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).
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.
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.