(Featured Image: Cover art for Ultimate Rave; photo by Steve Parke, © NPG Records/Sony Legacy.)

Hi again! As promised, I’m back with my review of the new Ultimate Rave collection, which went up today on Spectrum Culture:

Review: Ultimate Rave

I wish I could say that the critics had been wrong all along and this is a buried, misunderstood gem, but quite frankly, it isn’t; even 20 years later, this still one of (the Artist Formerly Known as) Prince’s most deeply mediocre records. But I find that the additional hindsight, as well as Sony Legacy’s excellent presentation, has made me a lot more affectionate than I may have been otherwise. I look forward to this deluxe treatment being given to more of the albums that deserve it!

In the meantime, if you’re interested in supporting this release but have found the price tag too steep, at time of posting it’s a little less than $16 on Amazon; that’s about $10 less than I paid for it, even lower compared to list price. And if you use my affiliate link, you can support me, too!

Okay, that’s enough shilling for one day. See you tomorrow!

Recovering academic. Music writing at Slant, Spectrum Culture, and elsewhere. Founder and editor, Dystopian Dance Party. Tweets @zchoskins.

5 thoughts on “Review: Ultimate Rave”

  1. Hardly surprising that Clive Davis wouldn’t be watering down the sauce as he loves to do. Even with Prince! The king of the guest spot insured that the artist might get lost on his own record. Why would someone take the effort to sign a guy like Prince then cover him up with guest stars? The only reason I can think of is that he does not respect the artist in question and thinks of them strictly in the number of units Arista could ship of an old guard artist’s album if he piggybacked his latest hot talent all over it. I have never heard this one, but we did see the Rave Un2 The Year 2000 DVD and it was kind of smoking hot; JW-era Prince aside.

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      1. I’ll just buy a used copy when I run across it. I’m still working on that ex-post-facto Prince CD collection, though to my credit, I really began it six months before he died after complaining to my wife about not having any Prince on CD for a decade. I have ’78-’87 inclusive now and scattered bits of the last 30 years.

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  2. Further taking those blatant Prince/Bowie comparisons to the fore, ’78-’87 Imperial Prince is comparable to ’70-’80 Imperial Bowie, with both artists covering widely varied territory for 30+ years following. I have basically all Bowie albums and his worst is a cut or three below the most lacking Prince I’ve heard thus far. “Parade” and “Chaos + Disorder,” since you’ve asked. But I still have a long way to go!

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  3. Ya, Clive Davis bad juju…PRN could not hide his reaction to being around bad energy, you can also see this in some of his other performances and collaborations with certain people…being around this bad energy may have even been what led to his demise. Peace and love brother P!

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