Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999)

It's 1999, and Prince aficionados know what that signifies: the 12th anniversary of his last great album, ''Sign O' the Times.'' But hope, like numerology, springs eternal. Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic inspires optimism, as P has realigned with a major -- Arista's Clive Davis, who might be brave enough to tell the unreliable hieroglyph the difference between wheat and chaff.

But while the album's Santana-like slew of cameos (EVE, Gwen Stefani, Chuck D) may belie the Davis touch, ''Rave'' -- which has the ex-Prince reverting to one-man-jam mode in trying to recapture the spirit of '''99'' -- otherwise remains a characteristic mix of the kicky and cringe-worthy.

For as lame a song as he's ever unleashed, proceed to track 2. In ''Undisputed,'' he extols his own genius over a dull rhythmic bed that begs a second opinion. The Artiste almost redeems himself with the next track, ''The Greatest Romance Ever Sold,'' a silky bedtime story with seductive descending chord progressions.

And so it goes. His disco cover of Sheryl Crow's ''Everyday Is a Winding Road'' is a borderline travesty, but later, Crow herself sings on a funny new raunch-rocker, ''Baby Knows,'' that nearly atones for the earlier misstep. When he's really on, almost anything -- even that nasty messiah complex -- seems 4givable.

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