MUSICOLOGY

Every new Prince release brings with it a wave of expectation. What will it sound like? Where will he go musically? Will it be a solo one-man band effort or a collective?

With the release of Musicology my expectations were high. I’d just been witness to the first Prince tour of Australia in 11 years, been fortunate enough to meet and have an extended chat with the man, and had my own moments of joy on stage with him. The artist we were lucky enough to witness was a man free of the demons that may have plagued him in previous years. A man comfortable with his role and place in the musical landscape and a man who by his own admission was excited about what was to come next.

So when musicology was finally released I did something I hadn’t done in a fair while, I waited. Instead of grabbing the cd and listening to it at work, or in the car on the drive home, I waited til I could truly dedicate time to listen to it. So there I was, at home, placing the CD in the player, and sitting back. It took me back to how excited I was when I use to get the albums and couldn’t wait to get home an hear them.

And with a press of the play button Musicology blasted from my speakers. A true funk jam in the old skool flavour of James Brown, a tight groove built around an irresistible beat. Role calling the heroes of the past, Prince not only highlighted his inspirations but also placed himself amidst the classics (a place many had felt he had always occupied). This was a true return to form for Prince – combining all the true P elements, a catchy groove, a progressive take on the funk, and those delicious synth runs. The only thing missing was the classic Prince clap POP.

Fading out with the mini ad for the up coming tour, it seemed like this segue was really a reminder or refresher course for the listener, and to me it was in a few seconds what the unfolding album would prove to be. A reminder track by track about what we loved about Prince, aimed perhaps more at the general public than the fans that had stayed with him.

Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance is a case in point. A grooving beat laden track that supports a typical quirky Princely tale. Simply arranged to hook you in without swamping you in epic melodies, this reminded me as something that wouldn’t have been out of place on Come.

A Million Days reminded me of the Gold Experience. A beautifully crafted rock song that builds to epic proportions. It wasn’t a track that excited me straight off, but rather took a few listens to it to truly appreciate it. And now its one of my favourite cuts on the album, especially the layering of the vocals on that second verse.

Life o’ the Party was unveiled during the tour along with On the couch. And I have to say, I thought it was a bit of a throwaway on the tour, and unfortunately the recorded version hit me the same way. I think it was the chorus, it seemed like there wasn’t much care given to it, like Prince just pulled the first sing song chant he could think of and whacked it in. It’s only in the breakdown at 2:40 that the song really grabbed me, shuffling into a dancehall flow. A song that unfortunately of me, failed to live up to its title.

Ok so we’ve had the Prince funk song, the Prince dance song, the Prince rock song, and the Prince party song, so what that leaves…. Ah the Prince ballad. Call my name fits the bill better than most ballads of recent years. A beautifully arranged piece that centres itself in the romantic side of love and inspiration. One of his best. It deserved a better reception from radio than it received.

Cinnamon Girl is a curious track for me. Depending on my mood it can either be one of his greatest rock tunes, and at other times it can feel a bit cliché and easy. Thankfully as I write this it’s the former that is present. With powerful lyrics this song gets you in on the melody before the message, it’s only on the third of fourth listen that you realise what you singing about it. Catchy like a Prince classic, and of the ilk of When you were mine, this pop rock track was perhaps the most radio friendly musically, but perhaps lyrically was too political for most to accept.

No one can work a drum machine pattern and elicit such emotion from it like Prince. What Do U Want Me 2 Do? has all the hallmarks of a Prince beat, the flanging rim shot, and offbeat bass drum accents and tighter than tight snare. It’s one of my favourite cuts of the album, something in its simplicity and easy progression that appeals to me. And it’s nice to see fidelity play a role in Prince lyrics.

Like the last few songs on that string together an epic rock opera, The Marrying Kind / If Eye was the Man in ur life are meticulously arranged and performed, layered with enough instrumentation to add to the power of the composition. At once again the fullness of The marrying kind belies its 2:49 playtime. If Eye… is the jam. The staccato lyric of the chorus, to the free flowing structure of the verses just meld into one of Prince’s best pieces in years. Each passing verse adds to punch, hitting hard with accents and runs. The song has the perfect balance of instrumentation, enough to fill out the song but not to the point of overpowering it. Brilliant production.

Any song following that one two knock out combination was always going to come off worse for wear, its just a shame that On the couch is the song of choice. As I previously mentioned it just seems light on, and verges on the throwaway. And unfortunately makes me reach for the >> button.

Thankfully Dear Mr Man comes at the right time. Reminding me of Inner City Blues, this slow burn soul track packs a punch. This is Prince in his finest moment as a lyricist, and love those purple strings. The only criticism I have of the track is that it ends too soon for my liking.

