Musicology (album)

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Musicology
Studio album by
Prince
ReleasedMarch 29, 2004
RecordedMay 1997; December 2002–early 2004[1]
Studio
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. "Cinnamon Girl"
    Released: September 7, 2004

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]

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. It was Prince's first album to chart in the US since The Rainbow Children (2001).

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[edit]

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 released as a single in Australia and Europe, 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 was 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 said 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[edit]

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]
NME6/10[17]
Pitchfork5.8/10[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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

All tracks written by Prince.

Musicology track listing
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[edit]

  • Prince – lead and backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, Yamaha Motif 6, Korg Triton, Clavia Nord Lead 2, Fender Rhodes electric piano, piano, bass guitar, drums, percussion, programming, Linn LM-1
  • Candy Dulfer – lead (4) and backing vocals (4, 6), saxophone (4, 8–11), horns (8–10)
  • Chance Howard – backing vocals (4–6)
  • Stokley – backing vocals (5)
  • Kip Blackshire – backing vocals (5)
  • Clare Fischer – string arrangement (5)
  • Rhonda Smith – backing vocals (6), bass guitar (11)
  • John Blackwell – drums (8–11)
  • Maceo Parker – saxophone (8–10)
  • Greg Boyer – trombone (8–10)
  • Ornella Bonaccorsi – Italian speech (7)
  • Sheila E. – shaker (11)
  • Renato Neto – Fender Rhodes electric piano (11)

Singles[edit]

Promotional singles

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for Musicology
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[58] Gold 50,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[59] Gold 40,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[60] Gold 20,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[61] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[62] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

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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. Archived from the original on August 27, 2004.
  7. ^ "RIAA Certifications For January 2005". Billboard. 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. No. #762–763. Time. ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  14. ^ Petridis, Alexis (April 16, 2004). "Prince, Musicology". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  15. ^ "Prince: every album rated – and ranked". The Guardian. April 22, 2016. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022.
  16. ^ a b "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. 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.
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  26. ^ https://www.billboard.com/artist/prince/
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  28. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Prince – Musicology" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
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  31. ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. May 13, 2004. Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  32. ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. May 27, 2004. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  33. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  34. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Prince – Musicology" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
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  36. ^ "Lescharts.com – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  37. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Prince – Musicology" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  38. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Prince". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  39. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  40. ^ "Charts.nz – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  41. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  42. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 4, 2004.
  43. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  44. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
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  46. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
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  51. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  52. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2004". Ultratop. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  53. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  54. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2004". hitparade.ch. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  55. ^ "UK Year-End Chart 2004" (PDF). Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
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  57. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  58. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Prince – Musicology". Music Canada.
  59. ^ "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. Select 2004 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  60. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Musicology')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  61. ^ "British album certifications – Prince – Musicology". British Phonographic Industry.
  62. ^ "American album certifications – Prince – Musicology". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links[edit]

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