Prince was on top of the world for a long time, but then he made a lot of bad decisions that caused him to fall from grace. It all started when he changed his name to a symbol (it turned out later this was a ploy to get out of his contract with Warner). He released several awesome albums after this point, but had lost the respect of a lot of the press and fan base, coming across as "weird". After a time on his own label he was releasing huge sets, three and four CD's at a time of material that didn't get airplay. It seemed unlikely that anyone but the hardcore believers were likely to put down 30 or 40 dollars for set with no music they had heard. Then he decided to release his material on the Internet through a pay site. This one was probably a great decision, but just a bunch of years to early. Most likely five or ten years from now that will be a very common thing, but truth is, again, only the true fans will subscribe to your site to download your music. So, Prince's star really fell a long way.

2004 sees him launching a serious comeback, and Musicology is the first salvo in the battle. As such it is a powerful shot. This disc is truly one of the best he has ever done, and will prove to those of us who had somewhat forgotten him, just what it was that we really liked about him. The man has always been one of the greatest songwriters of our time, and he hasn't lost it. This disc is a killer groove that works from one end to the other without any filler or weak material. Prince is back in the new millennium, and I for one am glad to see the return.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2004 Year Book Volume 2 at https://garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2003-and-2004/.