Musicology (album)

Musicology
Studio album by Prince
Released	April 20, 2004
Recorded	2003
Genre	Pop, rock, funk, R&B, jazz
Length	47:26
Label	NPG, Columbia
Producer	Prince
Prince chronology
The Slaughterhouse (2004) Musicology (2004) 3121 (2006)
Singles from Musicology
"Musicology" Released: May 3, 2004 "Call My Name" Released: 2004 (promo) "Cinnamon Girl" Released: September 6, 2004

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(B-)[2]
The Guardian	[3]
New York Times	(mixed)[4]
NME	(6/10)[5]
Pitchfork Media	(5.8/10)[6]
PopMatters	(favorable)[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Village Voice	(favorable)[9]
Yahoo! Music	(favorable)[10]

Musicology is the thirtieth studio album by Prince, released on April 20, 2004, which proved to be his most successful in years, reaching the Top 5 of the album charts in the U.S, UK, Germany, and many other countries.

Musicology was the first album in five years that Prince released through a major label (Sony Music) and, being partially recorded in Mississauga, Ontario, was his first to be recorded outside Minneapolis in many years. Musicology is R&B themed as well.^[11]

At the end of the song "Musicology" snippets of "Kiss", "Little Red Corvette", "Sign o' the Times", "17 Days" and "If I Was Your Girlfriend" can be heard. At the time of release Prince was quoted as saying he wished the album to provide musical education to listeners.^[12]

Chart success

Musicology quickly proved to be Prince's most successful album since Diamonds and Pearls, reaching the Top 5 in the US, UK and Germany and making a significant impression on charts around the world. It also proved to be well-received by music critics. The title track was only released as a single in Australia, where it enjoyed moderate chart success and airplay. However it was also a hit on the US R&B charts through airplay. The album was certified platinum by Billboard in June 2004^[13] and was certified double platinum in late January 2005.^[14][15]

Part of the album's chart success is due to concertgoers receiving a copy of Musicology, with the album cost included in the ticket price for the Musicology Tour. This prompted Billboard magazine and Nielsen SoundScan to change its chart data methodology: For future album releases, Billboard says that customers "must be given an option to either add the CD to the ticket purchase or forgo the CD for a reduced ticket-only price."^[16]

Awards

Prince won two Grammy Awards, for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance ("Musicology") and Best R&B Vocal Performance—Male ("Call My Name"), and was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance—Male ("Cinnamon Girl"), Best R&B Song (awarded to the songwriter) ("Call My Name"), and Best R&B Album (Musicology). Prince was chosen by Rolling Stone magazine's readers as the best male performer and most welcome comeback.^[17][18]

Tour

Prince toured North America from 27 March - 9 September to promote Musicology. The tour was often billed as the Musicology Live2004ever Tour, or more commonly, the Musicology Tour. The tour earned 87.4 million dollars and was attended by 1.47 million fans^[19] Although the tour promoted Musicology, only a select few tracks from the album were played during the concerts. The title track, "Musicology," and the two singles, "Call My Name" and "Cinnamon Girl", were among them. The tour featured many of Prince's more famous tracks, such as "Little Red Corvette," "Raspberry Beret," "Kiss," and "Purple Rain." A copy of Musicology was included with every concert ticket sold.

Track listing

All tracks were written by Prince.

1. "Musicology" – 4:26
2. "Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance" – 4:46
3. "A Million Days" – 3:50
4. "Life o' the Party" – 4:29
5. "Call My Name" – 5:15
6. "Cinnamon Girl" – 3:56
7. "What Do U Want Me 2 Do?" – 4:15
8. "The Marrying Kind" – 2:49
9. "If Eye Was the Man in Ur Life" – 3:09
10. "On the Couch" – 3:33
11. "Dear Mr. Man" – 4:14
12. "Reflection" – 3:04

