Prince Musicology:

http://www.rollingstone.c...id=2048479
THE ROLLING STONE REVIEW

Starting somewhere in the early Nineties, he seemed to disappear into his own bizarre obsessions -- the muddled jazz-fusion spirituality of The Rainbow Children (2001) and the instrumental meanderings of N.E.W.S. (2003) being only the most recent excesses. But then, late last year, his election to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame made you remember just how potent, irresistible and groundbreaking a force he once was. Then, his commanding performance with Beyonce to open the Grammys proved that he could still thrill in such a high-pressure spot. And that solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony? Devastating.

Now comes Musicology, as appealing, focused and straight-up satisfying an album as Prince has made since who can remember when. It's open, easygoing and inclusive, the sort of album anyone might like. Most notably, Musicology restores a refreshing sense of songcraft to Prince's writing. Rather than seeming like mere sketches, as so much of his recent work has, each track on the album is distinct, coherent and rigorously uncluttered -- whether it's a bluesy lament such as "On the Couch," a lovelorn meditation like "A Million Days" or a stop-time jam such as "If Eye Was the Man in Ur Life." And the singer makes it clear that he has learned that rigor from the masters. "Wish I had a dollar for every time you say/'Don't you miss the feeling music gave you back in the day?' " he sings over an insinuating bass line on the title track. Then, like Arthur Conley calling out to the R&B pantheon in his 1967 hit "Sweet Soul Music," Prince names names: " 'Let's Groove,' 'September' -- Earth, Wind and Fire/'Hot Pants,' by James/Sly's gonna take you higher."

Now forty-five, Prince realizes -- and repeatedly declares -- that his tastes are "old-school." On "Reflection," one of several ballads that float by on a sweet musical breeze reminiscent of Stevie Wonder, memory sweeps Prince away: "Remember all the way back in the day/When we would compare whose Afro was the roundest?" Moments like this rescue Prince from his eccentricities and make him recognizable again. On the sizzling funk track "Life 'O' the Party," he wryly mimics his old rival Michael Jackson ("My voice is getting higher/I ain't never had my nose done"), as if to emphasize his distance from the only pop-culture figure perceived as weirder than he is.

Its relative clarity aside, Musicology is still a Prince album, so it hardly lacks bold ideas. "Cinnamon Girl" borrows a title from Neil Young and a deft hook from the mid-Eighties to explore racial and ethnic differences in a post-9/11 world. Other songs sprinkle offhand references to the Iraq war, the Fourteenth Amendment, the Bible, numerology and the corrupting power of greed. Prince -- who is now a Jehovah's Witness -- has dialed his trademark sexual explicitness way down. But that restraint works, too. With its sinuous grooves and effortless swing -- not to mention Prince's seductive vocals -- Musicology simmers with a submerged erotic tension.

Finally, of all things, the album is a hymn to marriage -- not the frisky fantasy stuff of "Let's Pretend We're Married" but the real domestic deal. "Did we remember to water the plants today?" the singer asks on "Reflection," Musicology's closing song, finding the secret life of love in a quotidian detail. That's an example of how Prince, who claimed that Musicology would take everyone back to school, is really the one who has understood an essential lesson: Less can be so much more.

ANTHONY DECURTIS
(RS 947, April 29, 2004)

Thanks to the Housquake newsflash.

This is good and everything, but in reality this is the kind of crap all major label recording "icons" get for every album, at least in the UK. As an example, every new David Bowie album since the birth of Q magazine has received 4*, only for when the next one comes out to be called a return to form. These magazines appear to be completely reliant on pleasing the major labels to get the next interview etc.
Still I look foward to hearing it myself when it comes out later this month...

So if they think Prince is all that, they should give the man the fucking cover!!

marksinclair said:

I don't think Prince has gotten that kind of treatment from RS, especially in the past decade. Madonna, definitely. Every bandwagon she jumps on seems to get four stars and the cover.

laylow03 said:

They give the cover to who can sell the most magazines for them, and it ain't Prince at this point. A half naked picture of Britney Spears will do the job much better.

back in the day this would have meant so much. but now it has to be taken into the context of the magazine giving this rating. you guys really have to look and see what else is getting 4 stars. it's really sad.

Well, to us, the true fans, we don't need RS validation to know whether it's a good CD or not.

But the thing to be excited about is that there are many people who do need the mainstream media's stamp of approval before they will give it a listen.

This review might make a lifetime fan out of a 15 yr old who never whould have bought the CD without it.

RS has lucrative Deal with sony/columbia...
Nuff Said
How can you bash the Rainbow children? and love Musicology?
One was independent the other major label
Magazine With a heartbeat yall
I dig Musicology its a hott album
it aint no Rainbow children tho...

Musicology is a great album. It is great that Prince is finally getting the praise that he deserves. The problem that I have with these reviewers is that they tend to jump on the same bandwagons as everyone else in popular music. Additionally, Prince and his "fams" do not need the validation of such entities such as Rolling Stone. Musicology is an ode to real music; as Prince said, "Schools in." So, how can you like "Musicology" and diss "The Rainbow Children" like Rolling Stone did back in 2001? "The Rainbow Children", in my opinion, was one of the most brilliant albums Prince has ever done. I still play that CD all day long and compare it to anything else out there. I think these reviewers need to look inside their collective, so-called "musical minds", and re-evaluate what they consider music. Maybe, they need to enroll in a special course that should be dubbed, "Musicology" for critics.

HardBoyPurple said:

Co-siggity!
when i Play "The Sensual EverAfter" i nearly blow my speakers out !

RupertZ said:

Well, then we need to write and tell dem mo-fo's to get their heads out they asses and put the Lil' Man on the cover!!!!

Luv4oneanotha said:

i would have to wholheartedly agree with you here.

GREAT review.

laylow03 said:

If he can sell 400,000 concert tickets in 40+ cities, why can't his cover sell RS mags...better yet, why wouldn't we buy it?

As fans, of course we don't need the validation of a major publication's review of a new Prince album.

But the thing to keep in mind is that we are not the pulse of the current musical landscape. What we like and prefer from Prince is not what most would consider hit-worthy. We like our music to be deep. Pop music is not deep.

The reviewer said it best when he said sometimes less is more.

Rainbow Children was way too deep for the masses. It was a treat for us fans and club members.

I will say this though, Musicology keeps getting better every time I listen to it, unlike Rave which seemed to get worse ever time I listen to it.

PREDOMINANT said:

Devastating to a magazine who missed naming Prince one of the Top 100 Guitarists of all time!
.
.

i agree completely with mark sinclair on this post. i also dont get how TRC gets shitted on all the time, that is a 100 times better than this new album.

Will this review make people buy Musicology amid the wash of junk that litters the airwaves? I hope so. If not, their loss! Musicology is amazing at best. Stripped down funk with Prince at the top of his game.