Part 1. First off I’m sooooooo glad y’all are back with another “Facts” video! Now for Rave Un2/In2 The Joy Fantastic album, everytime I think about this CD, I’m filled with sadness because this should’ve been a huge album. It’s not one of my absolute favorites but I like the album and it had plenty of songs on there that should’ve been big, if not massive but whoever was in charge of picking the singles dropped the ball BIG TIME on this album. We could have more youth digging Prince today if songs like “Baby Knows”, “So Far, So Pleased, “Whereever U Go, Whatever U Do” & even “Hot With U” we’re singles with videos and pushed properly. Like with so many Prince albums, it’s another case of “What if?” & it’s frustrating as fuck. It was a cool period because Prince was out promoting this CD for a change so it makes it even worse that this wasn’t “a big seller”.
When I saw the cover, I jus new it was a hit!! And it's some bangers on it, don't know why it didn't top the charts.. I think may b he should have did a couple more videos, especially one for "Man 'O' War"
This is the comment I was gonna post, as I've always said and felt this about Rave. I remember being frustrated as ever as a Prince fan back in 1999, because he just all but gave up on the album after "The Greatest Romance" tanked (a song which I didn't quite understand he put out as the first single anyway when he'd had a handful of better ones to choose from). I so desperately wanted to see "Hot With U", "So Far, So Pleased", and "Baby Knows" become singles and videos, because, like you, I believed they could be huge hits and once and for all prove to all the naysayers that he was perfectly capable of making commercially viable music and competing with the pop icons of the day. And it added insult to injury that Rave was heavily promoted, only to ultimately dissolve into the same sort of obscurity that plagued most of his 90s output, especially when my friends were taking notice to a Prince release for once (as a result of seeing it promoted on TRL or whatever)- actually arousing their interest in his new music for a change... only for them to totally forget it ever existed due to the absence of any follow-up singles of videos to "The Greatest Romance"... For these reasons, I harbor bitter feelings about this album to the point that it's not only hard for me to revisit it in its entirety, but I also have a hard time listening to my favorite tracks without pondering, as you put it, the "What ifs".
This may b my favorite Prince album as it was the first one that I got the entire experience. I was in the 8th grade, I had just seen him live in May 1999 at the MGM Grand, I had The Greatest Romance single with the remix featuring Eve and I remember being surprised by my mom when I found the CD in my bedroom after school. My younger brother and me watched Rave N2 The Year 2000 PPV on NYE. My only wish is that they would’ve released The Greatest Neptunes Remix officially on the single. This album had potential to be much bigger than it was, Clive was sleeping.
Part 2. Also hearing the D’Angelo/Questlove story makes me even more mad at them. I remember that period and there was a air of arrogance that I got from them that they were making better music than what Prince was making at the time and those liner notes pissed me off. You say he’s your hero in one breath & in the next, you allow someone to slander that hero publicly. When i heard the Moneyapolis Mix in 2001 & learned it was directed at D & Q, I was like “HELL YEAH!” & to this day, I look at them both with a crooked eye because of that and other things Questlove has said regarding Prince. I never understood why he kept Questlove around considering what he kept on saying about Prince publicly about him “losing his genius” in the 90’s. D’Angelo & Questlove deserved ALL that shade on the Undisputed Moneyapolis Mix. Great video and I can’t wait for the next Facts Video!!!
I neva heard Questlove say dat but I think he wasn’t quite wrong. Prince 90ies Stuff wasn’t more like Mixtapes than consistent Albums like he did in the 80ies
I agree with the shady part that QuestLove promotes himself as THE know all of Prince history, but he does go back/forth with Praise & Criticism. Loyalty isn't everything, it's the ONLY thing! I frankly don't care for him. Prince 4EVER!❤
Great series! I find myself revisiting some of the classics that have not been in my personal music rotation for quite some time. This album quietly produced one of my favorite Prince slow jams….Silly Game. While not in my top 10 Prince albums, I certainly have love for The Sun, Moon, and Stars, So Far, So Pleased, Prettyman, and the aforementioned Silly Game. Salute Violet Reality
Mann i love both of these albums. Rave was made in 1988 and to this day it sounds as fresh as if it was written today, along with most of his music. I remember buying this album. I ran right to the display and grabbed the it. The guy at the check out just instinctively just opened it without even bothering to ask me.
I noticed years ago that Rave un2 was shown labeled on sheet music in the Grafitti Bridge movie, when Aura goes through his music at his place/bedroom.
