Ok, now that I have the album, I need to express my feelings on it. The first time I heard it, I hated it. I had to surpress the urge to skip through most tracks. I wanted to log on to this site right then and there to start a thread titled "Thank God Musicology is only 12 tracks long!" This really is not the way I wanted to feel about a Prince album. And before the rest of y'all start bitching and moaning, I really gave the album a thorough listening to. EWM may cringe, but Musicology is one of the few decent tracks on the whole album. The synth parts remind me of the 1999 period. ICP&C was pure garbage - the track was hot, but the lyrics had me doing this . By the time A Million Days came on, I wanted to cry. With only 9 more tracks to go, things weren't looking too promising. But the more I listen to it, it's not so bad. Reminds me of 3 Chains of Gold. Despite what some of y'all said about Candy, she didn't sound too bad on Life "O" the Party. But now, when I listen to it, she gets on my nerves. I liked the music but hated the breakdown part in the middle - why does Prince always have to kill a song that way? Remember Sun, Moon and Stars from Rave? I like Call My Name after letting it grow on me, but at first, I was like, "This is what everyone was going crazy over?" EWM, didn't you say Cinnamon Girl was the only one of two songs worth listening to? I tried, but I HATE that song!! When WDYWM2D came on, I thought, "Finally". That was, until he started singing. There was no feeling in his vocals. But I love the music - sounds very 1986-1987. The Marrying Kind and If Eye Was The Man In Ur Life caught my attention (I actually thought they were the same song at first). Those two stick in my head. After giving On The Couch a good listening to, I thought it was a nice little song. The two best songs on the album besides Musicology are Dear Mr. Man and Reflection. I love the flute - it reminds me of the song "8" from the first Madhouse album. But if y'all are expecting huge sales for this album, stop dreaming. As I said, when I first heard this album, I hated it. And I'm a Prince fan. You can only imagine what a non-fan would think. After listening to it for a couple of days, it's not awful, but it's not great, either. It sounds like a complilation album of filler songs from past albums. Folks, if it makes #1, don't expect it to stay there.

renapisces3372 said:

The seer has spoken... Carry on.

renapisces3372 said:

Unlike a Prince fan, a non-Prince fan is probably going to be listening to this album without bias and therefore has no expectations. Personally, I don't Musicology is the greatest but it's a solid album. It's as accessable as any other LP in the charts right now, so if he happens to make #1 with it, goodie for Prince. And how realistic is it to expect any LP to go anywhere but down the charts if it makes #1

psykosoul said:

I didn't have any bias. I'm only stated what my initial feelings were. And what I meant by "don't ecpect it to stay there", was that it isn't going to be there for as many weeks as past albums. And as far as you saying that most would listen without bias, that's BS and you know it. Most people would be talking sh!t all the way to the bank because it is Prince.

renapisces3372 said:

You were the one who tried to imagine hearing the album from a non-fan's point of view. Now do you mean someone who is not familiar with Prince's music or someone who just doesn't like Prince? In the case of someone who just doesn't like Prince, of course there's going to be an instant bias. I just didn't understand what you were trying to convey.

psykosoul said:

What I was saying was that the people I know would automatically be like, "Prince...aaaggh!". Usually when I tell people I like Prince, that's the nicest of the responses I get. My comment was based on much of the music I hear on the radio. It's all crap - the same five songs over and over. Same with videos. That's why I don't watch anymore.

its so funny --- after years of listening to Prince ... and his diverse catalog , etc ... how some people can like NPS ... or whatever album ... and some can hate it ....

I can honestly say ... having brought up NPS , ... it sat and sat ... and i still do not listen to it ....

but now we are talkin musicology ... and .... for those fans who said it reminds them of NPS - i would say they havnt given it a real listen .....

Musicology is much deeper and really works well .... the only songs i am so tempted to pass on ... hit skip ... whatever ... is "the marrying kind" ... and "if i was the man in your life" ....

the song "musicology" has really grown on me ... and i now like it alot .... "Dear Mister Mann " is in my opinion a top 10 hit waitin to happen .... and who knows ... one thing is for sure ... in some ways Prince has lit a match and it has caught fire .....

The best thing about the digital music era is that you are no longer "limited" to an ALBUM format . . .

Meaning, we have instant access to Prince's ENTIRE catalog - just a click away. You can mix-and-match to your liking, and disregard anything you don't like.

That's sorta how I feel about Musicology - I can take the 5 or so great tracks and disregard the rest. I'll concentrate on the great ones, and visit the other ones only occasionally.

I wish Musicology would've been released with a bonus "Xpectation" disc for the first however-many people.

Weird, I hated it too when I first heard it. I often find strong resistance to new Prince albums. Strange. He is my favourite artist, yet it takes me a while, like getting to know a new friend, to get to know the work and like it.

I know what you mean, I rejected it almost instantly. Funny that is though, all the stuff from NPGMC I've loved instantly. I wish he'd go underground again in a way. But only to satisfy me

renapisces3372 said:

Those songs do sound kind of alike, and Prince goes from The Marrying Kind to If Eye Was The Man In Ur Life on the Musicology CD quite easily and seemingly without much effort. Kind of reminds me of the songs "Into the Light" and "Eye Will" off the Chaos and Disorder CD, where he does the same thing. Funny story about those two songs, I remember saying to a friend that I liked the song "Eye Will", and she responded, "I don't know that one". She probably, at first, thought that "Into the Light" and "Eye Will" were the same song, which would be easy to do if you're not paying attention to the lyrics and/or CD track listing.