Musicology (album)
Musicology | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 29, 2004 | |||
Recorded | May 3, 1997; September 1, 2002–early 2004[1] | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 47:26 | |||
Label | NPG, Columbia | |||
Producer | Prince | |||
Prince chronology | ||||
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Singles from Musicology | ||||
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Musicology is the twenty-eighth
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
Commercial performance
Musicology quickly proved to be Prince's most successful album since
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
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 72/100[10] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [11] |
Chicago Sun-Times | [12] |
Entertainment Weekly | B−[13] |
The Guardian | (2004)[14] (2016)[15] |
Mojo | [16] |
NME | 6/10[17] |
Pitchfork | 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. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
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 – 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
- "Bubbling Under,[26]No. 3 US R&B)
- "Cinnamon Girl" (UK)
Promotional singles
- "Call My Name" (No. 75 US)
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
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
- ^ "Album: Musicology - Prince Vault". princevault.com.
- ^ Phipps, Keith (April 26, 2004). "Prince: Musicology". The A.V. Club. Chicago. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
- ^ "Musicology". Prince Vault. June 21, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ "RIAA Certifications For January 2005". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
- ^ "The Purple Reign". goldiesparade.co.uk. Musicology. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ "RIAA Certifications For June 2004". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 27, 2004.
- ^ "RIAA Certifications For January 2005". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
- ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ D'Angelo, Joe (May 28, 2004). "Billboard Sours On Prince's Musicology Sales Experiment". MTV.com. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ "Musicology Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- AllMusic. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- ^ DeRogatis, Jim (April 25, 2004). "Prince, Patti Smith". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
- ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- OCLC 60623878. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ "Prince: every album rated – and ranked". The Guardian. April 22, 2016. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022.
- ^ a b "Review: Musicology". Mojo: 112. June 2004.
- ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ Leone, Dominique (April 28, 2004). "Prince: Musicology". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ "Review: Musicology". Q: 105. June 2004.
- ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ "Slant review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (April 27, 2004). "The Small Paybacks". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ "Prince". rockonthenet.com. Timeline: December 2004. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ https://www.billboard.com/artist/prince/
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Prince – Musicology" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Prince – Musicology" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Prince – Musicology" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. May 13, 2004. Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. May 27, 2004. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Prince – Musicology" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Prince". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- . Retrieved May 4, 2004.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Prince | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ "Prince Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Prince Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Prince – Musicology". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2004". Ultratop. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2004". hitparade.ch. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ "UK Year-End Chart 2004" (PDF). Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Prince – Musicology". Music Canada.
- ^ "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".
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Musicology')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
- ^ "British album certifications – Prince – Musicology". British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "American album certifications – Prince – Musicology". Recording Industry Association of America.