“Don’t you miss the feeling music gave you back in the day?” Prince poses this question on his airtight single “Musicology,” and it sums up the mood of his new album of the same name. It’s been so long since Prince has had the peace of mind to lay bare his musical influences, and the sheer simplicity of Musicology is like a whiff of pure oxygen in a musty church basement. This is not a lame attempt at recreating the classics, and it’s bereft of the ham-handed rap experiments and silly publicity stunts that ruined so much of Prince’s ‘90s work.
The disc begins with that fantastic single, its taut, unadorned sound an obvious nod to James Brown and Sly Stone. “Musicology” sets the stage for the rest of the album, which never strays from its tried-and-true formula of classic soul and raw sexuality. Tracks like “Life ‘O’ The Party” and “Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance” continue to push the limits of funk with sparse drum and bass palpitations, and Musicology starts to sound like nothing more than a classic party record.
As the album plays, it wisely widens its scope, thanks to some stunning ballads. Prince sings his brilliant, androgynous guts out on the gorgeous slow jam “Call My Name,” but he saves his best performance for the song “On The Couch.” An instant R&B masterpiece, the track tugs at your sleeve with desperate yearning; Prince begs and screams for his lover so convincingly, you can almost see the condensation forming on the speakers.
Musicology is easily his best album in years, and his return to the spotlight is well-planned, but just because Prince is back on MTV doesn’t mean he had to rise from the dead. Musicology is not a comeback record. It’s an affirmation, and a reminder that music can still give us that sweet, cleansing chill from head to toe.
Appeared in the May 20, 2004, issue of Artvoice.