I like Live at the Aladdin best. The Work Pt I, Pass the Peas, Pop Life ...

I have to be in a special mood to watch Rave un2 whereas I can put Live at the Aladdin on, pretend I'm doing something else then abandon the world to dance to some funky business for an hour or so. Plus that duet with Nikka is sublime. Love em both but the Aladdin is somethin' else.

Live at the Alladin

Rave all the way.

Rave. Aladdin is a little too Rainbow Children for my taste.

Rave is great, but all the era has always Larry in the background,
and I can't help but cringe a little.

Also, the "The Christ" rechristening was superfluous.
"4 The Tears In Your Eyes" was already the definitive song on the Nazareth homie.

Aladdin's "The Ride" is fantastic.

Yet Rave has plenty of qualities, but... I confess, I have a problem with the smurf suit.
Like, Prince repenting of having showed his naked torso so much in his career,
that the JW freshmen had to wrap himself in spandex from his head to his toes.
I'm also not a big fan of the Paula Abdul haircut (GB, the "Cream" video intro...).

Rave is so generous in every aspect. It's long, "She's Always In My Hair" was a big surprise, "American Woman" is great even if it puts Lenny in a difficult position...

Tough call.

Aladdin. Not even close for me, and I don't even rate it as a top ONA show.

bonatoc said:

Rave is great, but all the era has always Larry in the background,
and I can't help but cringe a little.

Also, the "The Christ" rechristening was superfluous.
"4 The Tears In Your Eyes" was already the definitive song on the Nazareth homie.

Aladdin's "The Ride" is fantastic.

Yet Rave has plenty of qualities, but... I confess, I have a problem with the smurf suit.
Like, Prince repenting of having showed his naked torso so much in his career,
that the JW freshmen had to wrap himself in spandex from his head to his toes.
I'm also not a big fan of the Paula Abdul haircut (GB, the "Cream" video intro...).

Rave is so generous in every aspect. It's long, "She's Always In My Hair" was a big surprise, "American Woman" is great even if it puts Lenny in a difficult position...

Tough call.

Close call but I'd have to choose Rave.

Haha, I love the smurf suit and when the horns come in on American Woman,,,,,,,,, bliss to my ears,

Prince in metalic blue and Lenny in red leather,

it's apples vs oranges ... different era, different setting, different setlist, different band, ...

that said ... I might be the only one but I'd definitly go for RAVE!
well I love that smu... blue outfit ... just look at the dvd-cover (damn I gave mine away and kept just the digital version)
dvd quality is amazing ... compared to aladdin
he was on fire that night ... she's always in my hair is one of my all time high live versions ... same for nothing compares to u
I love the setlist, I love the sound, his performance is amazing, ... sure there're some smaller parts I wouldn't miss ... tg 4 ffw
and for me there are waayyy better ONA show than aladdin

Purple Rain on Rave is just that central moment, where you can see that transformation and entrance into new era. Time, time is a trick - Prince is announcing. That tease and slow apperance with guitar solo is just epic, glitter on his face, he is preaching the gospel a bit, he doesnt even know what year is - it may be 3000 or something - who knows, he's wearing something that looks like the liturgical plain & purple alb, his purple guitar, his voice... i mean, does it get any better than this. And i would take Rave cuz it has video quality that Live at Alladin misses big time.

bonatoc said:

stpaisios said:

Purple Rain on Rave is just that central moment, where you can see that transformation and entrance into new era. Time, time is a trick - Prince is announcing. That tease and slow apperance with guitar solo is just epic, glitter on his face, he is preaching the gospel a bit, he doesnt even know what year is - it may be 3000 or something - who knows, he's wearing something that looks like the liturgical plain & purple alb, his purple guitar, his voice... i mean, does it get any better than this. And i would take Rave cuz it has video quality that Live at Alladin misses big time.

Spot on.

But it also makes it very seclusive.
I mean, put someone who doesn't know anything about Prince in front of that,
and Prince wins the Megalomaniac Award right there.
I'm not sure you can get it without knowing Prince's path of life up until then.
I think he spent half a decade making his peace with Amiir's death, running away from it with relentless work. But the look, the attitude, the interviews had become so cryptic, self-referencing, even some hardcore fans had to show lots of indulgence and patience towards actions or songs that looked and sound nothing but koo-koo.

