Musicology (album)

Musicology is the twenty-eighth studio album by American recording artist Prince. The album was given to concertgoers at his Musicology Tour, from March 27 to September 9, 2004, in North America. A digital release followed two days after his tour started on March 29, 2004. The physical retail version was released on April 19, 2004 (Europe) and April 20, 2004 (US) by NPG Records and distributed by Columbia Records. Musicology was the first album in five years (ten as Prince) that Prince released through a major label (Sony Music) and, being partially recorded in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, was his first to be recorded outside Minneapolis in many years. Musicology is R&B themed.[3]

Musicology
Studio album by
Prince
ReleasedApril 20, 2004
Recorded1995–2000; Late 2000–early 2004[1]
StudioMetalworks Studios, Mississauga, ON, Canada and Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota, US
Genre
Length47:26
LabelNPG, Columbia
ProducerPrince
Prince chronology
N·E·W·S
(2003)		 Musicology
(2004)		 The Chocolate Invasion
(2004)
Singles from Musicology
  1. "Musicology"
    Released: April 3, 2004
  2. "Call My Name"
    Released: May 21, 2004
  3. "Cinnamon Girl"
    Released: September 7, 2004

Receiving generally positive reviews from music critics, Musicology proved to be Prince's most successful record in years, peaking at number three on the Billboard 200 and reaching top 10 in ten other countries.

Prince won Grammy Awards for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for "Musicology" and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Call My Name". By January 2005, Musicology was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[4] At the time of release, Prince was quoted as saying he wished Musicology to provide musical education to listeners.[5]

Commercial performance

Musicology quickly proved to be Prince's most successful album since Diamonds and Pearls, reaching the Top 5 in the United States, United Kingdom 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 The RIAA in June 2004[6] and was certified double platinum in late January 2005.[7][8]

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."[9] A purple vinyl edition was released in February 2019.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[11]
Chicago Sun-Times[12]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[13]
The Guardian (2004)[14] (2016)[15]
Mojo[16]
NME(6/10)[17]
Pitchfork Media(5.8/10)[18]
Q[19]
Rolling Stone[20]
Slant Magazine[21]

Musicology received generally positive reviews from music critics. In his review for The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau said that after the album's opening uptempo songs, "pleasant shocks lurk near the surface and go against the flow of the quality material, and almost everything packs payback".[22] In a less enthusiastic review, Mojo magazine found it better produced and performed than it was written.[16]

Accolades

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.[23][24]

Tour

Prince toured North America from March 27 to September 9, 2004 to promote Musicology. The tour was often billed as the Musicology Live 2004ever, or more commonly, the Musicology Tour. The tour earned $87.4 million and was attended by 1.47 million fans[25] 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 written by Prince.

No.TitleLength
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[3]
  • Candy Dulfer – vocals on "Life 'o' the Party" and "Cinnamon Girl", saxophone 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"

Singles

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[52] Gold 50,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[53] Gold 40,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[54] Gold 20,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[55] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[56] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
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  2. Phipps, Keith (April 26, 2004). "Prince: Musicology". The A.V. Club. Chicago. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  3. "Musicology". Prince Vault. June 21, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  4. "RIAA Certifications For January 2005". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
  5. "The Purple Reign". goldiesparade.co.uk. Musicology. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  6. "RIAA Certifications For June 2004". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2004.
  7. "RIAA Certifications For January 2005". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
  8. "Prince: Comeback from what?". USA Today. Gannett. May 4, 2004. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  9. D'Angelo, Joe (May 28, 2004). "Billboard Sours On Prince's Musicology Sales Experiment". MTV.com. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  10. "Musicology Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  11. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Prince: Musicology > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  12. DeRogatis, Jim (April 25, 2004). "Prince, Patti Smith". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  13. Browne, David (April 30, 2004). "Musicology (2004): Prince". Entertainment Weekly. Time (#762-763). ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  14. Petridis, Alexis (April 16, 2004). "Prince, Musicology". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  15. Guardian
  16. "Review: Musicology". Mojo: 112. June 2004.
  17. Nicolson, Barry (May 7, 2004). "Prince : Musicology". NME. IPC Media. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  18. Leone, Dominique (April 28, 2004). "Prince: Musicology". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  19. "Review: Musicology". Q: 105. June 2004.
  20. DeCurtis, Anthony (April 5, 2004). "Prince: Musicology". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  21. "Slant review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  22. Christgau, Robert (April 27, 2004). "The Small Paybacks". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  23. "Prince". rockonthenet.com. Timeline: December 2004. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
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  53. "Dutch album certifications – Prince – Musicology" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Musicology in the "Artiest of titel" box.
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