I've seen D&P get a lot of flack on this board, and among P fans in general. And I get it -- there are some real duds on the album; I tend to think of it as a weird mish mash of home runs and strike outs. However, if we look at the context of CDs really taking over the market within the past couple of years, and P transitioning from the 8-10 track form (when he didn't do double discs like SOTT) to longer albums, it seems like D&P might just be a case of having too much filler forced into the mix. I mean, when P's cooking on this album, he's as on as he is on his best work (or at least very close to it) IMO. Think about this possible 8-track version, which is the same # of tracks as Dirty Mind, Controversy, and The Black Album, and only one less than Purple Rain, Lovesexy, and ATWIAD:

1. Thunder

2. Diamonds and Pearls

3. Cream

4. Strollin'

5. Willing and Able

6. Insatiable

7. Gett Off

8. Money Don't Matter 2Night

The only track I repositioned is Insatiable, since I feel like MDM2N is a great closer, and I also don't think the two tracks really fit back to back. (Push is between them on the actual album.) Other than that, I just excised Daddy Pop, Walk Don't Walk, Jughead, Push, and Live 4 Love. I'm a little "meh" on the title track, but it's a well-executed pop song and I think any album with it as the musical "weak spot" is still pretty awesome. Also... yeah, Cream is a Bang a Gong (Get It On) rip-off, but it's still a hell of a song, even if it's sorta a cover. MDM2N is one of P's true all-time greats IMO, and I think Thunder, Willing and Able, and Strollin' are unique in a very cool way, with the first two being right up there with his elite mid-80s work, Insatiable is a strong ballad, and Gett Off is P on top of his funky, boundary pushing game. Is this 8-track version a super-tight album, up there with the mid-to-late 80s stuff, or is it just me?

[Edited 7/1/14 11:12am]

[Edited 7/1/14 11:13am]

LewArcher said:

I've seen D&P get a lot of flack on this board, and among P fans in general. And I get it -- there are some real duds on the album; I tend to think of it as a weird mish mash of home runs and strike outs. However, if we look at the context of CDs really taking over the market within the past couple of years, and P transitioning from the 8-10 track form (when he didn't do double discs like SOTT) to longer albums, it seems like D&P might just be a case of having too much filler forced into the mix. I mean, when P's cooking on this album, he's as on as he is on his best work (or at least very close to it) IMO. Think about this possible 8-track version, which is the same # of tracks as Dirty Mind, Controversy, and The Black Album, and only one less than Purple Rain, Lovesexy, and ATWIAD:

1. Thunder

2. Diamonds and Pearls

3. Cream

4. Strollin'

5. Willing and Able

6. Insatiable

7. Gett Off

8. Money Don't Matter 2Night

The only track I repositioned is Insatiable, since I feel like MDM2N is a great closer, and I also don't think the two tracks really fit back to back. (Push is between them on the actual album.) Other than that, I just excised Daddy Pop, Walk Don't Walk, Jughead, Push, and Live 4 Love. I'm a little "meh" on the title track, but it's a well-executed pop song and I think any album with it as the musical "weak spot" is still pretty awesome. Also... yeah, Cream is a Bang a Gong (Get It On) rip-off, but it's still a hell of a song, even if it's sorta a cover. MDM2N is one of P's true all-time greats IMO, and I think Thunder, Willing and Able, and Strollin' are unique in a very cool way, with the first two being right up there with his elite mid-80s work, Insatiable is a strong ballad, and Gett Off is P on top of his funky, boundary pushing game. Is this 8-track version a super-tight album, up there with the mid-to-late 80s stuff, or is it just me?

[Edited 7/1/14 11:12am]

[Edited 7/1/14 11:13am]

I would go with just 7 tracks. "Thunder" is a horrible song, imo.