Let me tell you" Sheryl Crow wrote "Everyday Is A Winding Road". And performed it -(in country). Prince performed his version of Sheryl's song -and his" is THE FUNK VERSION of "Everyday Is A Winding Road"! And" i like it just the way it is on the "Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic" CD. Prince's funk version of "Everyday Is A Winding Road" is a funk version prince CLASSIC counted among all of The Artist's classics! Indeed" an awesome way The Purple One closed-out The 20th Century.🌈😎
I didn't remember this era fondly at all. His collaborations with lesser artists felt forced and coerced by the record company. Even the publicity stills rankled me. "We need you to wear a new color. Purple is old. Gold didn't sell. Try a blueish teal. You need a new hairstyle. Colorful braids are cool this year. Let's do that." The whole thing felt contrived. Only after a few years did I give the actual songs a chance! Of course I loved them, right? After all, it's Prince.
When it comes to the marketing & promotion of Prince album & single releases, it's always been "woulda, coulda. shoulda"...Even Purple Rain woulda coulda & shoulda been promoted even further -- and it woulda coulda & shoulda been almost as huge as Thriller
Please keep doing this series it's truly amazing and informative specially for me as new Prince fan and I can't wait for u to make a deep dive in my personal favourite album Musicology 🎸💜
I loved both albums too. But I really enjoyed the REMIX ALBUM. Thanks for touching on the REMIX ALBUM. Not sure if a lot of people know he did one for this album?
Clive can make ANY album he wants a hit. He had ALL the connections to do so. He just for some reason didn’t want to and threw Prince(r.i.p.) COMPLETELY under the bus.
it seems Prince didnt do much to promote the album too. Very few TV shows and such. Not to mention that, if the goal was to emulate Supernatural formula, there are some vital differences explained in the video.
I have that same banner in my collection room it’s honestly sooo nice!! This might honestly be my second favorite prince album and the moneyappolis remix is my favorite remix EVER it’s honestly 🔥🔥🔥🔥
I absolutely LOVED Rave un2 the joy fantastic when it came out. So much pain let out in the music. Those songs were so moving. The other danceable felt like they were just thrown in to detract away from his emotional music therapy after his divorce.
Totally Awesome channel guys! I've become an obsessed Prince fan over the last 6 months so loving the facts! Is this video on Raveun2JoyFantastic the latest of Prince's albums you've done a facts video on?
I love this Album when I first heard the song rave un2 the joy Fantastic I fell in love wit it and started to listen to the other songs. These are my favorite songs: Silly Game, Man 'O' War, Beautiful Strange, Strange But True, Undisputed, the Greatest Romance Ever Sold and Hot Wit U.
Hi great video thanks! I would have love to hear about beautiful strange that is my Favorite song of this album and the only one new of Rave Into! It was also performed a great lot of times. So I liked the video and it would have been perfect with the story of this song. Thanks bye 👋
I do love the title track. And I Love You But I Don’t Trust You Anymore. But it’s one of the only albums of his where I feel like he was trying too hard. It is VERY interesting that after these records he retreats into much more esoteric territory for a few years with Rainbow Children, etc. But that’s for the next video, I suppose. 😉
I remember questllove talked very highly of Prince multiple times on the tonight show and when Prince died d'Angelo performed sometimes it snows in April on the tonight show so the feud they had must've been over by the time Prince died.
I find it interesting that you didn't mention Man O War at all. That song was so great and full of pain. Actually I feel this entire album was a healing one from his divorce from Mayte.
Rave is absolutely my least favorite Prince album BUT I still love the scholarly research you put into this clip and every other clip. Well done as always.
I recall The Greatest Romance music video being played on BET around that time. That song was so modern yet so Prince. Clive Davis had some major pull then. Prince's interviews with Tavis Smiley in that period helped. Love the various remixes of the Greatest Romance !!! Hot With U with Eve was a great song, but might benefit from an outside producer. While this album wasn't a grand comeback album, it was a return to form. The material was much stronger, balanced and contemporary sounding. A great leap from New Power Soul in commercial terms.
Like "20Ten", I think Prince should have released more videos. Thurr is no doubt in my mind that he probably made & recorded them, & they r in the vault. I think it was Wendy who said that he made a music video for every song on every album in case he decided to release that song as a single, recorded every studio session on video, every rehearsal on video, & every single show beginning in like late 1979, or early 1980 on video, so I believe there are more videos in the vault for this album & several other albums, Prince jus never released them. I mean, whatever we hoped & imagined he recorded, Prince really did do it, plus what we didn't imagine he did, he also did, from what I've heard & read. I can't wait to start seein& hearin some of the stuff we had no idea xisted. When "Deliverance" leaked, I was like what!!!!, I never heard a thang about that!! Imagine how much more there is in the vault.. May b the Estate will make a wise decision someday, & release the videos we don't xist to this album.....
When I first heard Rave back in 1999, I had no idea the title track was a vault track. As such, it didn't sound inconsistent to me. And I still don't hear it that way. I thought it worked great as an opener.
