Rave Un2 To The Joy Fantastic

The credits may read – “produced by PRINCE and arranged, composed and performed by (insert stupid squiggle symbol),” but I think we can treat this album as the real return to the fray by the Purple Poet of Pervdom himself.

Prince has invited Chuck D, Mike Scott, Ani Difranco and Gwen Stefani from No Doubt along for this Purple Party, and while it’s well below the quality of Purple Rain, Come or Graffiti Bridge, for the most part it still cruises along contentedly, with rich helpings of a smooth, impeccably produced mix of soul, R n’ B and pop.

The problem is that none of the guest artists is given any room to truly shine. On paper, for example, a duet with Chuck D sounds like potentially the best collaboration imaginable. But on disc it’s the shoddiest, dullest, thing that either of these artists have ever put their name to.

In contrast, ‘The Greatest Romance Ever Sold’, ‘Bot Wit U’, and bizarrely enough Sheryl Crow’s ‘Every Day is A Winding Road’, are typically thrilling injections of intoxicatingly sexy music.

The overall verdict? You would be hard pushed to name another artist who can produce such a perfect soundtrack for a spot of bedroom fun. But at times on Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, it seems that the poor boy has lost his mojo. Or maybe it’s that it just don’t work on me all the time.