At last - after one of the longest mid-life crises in history, Prince has finally woken up. Musicology is the Purple One's best album in well over a decade, an impressively smooth performance that harks back to his groundbreaking 80s hits. With its taut, melodic blend of funky soul and sassy pop, this testosterone-fuelled collection suggests that marriage has done nothing to lower Prince's notorious sex-drive. Best of all, it clocks in a compact 12 tracks, suggesting that his days of bizarre concept double-albums about Jehovah's Witnesses have mercifully come to an end. The only jarring note comes when he switches his attention to politics, airily suggesting that the best way to beat George Bush is not to vote but to write him a letter instead. Never mind - he may be mad as a brush, but it's still good to have Prince back in something close to his old form again.
