Rating: Summary: HIS NAME IS PRINCE! AND HE IS A GENIUS! Review: THIS DVD IS BAD! I LOVE LENNY KRAVITZ AND PRINCE TOGETHER! I ENJOYED MORRIS DAY AND THE TIME! LORD! THAT TOOK ME BACK! FIVE STAR DVD***** PRINCE IS THE GREATEST AND FINEST MAN ALIVE!
Rating: Summary: Prince & company are jamming Review: This is the funkiest Prince concert ever!! Let me get my one criticism out of the way, it's the crowd, at times they act like they aren't in to the music and Prince has to pursuade them to participate!! I couldn't understand this reaction because Prince and his band play some of the funkiest music you could ever want to hear!! You don't hear this kind of funk from the youngsters of today, I doubt if they know what the funk really is!! Get this concert if you love bass thumpin, horn driven funky music!!
Rating: Summary: Great DVD for the collection!! Review: This is what we've been waiting for, and since I missed the televised version on New Year's Eve, I am VERY HAPPY!! This DVD contains a great example of Prince's uncanny stage presence as well as his musical talents.The hits are performed, as well as a few fan favorites, and songs from the recent 'Rave On To The Joy Fantasic' CD are performed.The guest stars include Larry Graham, Morris Day & The Time (with Jerome!!), Lenny Kravitz (who has great musical chemistry with Prince!!), Rosie Gaines, Geoge Clinton, Maceo Parker, and more for the music lover in you!! I also love my DVD for the 5.1 Digital Sound, and the BONUS FEATURES like the 'Documentary Interview', Bonus Jams, and more!! I am sure that the VHS version is nice but THE DVD IS WHERE YOUR MONEY SHOULD GO!! Get this NOW!!!P.S. If you love this performance as much as I do, consider burning the audio onto a CD-R, so that you can listen to the great music ANYWHERE YOU LIKE!! You don't have to wait for the record company to release it!! DO IT YOURSELF!!!
Rating: Summary: A great show with a great guest list Review: This show was aired as a pay per view event onn New Years Eve 1999. The Artist and friends including guests Lenny Kravitz, George Clinton, Larry Graham, NPG, The Sound of Blackness Choir, Morris Day and the Time pull out all the stops for what was billed as the party of the century. This show will please long time fans and new fans alike. The Artist now know as Prince plays all the old favourites (Purple Rain, Kiss, Gett Off) and introduces some great new tunes from his Rave unto the joy fantastic cd. An excellent live performance by Prince and all his guest performers!
Rating: Summary: The Best Prince Performace EVER! Review: This started out as Prince doing the greatest thing ever on stage inluding the last live performance of 1999 the hit song from 1982 (but it's come a looong way!) on pay-per-view with great guest stars and great old time songs (The Lenny Kravitz part was cool). so you could have a FULL TIME BLAST just at home but now they are releasing it on VHS and DVD! I have to give both the VHS and DVD version a very pleaseant 5 stars.
Rating: Summary: Still Rockin' The House After All These Years... Review: Throughout his career, The Man has demonstrated time and again that he is not only the greatest multi-instrument talented musician living today, but he is also one of the greatest stage performers of his generation. This DVD allows fams like myself, who have never been able to see him live, to get a taste of The Man on stage. Bouncing from instrument to instrument, and showing that his amazing voice is as vibrant and striking as ever, Prince serves up a full plate of funk, rock, R&B, blues, hip-hop, and even a dash of techno. What you are seeing on this disc is not a pay-per view special so much as it is a concert that Prince felt like putting on television. I was also thankful for the guestspots granted to Lenny Kravitz, Maceo Parker, and the bonus track that features George Clinton doin' his thang. Also interesting is the addition of Kip Blackshire to the NPG. Check out his skills on "Higher" and "1999." That brothers got some pipes on him. All told a spectacular event, this DVD is a must have for any fams of Prince and the NPG. PEACE AND B WYLD
Rating: Summary: Sign O¿ The Times gone by...and perhaps to come? Review: To me, until recently Prince's prodigious musical talents have increasingly been obscured by a tiresome string of marketing ploys that go back to the early stages of his career. Among the examples: the name changes, the CRYSTAL BALL mail-order fiasco, a string of questionable talent/image (Vanity, Apollonia) or miscast talent/image (Sheila E, Sheena Easton) female proteges, a short-lived record label, and a horde of album releases (including many studio outtakes). It seems like the CD-buying public has grown so tired of the hype that they've turned away from even his better recent albums. On RAVE UN2 THE YEAR 2000 Prince seems to have taken a forward step by dumping the excess baggage and turning our focus back to his musical skills. A lot of music fans who have drifted away in recent years may want to climb back on board here with this highly entertaining, fast-paced video (the DVD sounds and looks great, and has bonus features). Buoyed by fresh performances of mostly his most popular tunes (particularly from the album PURPLE RAIN), Prince seems more than ever like an rejuvenated musical Artist. Furthermore, he is gracious in his turning the stage over to an impressive list of guest stars, and at times pulls out a few musical surprises (for one, the blues medley will turn a lot of heads). Also, his visual perspective seems to have grown from lust to love: instead of pseudo-porn stage scenes, he brings out a gospel choir (for the song THE CHRIST aka THE CROSS). No vanity...in more ways than one! Which isn't to say Prince has eliminated sexuality from his show...it's just considerably more ready for prime-time than previously. In fact, everything but the vitality of the music itself seems quite conservative in nature, and for once that's a relief (in an era where the negative messages of some pop music have come under fire even by free-speech proponents). For those of you who think that Prince and his peers' best musical moments are behind them, I suppose this concert could be used as an argument in favor of that assessment, given that only two of the twenty-plus songs are recent. Yet one of the new songs (GREATEST ROMANCE) compares favorably with his classic repetoire, leaving open the probability that there's more great music to come. As for the oldies, Prince still has some inspiration to give to tunes that he has probably played hundreds of times. It's a pleasure to see him focusing on the music, while foregoing most of the visual teases of the past. Additionally, for long periods this concert recaptures the electricity of vintage funk, in a manner more vital than nostalgic. Larry Graham is in top form on bass, and takes center stage for several Sly and Graham Central Station classics, joined by fellow Family Stone members (but not Sly himself). Lenny Kravitz fits right in, as do Rosie Gaines, Maceo Parker, and of course Morris Day & The Time. Yes, the video parties more like it's 1984 than 1999. Yet I find that I'm replaying it quite often...and for the first time in years looking forward to hearing what Prince has in store for us next.
