Top 10 albums of 2004 #5

Hey Soul Mates, #5 Musicology... Prince. The hottest live performance of the year was accompanied by the release of my #5 disc, Prince's Musicology. The shows on the Musicology tour were a tour-de-force. The album is brilliant too. It starts off with the old school blast Musicology where Prince name checks Earth, Wind & Fire, James & Sly. It's the funkiest groove of the year. But this record ain't a party all the way through. Two ballads, the arena rocking A Million Days and sultry Call My Name, balance the funk of Life of the Party with its Diwali breakdown and hilarious story of Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance. Prince hits pop paydirt with Cinnamon Girl. Not the Neil Young song, this is a meditation on the life of a middle eastern kid driven to action in the post-9/11 world. The controversial video features Keisha Castle-Hughes from Whale Rider as the title character. Musicology is not a comeback. Prince has been releasing album after album the last 25 years. It's just that the fans came back. This album goes a long way toward reviving Prince's relevance to pop music. It's a reminder of his prowess as a writer and performer. This album has been nominated for a half-dozen grammy awards. The most noms for Prince since Sign "O" The Times and probably his most solid disc since that 1987 groundbreaker. Love, Power, Peace