"Return of the Prince" (3 1/2 stars of 5)
Prince Nelson Rogers (sic), now sailing at full steam under his rightful given, first and birth name, has a new CD. And it may well be his most consistent to date. Now, there are those who have described Musicology as a triumph, and it may well be. To these ears, it sounds pretty much like Prince of old, and I guess that's a good thing. There's not a track here that wouldn't slot seamlessly into virtually any record in Prince's career, from 1978's For You onwards. But for funksters everywhere, that'll be good news. Funk never really dies, it just gets better produced. The single, with the clip featuring a Mini-Me style young Prince wannabe, is sweet and practically ubiquitous. Even if you only see MTV, Rage or Video Hits by accident, you'll likely have seen it. Radio-friendly is an understatement. so Mr P will enjoy at least one huge, international hit from this collection. If anything distinguishes Musicology from other Prince outings, it's the lack of appalling filler. Honestly, there are things on Prince records that should never have been uttered, nevermind released. And though the musical territory hasn't changed much, there's a sense that this is a new Prince, a guy who has grown up in public, hitting a kind of consistency in his maturity. His lyrics are still grating, even if the titles are getting bettwe. For example, from the fabulous Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance comes: "She drop a thousand dollars at the salon just to get a hairdo, he was good at compliments, better in the bunk." Que? But with Prince, the words, the characters, even the settings have always been the least of it. It's about the feel of the words rather than their meaning, about their rhythm, and of course it's about the funk. After a few standard outings and a ballad or two, Prince's pop emerges in the gorgeous Cinnamon Girl. More infectious than Rasberry Beret but in the same vein, it's the kind of track that lives with you long after the funk is gone. It's also, nominally, about "wardrums in Babylon." But that's another story.
Ian Cuthbertson.

Fairly bitter/ sarcastic tone running through the review. I think it's fair to say he's not much of a Prince fan. Mind you, you can't cover up for ignorance with bland generalisations. I bet this is the first Prince album that's dropped on his desk since Gold or something.

"Just to get a hairdo"?
I think he needs to listen to the lyrics on Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance properly before slamming them.

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[This message was edited Fri May 7 17:26:01 2004 by thebumpsquad]

fairmoan said:

...How about EVER?

stupid review

Shouldn't be a big loss, no one reads "The Australian" anyhow