remembered Prince insisted a lot on TGRES and did a DVD with the name similar to the album, but never understood why he didnt play stuff from the album there and I dont remember many videos and TV appearances with the songs (different from Santana).

.

And I agree that his music wasnt IN at the time, but the production and the songs didnt help, too. Sounded flat and dated. And The Greatest Romance is a very nice song to relax, but a DJ played it here in Brazil once at a dance club and people looked bored and left. If he wanted a ´comeback´ like Santana...

Yea the whole Clive Davis pair with artists deal didn't do Prince very well for Rave.

The album wasn't good, a few ok songs, but overall as an album just wasn't in for that time.

For promotion yea he did a ton, even appeared on TRL which was really akward to watch cause you could tell Prince was out of place on that show. He did the PPV Rave Un2 The Year 2000 special, Larry King interview, presented at the MTV VMA's... He was everywhere that year... His music wasn't, besides the song 1999.

feeluupp said:

For promotion yea he did a ton, even appeared on TRL which was really akward to watch cause you could tell Prince was out of place on that show. He did the PPV Rave Un2 The Year 2000 special, Larry King interview, presented at the MTV VMA's... He was everywhere that year... His music wasn't, besides the song 1999.

.

- Ok, but when it comes to music, I dont remember him playing songs from it much or doing music videos. And Warners were releasing ´The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale´ at the same time. Non fans could be completely lost.

[Edited 7/3/17 19:28pm]

herb4 said:

thedance said:

Best song on Rave is The Greatest Romance,
the single, Greatest Romance reminds of the other great single "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World"...

"TGRES" was a boring single.That's not the right way to launch a new album.I think it was chosen because of its similarity to "TMBGITW",but it's really just a mediocre song.

SoulAlive said:

thedance said:

Best song on Rave is The Greatest Romance,
the single, Greatest Romance reminds of the other great single "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World"...

"TGRES" was a boring single.That's not the right way to launch a new album.I think it was chosen because of its similarity to "TMBGITW",but it's really just a mediocre song.

Agree on him probably choosing TGRES after his success with TMBGIW. Same with Betcha By Golly Wow.

.

I think TGRES is a decent song and the CD single was good with the Adam & Eve Remix and the Jason Nevins Remix - which got a lot of radio play in the UK. The video not being released until weeks after the single probably didn't help.

[Edited 7/4/17 3:59am]

It actually sold well in the UK, i commented on another thread a while back about why it eas eligable to chart, the 145 position in the UK was as an import if i remember correctly. Same for The Greatest Romance single, it came free with something which again ruined it chart potential. Promo for the Rave era was solid, his best in his carer easily. He was everywhere.

http://prince.org/msg/7/437680 as i said before, it would have been top ten in the UK based on sales, the 7000 copies myth is wrong, it sold really well.

"He was everywhere"

.

Maybe, but am I the only one that didnt remember to hear MUSIC promoted heavily during that era? Interviews are cool, but a non fan would hardly buy a Prince album without listening to some of the music from it.

GustavoRibas said:

"He was everywhere"

.

Maybe, but am I the only one that didnt remember to hear MUSIC promoted heavily during that era? Interviews are cool, but a non fan would hardly buy a Prince album without listening to some of the music from it.

He was everywhere that year...

Was on TRL, CNN, performed on:

Top Of The Pops:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSND__BDAAQ

FRENCH TV:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnOueRZDB_I

DUTCH TV:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BauUjtWGWE

Performance with Sheryl Crow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHG5_QEAb8s

[Edited 7/4/17 19:26pm]

He was everywhere, yes. He went on morning shows, yes. He went on MTV awards. He went on TRL. Rave still flopped.

feeluupp said:

He was everywhere that year...

Was on TRL, CNN, performed on:

Top Of The Pops:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSND__BDAAQ

FRENCH TV:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnOueRZDB_I

DUTCH TV:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BauUjtWGWE

Performance with Sheryl Crow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHG5_QEAb8s

[Edited 7/4/17 19:26pm]

- You are right. I missed some of these.

Well, so it seems that TGRES wasnt the best choice for a single. It´s a good song, but maybe not at the right time.

rdhull said:

He was everywhere, yes. He went on morning shows, yes. He went on MTV awards. He went on TRL. Rave still flopped.

part of it may have been the quality of the album and single, but I do think the general public had Prince fatigue by then and I think it would have been hard for him to have a best seller at that point.

gandorb said:

rdhull said:

He was everywhere, yes. He went on morning shows, yes. He went on MTV awards. He went on TRL. Rave still flopped.

part of it may have been the quality of the album and single, but I do think the general public had Prince fatigue by then and I think it would have been hard for him to have a best seller at that point.

It's ok... 5 years later he had a multiplatinum album, inducted into the R&R hall of fame and the biggest tour and money maker for that year