Ive always quite enjoyed Diamonds and Pearls, it was the second album i heard by Prince.

However certain elements make me cringe..... Mainly..

Tony. His dated early 90s cheesy rap voice is so corny. Some of those songs would be a million times better if Tony wasnt cheesing it like a circus clown....

Elements that are dated...but i dig are. The drum loops underneith the live drums, they are very early 90s rave/house styled i think. But i dig that, it was cool to hear Prince trying out drum machine rythyms that were not bass, snare, bass, snare, bass, snare, bass, clap... (although i love that too )

I think the albums got some cool guitar tones and a rich production, i especially love Rosies vocals. Very powerful and they make the title track for me!

Thunder and Live 4 Love are probably my favourites tracks along with the title track and Money Dont Matter 2 Nite. I enjoy the strange layered vocals on Money Dont Matter...reminds me of Queen.

What do you guys think of what could arguably be Princes last "big" album.

I like it a lot but some tracks sound a bit dated now, due to its hip hop style.

Thunder, Daddy Pop and Jughead especially sound dated.

However, classics like Cream, Strollin, Insatiable and Money Don't Matter 2 Night still sound great today but that's because they are great songs too!

[Edited 5/7/11 9:47am]

[Edited 5/7/11 11:01am]

D&P was the first tour that I saw Prince live, loved the tour, liked the album a lot, all the remixes and shit.

Now, I can't listen to it, there are three songs maximum that I like, the rest................no!

It's a good album but I have to admit,a few songs didn't age very well.

I still really like "Cream","Strollin","Gett Off","Insatiable" and "Live For Love".

Oddly,I used to really like the title track but now it makes me cringe.

its stood MY test of time...I like the same songs just as much as i did when i got it and still dislike the same songs. For various reasons D&P came at a very important phase in my life so it'll always have that fondness making it galvanized in my mind

walk dont walk sounds like a sprite commercial but i love it. its my favorite album cut

Great Album, but probably his most dated sounding...

I feel Prince was shooting for a Pop comeback with this one & it shows... Still pretty damn good stuff though.

Mute Tony M.'s voice and it will sound less dated.

Seriously, one of the BEST songs in there "Willing & Able" should've been left the HELL alone, it didn't need this cornball spitting his unnecessary "nothings".

Other than that, it has one of the best lazy afternoon songs IMO.

Thunder, Gett Off, Diamonds and Pearls, and Creamare all perfect, the rest sucks the big one.

I do not enjoy this album. For me it is his most disappointing release. Not necessarily his "worst" but his most disappointing. I do like some of the songs but it just really sounds like he was desperately trying to get a hit and he didn't really give us the great album tracks that he usually does.

I have always strongly disliked "Gett Off" so that probably has something to do with why I do not like this album. The rest of the singles are fine for what they are but the album as a whole lacks the magic of his other albums.

Most of Diamonds and Pearls was weak filler tracks. If anything it's the album I look back on and see where Prince really started slipping. Daddy Pop, Strollin', Willing and Able, Walk Don't Walk, Money Don't Matter 2night, and Push are all throwaway tracks. Today I only listen to Cream and Gett Off; I don't even keep the rest of the album on my computer.

It was dated the day it dropped.

But I agree with sentiments stated above: remove Tony M. and it would have sounded less dated.

Also remove Jughead.

jpnyc said:

Most of Diamonds and Pearls was weak filler tracks. If anything it's the album I look back on and see where Prince really started slipping. Daddy Pop, Strollin', Willing and Able, Walk Don't Walk, Money Don't Matter 2night, and Push are all throwaway tracks. Today I only listen to Cream and Gett Off; I don't even keep the rest of the album on my computer.

Really - wow, its always amazing how opinions differ.

New Power Soul (Cant really count Chaos etc as were led to believe they werent really his choice) is where he consistently slid for me and has never regained his focus but its funny you should say D&P was the slip for you...sure its got a few tracks that arents o great on there (never been a fan of Live4Love as its another one of those tracks that feels Prince is writing about hearsay) and some bits are awful (the whole Tony M conversation before Money Dont Matter) but its a strong album for me and,personally, I think Graffitie Bridge was more blippy before D&P and was after too.

