I just went to www.amazon.com and I saw Diamonds & Pearls in the music shopping area. I just wanted to know how good it is. Is it the Prince album that a fan of music needs? I heard that album was his biggest seller of the 90's. I'm thinking of buying it, but I don't think it's good. It does have the hits: Diamonds & Pearls, Gett Off, and Cream. Someone just help me.

silverchild said:

You should get it for "Gett off" alone, but it has also other great tunes. Dont be fooled, it's a brilliant album. It sometimes gets bad comments because it was made to appeal to the masses, and that pisses some hardcore fans.

It's considered by many of his fans to be one of his poorest efforts. Dunno why. For the most part it's a good pop album. It's a little over-produced in places (but then so was Lovesexy) but nowhere near as much as the four albums that followed it and there are some lesser known gems nestling in there. Strollin' and Willing & Able being two of his breeziest and underrated tunes. Money Don't Matter 2Night and Insatiable are pretty fine, too. And the three big hits from it are, of course, great. I think you should give it a chance.

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[This message was edited Sat Jul 3 10:42:50 2004 by Cloudbuster]

I like the jazzy simpleness of "Money Don't Matter 2night", but the rest is not the Prince I learned to love. Way overproduced, too glossy, too much candy for my taste.
Batman->Graffiti Bridge->Diamonds & Pearls etc. it went downhill faster and faster IMO.

LookUp2C said:

I dont care that much for DIAMONDS AND PEARLS....even though it was my first Prince album and the one that made me a fan. I would recommend you buying the Symbol album and Gold Experience before buying Diamonds and Pearls..I personally rate D&P 2.5 outta 5 stars IMO

Diamonds & Pearls is an excellent album if , like me
a) you werent a huge fan of his before 1991
b) youve no problem with him embracing rap and hip-hop

if you were a fan in the 1980s you may well think its the beginning of the end of
Prince the genius as we know him though .

I personally think it's the worst Prince album I've heard - one fairly great single (Money Don't Matter...) lost in a sea of mediocre song-writing (the title track is half-written at best) and some of the most gut-wrenchingly embarrassing attempts at rap/hip-hop ever committed to record.

Apparently some people think very highly of this record, but I'd rather listen to almost anything else.

"jughead" is death.

other than that, it's so-so.

There are some good tracks on it but it's the first album where he's chasing trends rather than creating them.

The entire album is awesome. What I like most about it is the holographic cd cover.

If you are a fan Diamonds & Pearls is a definite to add to your collection. I recommend it. I think it's a good album. I could care less about 2 or 3 of the songs, but tha rest is playable.

i like it very much. jughead ain't that bad. i mean it's listenable. i think i might risk the wrath of everybody on the org by saying my least favourite song is probably diamonds & pearls, which i find a bit pedestrian.

the album's great. don't hesitate in buying it.

there is one truly bad song on it, jughead. but it is such a horrendous song that it makes the rest of the album, which does have some great tracks on it (instatiable, cream), good tracks (gett off, Money dont matter), and decent tracks (diamonds and pearls), almost unlistenable.

The album is great especially the hiphop shit! It's very different bcuz it's P! Live4love is awesome! He should do that 1 live again 1day i hope!

its decent,not purple rain tho

Diamonds and Pearls is an interesting one...

It's got a slick and glossy production, a few great hits, and a truly awesome jazzy ballad (Money Don't Matter 2 Night), but it does have a few songs that just don't quite work (Jughead... ugh).

That said, I'd say it's worth picking up, as it's better than a lot of Prince's 90s albums (including the vastly overrated "Gold Experience").

As good a free chicken wrap an hour after already eating lunch. Not nearly as good as spontaneous sex during a power cut.

silverchild said:

IMO i think its really good...the only one on there i don't like is willing and able...sounds country...and prince singin country just don't appeal 2 me

I like D&P but I would not recommend it to a non-fan that's for sure. I love Thunder, D&P, Live 4 Love, Money Don't Matter, Insatiable, and Get Off

The D&P Video Collection is way better than the album. I really enjoy that!

