Maps of Music

Musicology (2004)

Where the lyrics of Musicology take you, and where it was really made.

Musicology was given away with concert tickets, and its sales boom forced Billboard to change how it counted album sales.

Key places

Partial recording in Mississauga (2004)

Recording site Metalworks Studios — Part of the album was recorded at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. This was the album's recording site outside Minneapolis. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Minneapolis-area recording base (2004)

Recording site Paisley Park Studios — The album's recording work in the Minneapolis area was done at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The album was recorded outside Minneapolis only in part. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Musicology: twenty-eighth studio album by American recording artist Prince
• Released 19 April 2004 (Europe) and 20 April 2004 (US) by NPG Records, distributed by Columbia Records
• First album in five years (ten as Prince) released through a major label, Sony Music
• R&B-themed album
• Given to concertgoers at the Musicology Tour in North America
• Digital release followed two days after the tour started

Background

• The Musicology Tour ran in North America from 27 March to 9 September 2004
• The tour was often billed as Musicology Live 2004ever
• Each concert ticket sold came with a CD copy of the album
• Prince's first album to chart in the US since The Rainbow Children (2001)

Recording

• Partially recorded in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
• First album recorded outside Minneapolis in many years
• Recording location reflects a move away from the Minneapolis area that had been Prince's usual base

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Prince Rogers Nelson, born June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota; died April 21, 2016 at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
• Signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1977 at age 18; first album For You released April 7, 1978.
• Career spanned funk, rock, R&B and pop, with estimated sales over 100 million records.

Career

• Breakthrough with Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981) and 1999 (1982).
• Purple Rain (1984) made him the first singer to hold the number-one film, album and single in the US at the same time.
• Sign o' the Times (1987) is widely considered his greatest work.
• Changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993, becoming known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince; reverted to Prince in 2000.
• Won seven Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Musicology received generally positive reviews from music critics.
• Critic Robert Christgau in The Village Voice praised the album's surprises beyond the opening uptempo songs.
• Mojo magazine gave a less enthusiastic review, finding the album better produced and performed than it was written.

Reappraisal

• Christgau's review noted that pleasant shocks lie beneath the surface of the record and go against the flow of its quality material.
• Mojo's review judged the record's production and performance above its songwriting.

Records

• Peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.
• Reached the top 10 in ten other countries.
• Reached the Top 5 in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany.
• Title track was a hit on the US R&B charts through airplay.
• Certified platinum by the RIAA in June 2004.
• Certified double platinum by the RIAA in late January 2005.
• Prince won Grammy Awards for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
• Prince was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album.
• Prince was chosen by Rolling Stone readers as the best male performer and most welcome comeback.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Musicology was given to concertgoers, so every ticket sold came with a copy of the album.
• The bundling boosted album sales and led Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan to change their chart data methodology.
• Billboard told the industry that customers must be given an option to add the CD to a ticket purchase or skip it for a reduced ticket-only price.
• Musicology was Prince's most successful album since Diamonds and Pearls.
• Only half of the album's tracks were played during the tour's concerts.
• A purple vinyl edition of the album was released in February 2019.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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