Both have great melodies. The production is so pristine, yet doesn't sound plastic like the Emancipation era you site. The songs segue into one another beautifully, yet sound distinct from one another. The drums are tight, and both songs have a rich, full sound.

All that having been said, I do like "Reflection" and "Dear Mr. Man" much better. In fact, the latter is my favorite track on the disc.

JediMaster said:

Yes!

LOVE them both to bits

People (me included) like them because they're kind of weird & different. They rock but they're funky. They have energy, live drums, some guitar, and some passionate singing. But I don't think they could've been singles; they are conjoined twins by design.

I actually think Musicology has better production, but that song is like a lot of other songs he's done recently. Ditto Call My Name, Life o the Party. And Cinnamon Girl is maybe better pop, but not nearly as cool.

They're not derivative of older, better Prince songs like What Do You Want Me To Do is. And they have more replayability than Illusion, Coma Pimp & Circumstance which was best to me the first few times.


Mr Man & Reflection are pretty uninteresting to me, though they're at least about something, and they have nice sounds.

Does that help?

Musicology is probably my favorite song from the album. It really grew on me. On the Couch is great, too. Musicology is really a pretty good pop record, though certainly not the most interesting or challenging thing Prince has done.
[Edited 3/16/05 12:25pm]

Man/Marrying pack a nice little 1-2 punch.

Shirley you have no taste...

Two great songs on a great album.

along with Reflection and maybe the title track, they're only tracks on Musicology that are up to Prince-like standards...the rest is pure filler....

These are 2 of my favorites from Musicology. I like them because they lyrics tell a story (kind of). I will admit that I don't like the "diet" lyric in The Marrying Kind, but I do like many more lyrics like "lay her across this piano bench..." and "all the tricks I will try to make her take this ring..."

In If I Was The Man In Your Life, I love when he cries "you call me on the days when you and him are just too through."

And I really don't see how people find comparisons in these two songs to Britney Spears and Beyonce. If Prince was trying, I don't think he could ever sound as bad as Britney Spears.

CalhounSq said:

Co-Sign!!

Revolution said:

Don't call him shirley, he's entitled to his opinion

I think they're cool. A nice centrepiece for the album.

laurarichardson said:

Co-sign that. I love that line. Marrying Kind is THE best song on the album.

dustysgirl said:

He came close with New Power Soul. "When U Love Somebody" and "Shoo Be Doo" are almost as craptacular as Britney.

dustysgirl said:

"If Eye Was The Man In U'R Life" has the Destiny's Child fast "chicka-chicka-bling-bling" feeling to it , which makes it sound sort of more up to date than most other songs on the album.

I am not personally that much into "The Marrying Kind". To me it sounded most like a filler track of all the cuts on the album. I was a bit surprised to see so many people referring to it as their favourite one.

andyman91 said:

Everything you said echoes my thoughts on the album...Musicology (the song) was a slow-grower but is probably MY favourite on the album, too!

IstenSzek said:

I agree with you; they both belong with those Broadway-esque songs he did on Chaos and Disorder (Same December, I Will, Into the Light). I don't want Prince sounding like Andrew Lloyd Webber or Journey, and I think those songs veer dangerously in that direction.

These two songs are why Musicology is not a c +/b - album, Without them, Musicology is a little bit like Rave : a record that tries toohard to be mainstream. Every Prince record needs some Xtreme Prince, and those two songs are much better that some others he put out on, say, Chaos and Disorder. Marrying Kind sounds orchestral and rock at the same time, but it's not a lenghty overblown affair like some songs he did in the 90's. It's a short blast of effective Prince "yearning". The chorus is majestic. If you want to call this stuff "Broadway", then maybe I should see more musicals (between you and me, I doubt there is one song with that much rock bang on Broadway). If I Was the Man in ure life drives it all home, justifying the passion of Marrying Kind with some unbridled devotion that's a little bit like a meaty If I was Your Girlfriend. Those two songs make you want to be innocent again. I'm comfortable with that.
[Edited 3/17/05 15:06pm]

laurarichardson said:

The bad thing about it is that it lacks substance, just like the melody of the song. It is a trick, from the recycled Three Chains Of Gold sound to Strays Of The World bombastic.

This music seems made for the purpose of playing 'something', instead of songs that convey the notion they are actually 'felt' by Prince. The words seem to have been triggered by an online rhymin' machine, of which there seems to be a setting called 'recycle same old tired lyrical bullshit'-button.

