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
's NPG Music Club, which also means
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
', 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
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
'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