Reflection whilst a lovely song seemed like an odd choice to end the album on. It’s like the album kinda petered out rather than built to the more deserving crescendo. That said, as a song it’s wonderfully written and kicks back with a chilled out vibe that floats on nostalgia without getting too soppy. And once again I find myself waiting for the song to resume after the line “and watch the cars go by….”.

For an album that heralded “Prince’s comeback” it served as a reminder to those that had lost their purple way as to what the man was capable of. It was like a greatest hits album made up of new songs. All the elements that made him an exciting entertainer were present and dutifully arranged, and I assume for many a lapsed fan it was a welcome call back to the fold. And whilst I do enjoy the album, I can’t help but feel like the journey for the listener that never strayed was not fully rewarded. A well rounded well crafted collection of songs, no doubt, but not the boundary pushing music we had come to expect and perhaps demanded too much. And like I said, with cuts like “Musicology” “A million days” “If eye…” and “Dear Mr Man” present its hard not to enjoy listening to this album.

Swa

Definitely the come back, his best album in ages. The highlights - The whole album

B+

Oh, I like this one. This was when I started to regain my faith in Prince. A little background. I became a fan of Prince with Chaos And Disorder. (yes, really) I absolutely adored Emancipation. Crystal Ball and The Truth were great but I was ready for his next "proper" album. Newpower Soul was a big disappointment as was Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic. The Rainbow Children and N.E.W.S. were ok and I admired Prince doing something new but by the end of 2003 I had pretty much resigned myself to believing that Prince was not the same musician that I used to love. He still showed flashes of brilliance but it looked like I was going to have to get used to mediocre Prince albums. Then he dropped Musicology. I don't want to overstate this. Musicology was still a long ways from the heights of the mid '80s and the mid '90s but it finally seemed like Prince was trying again! I still remember buying the album the day it was released and listening to it over and over. I loved it! This was the Prince that I had been missing since Emancipation! Sure there were a couple of duds ("Illusion, Coma, Pimp And Circumstance" and "Life 'O The Party") but hearing gems like "A Million Days," "What Do U Want Me 2 Do?" and, especially "If I Was The Man In Ur Life" it was easy to forgive the albums flaws. To me this will always be a special album because it made me love Prince's new music again. 3121, Planet Earth, Lotusflow3r and MPLSoUND all have their virtues but I'm not sure if those albums could have happened without the success of Musicology.

Excellent album. The right album at the right time.

Love it!

This is was special for me also because he actually spoke to me backstage at the meadowlands show "wazzup"..I'll take that.But he also changed how soundscan would do their numbers,we all know the story about the free album given to each patron at the concert considered as a sale therefore Musicology went to number one easily.They changed that shit real quick and again Prince blazed a trail..lol..The title track,along with the video came to me as a total sucker punch.No way was i expecting that after hearing the previous albums.The whole acknowledgement of being the funky "oldhead" and proud of it..just a great way to comeback.The album in whole will be debated as average but it seemed that he was out of his rut or awaken from his coma IMO and not a moment too soon

This could be my all time favorite Prince Album!!

The title track and LOTP are awful to me.

SavonOsco said:

I'm pretty sure that Musicology never made it to number one. I believe that it peaked at number three.
[Edited 7/15/09 3:05am]

great review!

I don#t like on the couch or life of the party either but the rest is very good

it gets a lot of bad press, which I don#t quite understand

Yes Musicology wasn't a number one album. It was number 3 in both US and UK. His last number one album in the US was 3121 and before that Batman in 1989. In the UK it was Come in 1994.
However Musicology was a big return back to form. The Rainbow Children and NEWS were great albums as well (possibly even better than Musicology) but Musicology had commercial appeal as well something that those 2 lacked. I think with the exceptions of those 2 albums it was easily his best album since the Gold Experience.
Musicology was a great funky number, consciously trying to remind us of James Brown. Possibly the best Prince dance song since..., dare I say Sexy MF and with the added pleasure of seeing again a Prince video being played in MTV and other music channels. This was a first since the Greatest Romance and that video wasn't half as popular as Musicology. Georgeous.
Illusion Coma Pimp and Circumstance was more or less on the same formula as the title track. Very funky and almost as good as track 1. Should have been released as a single.
A Million Days is kind of a classic Prince rock ballad. It could do with a bit more bass and much more quitar but it still works great in the album.
Life O' The Party seems to be the song that everyone hated probably because of its lyrics. But it is just a party song not to be taken seriously. It is in the same style as the first two with added pseudo-reggae beats and a rap. I like it.
I guess Call My Name was the biggest american hit from this album (although I am not sure if not reaching the Top 40 would qualify it as a hit). This is the type of R&B ballad that Prince likes to make lately... very reminscent of D'Angelo and Maxwell artists originally inspired by Prince. Usually this kind of music is not my favourite but this one works well and kept Prince on radio airplay in the states which is always a good thing
Now when I heard Cinnamon Girl I heard a combination of 80s Prince and Roxette songs. What really lifts this song are the lyrics. A clever and touching commentary about the Iraq war, a cute pop/rock song musically speaking and another winner in my book. Just missed the Top 40 in the UK
What Do You Want Me To Do is a little pop track which sounded unimpressive on first listen but grew on me later on. Definitely an album track but a great one at that.
The Marrying Kind/If I Was The Man In Your Life is Prince back in his more musical-influenced moments. Thankfully not a Queen rip-off again like 3 Chains O' Gold, those songs have intensity and are totally different from other songs on the album although not something you wouldn't expect from Prince. Great
On The Couch is another R&B ballad. More on the oldies side here, more accessible that the 3 tracks before and another great song. It could have possibly worked as a single too.
Then comes the best song on the album and the one which definitely should have been a single. Dear Mr. Man, a very classic sounding R&B song (yes Marvin Gaye comes in mind) is the big gem on this album. Even if this was the only good song on the album it would still make it worth to buy. Possibly among Prince's best songs ever.
Reflection is the song which closes the album. A simple acoustic ballad, it is OK but not single material. A good closing for a great album.