Personnel

• Prince- all vocals and instruments except as indicated^[11]
• Candy Dulfer- vocals on "Life 'O' the Party" and "Cinnamon Girl", saxphone on "Life 'O' the Party", horns on "The Marrying Kind", "If Eye Was the Man in Ur Life", and "On the Couch"
• Chance Howard- vocals on "Life 'O' the Party", "Call My Name", and "Cinnamon Girl"
• Stokley- vocals on "Call My Name"
• Kip Blackshire- vocals on "Call My Name"
• Clare Fischer- strings on "Call My Name"
• Rhonda Smith- vocals on "Cinnamon Girl", bass on "Dear Mr. Man"
• John Blackwell- drums on "The Marrying Kind", "If Eye Was the Man in Ur Life", "On the Couch", and "Dear Mr. Man"
• Maceo Parker- horns on "The Marrying Kind", "If Eye Was the Man in Ur Life", and "On the Couch"
• Greg Boyer- horns on "The Marrying Kind", "If Eye Was the Man in Ur Life", and "On the Couch"
• Ornella Bonaccorsi- Italian speech on "What Do U Want Me 2 Do?"
• Sheila E.- shaker on "Dear Mr. Man"
• Renato Neto- fender rhodes on "Dear Mr. Man"

Hot 100 positions

• "Musicology" (#125 Bubbling Under, #3 R&B)
• "Call My Name" (#75)
• "Cinnamon Girl" (UK)

References

1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Prince: Musicology > Review" at Allmusic. Retrieved 0211-09-17.
2. ^ Browne, David (30 April 2004). "Musicology (2004): Prince". Entertainment Weekly (Time) (#762-763). ISSN 1049-0434. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,628823,00.html. Retrieved 0211-09-17. 
3. ^ Petridis, Alexis (16 April 2004). "Prince, Musicology". The Guardian (London: Guardian Media Group). ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2004/apr/16/popandrock.shopping4. Retrieved 0211-09-17. 
4. ^ "Prince Returns, Trading Rebellion for Gentle Jams". The New York Times. 19 April 2004. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/19/arts/music/19CHOI.html. Retrieved 0211-09-17. 
5. ^ Nicolson, Barry (7 May 2004). "Prince : Musicology". NME (IPC Media). ISSN 0028-6362. http://www.nme.com/reviews/prince/7402. Retrieved 0211-09-17. 
6. ^ Leone, Dominique (28 April 2004). "Prince: Musicology". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/reviews/albums/6479-musicology/. Retrieved 0211-09-17. 
7. ^ Lundy, Zeth (10 May 2004). "Prince: Musicology". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/p/prince-musicology.shtml. Retrieved 0211-09-17. 
8. ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (5 April 2004). "Prince: Musicology". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media). ISSN 0035-791X. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/musicology-20040405. Retrieved 0211-09-17. 
9. ^ Christgau, Robert (27 April 2004). "The Small Paybacks". The Village Voice (New York). http://www.villagevoice.com/2004-04-27/music/the-small-paybacks/. Retrieved 0211-09-17. 
10. ^ Leroy, Dan (27 April 2004). "Musicology". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. http://ca.music.yahoo.com/read/review/12038580. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "Musicology". Prince Vault. 21 June 2011. http://www.princevault.com/index.php?title=Album:_Musicology&oldid=82614. Retrieved 17 September 2011. 
12. ^ "The Purple Reign". goldiesparade.co.uk. Musicology. http://www.goldiesparade.co.uk/reviews.htm. Retrieved 17 September 2011. 
13. ^ "RIAA Certifications For June 2004". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2004. http://web.archive.org/web/20040827112621/http://www.billboard.com/bb/riaa/archive/0406.jsp. 
14. ^ "RIAA Certifications For January 2005". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20050209104839/http://www.billboard.com/bb/riaa/archive/0501.jsp. 
15. ^ "Prince: Comeback from what?". USA Today (Gannett). 4 May 2004. ISSN 0734-7456. http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2004-05-04-prince-comeback_x.htm. Retrieved 17 September 2011. 
16. ^ D'Angelo, Joe (28 May 2004). "Billboard Sours On Prince's Musicology Sales Experiment". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1488027/05282004/prince.jhtml. Retrieved 17 September 2011. 
17. ^ "Prince". rockonthenet.com. Timeline: December 2004. http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-p/prince_main.htm. Retrieved 17 September 2011. 
18. ^ "Prince opens 'Musicology' tour in L.A.". USA Today (Gannett). 30 March 2004. ISSN 0734-7456. http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2004-03-30-prince-on-tour_x.htm. Retrieved 17 September 2011. 
19. ^ "Prince's Musicology tour is top moneymaker of 2004". Jet (Johnson Publishing). 17 January 2005. ISSN 0021-5996. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_3_107/ai_n9771512/. Retrieved 17 September 2011. 

External links

• Album review at New York
• Album Review From Metacritic