Moonwalkbjrain said:

The version on the video collection is better...

D&P is like Musicology - an attempt to cash in on popular styles.

Personally I prefer the albums where Prince pushed the envelope and set the trend rather than follow it. I didn't like D&P when it came out and I still find nothing of value on it. It's instantly forgettable.

Janfriend said:

The funny thing is that I like all of these songs you mentioned. It's just that the rapping is so bad it's hard for me to listen to this album some times. The symbol album starts off poorly for the same reasons but Prince wisely cuts down on Phony M's mic time as the disc goes on.

Don't get me wrong though. I find Tony's rap amusing and slightly annoying. I don't let it totally ruin the songs for me.
[This message was edited Sat Jul 3 23:00:25 2004 by whodknee]

whodknee said:

1st of all i think that Tony M. is getting overly criticized! Was he 2pac? no, but i've heard a lot worse who've went Platinum. The hiphop songs r tight bcuz of the band and diverse styles that they play from Willing&Able/Gett Off/Jughead/Push those grooves r relentless. I feel that u all dissin songs just bcuz u don't like rap or Tony M. Black MF's in tha House off the Gold Nigga cd is classic! If outkast had done that tune we talkin Platinum single status!

ELBOOGY said:

No platinum artist is worse than Tony. Vanilla Ice was a better rapper. Skee-lo and 50 cent are better rappers. You are right about one thing: I'm dissin these songs because I don't like Tony M's rapping. He might be a cool guy but I'm not feelin him, dawg.

Brilliant? No way. Good, yes...has some very bad moments of 90s datedness though.

Trust a long time fan who appreciates 95% of his music. This is how I rate it:

1. Thunder **1/2
2. Daddy Pop ***
3. Diamonds And Pearls ***1/2
4. Cream ****
5. Strollin' ***1/2
6. Willing And Able ***1/2
7. Gett Off ****1/2
8. Walk Don't Walk ***
9. Jughead *
10. Money Don't Matter 2 Night ***1/2
11. Push **
12. Insatiable **1/2
13. Live 4 Love **1/2

SweetTemptation said:

gee, that really says a lot about the music.



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[This message was edited Sun Jul 4 0:16:30 2004 by mrdespues]

Silverchild, this is the 3rd thread I've seen of yours where you're seeking opinions on certain albums. Be aware - on a site like this there's gonna be MANY people recommending EVERY album the man has ever made. If there's one thing about Prince fans it's that we all contradict each other constantly. One man's "Beautiful Strange" is another woman's "Courtin' Time" (don't worry, as you go deeper -- which you inevitably will -- you'll see what I mean)

I wanna suggest the order in which you should delve into Prince. I'm sure nobody else will agree w/ me but I'm gonna do it anyway Forgive me if you already have these or if they've been suggested already. It just seems to me that once you get into the flavor of the first 5 you'll probably decide how to proceed on your own. Most of us proceed by buying the entire catalogue But whatever... these aren't in the order of how I rate them, but rather by my assumption of "newbie enjoyment". I'm sure you already have PR & Hit's B Sides BUT this list assumes you have no Prince albums in your collection at all...

1. 1999 (1982) - a must have, my personal fave of all his albums... unfuckingbeatable

2. SOTT (1997) - his best album ever, most everyone agrees on this (critics & fans alike)

3. PR (1984) - it's a staple, gotta have the popular shit though you may rarely spin it

4. Dirty Mind (1980) - the breakout album, funky FUNKY shit on here. Don't let Sister scare you

5. Hits/B-Sides (1993) - just to round it all out, give you flavor from many eras & the B's are incredible (many of them)

*****

If you already have these, I'd proceed to:


6. Parade (1986) - sounds a little different from anything he'd done to date, still funky (if you can hang w/ this one -- and you will -- you're ready to proceed to ATWIAD)

7. Controversy (1981) - Let's Work will make you wanna impale yourself w/ a bass immediately

8. Prince (1979) - gotta have some old stuff, you'll probably get the urge to hit "repeat"

9. (1992) - bunch of great songs on this one, lots of flavors IMO

10. Musicology (2004) - all around good album, Call My Name is killer, On the Couch is NIIIICE & The Marrying Kind/If I Was the Man In Ur Life will grab you by the throat!

