CD vreview

Prince
‘Musicology’

“Don’t you miss the feeling music gave you back in the day?” Prince sings on the opening song of “Musicology.”

The Purple One must surely miss it. After more than a decade in a primarily self-imposed exile from the pop mainstream, he's returned to reclaim his throne. Hot on the heels of a Grammy Awards-opening performance with Beyoncé, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and embarked on an arena tour that hit Glendale Arena three weeks ago. Now comes a new CD and if it connects with fans, a remarkable and rapid comeback will be complete.

The cohesive and concise disc certainly has the potential. The title track — a history lesson on funk — is a return to vintage form for Prince. It's imminently danceable, shows his always overlooked sense of humor and boasts hooks catchy enough for radio play on urban and Top 40 stations.

“Life 'O' The Party” grooves in a similar vein and is nearly as good while “Cinnamon Girl” — its title belies a tale of racial tension and international terror — shows Prince still knows his way around a straightforward pop/rock tune. While much has been made of the artist's conversion to the Jehovah's Witnesses, there's scarcely a mention of God or religion on the record. What is noticeably different is the lack of his once leering salaciousness, replaced with more tender sentiments on the album's slowburn ballads. “Musicology” is no “Purple Rain” or “Sign o’ the Times” — a pair of Prince master works — but at least it's in the same ballpark and it's great to see His Royal Badness back in the game. B

— by Thomas Bond, Get Out