At the 20 year anniversary of when Prince took over the world with PURPLE RAIN comes MUSICOLOGY -- his return to light hearted straight ahead funk ... with a couple of songs that cut a little deeper. There aren't any more anti-war messages than the typical Prince album, and none of them seem directed at anyone in particular ... simply the world at large. Prince is at the top of his form right now, and poised to jog your memory of why he belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

But here's the catch -- almost every PRINCE recording has a concept behind it. RAINBOW CHILDREN was a Jehovah's Witness jazz experiment, NEWS was instrumental noodlings, and here we have Prince paying homage to James Brown and other artists like Sly Stone that influenced him. He even pays tribute to his old persona by working out some old school 80s Minneapolis sound tracks complete with some help from SHEILA E and CANDY DULFER. At the end of the title track we hear samples of some 80s Prince ("Little Red Corvette", "17 DAYS" and others) and it sets the stage for a look back with an artist who the world never seems to catch up with.

My favorite new track is A MILLION DAYS which laments a lover leaving and reminds me of the days when Prince was pop. CALL MY NAME will go down as one of his great slow jams! DEAR MR MAN gives you the most blatant "the world is troubled message". LIFE OF THE PARTY is his latest "Housequake" or party tune like "DMSR". The CD is totally clean and has escaped any lyrical or content warning, so it's safe to listen with kids or parents present!

So put on your purple paisley and get ready to party like its 1999! MUSICOLOGY is a funky return to form for one of music's biggest talents. Will it be big and huge like PURPLE RAIN or 1999? Nothing could top that era. But this one will please the hardcore fan and the casual listener.

Musicology is one of the most accessible prince albums of the last years, no real tricks or treats, just old fashioned funk and soul. The title song really is a killer, also nice is that a video of the song is added to the CD which you can view on your PC. Some highlights: "Life O the party" is a solid party jam with a nice role for Candy Dulfer (which i like as a dutch citizen:), "Call my name" is in my view destined to become a classic prince song, "Dear Mr. Man" is a nice political song in the funk tradition of sly stone. If there is any criticism to make i would like to say that the last few tracks of the CD seem to be less brilliant than let's say the first six songs, however I am not complaining about the quality in general.
Maybe this album can put Prince back in the spotlight, a place he deserves if you look at the quality of his work and his undeniable influence on many other artists. If you ever liked prince, but didn't appreciate his latest albums, don't hesitate, buy it, you won't be disappointed.

Look, this album was a great way for Prince to enter the new Millenium! This album has a lot of good songs on it like Musicoloy, Life O' the Party, Cinnamon Girl, A Million Days, Illusion Coma Pimp and Circumstance, and On the Couch. These songs are just good funk material! They have a lot of nice grooves and beats. But, you will have to listen to it more than once to like it. Especially if you are used to the Prince that did "1999", "Controversy", and "Dirty Mind". It's a great album. But if you find yourself asking the question "Is this Prince?" you should calm down and listen to it again. It really is a fabulous album that will grow on you.

This is absolutely one of the most enjoyable and easily accessible albums that Prince has put out in many years. Prince does not often get the credit that he deserves for being the master guitarist that he is, which he so adeptly proved during his performance at the rock and roll hall of fame, but he continuously proves his dexterity with this instrument throughout this album. He is the master of subtle magnificence when it comes to the guitar. Prince seems really comfortable with his position as a highly skilled seasoned musician on this album. And the music is not at all "highly pretentious" as the title may suggest. He gets things off to a plain and funky start with the title track. This is a pretty simple and wonderful funk jam that Prince uses to pay homage to a time in which such well crafted simple funk jams were common place. The second track is pretty much more of the same but with an interesting tale to go along with it. The next song, 'A Million Days' is absolutely amazing. This song has a really majestic, almost etheral feel to it and is extremely rich in texture and density. 'Life O' the Party' is not a bad song, but it is the weakest song on this album. It pretty much sounds like a warm up jam that some of the band members would play while waiting for the other band members to arrive so that they could do their real stuff. 'Call My Name' is one of the best slow jams that Prince has made in a long time--Outstanding! 'Cinnamon Girl' sounds like he lifted it right out of the vaults of his masterpiece "Sign O' the Times". It is basically an ingenious pop/dance track in its sound and texture but not in its lyrical content. This song offers the clearest glimpse of the old Prince that many long to hear again. 'What Do U Want Me 2 Do?' is a tightly constructed jazz/sophistafunk jam with some absolutely masterful guitar playing. The next two songs ("The Marrying Kind" and "If I Was The Man In Your Life") are basically part one and part two of the same song. The first part has Prince telling a guy who is losing his woman to Prince that he has lost a really good thing and he should have recognized and valued the really good woman that he had. The second part finds Prince telling a woman who is not being appreciated by the man in her life about the many ways that he would show his appreciation for her if she were his woman. 'On the Couch' is an ironically humorous slow song about a man who is trying to smooth things over with his woman who is angry with him about something. 'Dear Mr. Man' is a very strong straightfoward socio-political track. The final track is a wonderful slice of simple, smooth, buttery bliss. He vividly paints an effective and authentic picture of a wonderful union between two people in love without at all sounding corny or cliche. This is a very strong release by Prince, and I encourage you all to check it out.

Prince is definitely an artist that you can't define. After listening to this album, No one can run through many styles of music with this much ease. The lead single "Musicology" is a straight funky song as well as the second song "Illusion,Coma,Pimp, and Cirumstance". Then he switches gears into a nice mid-tempo rock song " A Million Days". The music on this album that he touches are straight funk, jazz, rock and roll, and soulful r&b. This album is definitely a study of music. R&B folks might be put off by a couple of rock songs like " A Million Days" and "Cinammon Girl" and vice versa. But this entire album flows from the first song to the last song. You definitely can't put a format on this album. I love all kinds of music and this album braces this concept. No one can run through many different styles of music like this but Prince. That brother knows MUSICOLOGY!!!