I remember when D&P was released in the UK and when the tour was announced.

I feel this was an album he needed to produce after the rather tame Graffiti Bridge.

Prince seemed to be somewhere close to Purple Rain stardom as far as casual fans go.

Diamonds & Pearls is and always will be one of my favs.

What do you think about the period of Prince's career?

darrenj said:

sadness- he toured Oz- and i missed out

loved the music- loved the videos- he looked like he was having fun

I remember rushing out early the day of release and buying it on all formats (vinyl/MC/CD) for the collection, and running home as fast as my little legs would carry me straight up to room for airplay!!!!

And it was great!!! Compared to the mish mash of GB I felt like I was listening to a proper Prince album, carefully crafted and constructed to flow from beginning to end.

A feeling not since Lovesexy.

I really thought the singles selected for release was a good choice as well.

Shame about the Earls court shows though!!! Worst live concerts of his I have ever witnessed.

This is my second favourite 90's album after Gold!!!

It was the popularity from this that encouraged him to open his shop in Camden.
Now that was a great day - but save that for another thread.

darrenj said:

I think Prince worked it.

High production values for promo videos, 5 singles, huge tour, notable and high profile TV performances. He wanted a commercial hit and he put in the effort to get one - that's really what makes a hit record.

The album itself hasn't dated too well, but a lot of other commercial pop music from that era isn't looked upon to well either.

The stuff on the LP that holds up the best is stuff like Strollin', Willing & Able and Money Don't Matter - the more organic sounding stuff, rather than the band-wagon jumping stuff like Daddypop and Push, or the bombastic over-produced stuff like Thunder and Live 4 Love (just IMO of course).

The big singles aren't a favourite of mine - Gett Off, Cream and D&P - 3 songs I would never re-visit, but I'm not one for the big hits any way.

prb said:

Well, I hope he graces your beautiful shores very soon.

I know D&P was a long time ago but he still puts on a good show!

mentalist said:

I remember well walking into HMV and picking up the CD, twisting it round to make Prince and D&P move, I thought that hologram was the coolest album cover ever.

I wasn't disappoined when I played it, The song's worked together well.

It's understandable that folks have been a little disappointed with Prince's recent output's.

I still like PE, and it's growing on me more and more.

Can you believe I didn't like SOTT at first, it took quite some time to get into it, I think that's because theres lots of ballads and slow stuff on it.

darrenj said:

I thought the Holograms were well cool too!!!

I totally understand the SOTT thing. I ve posted a couple of comments today about SOTT and PR - and one on Planet Earth.

I've always found that Princes greatest material is not usually the instant ones that you like, but the ones that grab you over time.

For me his music never wears thin or gets tiresome, it all seems to get better with age. Both with the musics age and my own!!

NouveauDance said:

Willing and Able, Cream and Thunder I like the most.

It's great that there is such diverse taste here.

At earls court he kicked off with Thunder at the gig I went to. Very memorable.

He had all the girls meowing and all the boys woofing!



I had't been to any concerts before this so I couldn't realy judge the quality of the performance, but I enjoyed it!

it's not a favorite but I appreciate it for it's diversity....Money DOn't Matter Tonite is a gem...

I was 16 when Diamonds and Pearls came out and was just leaving school. I remember hearing it for the first time and thinking'what happened to the great artist i used to love'. Even then i couldn't believe how different his music sounded from Lovesexy, it became more disposable and lightweight. The irony of all this is that people everywhere were listening to Prince. To me this album was the start of the second half of his career. Batman and Graffiti Bridge kinda helped him decide where he wanted to go.

Theres probably 3 or 4 decent cuts on that album. To me it sounded dated in 1991 and it shows even more today. I'd rather listen to Planet Earth.
[Edited 1/17/08 5:59am]
[Edited 1/17/08 6:00am]

mentalist said:

Can I ask why?

Jeffiner said:

Absolutely, but I definately need to re-phrase as my least favourite of his live shows that I have seen!! and not the worst show I've seen period.

I think that the venue had alot too do with it. The sound was absolutlely awful and the layout there is not the best. I was also on the floor for both nights (never a favourite place of mine, I always like to be a bit higher than the stage looking in on the whole show). The stage seemed really low too!!!

Seeing Lovesexy in '88 and 11 of the Nude show's in '90 this one in my mind just gets remebered as a mish mash of spending all my time trying hard to see
what was going on on stage, and complaining about how bad the sound was.

To then see NPG act2 at Wembley a couple of years later - one of my all time favourite Prince shows, The D&P tour has gradually been dismissed by my mind!!

By the way, glad to see you got tix for the June boat party. It's gonna be FUN!!!

