History has not been kind to Diamonds and Pearls amongst Prince fans. I almost feel like it's the bandwagon thing to hate it. Don't pretend that y'all didn't think it was the shit when it first came out, cuz it hit hard.

You bunch of

TRON said:

Loved Diamonds and Pearls then, still love it now.

TRON said:

D&P was shit when it came out. The first time i heard Gett Off i thought what the fuck is this. Where is the mystique the complexity?! I actually warmed to the song though. Then first day i bought the CD and when i heard Thunder i thought"what is all this over produced shit?" i played the album for days and i realised the classic era was over. Only one song on that entire disc said classic Prince and that was"money dont matter 2night".

I also realised Prince wanted to become a pop star for the first time in his life. The failure of Lovesexy and the success of Batman obviously influenced this. I remember this album was immensely popular and people, the new found fans were heralding Prince as a genius. To me i felt let down, short changed. It was not the Prince i knew. Along with Emancipation this is Princes worst album.

Rave is one of the worst albums of 1999. Crap collaborations, cheesy production, awful lyrics...it sux basically. D&P isn't perfect, ruined here and there in production, but my God is there a band playing on that record or what?

Martinelli said:

He shouldve had that band playing on Rave then we wouldve had something.

WildheartXXX said:

blasphemy!!!

go listen 2 emancipation and d & p back 2 back...i think you'll be compelled 2 disagree with your own statement.



piddly edit.
[This message was edited Sat Feb 8 17:47:23 PST 2003 by Handclapsfingasnapz]

By and large, I think Rave is *slightly* better. I have issues with the production on both, and there are some tracks on both that are pure crap: Jughead and Hot Wit U most notably.

But to me, Rave has more quality tracks. Prettyman is a classic in my opinion. So is I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore. I like Baby Knows, Greatest Romance and Sun, Moon and Stars.

And ManOWar - in my opinion - is one of his most underrated songs. A beautiful, bitter ballad - sounds very personal to me. I've been listening to that song alot lately.

D&P - eh. These days, i can't really bring myself to listen to much more than Gett Off, Willing and Able, Thunder and Walk Don't Walk. Most of the other tracks are OK. Insatiable is a pale remake of Do Me, Baby, International Lover and Adore. The title track is utterly forgettable.

Had Rave been released in 1992, as the follow-up to D&G, it would have been VERY successful. 5 hit singles, at least (GRES, ManOwar, Baby Knows, So Far, So Pleased and Wherever U Go).

Does anyone else have a problem with the murkiness of So Far, So Pleased? The sound quality seems poor on that track for some reason.

*Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic*

Rave sounds more consistant to me than D&P although alove both...

naturegirl said:

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS ON THIS ABOVE ?



SHOULD I START A NEW TOPIC OF THIS?



ANYONE?

My verdict: Diamonds & Pearls was an excellent period for Prince; brilliant single choices, an album full of ideas and a completely new sound. To me, it's most powerful asset is that it redefined Prince in every sense of the word 'new.' Rave saw Prince attempt to mimic this concept of 'new' again, but it failed miserably. Most found it rather tired by Prince's standard.
[This message was edited Sun Feb 16 23:42:40 PST 2003 by Anji]

JonSnow said:

Yes, I most certainly do. The levels have been peaked and compressed to all fuck. I know I'm not the only one who's noticed this...my girlfriend noticed it immediately and said it ruins an otherwise good song. Baby Knows suffers from this too, but not quite as badly.

I don't know why he made it sound like that but it is deliberate and it doesn't work well.

Anji said:

i totally go with D&P

minus jughead and its brother "Call the law!...we're gettin busy yall..!"

Anji said:

Exactly.

And besides, Rave sounds ice cold.

mrdespues said:

The production seems to compress the instruments and in the end it sounds like a low end MP3!

WildheartXXX said:

exactly. I wonder why this was done... I agree, the production ruins an otherwise potentially very good song...

JonSnow said:

The production quality suffers as did Emancipation for the same reasons: NO CONTROLS in place. He could put it out without suits telling him to go back and polish it up, make it sound better.

I don't know if he was in a RUSH to release those songs, but I notice that there's certain records that suffered, quality-wise, and the common thread was that he had no one over him controlling the output.

Just my pinion.

Diamonds & Pearls.
[This message was edited Mon Feb 17 12:01:46 PST 2003 by nas3110]

nas3110 said:

Anji said:

I think Diamonds and Pearls is highly superior to Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. Prince experimented new styles at the time, which he didn't on Rave. For instance, Willing and Able and Money Don't matter 2nite are very simplistic and easy to listen to but very well built yet. I hate the Rave album and never managed to listen to it one time through. The only tracks I like are Undisputed, I love U but I don't trust U anymore and Prettyman. The other ones are corny and so commercial they sound boys-bandish (Wherever U go, Whatever u do... )

gold said:

Undisputed is not corny?

Diamonds and what? Rave Un2 whom? Prince 82 - 88. The only era that matters! All that matters b4 and after that period are a few songs here and there.

D & P

Cloudbuster said:

You mean that Rave wasn't worst "non-butchered by record execs" album he put out. Rave is the only album of his that I wish I never bought.

Rave Please make it stop I'm running out of ammo
unto the Crap Diastrous

WildheartXXX said:

What? And Greatess Romance Ever Been Sold, and Manowar aren't mentioned in the dictionary definition of waterdown sellout's? I look at it like I do food. D & P might have been over prepared and polished but I rather eat that than somthing "thrown together".

loveG6 said:

woah...even more so than "new power soul"?

otan said:

WildheartXXX said:

Wildheart XXX sure chose the appropriate picture to go with her ID because he/she looks and sounds now

loveG6 said:

wildheart is a GUY, mon.