Musicology Review
Well it has been almost a month, some of us have been away and others busy but we are now all back and ready to give you all what you have hopefully been patiently waiting for - more Peach & Black Podcast!
So, since we have already reviewed the Lotusflow3r project for the most part, here is another episode of the show, where we take you all back to 2004 and the year that Prince came back into the commercial pop scene with a vengeance, Musicology!
Enjoy, and we will be back sometime in June or early July with a new episode doing something that we haven’t really done thus far - a show not based around reviewing any albums, and instead a heated discussion about a specific aspect of Prince’s music and career, coming soon!!!!!!
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Excellent timing, I only recently started listening to you guys and I just caught up this morning so it was nice to see a new episode posted.
Another great episode guys. I have to disagree with you, of the “trinity” I would rank Musicology first, Planet Earth second and 3121 last. 3121 has some great highs but I don’t think it is as consistent as the other two. Yes, “Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance” and “Life ‘O’ The Party” are pretty weak but otherwise I find Musicology to be very strong from start to finish. I may be a little biased because I was really let down by Prince during the 1997-2003 era and when I first heard Musicology it blew me away.
Two questions. Will you guys be tackling the instrumental albums? Maybe you could bundle them together by era?
Also, what about the stray non album tracks? (”Purple House,” “Song Of The Heart,” “PFunk” et cetera) Maybe you could bundle them together in a single episode?
Blair said this on June 17th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Great pod cast!
But I need to chime in on a few tracks that you most frowned upon. “Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance”, “Life O’ The Party” and “Cinnamon Girl” are excellent tracks.
The quirky funk and comical lyrics on “Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance” make this worthy of massive volume increase especially when driving.
“Life O’ The Party” is nothing but FUN! I love this track because of the playful cockiness in Prince’s vocals and lyrics and the simplicity in tone, It works for me and is another addition to the great “summer type jam” songs.
“Cinnamon Girl”…wow! One of my favorite tracks on the record for sure. This is another example of Prince’s ability to craft a perfect pop song. The drums and guitars work extremely well in unison along with the lyrics and vocals. At first pass it sounds simple but listen again…there are many layers to this gem. EXCELLENT TRACK!
Keep up the great work!
~J
Jonathan Caustrita said this on June 17th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Great podcast guys, keep up the good work.
Agree with you on most points. Fairly average album from P but proved he could still do straight forward pop still. The promotional campaign was great for this project, he was literally everywhere in 2004. The album doesn’t live up to the hype though.
Musicology -great opener, bit slow. Like the synth line at the end. I,C P & C -Unsure about this one, has some funky bits but meanders a bit. A Million Days -Standout track, great pop song, should have been a single. Life “O” The Party -Hate the chorus, ain’t no party song for me. Call My Name -grown on me but still only an ‘ok’ song for me Cinnamon Girl -Not as good as track 3 but a good effort, like some elements of it. WDUWM2D? -Best song on album, classic P, quirky and unexpected. The Marrying Kind -One of his ‘Broadway’ tunes, good but a bit OTT. IEWTMIUL -Better than previous, good track. On The Couch -Sorry guys, don’t like this, don’t see the humour, way too slow for me, ‘Satisfied’ is 100x better imo. Dear Mr. Man -One of my faves, funky laid-back groove, gorgeous fender rhodes in the intro, great track. Relfection -A grower, has nostalgic feel, especially when he talks about his mother. Sad song, probably not best suited to end the album, but a sweet little track.
Overall 7/10. Not as good or even as ‘3121′ or even ‘Planet Earth’ but better than most 97-00 plastic tracks, but was disappointed upon 1st listen, but has grown a bit. Agree the artwork is horrendous! Awful ‘barbed wire’ looking branches, crap font… just terrible. Re the Wendy shot, the photo inside was from his intro performance on that show which Wendy wasn’t a part of.
Rich
Richard Littler said this on June 20th, 2009 at 3:55 am
Hi guys - another great podcast! I agree with your gerenal comments about this being a solid but not spectacular album. But in the context of teh ‘comeback’ in 2004 Musicology has a big part in recent Prince history. I like Dear Mr Man more than you all seemed to - love that slow funky groove and the lyrics are very strong. One quick point: ICP&C has been played live - I have heard a recording that I THINK was made at a gig at Paisley Park. The live version is much better than the studio version. Prince sings thru a vocoder distorter which actually works really well, and the beat just keeps on going and going in an almost hypnotic way into a jam. It is basically the same underlygin track but sounds very different. Also heard a live version of Call My Name, it is a really strong ballad with passionate vocals that recall NC2U. Only Prince could sing ‘just can’t stop writing songs about u…’! Never really noticed WDUWMTD - gonna take another listen to that. Must have passed me by for some reason. Anyway, great review again!
Wayne said this on June 29th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Actually, ICP&C live at Paislay Park probably isn’t the right location - but I’m sure the live perfomance was from 2004.
Wayne said this on June 29th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
I really enjoy the podcasts more and more. Partly it is because I am getting to “know” you guys better and have some expectations (like you would from a favorite movie reviewer). I also enjoy how deeply you hear the tracks (headphones). I was pleased with Musicology when it hit in 2004, but that was mostly due to the fact that it won Prince back to the mainstream. He was suddenly able to tour for big money in big arenas like, say, The Eagles. It was his victory lap and he deserved it. The music, though, was always a disappointment when compared to the adventurous tracks of the Rainbow Children/One Night Alone era. It was too safe. Prince himself made the point that Musicology was not any better than what he had been doing, it was just a “pop” album and that it why it was being so well received. Though the title track made a good video and theme, I really only enjoy “If Eye Was the Man in Your Life” from this disc. That being said, it is a far more pleasing work that the very irritating “Rave”. 3121 remains my favorite disc, by a country mile, of the trio from 2004-2007. I hope you guys keep putting together excellent podcasts.
Sean said this on July 2nd, 2009 at 9:07 pm