I mean, the "One Song", I just can't. The prophet pose (and it's pretty present in the Rave concert video), the "if you're not with us you're against us" attitude, it's so unnerving, we're miles away from the universal, generous, forgiving, and in the end truly christian message of Lovesexy.
Really, those Larry/JW years, I prefer to ignore them.
Of course the (live) music is still phenomenal, thank God (talk about a paradox).

It's really difficult: on one hand, I found very cool of Prince staying in his hometown and performing all these shows, Celebration, etc., and at the same time I think Prince fans around the world, and even in the rest of the US, thought "hey, we're still here too, you know. We're the ones that paid for PP, and we're left out of it". The majority of them couldn't just buy a ticket plane like it's nothing. And don't start me on the internet subscriptions fiascos (all $77 and we watch them fall).

The artistry is great, but this era really makes me think of Citizen Kane's Xanadu, Phil Spector, well, paranoia.

[Edited 1/18/18 10:57am]

I enjoy both DVD's, but I think I'd choose Rave over Aladdin. It's more fun and the quality is superior.

They are so different - Rave is a professionally shot TV special at Paisley Park. So it lacks the vibe of a real show (multiple takes etc) but looks great.

Aladdin is an actual concert, but with a completely butchered setlist that ruins the flow, amateur camerawork on low quality cameras with muted colours. As much as I love aspects of it, it is definitely up there as one of the great disappointments that Prince released since I became a fan.

bonatoc said:

stpaisios said:

Purple Rain on Rave is just that central moment, where you can see that transformation and entrance into new era. Time, time is a trick - Prince is announcing. That tease and slow apperance with guitar solo is just epic, glitter on his face, he is preaching the gospel a bit, he doesnt even know what year is - it may be 3000 or something - who knows, he's wearing something that looks like the liturgical plain & purple alb, his purple guitar, his voice... i mean, does it get any better than this. And i would take Rave cuz it has video quality that Live at Alladin misses big time.

Spot on.

But it also makes it very seclusive.
I mean, put someone who doesn't know anything about Prince in front of that,
and Prince wins the Megalomaniac Award right there.
I'm not sure you can get it without knowing Prince's path of life up until then.
I think he spend half a decade making his peace with Amiir's death, running away from it with relentless work. But the look, the attitude, the interviews had become so cryptic, self-referencing, even some hardcore fans had to show lots of indulgence and patience towards actions or songs that looked and sound nothing but koo-koo.

I mean, the "One Song", I just can't. The prophet pose (and it's pretty present in the Rave concert video), the "if you're not with us you're against us" attitude, it's so unnerving, we're miles away from the universal, generous, forgiving, and in the end truly christian message of Lovesexy.
Really, those Larry/JW years, I prefer to ignore them.
Of course the music is still phenomenal, thank God (talk about a paradox).

It's really difficult: on one hand, I found very cool of Prince staying in his hometown and performing all these shows, Celebration, etc., and at the same time I think Prince fans around the world, and even in the rest of the US, thought "hey, we're still here too, you know. We're the ones that paid for PP, and we're left out of it". The majority couldn't just take a plane like it's nothing. And don't start me on the internet subscriptions fiascos (all $77 and we watch them fall).

The artistry is great, but this era really make me think about Citizen Kane's Xanadu, Phil Spector, well, paranoia.

'I'm not sure you can get it without knowing Prince's path of life up until then.'

This is the core of understanding and appreciating a period from Emancipation onwards. Most of the reviews from that era and later, no matter how much well written, became too predictable. Music from the 80's looked like a story - Prince was a story; in the in 90's 'slave', music industry, name changing became the story and it was a turn-off. I dont wanna go too deep but mystery that surrounds creation of a symbol O[+> - is something . Did Prince himself told that symbol came to him through prayer? What is prayer for Prince? I'm intrested in that. Is the whole story of symbol sacrificing himslef for art, crucifixion of one kind? O[+> as reflection of Cross = love, sacrifice, transformation. Who does LoveSymbol - Come - TGE - Emancipation in a row. Do ppl releaze what was created in a span of 4 yrs.?

