Prince recalls the good ol’ days (“Reflection”) and rebukes an immodestly dressed woman who wants to have an affair (“What Do U Want Me 2 Do?” says, “I got a woman, you got a man/So we got to do what’s right”). On “Call My Name” he tells his wife, “I can’t stop writing songs about you/I love you so much” and believes the world would be a better place if everyone had a love like theirs. He warns a pal tempted to leave his lady that he will be waiting to heal her broken heart (“The Marrying Kind”), however …
Prince is quick to point out flaws in the girl that he aims to fix (“I’m gonna put her on the same diet Missy went on/You know she eats too much”). “Mr. Man” is a diatribe against the government that’s heavy on complaining, light on solutions and personal responsibility. A gigolo services an ugly but wealthy woman on “Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance,” which involves sex, greed and gambling. Alcohol appears on “If Eye Was the Man in Ur Life,” and a turned-on man pleads for his lover to not leave him frustrated (“On the Couch”).
The artist formerly known as “that symbol guy” returns to the pop charts with surprising Top-10 staying power. While this disc is better than past efforts (a devout Jehovah’s Witness, Prince shows moral restraint), Musicology isn’t a discipline worthy of teens’ study time.
