A majority of the songs written for the album were originally made for Prince's previous works, such as Lovesexy (1988) and Graffiti Bridge (1990).

[3] In June 1998, Prince resumed the project, creating a "reworked" version of the title track, and enlisting help from other musicians, such as Gwen Stefani, Eve, and Sheryl Crow.

[4] A digital version of the album was released exclusively to both of Prince's official website (1800new-funk.com and love4oneanother.com) and features enhancements that are not included on the physical edition.

"[5] Musically a pop and R&B album, Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic explores the former two genres after the frequent use of soul on The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale.

[12] Intended to serve as a "comeback", "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" is a "smooth" ballad with Prince's multi-layered vocals featured in the chorus.

[14] "Segue II" is a short instrumental track, followed by promotional singles "Man'O'War" and "Baby Knows", the former of which is a "sexy ballad"[15] and the latter featuring contributions from Crow, including her vocals and use of a harmonica.

[4] The album's thirteenth track, "I Love U, but I Don't Trust U Anymore", features a guest appearance from folk rock singer Ani DiFranco, who plays an acoustic guitar.

[2] "Strange but True" uses a "spoken-word soliloquy with a funky foundation", similar to Prince's previous song, "Irresistible Bitch".

[2] Unlike Prince's previous albums, the release for Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic did not coincide with promotional appearances in the United States.

[2] The event included renditions of Prince's songs with guest appearances from Rosie Gaines, Morris Day, Maceo Parker, and Lenny Kravitz.

The album contained 13 of Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic's tracks, along with additional remixes and an unreleased song called "Beautiful Strange".

[13] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said Prince's "shtick" was less tired than Ray Charles' after 20 years,[26] describing the album as a lofty brand of "generic", "where pro forma cameos failed to produce the hits Clive Davis banks on".

Club congratulated Prince for "mark[ing] his return not just to major labels, but to commercial ambition and accessibility"[11] while Adam Mattera in Echoes called the album "a savvy attempt to reignite his career through a series of radio-friendly missiles and superstar collaborations similar to Clive Davis' recent triumph with Santana’s "Supernatural"."

[25] Eamon Sweeney from Hot Press was also mixed in his review, stating that it "would be hard to name another artist who can produce such a perfect soundtrack", but found at times that the singer "ha[d] lost his magic".

[12] In a very negative review, a critic from NME stated "To paraphrase Woody Allen, genius is like a shark; it has to move forward or it dies.

[37] All songs written and produced by Prince, except "Everyday Is a Winding Road" by Sheryl Crow, Jeff Trott and Brian McLeod.