Emancipation was the "album he was born to make".Officialy he was finally free there. But listening Emancipation more carefully, one feels the pressure. Marriage in reality never fits Prince. All he ever wanted is to be left alone - we hear decades later. But Mayte was a source and huge inspiration. In that Oprah show, after question what Mayte bring to his life (or something like that) Prince took a little moment to think and he answered : 'She makes it easier to talk to God.' Who talks like that? (philosophy after centuries came to realisation of that simple truth - I cant exist without You - God would probably be that reflection of community). Amiir's death is immeasurable loss. In reality, ppl react too much humanly - where was your God when my child died? But there is no one sec. of doubt with Prince -- God is still there.

Larry/JW years are something i dont want to think about much, becauze i always find myself besmirching JWs community, denomination that generally looking already have a very bad reputation in christianity. So it is superfluous indeed, knowning that man who created almost universal symbol - O[+>, is denying symbol of Cross (and Prince make ode to that symbol in best possible way in The Cross song) due to unhealthy bible pedantry - like that is something crucial for salvation in any way - and became involved in that reality of 'study'. So i became more intrested in personal expirience no matter what denomination, and someones ability to absorb and reflect on topics that bible has in conext of zeitgeist and personal life. On Rave there is 'Strange But True': You may have lost me, but I found myself. With 'The Rainbow Children' one can hear his childishly-virtuous way of preaching. You know, someones of Prince caliber is too big for communites like JWs. They cant handle that capacity. And TRC is not just a great record, its a brave record, record that shows how much Prince was able to come out of himself and do something diffrent.

[Edited 1/18/18 13:05pm]

Rave by far, the sound quality alone on Alladin is enough for me to not choose it. Having the audio soundboard took a lot away from the feel of the performance imo.

stpaisios said:

'I'm not sure you can get it without knowing Prince's path of life up until then.'

This is the core of understanding and appreciating a period from Emancipation onwards. Most of the reviews from that era and later, no matter how much well written, became too predictable. Music from the 80's looked like a story - Prince was a story; in the in 90's 'slave', music industry, name changing became the story and it was a turn-off. I dont wanna go too deep but mystery that surrounds creation of a symbol O[+> - is something .

Did Prince himself told that symbol came to him through prayer? What is prayer for Prince? I'm intrested in that. Is the whole story of symbol sacrificing himslef for art, crucifixion of one kind? O[+> as reflection of Cross = love, sacrifice, transformation. Who does LoveSymbol - Come - TGE - Emancipation in a row. Do ppl releaze what was created in a span of 4 yrs.?

Emancipation was the "album he was born to make".Officialy he was finally free there. But listening Emancipation more carefully, one feels the pressure. Marriage in reality never fits Prince. All he ever wanted is to be left alone - we hear decades later. But Mayte was a source and huge inspiration. In that Oprah show, after question what Mayte bring to his life (or something like that) Prince took a little moment to think and he answered : 'She makes it easier to talk to God.' Who talks like that? (philosophy after centuries came to realisation of that simple truth - I cant exist without You - God would probably be that reflection of community). Amiir's death is immeasurable loss. In reality, ppl react too much humanly - where was your God when my child died? But there is no one sec. of doubt with Prince -- God is still there.

Larry/JW years are something i dont want to think about much, becauze i always find myself besmirching JWs community, denomination that generally looking already have a very bad reputation in christianity. So it is superfluous indeed, knowning that man who created almost universal symbol - O[+>, is denying symbol of Cross (and Prince make ode to that symbol in best possible way in The Cross song) due to unhealthy bible pedantry - like that is something crucial for salvation in any way - and became involved in that reality of 'study'. So i became more intrested in personal expirience no matter what denomination, and someones ability to absorb and reflect on topics that bible has in conext of zeitgeist and personal life.

On Rave there is 'Strange But True': You may have lost me, but I found myself. With 'The Rainbow Children' one can hear his childishly-virtuous way of preaching. You know, someones of Prince caliber is too big for communites like JWs. They cant handle that capacity.

And TRC is not just a great record, its a brave record, record that shows how much Prince was able to come out of himself and do something diffrent.

Great post.

[Edited 1/18/18 15:05pm]