*****

THEN, I'd pick up:

11. Crystal Ball/The Truth (1997/1998) - nice collection, all over the map. The Truth is NICE: if you like this you should try to get One Nite Alone - it's all piano, mostly ballads, gorgeous (may only have been for NPGMC members @ the time)...

12. For You (1978) - finish out the old, great album top to bottom

13. Around the World In a Day (1985) - like Parade, didn't sound like what he'd done before, not a "bad" song on it...

14. Lovesexy (1988) - now a LOT of people have a serious emotional attachment to this album & will me for having it so low on the list. As much as I love it I think you gotta have a rapport going w/ P's stuff to appreciate it. Anna Stesia is lovely, When 2 R In Love/Alphabet St./Eye Know/Lovesexy - all great (Dance On & Positivity suck nuts!)

15. One Nite Alone Live (2002) - you'll enjoy the medley of popular stuff & the instrumentation alone, BUT much of the material on disc 1 is from TRC & it's hard for some to swallow (which is why TRC is regrettably in the "sketchy" section, though I love it). Still, great to hear that band live...

*****

Now it starts to get sketchy, for different reasons. There's hits & misses here but all well worth having...


16. The Rainbow Children (2001) - if you've hung in this far definitely check out this great & interesting album, probably the hardest to swallow of any of his releases b/c the JW doctrine is pretty pronounced here. Though he always talked about God & spirit, his embrace of a particular faith is a definite turnoff for some. But Mellow, Family Name, Digital Garden & She Loves Me 4 Me are all really good. And people swear by 1 + 1 + 1 is 3 (I still don't like it on record but live it's cool)

17. Gold (1995) - overrated IMO but the 2 strongest, unforgettable cuts are Eye Hate U & Shhh. Pussy Control is pretty good too, Endorphine Machine can kick your ass

18. D&P (1991) - not the strongest album, the obvious singles are the highlights along w/ Live 4 Love.

19. Batman (1989) - gotta be in the mood for this one. Vicki Waiting rocks!

20. Graffiti Bridge (1990) - lots of slop on this one but Joy In Repetition & The Question of U are must haves. We Can Funk is the shit too

21. One Night Alone, The Aftershow: It Ain't Over (2002) - again, lots of slop BUT the live version of Joy In Rep will make you cream yourself twice & Dorothy Parker is addictive

22. The Black Album (1994) - worth it for Rockhard alone, LAWD!!!

23. The Vault (1999) - a bit odd but When the Lights Go Down & Extraordinary are awesome, some decent cuts on this one.

24. Rave INto the Joy Fantastic (2001) - a remix of RaveUN. 2 words - Beautiful Strange Man 'O War remix is nice too...

25. Come (1994) - lots of people think this one is a nutsucker but I really like it. Several good songs - Come, Space, Pheromone, Dark, Solo... it's not ordinary Prince for sure but still cool

26. New Power Soul (1998) - The One is gorgeous, Come On is FUNKY

27. NEWS (2003) - I love it BUT since it's instrumental the immediacy fades a bit...

*****

The rest are a coin toss (Chaos & Disorder, Emancipation, RaveUN, some others). Happy exploring!



orderswitch/wrongyear/forgotayear/anotherorderswitchedit
[This message was edited Sun Jul 4 1:09:28 2004 by CalhounSq]

CalhounSq said:

Thank YOU, now I really feel like I'm going to collect more of his albums. I'm about to print this guide.... You're right!!!!