I really enjoy the rest of the tracks in your list though. Those are the "really good" songs on that album. I was having a little convo about this with my girlfriend the other day too. I really don't get the hate for the title track, though. I've always found it to be kinda unique. It's [potential] flaw, imo, is Rosie Gaines [nearly] ruining it with her over-bloated singing, but I still really enjoy that song. I don't really think it could have been released in such a short tracklist [@ that point, albums were @ least 10 songs]. But the OTHER question is this:

If he needed two songs to fill in the gap, which two from the vault [that we've heard] could have went well with this album to make it really good???

Oh, & to answer your question: I think it would get in a top 12 list EASILY.

[Edited 7/1/14 11:52am]

I stil like that album despite its highly commercial feel. Some songs should´ve been left out to make place for better songs (Jughead and Push do absolutely nothing for me), some songs would be a lot better without Tony M. (Live 4 Love is a great song if it wasn´t for Tony´s rapping). He should´ve put his version of Open Book on it instead of Jughead.

The first configuration of this album is so horrible that I still can´t believe he seriously considered releasing it, with such songs as Horny Pony or Glam Slam 91. Can´t stand those two songs but love the Diamonds and Pearls album, regardless of how others here feel about it. Insatiable, Get Off, Strollin, Money Don´t Matter and all those brilliant b-sides and remixes like Get Some Solo, Violet the Organ Grinder and Clockin the Jizz bring back fond memories.

Good times!

The concert bootlegs from that tour are nice, too. Good renditions of Purple Rain, Nothing Compares 2U, Thieves in the Temple, etc. etc.

Prince was on fire.

I agree with LewArcher: --- it's a very fine album.

1. Thunder

2. Diamonds and Pearls

3. Cream

4. Strollin'

5. Willing and Able

6. Insatiable

7. Gett Off

8. Money Don't Matter 2Night
9. Live 4 Love

As you can see I would ad Live 4 Love.

(if only one could edit out the rapping in L4L..).

I'd only eliminate "Jughead". An album with the other 12 would probably be my favourite Prince album. Being both commercial and artistically creative and inventive. "Commercial" doesn't mean bad. Pop music is supposed to be commercial. Somehow? I don't understand all the criticism this masterpiece receives.

[Edited 7/1/14 13:15pm]

walk don't walk is great!! daddy pop without tony m is pretty great too .. otherwise .. yeah .. dump push jughead and live for love .. the rest is enjoyable

My fave tracks on Diamonds & Pearls are:

Thunder

Daddy Pop (Don't know why people hate this)

Cream

Gett Off

Insatiable

Push (despite some lame lyrics, it's a very entertaining arrangement and production)

The rest are boring to me. Especially Money Dont' Matter Tonight. I do love the ending chorus and fadeout of Diamonds and Pearls when they put variations in the melody of the lead lyrics.

I'm not a huge fan of when Prince does "normal" songs of "normal" production and lyrical content, but his seduction ballads still seem cool to me.

PS, no one seems to comment on how Jughead is a revoicing of the same musical idea as Housequake. The stomping rhythm has been subsituted with a vocal vamp of the same pattern.

thedance said:

I agree with LewArcher: --- it's a very fine album.

1. Thunder

2. Diamonds and Pearls

3. Cream

4. Strollin'

5. Willing and Able

6. Insatiable

7. Gett Off

8. Money Don't Matter 2Night
9. Live 4 Love

As you can see I would ad Live 4 Love.

(if only one could edit out the rapping in L4L..).

This

I'd go with this:

1. Live 4 Love

2. Cream

3. Diamonds & Pearls

4. Walk Right Now

5. Gett Off

6. Insatiable

7. Money Don't Matter 2Night

8. Thunder

nursev said:

Love D&P...that's all I can say

MattyJam said:

controversy99 said:

MattyJam said:

I'd go with this:

1. Live 4 Love

2. Cream

3. Diamonds & Pearls

4. Walk Right Now

5. Gett Off

6. Insatiable

7. Money Don't Matter 2Night

8. Thunder

What is "Walk Right Now"?

thedance said:

I agree with LewArcher: --- it's a very fine album.

