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Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic

Prince - Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic Audio CD

A fair review of the Prince "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Prince reviews here, or go back to the Prince tabs.

Band: Prince
Title: Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-11-09
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic 2: Undisputed 3: Greatest Romance Ever Sold 4: Segue 5: Hot Wit U 6: Tangerine 7: So Far, So Pleased 8: Sun, the Moon and Stars 9: Everyday Is a Winding Road 10: Segue 11: Man of War 12: Baby Knows 13: I Love U, But I Don't Trust U Anymore 14: Silly Game 15: Strange But True 16: Wherever U Go, Whatever U Do

Another Job Well Done By Prince
His talent is raw and in a group by itself. Prince is never to be underestimated. His voice is beautiful and flawless. Rave un2 the Joy Fantastic starts the CD off and is one of my long list of favorites. Man O War, tangerine, the Greatest romance ever sold, the sun, the moon and Stars, i love you but i don't trust u anymore, AND the REST of the CD are classic as well. Prince is a fantastic producer, songwriter, composer, whatever. He is a genius. If you do not have it, invest in it. It is oh so worth it!.

Salute the Sarge

The 18 tracks (clocking in at 73:50) are a mixed bag due to the collaborative nature - artists appearing include Sheryl Crow, Gwen Stefani, Eve and Ani DiFranco - with the single, The Greatest Romance Ever Sold, limping in at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. A one-album deal with Arista Records was slated to be a solid comeback album for Prince, though company president Clive Davis really cluttered things up with guest performances that makes it seem like a tribute to the artist. The second of two "hidden" tracks, the funky Pretty Man, is the standout, as Maceo Parker sizzles on the sax.

One year later, Prince released a remix of the album on his Internet subscription service. He symbolically showed his displeasure with Arista by "smashing" the CD at the end of his album. That action speaks clearly on Prince's "appreciation" of the meddling by another major record label, this time on what could have been a true comeback. .

Works for me
It's a fascinating bridge between his megahit albums of the '80s and his safer, mellower tunes of recent years. Undderrated, exciting and utterly danceable, this CD was an example of Prince trying new things.

Uninspired - glad I got it cheap.
There are eighteen songs here, and they take up exactly seventy minutes of space. The biggest problem with Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, other than its ridiculous title, is its pure length. You're probably wondering what's up with this, since I've constantly said that Emancipation, a thirty-six track triple-album that has twice as many songs as this one and runs almost three times longer, is a masterpiece and my favorite Prince album. Well, here's my justification: Emancipation worked because, quite simply, it's packed with fantastic, eclectic, songs with lots of creativity and lots of the Prince persona. Nothing on that album is standard-issue. But here, only the acoustic pop song "Tangerine" displays Prince's true colors; it doesn't help that there aren't enough good songs here to fill a 20-minute EP, let alone a 70-minute album. Prince rounded up a few famous guest stars, supposedly to celebrate the upcoming millennium (and, of course, party like it's 1999, since this album came out in 1999), but none of them have anything to add: No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani adds her trademark breathy, throaty, awful vocals to the dull funk "So Far, So Pleased"; Chuck D. adds a forgettable rap to the NPG advertisement "Undisputed"; Eve's rap on "Hot Wit U" does nothing for the song other than reestablish all the points Prince made about his own sexiness (By the way, "Hot Wit U" is bad); Sheryl Crow comes along to duet on "Baby Knows", but can't save it from being more mediocre funk. Then again, most of the blame here can be placed on Prince himself: he rips off his arrangement of "(What if God Was) One of Us" on "Wherever U Go, Whatever U Do"; his sampling of "Controversy" on "Strange But True" only leaves me longing for more of the old-school Prince, or the Emancipation-era Prince, back when he was really inspired; bedroom ballads like "The Sun, the Moon, and Stars"; "I Love You, But I Don't Trust U Anymore" (the guy's falsetto has been ruthlessly killed, I'm afraid) and "Silly Game" walk a long, rocky, excruciating path to nowhere; and the funk-rock is getting blander and less entertaining by the second (title song; "Man `O' War"). There are a few examples of prime Prince here - take a look at the mellow funk ballad "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold"; the aforementioned "Tangerine"; the fun, danceable "Everyday is a Winding Road"; and the saxapalooza hidden track "Prettyman". Especially "Prettyman", with a sax solo from Maceo Parker - by the way, Maceo's got quite an impressive resume. James Brown, P-Funk, and Prince? Impressive! I wonder if he's ever sat in for the Ohio Players or Sly & the Family Stone? .

Slick
It's smooth and easy to digest, but lacks the raw, experimental quality that Prince had back when he was with the Revolution. "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" finds Prince continuing the slick R&B sound that he first utlized with "Diamonds & Pearls" and continued with the "Emancipation" collection. Once again on a major label, Prince (or maybe his new record company) appears to be hoping to reclaim a mainstream audience, which might explain both the pop-oriented material and the array of guest appearances by other artists. The collaborations do create some of the better material . . . the best one probably being "So Far, So Pleased" with Gwen Stafani. Prince and Gwen's voices meld well together, and create a sexy sound similar to when Prince produced No Doubt's "The Waiting Room" from their "Rock Steady" album. Cheryl Crow's signature guitar pop infiltrates "Baby Knows", but then Prince transforms Crow's own "Everyday Is A Winding Road" into a completely different song on another track. Rap cameos by Chuck D and Eve add spice to two other tracks, but that's about it. Other highlights of the album are the title track, which hints at electronica, and "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold", a slinky ballad peppered with middle eastern sounds.

"Rave" could be categorized the same way that "Diamonds and Pearls" could . . . as "Prince Lite". Not bad, but doesn't compare to his earlier work. The sad truth is that Prince partied like it was 1999 better when it was 1983.

You can see a complete list of all Prince discography, or go back to the Prince tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.