The 2019 compilation
Ultimate Rave: Rave Un2 the Year 2000 pairs
Prince's 1999
Clive Davis-endorsed comeback
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic with its 2001 remix,
Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic. The former was intended to be a blockbuster, while the latter was available only through
Prince's NPG Music Club, which also means
Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic is the noteworthy element of this reissue. It's streamlined, with a slightly different track listing, several mixes, and featuring the previously unreleased slow-burner "Beautiful Strange." Considering how the original 1999 album attempted to please all audiences -- a signature of
Clive Davis', particularly in the Y2K era -- it's a bit of a revelation to hear
In2, as it has four fewer tracks (all the segues are eliminated) and doesn't have quite as many excesses (although they're certainly there). The album still feels slightly constrained -- it's not often that it's readily apparent that
Prince is gunning for a hit, but that's true throughout either edition of Rave -- but this is a rare time that the remix eclipses the original, so it's nice to have this in wider circulation.
The CD/DVD package also includes a DVD of
Prince's 1999 New Year's Eve party, a concert film originally aired on pay-per-view that featured cameos from
Morris Day & the Time,
Lenny Kravitz, and
George Clinton. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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