1. Thunder

2. Diamonds and Pearls

3. Cream

4. Strollin'

5. Willing and Able

6. Insatiable

7. Gett Off

8. Money Don't Matter 2Night
9. Live 4 Love

As you can see I would ad Live 4 Love.

(if only one could edit out the rapping in L4L..).

I like that, but I would keep Walk Don't Walk too (maybe as a b-side?). I like Daddy Pop and Push though, so D&P is pretty good as it is imo. I'll give Jughead a pass just because in 1991 it might've been the worst Prince song ever but it's crown has been usurped many times over since then!

ANY album with the song Cream in it, would not be considered one of "Ps Best Work".

If I had to remove any tracks from the album,I would remove "Thunder" (a mediocre,overblown track),"Jughead" (need I say more? lol) and "Push" (another mediocre track).

Replace those three tracks with three stronger tunes and the album would be much better.

I love the music and the arrangement of "Money Don't Matter 2Night",but I don't think the lyrics are that great.The song fails to make a strong statement about money and its effect on people.

ufoclub said:

The rest are boring to me. Especially Money Dont' Matter Tonight. I do love the ending chorus

ufoclub said:

PS, no one seems to comment on how Jughead is a revoicing of the same musical idea as Housequake. The stomping rhythm has been subsituted with a vocal vamp of the same pattern.

perhaps there are some similarities,but it's not nearly as powerful as "Housequake"

Prince's "rap" at the end is somewhat embarassing....."Im good 2 cream every boy and girl"

Quick answer - for me, no.

....but I do agree it would probably be better thought of in general and personally. Although - and here's the rub - my 8 tracks would be different to yours (+Live 4 Love and Walk Don't Walk - Willing and Able and Insatiable) and if I stretched to 9 I'd have Daddy Pop back in there!

[Edited 7/3/14 6:30am]

1. Daddy Pop (No Rap)

2. Cream

3. Strollin'

4. Diamonds and Pearls

5. Willing and Able

6. Insatiable

7. Gett Off

8. Money Don't Matter 2Night

Looking at it now, man. that's a great album.

I revived Daddy Pop earlier this year and have been listening to it quite a bit. Fun, upbeat and infectious. Strollin' is pure Prince eclectic magic, Insatiable is a classic as are Get Off & MDMT.

luv4u said:

For me, two changes, Strollin for Walk Don't Walk and add Live 4 Love.

1. Thunder

2. Cream

3. Diamonds and Pearls

4. Walk Don't Walk

5. Willing and Able

6. Insatiable

7. Gett Off

8. Money Don't Matter 2 Night

9. Live 4 Love

SoulAlive said:

ufoclub said:

PS, no one seems to comment on how Jughead is a revoicing of the same musical idea as Housequake. The stomping rhythm has been subsituted with a vocal vamp of the same pattern.

perhaps there are some similarities,but it's not nearly as powerful as "Housequake"

Prince's "rap" at the end is somewhat embarassing....."Im good 2 cream every boy and girl"

Ha, no nowhere near as strong... it's the Diamonds & Pearls flavor translation of Housequake. But it really is Housequake in disguise. What if all the other songs were backtranlated to SOTT style?

thedance said:

I agree with LewArcher: --- it's a very fine album.

1. Thunder

2. Diamonds and Pearls

3. Cream

4. Strollin'

5. Willing and Able

6. Insatiable

7. Gett Off

8. Money Don't Matter 2Night
9. Live 4 Love

As you can see I would ad Live 4 Love.

(if only one could edit out the rapping in L4L..).

One can.

Quite easily in fact. I have a 'Tony M lite' version of the D&P album that I put together a few years ago after (I think Ernest Sewell) said he'd done something similar. It works very well. I made it into a 'special edition' type release by adding a few extra bits & pieces (extended portion from the Thunder Ballet, Get some solo, etc), and now the only Tony M on there is his few spoken words during the Gett off chorus and.. er.. Think that might be it actually.