Musicology [ECD] - Prince (CD 2004)

I admit that I was late to the party with Prince. I admit that Musicology is the first actual Prince album I've listened to front to back. Sure, I'd heard the singles, you know, When Doves Cry, 1999, Little Red Corvette, but it came down to so much music, so little time. Besides, the last time Prince was anywhere close to being relevant, I was about 10-12 years old and my brothers were doing their best to brainwash my musical tastes towards Led Zeppelin and the like and nothing else.

But having heard the title track to this album, and having absolutely loved every second of it, when I saw this sitting in the new release section at the library, I figured it was time I let Prince school me in some Musicology lessons. I'm rather glad I did.

You see, the problem with hip hop and modern day R&B (if you even want to call what passes for R&B these days "R&B") is that very few, if any, artists bring the funk. I'm talking George Clinton here, and no one seems willing to bring the funk like that. Maybe Bill Cosby should stop complaining about kids and start complaining about where the funk went.

Musicology has plenty of funk, which is probably why I'm drawn to it so much. The opening title track has a terrific groove laid down by the simplest of basslines, and the blasts of horns only serve to beef up the song even more. It does lose a bit of momentum towards the end, though his turning through the radio at the end is brilliant.

But what makes this album truly a fun listen is the diversity. Yes, he thankfully brings the funk, but he also has some smooth love ballads here, not to mention rockers, and some straight up pop songs. It doesn't always all work, but it's certainly well worth a few listens.

Call My Name is one of the smoothest sounding slow jams to come out in quite a while, and if there is any justice, it will become a single and show whiny a*s b*tches like Mario Winans a thing or two about how to sing a love song, no matter whether it's about devotion or being cheated on. What Do U Want Me 2 Do? is a bit of a musical clunker though, sounding closer to Muzak Hell than something from the catalog of a rock and roll hall of famer.

The song in between those two, Cinammon Girl, is a great pop/rock song that features some bada*s guitar playing from Prince. I love the snap and drive the drums give the song, and the lyrics show the man to be well versed in writing a political song.

Life Of the Party fills the room with thudding bass, the type of thudding bass that hasn't been seen since a certain Beastie Boys song of a decade or so ago, whose title escapes me now for some reason. It also finds Prince taking a potshot at Michael Jackson, which works to only show the similarities between the two biggest male pop artists of the 80s. Michael Jackson is insane, but Prince just went a little crazy for a decade or so.

Prince shows a sense of humor with On the Couch, perhaps the most over the top "I'm sorry" anthem of the last five years. He also manages to rock out a bit with The Marrying Kind, which features quite the bada*s riff, while A Million Days makes its slow build well worth it with a solid payoff.

If All That You Can't Leave Behind was U2's "comeback" album four years ago, then Musicology works in much the same way. It has a minimal feel to it, and you can't help but feel it is more about the songs than it is anything else. There are a couple of songs here that just don't work nearly as well as the rest, but for the most part, Musicology is a solid pop album that not only brings the funk, but the rock, soul, and R&B too. Isn't it time you got edumacated too?

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