"Diamonds and Pearls" is a sexy cd...I used this cd, for working out to, more than just listening...Thank God Prince put Stollin' in early, or I'd have died of a heart attack b4 "Money don't matter."

Ahhhhh! "Diamonds and Pearls"!

I love this album...lot's of great memories from my younger days.

D+P made me a fan! Great Album! i really loved his style,his hair, his dancing, everything! before i got into prince, i was a short time extremly into MJ, like everyone of my friends! MJ released his Dangerous album, which was huge everywhere! MTV was playing him...They showed his videos, made specials, he was simply fantastic! But then there was Prince! This was the first time i saw him, at that time MTV showed his videos for D&P and cream, which were great! i really started to love the splits, which i never seen someone doing before! i was 12 and prince and james brown were not that popular like MJ in poland where i lived till my 9 th birthday...MJ was known everywhere and even by little kids like me back in the day..!i didnt knew prince till Diamonds and pearls...!
Anyway, i really loved the videos of D+Ps, and after MTV did a prince weekend,, he had me in his hand!
Maybe the D+P was so big because Prince worked with the legendary Frank dilano, MJ promoter..He made Mjs BAD so huge....So prince wanted a hit and hired Frank! Maybe the symbol album would have even bigger than D+P but as far a i know they couldnt agree about the singles, and prince fired him....
Frank wanted 7 to be the first single....
Anyway, D+P and lovesymbol are those 2 records which made a fan! i love them both...

WildheartXXX said:

thats becuase a lot was recorded 1989 and 1990. gett off was the only new song on their!

The weave was FAB honey.

Great songz.Fantastic vidz.Awesome era!

sexxydancer said:

I know it's not the same as the real thing!

But I like to look at it.

darrenj said:

mentalist said:[quote]I remember rushing out early the day of release and buying it on all formats (vinyl/MC/CD) for the collection, and running home as fast as my little legs would carry me straight up to room for airplay!!!!

And it was great!!! Compared to the mish mash of GB I felt like I was listening to a proper Prince album, carefully crafted and constructed to flow from beginning to end.

A feeling not since Lovesexy.

I really thought the singles selected for release was a good choice as well.



This is my second favourite 90's album after Gold!!!


Totally agree!!
Allthough I like Lovesexy and SOTT,this was also a great period,
this is the other side of Prince who I also love!
Just making hits,easy listening music and entertaining everyone.

Get Off is in my top 10!
[Edited 1/17/08 9:47am]

great time period. the marketing was on point with the videos and tv appearances. the music was hot although cream isn't a favorite of mine (unless we're talking about the remixes), the only thing that was missing here in the US was the tour

nice but it all went downhill from here imo

mentalist said:

Thanks for clearing that up for me! 11 of the Nude shows??!!!

Diamonds & Pearls

It was 1991 and i was on work experience in a rather remote part of the south of ireland, and suddenly Gett Off arrived on the scene, a song which had many people going , up there with Darling Nikki, a totally bombastic work out of funk n sex, which was followed 3 weeks later by Cream. When i first heard cream, I recognised he had stolen the melody from someone, but i have forgotton who, but the videos were cool, and suddenly Prince was kool again.

The album did not dissappoint either, apart from Tony M´s rapping, and became one of my most played albums of that time, many said it at the time, that was probably his best work since SOTT, at the time it seemed so, but in retrospect not. As many have said, it didnt hold well with time and was definitely focused at the commercial market.

Following yr the tour started in Oz, and the anticipation in Europe was immense, and I luckily got time off to see the only show in Dublin. Was great to hear 28,000 irish people singing "you sexy, MF". Was a fantastic show, only marred by Tony M´s rapping

The other funny part of that show was when he started Alphabet Street, the crowd straight away started into ole, ole, ole, which had almost drowned out his previous concert in Cork two yrs earlier, but Prince, stopped and replied, "if ye are gonna start that shit again, I am going home"

Whitnail said:

Brilliant!

it was the first Prince tour i saw. unfortunately Carmen was not opening anymore.

Whitnail said:

yeah i have that cork concert from the nude tour and it was annoying

D & P through Gold represents my favorite era.

D&P
0+>
Come
Gold
Exodus
The Undertaker
GoldNigga
Beautiful Experience, Space Maxi, Letitgo Maxi, Gett Off Maxi, My Name is Prince Maxi, Cream Maxi, Rock and Roll is Alive, I Hate U Maxi
and numerous outtakes and alternate versions.

L4OATheOriginal said:

I used to work in a holiday resort in Portugal, filled to brimming with Irish people (who I love btw) but the 'Ole, ole' stuff did get a bit much after a while