But as I say D&P holds a special place in my heart for life experiences...so it'll always be protected

Willing & Able is one the the best Prince songs ever.

Thunder sounds like it was responsible for at least 50% of the Backstreet Boys hits (i.e. the ones that weren't ballads), can't listen to it without thinking of them.

purpledoveuk said:

jpnyc said:

Most of Diamonds and Pearls was weak filler tracks. If anything it's the album I look back on and see where Prince really started slipping. Daddy Pop, Strollin', Willing and Able, Walk Don't Walk, Money Don't Matter 2night, and Push are all throwaway tracks. Today I only listen to Cream and Gett Off; I don't even keep the rest of the album on my computer.

Really - wow, its always amazing how opinions differ.

New Power Soul (Cant really count Chaos etc as were led to believe they werent really his choice) is where he consistently slid for me and has never regained his focus but its funny you should say D&P was the slip for you...sure its got a few tracks that arents o great on there (never been a fan of Live4Love as its another one of those tracks that feels Prince is writing about hearsay) and some bits are awful (the whole Tony M conversation before Money Dont Matter) but its a strong album for me and,personally, I think Graffitie Bridge was more blippy before D&P and was after too.

But as I say D&P holds a special place in my heart for life experiences...so it'll always be protected

Really? Wasn't that album presented to WB as a take it or leave it proposition? I think that album and it's tracklist were completely Prince's choice. I happen to love the album but if you dislike it I think Prince is the one to blame.

rialb said:

SoulAlive said:

It's a good album but I have to admit,a few songs didn't age very well.

I still really like "Cream","Strollin","Gett Off","Insatiable" and "Live For Love".

Oddly,I used to really like the title track but now it makes me cringe.

Co-sign. Except for me, take off Live 4 Love and put Money Don't Matter 2 Night in its place. Also, add Walk Don't Walk, as corny as that track may be. These are the ONLY songs off this album I'd listen to, and I haven't pulled this up on the ol' iPod in years!

Oh yeah, I might replace Gett Off with Violet the Organ Grinder. MUCH better way to use that Gett Off track! I must admit, though, I was THOROUGHLY disappointed upon hearing this album back when it came out. I really did dig Graffiti Bridge (the album), and was looking for something a lot heavier than what D&P was. A more natural progression, if you will. This was the point for me when Prince became "mortal". Before, it was almost as if he could do no wrong (or at least VERY little), but this release changed all that for me. He was definitely doin' a lot of shit wrong! Jughead was one of the most embarassing, worst pieces of drivel to be on a Prince album at the time. It was an even worse version of the whole Horny Pony dance-type track, trying to update Housequake for his R&B peeps. In my best Stond Cold impression, "Eh eh!!"

I would have loved it to include Horny Pony, that song is so fun and amusing.

Diamonds and Pearls definitely sounds dated in some songs. The hip-hop songs are the most skipped.

Nvncible1 said:

walk dont walk sounds like a sprite commercial but i love it.

That's hilarious. But I have to agree. It's funny how this album grew on me. I hate to admit that when this came out I actually liked Tony M.'s vocals.

*shudder*

I don't know what homonal issue of adolescence made this occur, but now, thankfully, I realize his rapping is horrific and makes Diamonds and Pearls and part of The Symbol Album (or whatever you'd like to call it) unlistenable.

Jughead is utter shite (one of the worst Prince songs ever... quite possibly THE worst). Strollin' and Willing and Able are totally corny, but they have their moments.

This album also has one of my absolute favorite songs, Money Don't Matter 2 Night.

I don't know. This album is definitely worth owning for me. I'm happy to have had it ever since it came out. It's dated, for sure. But it's also got a nostalgia factor for me.

I'm tempted to use Audacity and just excise all Tony M moments and have a great album.

It was kind of prelude to the next album (which I happen to think is one of his best... sans Tony, of course ).