Rave unto the joy fantastic, rave Rave unto the joy fantastic, rave World full of lovers, city full of good times, rave Don't go undercover, I can get you out of your mind Come on, rave All you need is a good walk and a brand new position Then we can spread the real soul, doin' it like a mission (rave), rave Rave unto the joy fantastic, rave Rave unto the joy fantastic, rave Arrividerci cock poppy, that was hip yesterday ,rave New thing hitting where it feel good, what did you say? - rave Tell me all, ain't that the bomb? Mack Daddy ain't got no gun, rave Everybody got a new thing, new fun, scandalous, rave Ah, you gotta rave unto the joy fantastic, rave Everybody rave unto the joy fantastic, rave Ah yeah, oh Come on, sugar, rave Take a look inside your mind Sister got a sizzler on (know she too hot) Ooh, know she too hot (rave), rave Brutha playing an apache scarf Gaultier - stop (oh-oh) Ooh, if had a dollar for every time they smiled I'd sho nuff jump and holla 'Cause I'd sho nuff be rich a while (rave) Everybody rave Rave unto the joy fantastic, oh rave Rave unto the joy fantastic, rave, oh.
I remember the promotion for this album mentioned that it would be the first time the Artist would do an album produced by someone else. Of course the album comes out with the Love Symbol listed as the artist with Prince's name on it listed as produced. In a Keyboard Magazine article in the year 1999, he said that the reason he did that is because we hadn't heard from Prince in a while. Essentially referring to Prince as a different person. Typical mystique message from Prince
When this album is good, it’s *really* good. Most of the album is mediocre to “blah” but Prince sounds absolutely brilliant on songs like “Tangerine”, “The Sun, The Moon And Stars”, and “Man O War”. I’ve also really grown to love “Love U, But Don’t Trust U Anymore”. “Mr. Pretty Man” is also lots of fun.
Cool songs, but it would have been a lot better if recorded in another era, like 94 or 2004. That production is very plastic. The promo arts are cool indeed So good to have your videos back
Some very interesting facts. Although I did read some where a few years later , apparently davis was biggings up the LP so much that ,for some reason, prince decided to call him on it , to the point of cancelling all promotion including videos. And sadly it failed. How true this is is anyone guess
The Greatest Romance slander is unacceptable Casey! I always maintain the song could've been a smash, but they botched the promo. It got a tonne of airplay in the UK at the time and the reason it only reached number 65 was because the official single release wasn't elligible for chart entry due to having too many remixes on. The number 65 position comes from copies of the US import which were sold prior to the singles official UK release. The music video also arrived very late in the US, way after it was peaking on the Billboard Hot 100. If you couldn't get your video on TRL in the late 90s/early 00s, you had no chance of getting a hit. Basically the label screwed up big time. I played TGRES to loads of non-Prince fan friends and family members over the years and it is by far the most accessible and well-liked of his songs to non-fans in my experience.
smh....Quest and D Angelo......While I respect them for who they are as artist. I AM DISGUSTED by the shade...... Prince was and STILL IS a majestic experience and those two acted like clowns in a powerful moment...un freakin real.
It was a sincere effort but simply didn’t have the songs. Prince had also begun turning away from what was playing on the radio, a critical issue that isn’t discussed sufficiently imho. Regardless of what we think about what’s popular in the world, it’s important to at least know what the the ‘sounds of the now’ are so that you can develop your project accordingly - be it to counter programme or to cop a lock or two. His albums became increasingly insular from this point though I kept the faith to the end.
I 've wondered why Prince decided to remix some of the tracks and issue a new album version? I've always assumed it was have it in a form he felt was more suited to what he wanted, rather than panning to Clive Davis and the like. By doing this it would also have given Prince a clean break from the more commercial considerations of said people. It might also explain why the Rainbow Chldren was so uncommercial, almost a reaction to what happened with this album. More on that last point in The Rainbow Children - The Facts You Didn't Know - I'm sure.
I prefer the remix album overall, though I would have left Strange but True on the track list. Having both albums though gives me a chance to do just that.
I absolutely love these videos! I never thought the title track sounded too different from the rest of the album as it jumps across so many musical styles (like the Symbol Album). My own personal thought about the love songs from the 90s: I always felt that 'The Morning Papers' 'TMBGITW' 'Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife' 'The One' and 'Eye Love You But..." Told the story of Prince's relationship with Mayte. A beautiful, but ultimately sad story.
It seemed that Prince was uncharacteristically desperate to get back on the charts at the time and that ran contrary to what I loved most about him. Diehard that I am, I still found plenty to like about it. My favorite tracks are Manowar, Strange But True, 👁️ Love U, But 👁️ Don't Trust U Anymore and Silly Game. I'm half and half on this album, particularly because I'm not a fan of most of the guests. I'd have much rather heard him duet with Stevie or have a guitar battle with Carlos. I was much more pleased with The Rainbow Children and I'm looking forward to that video.
prince in my opinion over - does it and pays the price cause of his ego and mistrust...god damn it do things naturally like used ways that hits are made.... but does it like he thinks so no matter good songs end up in a locker and thats the end...He seems unhappy and the rest are not..so why the mess?
