For those who dont read the Daily Mail, they have a positive review of Musicology:

Verdict: A masterclass in lean, mean funk.

The rise of rap and his own lack of quality control saw Prince's album sales dip in the 90's. But with a frest record deal and a major American about to begin (?), he is aiming to make up for lost time. The influential Minneapolis soul man says that Musicology signals a return to 'the art and craft of music' and it is certainly his most concise and accessible record in years.

Abandoning the long, jazzy jam sessions that were a hallmark of recent efforts, he reiterates his flair for writing a good tune on Connamon Girl and Life O'The Party, even though neither track quite recaptures the soulful spark of Kiss or 1999.

Amoung the other stand-outs are the title track, which namechecks the 'true funk soldiers' Earth Wind and Fire and Run DMC, and places tradition of James Brown and George Clinton.

A lean, keyboard-dominated tone is to teh fore elsewhere, with Prince adding lavish strings to teh mixture on A Million Days and showcasing his strengths as a romantic balladeer on Call My Name and On The Couch, the latter a soulful blues number in which he lascibiously suggests that a female admirer does not make him 'sleep on the couch'.

Its is only on the rockier, guitar-driven tracks - If I Was The Man In Ur Life and The Marrying Kind - that he loses sight of his newly-rediscovered love of the simple pop song. With newer US acts such as OutKast and the Black Eyed Peas owing him a huge artistic debt, Prince, despite sleeping on the sofa, has clearly set his sights on becoming bedfellows with the mainstream once again.