The Marrying Kind's lyrics seem a lame 'turn-a-around' for "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man". But the latter might have been sumwhat of an agocentric view of Prince, as he sings about HIS one nite stand, on The Marrying Kind he seems to try to view it from the lady's view.

Both songs to me are examples of why Prince albums do not make sense to me anymore. Too many words not meaning much. Too much music not touching souls. Ooh, and the intro of On The Couch is the same as Insatiable.

And Musicology is a great groove trying to hide hard he now does not even care if he is ripping off James Brown without giving the sound his own gleam... this hurts the most. Back in the day he stole EVERYTHING, but then glued it together with that sound that made him big. Now he just sounds like an old man trying to hustle everybody to a sound that lacks ENERGY throughout. Hiding behind a killer-band won't help him much longer. Even though some of the work flowing from Prince is still sexy (One Nite Alone) and searching (The Rainbow Children/N.E.W.S), I cannot help thinking he is switching styles faster to hide a certain machinery breakdown...cuz what I hear is a.u.t.omatic....

HamsterHuey said:

yes, i really agree with most of that.

the thing is prince has (to my knowledge) had it "too easy" since he left warner (i'm not talking about his personal life...i'm sure he has his troubles like everyone else on the planet)....musically he's had no standards to conform to except his own, and everyone knows that the older you get, the easier you are on yourself. prince needs to be HARD on himself for a change, at least on record. live, he still kicks the shit out of everybody...(at least with the 2004ever tour)....but he's stopped making brilliant records because he's exchanged his fervour, his passion, his HARD WORK, with being comfortable. as a musician, i can tell he is not doing anything now that he couldn't do back in 84....i haven't heard him play anything particularly new on the guitar in years...always the same modal runs and processed effects....always played suberbly, but i like my artists to constantly reinvent themselves....prince has done that in terms of IMAGE, but except for following the latest music trends, he hasn't developed any new style of his own, to my mind. or if he has, it's always been the soft option, rather than the punky edge he used to display. i think he needs to quit thinking he's MASTERED every instrument, because to my mind, he hasn't, not in the way the great jazz masters have. and yet ironically he has moved in the direction of jazz, without adding anything particularly new to the vocabulary of that form. perhaps i expect too much? in any case, he will always be an amazing musician, but it seems that in some ways he decided to stop learning and going further and searching with his music as much as he used to. he is certainly very "masterly" on each instrument he plays...but i believe he could push himself and reach a lot further....the last time i heard him do that was on the rainbow children, but only in parts.....and also in some of the onal shows...but again, that's live....he just needs to translate that live energy to record again and quit following the overproduced current r&b trends. he's SO MUCH MORE than a slick r&b artist.

that said, i think the two songs in question, although faulted, are a lot better than some of his 90s work.

People who live in Life o the Party houses shouldn't throw stones at TMK/IFIWTMIYL.

Novabreaker said:

Really, it sounds to me more Commodores or EW&F than anything else.

ALLMACK said:

I agree...Life of the Party...least favorite...Love IFIWTMIYL!

i also love how the two songs belnd into each other, almost sounds like the one. complete song.,

mrdespues said:

You two are forgetting the purpose of this record. He wasn't going to get his name back out there doing more experimental music. TRC didn't even hit the mainstream radar. Prince accomplished just what he seems to have planned. Exposure and cash were what he wanted and it couldn't have worked out any better to those ends.

Now, if his next few albums are in the same vein as Musicology I'll concede your point. Until then I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. He's earned that much.

those songs are a thorwback to 70's style structure and mood, despite the modern blasting loudness and in your face clariy.... reminds me of billy joel type of formulas from 52nd street or something....

The Best/Worst song debate is always going to be open. But I think we all can agree that the "Musicology" album is better than the majority of other stuff comin' out today.

whodknee said:

If that's the kind of music you dig, fine. It's exactly what I said, just using different words; it seems he did not make this album from the heart or even the crotch, but straight from the wallet.

andyman91 said:

Could not agree more! They aren't the most imaginative, creative tracks that display a wealth of genius, but they're fun and different and get me bobbin' my head. Though I do much prefer "If Eye..."



But see, I think they could've been... esp. that 2nd one. Women just swoon over those songs about how much a man is into them/willing to do for them. Make it Prince, and that's hot. I could realistically hear it being played over and over again on the radio. It's different from what most of the mainstream expects of P. Too late now, I guess. Missed opportunity.