Prince broke no new boundaries with this album. But he reminded us why we loved him in the first place and showed to a wider audience that he is a great musician. An album without any throwaway fillers which is easy to listen from beginning to end is something that Prince didn't do for about a decade at that point and it was a very welcome return to form. Shame no Top 40 hits materialised from this album but still it was a return back to album chart success, a success which thankfully has been maintained until today
[Edited 7/15/09 4:33am]

jiorjios said:

Great thoughts and insight. Thanks for joining in.

Swa

what id Prince spelled it MUSE-a-cologie

Prince broke no new boundaries with this album. But he reminded us why we loved him in the first place and showed to a wider audience that he is a great musician. An album without any throwaway fillers which is easy to listen from beginning to end is something that Prince didn't do for about a decade at that point and it was a very welcome return to form. Shame no Top 40 hits materialised from this album but still it was a return back to album chart success, a success which thankfully has been maintained until today
[Edited 7/15/09 4:33am]
[/quote]
True!
I must be one of the few(are there others anyway?) who likes Life of the party !
And I really don't like The Marrying kind/If I was... and Cinnamon Girl,
I never have been a fan of this light-Prince-rock (When you were mine,Jack U off,Ronnie talk...).
It seems I love all the songs on this album others DON'T
MY fav are the first 5 songs and What do U want me 2 do.
Anyway,Musicology & 3121 are my fav of this decade.

YES IT WAS A GREAT ALBUM .....

loved all songs... but wasnt terribly keen on cinnamon girl... dont knw why..its just the way it was played....
my favourite one was CALL MY NAME.... that song is very strong....and a good one..

As I wrote in another thread, there are no songs on this album that really stand out for me, but taken as a whole I love the album.

It can't be stated enough how important this album was for Prince. Along with the tour and his Hall of Fame induction, Musicology made him relevant again. I had so many people who had never really liked Prince come up to me in 2004 asking me if they could listen to the CD. 2004 was probably the biggest year for Prince since 1984.

xlr8r said:

I like both of those songs

Paisley4u said:

True!
I must be one of the few(are there others anyway?) who likes Life of the party !
And I really don't like The Marrying kind/If I was... and Cinnamon Girl,
I never have been a fan of this light-Prince-rock (When you were mine,Jack U off,Ronnie talk...).
It seems I love all the songs on this album others DON'T
MY fav are the first 5 songs and What do U want me 2 do.
Anyway,Musicology & 3121 are my fav of this decade.[/quote]

I like Life O' The Party too as I said before. Also I don't like When You Were Mine but I do like all the other songs you don't like

Swa said:

Great point! As a fan who has never wavered for one second, I often feel that the latest studio effort doesn't live up to the internet releases and outtakes of the same era. For example, where was the kickass funktacular that was hinted at in tracks like Glasscutter and F.U.N.K.? we got the rocker with lotusflow3r and the funk pop with mplsound, but let's have another deep funk album. deep deep deep, like Old Skool Company, like $, like Days of Wild. Anyway, funnily enough I love On the Couch as a ballad, but am less impressed with Call My Name, and A Million Days. Maybe because OTC is lite with it's subject matter, so it gets away with being a little funny and cheeky. But the so-called 'deeper' songs are laden with lyrical dross like "I love you so much...feel your touch...might go insane...I love it when you call my name". This is the guy who wrote Dorothy Parker after all. And the new Montreux version of Large Room reminded me again of his lyrical prowess, a talent he seems to ignore more and more as time goes on.

I'm not hating though, I love musicology! I dig those tracks, I just think he's getting a bit lazy on the lyrics sometimes. Just don't get me started on the lyrics of "dance for me"...

rialb said:

yes of course i knew that, just blame it on the a-a-a-a-alcohol..

Cheers

Swa