Rating: Summary: Moments of Genius...and then Review: To the facts: Low factors: The drummer. In the 90s, Prince had a talented drummer on board by the name of Michael Bland. If you ever had a chance to listen to a bootleg copy of " She's Always in My Hair" from the Act 2 Tours of 1993, compare it to the one on Rave DVD. Michael Bland's drumming was tight, detailed and innovative...there was incredible coordination and unity with the bass and other progressions through a song. A lot of this attention to detail was missing on the Rave DVD, due to the mediocre drumming of Kirky J. I think that he is the weakest drummer the purple one has ever enlisted. His delivery is dry and very basic...like something from a manual. Not the type of innovative beats delivered by Bland. Larry Graham is a lively old man, with effective bass part, but give him a singing part and you have material to skip pass...this slowed down the momentum of the concert for me in a big way. 1999...I've heard better renditions of this song on live bootleg recordings. It was a basic funky delivery, more of a James Brown meets Las Vegas style than a wicked new version. Lacked any element of surprise. It even seemed to drag in places, and seemed to have more to do with balloons and confetti falling than serious music. More fun to look at that listen_ though the scatter-brain-editing could easily give you a headache. Prince could've performed other songs. "Raspberry Beret" and "Take me with you" had that stinky Las Vegas nostalgia delivery, once again. " Baby Knows" sounded suprisingly the same as on the CD_ a lil flat. Substitute with tracks like (maybe)strolling, sshhh, scandalous, or even something cool like Crucuial ( which fans have never heard a live version of) would have made this concert a real treat! I even wish he would have openend the concert with a live " Rave unto the Joy Fantastic," as the DVD is titled off of. I personally wish he did more sexy jams_ "Do Me Baby," "Insatiable," heck even "Sun Moon and Star" would have been super cool_ and a little less of Larry. This concert to me is less of Prince-taking-risks. I wonder if we'll ever see that Prince again? Highlights: The concert opened with momentum. Let's get Crazy got Crazy quick and flowed nicely into a guitar-driven Always in my hair ( with bumpy, exploding bass). The purple confetti falling on the guitar solo added to the energetic introduction. The Hornz were delicious. It's nice to see and hear a woman on sax. Prince is good at recruiting talented female musicians. Prince is a great guitarist! I replayed the Blues Guitar solo maybe about 17 times already! It's just amazing! That section alone could justify purchasing this DVD for me! Great part of the show. Kravitz section was cool. It was nice to see them both on stage. Prince added slammin guitar! The two songs sound a lot better on this DVD than they do on Lenny's CDs. I wonder Why... Greatest Romance with the music video intro was cool. That was an unexpected surprise( breaking the live footage) and the live version that completed the song sounded sexy! The version of Purple Rain was absolutely beautiful, and the Christ was just superb ( love the gospel chior addition...added an interesting new layer to the song). The Modern Dancers were fun. I especially enjoyed the female dancer in " She's Always in My Hair" Very subtle and original movements! Nice moves again on Purple Rain intro. It's an enjoyable concert. Prince is big fun to look at, and he's can be a hypnotic live presence. As far as live performers go, he's one of the maestros...but still, that doen't mean he can do anything and it'll be great. Rave is a very entertaining DVD that could have been better! However, when it's good , it really shine, and I'd buy it again for those shining moments.
Rating: Summary: A Polished, Exciting Performance Review: Using camera work similar to "Sign O'The Times" concert film, Prince offers us his millenium New Year's concert filmed at Paisley Park. Sound and visual quality excellent, and the close-ups of Prince are breathtaking on DVD!
Rating: Summary: Rave un2 the joyalright....??? Review: well i was 1 of the few lucky 1nes 2 attend this event, that cold minnesota night...the live show was amazing,with lenny kravitz,clinton and many stars n celebs in attendance that night...but i thought the video failed 2 bring out the excitment i had that night,along with the crowd and energy of the performance...it was a great video, dont get me wrong!!! but its just missing something... along with that, the songs and performances range from mouthdropping 2 dull,kravitz n prince was a dream come true to see this playing on stage 2gether, and the time was a cool flashback...overall this video is worth buying if u are a huge prince fan, but 4 some of the lucky 1nes who attended that night, its a tease.... just buy it peace morpheus
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