Prince: Musicology (NPG/SONY)

CD of the week - By Kitty Empire

It's good. No, honestly: Musicology is, approximately, Prince's twenty-third album and a copper-bottomed, no-caveats return to form. Granted, it will take a leap of faith from most to invest valuable ear-time in Prince. When he's been good, Prince has been virtually peerless, but when he's been inconsistent, well...doves have wept.

It's been so long too, since Prince was worth a damn. He hit what many thought was a terminal decline in the mid-Nineties. Labouring under the alias of an unpronounceable glyph, he retreated from his record company contract and released a series of increasingly self-indulgent records independently.
Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, his major label pop comeback album of 1999, was a damp squib. Since then, Prince's last two independent releases - NEWS last year and The Rainbow Children in 2001 - confirmed that he preferred to hide his light under a very dense bushel. There were long-winded spiritual allegories; there was a lot of masturbatory jazz. To add absurdity to injury, the sex-mad imp had become a Jehovah's Witness.

Although his intimate tour of last year reintroduced the notion that Prince might please a crowd, his rehabilitation began in earnest with his recent induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, and continued with his Grammy turn alongside Beyonce. Now, his latest album - another pop comeback, released through Sony this time - proves beyond doubt that Prince isn't fit solely for a mausoleum.

Musicology is a delight from funky start to contemplative finish. For such a baroque producer as Prince, it's also a strikingly simple album, stripped of all superfluous elements and confined to a spartan 12 songs. Even the political songs - 'Dear Mr Man', the Neil Young referencing 'Cinnamon Girl' - sit lightly.

The James Brown funk of the title track sets the tone: "We got a PhD in advanced body moving", Prince quips on this celebration of party music. You can tell he's got his mojo back by the titles alone: 'Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance" is as sublime a title as he's ever dreamt up. The song, meanwhile, tells the story of a relationship of convenience in a style reminiscent of 'Gett Off'.
Prince's new devoutness means his sex drive has taken a cold shower. But it's still there, squeezed into more intruiging forms that recall the best old soul records. "I knew we agreed to be married", he aches in 'On the Couch'. "U shouldn't let me unzip your dress..." 'What do U want me to Do' sees Prince - Prince! - chastizing a girl who fancies him.

'Life 'o' the Party' continues the good-time imperative, with vintage funk joining forces with old R&B. It seems he's found inspiration in his deepest musical roots. Prince's sense of humour is back, too. "He don't play the hits no more/ Plus I thought he was gay," he mocks at one point, before cattily noting that he's never had surgery.

Only Michael Jackson was ever a stranger fish than Prince; Musicology's sense of ease and fun suggests Prince may not have lost touch with reality on such a grand scale as his rival. He's certainly had his ear to the ground: Musicology is littered with lyrical nods to Sly Stone, Chuck D, Missy Elliott, Dr Dre and others - quite a gesture from a musical megalomaniac. But Prince can't resist quickly running through a radio dial where all the stations are playing his old hits. It's a fitting move: 'If Eye Was The Man In Ur Life' rewrites 'If I Was Your Girlfriend' with a little light jazz. It would be a crime, too, if the charts didn't welcome singles from Musicology with open arms. For this is a pop album the likes of which we haven't heard from Prince in a decade that puts efforts from young pretenders like N*E*R*D in the shade. Bright and breezy, Musicology might not be remembered as an epoch-defining heavyweight like Purple Rain or Sign O' The Times. Against all odds though, it's good. Really good.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk

There's also a recent photo in which the dude looks his age, and an advert for the album on a previous page.


[This message was edited Sun Apr 18 1:56:05 2004 by TheFrog]

I like it, a very light-hearted review...

Beautifully written. I've always liked Kitty Empire. Although not unanimously so, Musicology seems to have gathered more great reviews than any P. album for years..... Still haven't heard it though. Just under 24hrs. to go!

RonnyRon2000 said:

I think it's a terrible review, badly written, badly researched - maybe 30 mins work?

Still, at least she liked it

JimmyPinkerton said:

I like her too; she makes me smile. I think this review is pretty well written, on the whole. I particularly like her feigned shock at Prince's gall where he smacks a girl on the wrist for fancying him.