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Thread started 04/16/19 5:01am

lurker316

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Diamonds & Pearls or The Love Symbol Album

In my mind I group these two together. I guess that's because they're the two studio albums attributed to Prince & The New Power Generation. Plus they both have healthy doses of Tony Moseley, which gives them a similar sound.

.

When they first came out I greatly prefered The Love Symbol Album. I thought D&P was too commerical. Plus I thought Tony's rapping improved significantly on the second album. And I thought the Love Symbol Album had more of an edge.

.

But now, all these years later, I find myself pulling out D&P far more often than the Love Symbol Album.

.

I can still rationalize arguments in my mind that The Love Symbol is a better album. But when I stop analyzing the albums / stop trying to be an armchair critic, and I simply sit back and enjoy the music, I gravitate to D&P.

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Reply #1 posted 04/16/19 5:33am

Nightcrawler

I group these two together, too. I prefer "Love Symbol" as it is more of a fans album. But I was very happy that D&P brought Prince back in the commercial spotlight. And "Gett Off" was such a bold, innovative and danceable first single for "D&P" bananadance

And don´t forget: "Love Symbol" was Maytes introduction to Princes world and a she was such an inspiration for years to come. I just love this whole era.

See the man with the blue guitar, maybe one day he`ll be a star...
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Reply #2 posted 04/16/19 5:58am

Mikado

Yeah, for whatever reason prince sounds really dated. There are obviously highlights, like 7, but even stuff like Sexy MF sounds really stilted and hasn't aged well.
A certain kind of mellow.
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Reply #3 posted 04/16/19 6:03am

bwaaatch

lurker316 said:

In my mind I group these two together. I guess that's because they're the two studio albums attributed to Prince & The New Power Generation. Plus they both have healthy doses of Tony Moseley, which gives them a similar sound.


.


When they first came out I greatly prefered The Love Symbol Album. I thought D&P was too commerical. Plus I thought Tony's rapping improved significantly on the second album. And I thought the Love Symbol Album had more of an edge.


.


But now, all these years later, I find myself pulling out D&P far more often than the Love Symbol Album.


.


I can still rationalize arguments in my mind that The Love Symbol is a better album. But when I stop analyzing the albums / stop trying to be an armchair critic, and I simply sit back and enjoy the music, I gravitate to D&P.



“Plus they both have healthy doses of Tony Moseley”

I think we all know that there is no safe level.
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Reply #4 posted 04/16/19 6:43am

dodger

I'll always love this era as it's when I first became a fan after seeing the Gett Off video as a 15 year old.

.

I also group them together and I'm in the minority in liking the Tony M/hip hop elements. But for those who don't there is still plenty of vintage Prince across both with the likes of Cream, D&P, Damn U, And God Created Woman, 7 etc.

.

I love the live band sound on D&P and then the horns on Love Symbol add even more to it.

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Reply #5 posted 04/16/19 7:16am

databank

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lurker316 said:

In my mind I group these two together. I guess that's because they're the two studio albums attributed to Prince & The New Power Generation. Plus they both have healthy doses of Tony Moseley, which gives them a similar sound.

.

When they first came out I greatly prefered The Love Symbol Album. I thought D&P was too commerical. Plus I thought Tony's rapping improved significantly on the second album. And I thought the Love Symbol Album had more of an edge.

.

But now, all these years later, I find myself pulling out D&P far more often than the Love Symbol Album.

.

I can still rationalize arguments in my mind that The Love Symbol is a better album. But when I stop analyzing the albums / stop trying to be an armchair critic, and I simply sit back and enjoy the music, I gravitate to D&P.

lol lol lol

It's funny it's exactly the same for me.

I love D&P but prince was always my favorite, it's epic, it's hysterical, it's more ambitious both musically and lyrically, it's Prince at the top of his game.

But I think in the end today I listen to D&P way more often, maybe because it's an easier listening, it does not involve me as much, it's just a relaxing album to me, while prince is so intense.

A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/
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Reply #6 posted 04/16/19 7:18am

databank

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dodger said:

I'll always love this era as it's when I first became a fan after seeing the Gett Off video as a 15 year old.

.

I also group them together and I'm in the minority in liking the Tony M/hip hop elements. But for those who don't there is still plenty of vintage Prince across both with the likes of Cream, D&P, Damn U, And God Created Woman, 7 etc.

.

I love the live band sound on D&P and then the horns on Love Symbol add even more to it.

They even form a sort of quadrilogy with Gold Nigga and Carmen Electra.

And I really don't mind Tony either. He was sort of shouting on stage but in the studio his rap is neat.

A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/
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Reply #7 posted 04/16/19 7:38am

dodger

databank said:

dodger said:

I'll always love this era as it's when I first became a fan after seeing the Gett Off video as a 15 year old.

.

I also group them together and I'm in the minority in liking the Tony M/hip hop elements. But for those who don't there is still plenty of vintage Prince across both with the likes of Cream, D&P, Damn U, And God Created Woman, 7 etc.

.

I love the live band sound on D&P and then the horns on Love Symbol add even more to it.

They even form a sort of quadrilogy with Gold Nigga and Carmen Electra.

And I really don't mind Tony either. He was sort of shouting on stage but in the studio his rap is neat.

Yea, I've got a nice long playlist consisting of these and the remixes/non-album tracks from the maxi-singles

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Reply #8 posted 04/16/19 9:40am

Genesia

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Neither is among my top picks, but I'll go with whichever has less Tony M.

We don’t mourn artists because we knew them. We mourn them because they helped us know ourselves.
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Reply #9 posted 04/16/19 9:49am

SoulAlive

I like both albums,but I think 'Love Symbol' is the superior one.It's more edgy and powerful.

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Reply #10 posted 04/16/19 9:50am

Empress

This is a toughy! I love both of these albums! If I had to choose it would be the Love Symbol. I've listened to this album several hundred times and I never get tired of it. I have no problem with Tony either. My Name is Prince is so much fun to sing along to. music

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Reply #11 posted 04/16/19 10:20am

Germanegro

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hah! There is nothing sounding like that album anywhere that I know of! Dated?

Mikado said:

Yeah, for whatever reason prince sounds really dated. There are obviously highlights, like 7, but even stuff like Sexy MF sounds really stilted and hasn't aged well.

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Reply #12 posted 04/16/19 10:24am

MIRvmn

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I prefer prince cuz is a much stronger album smile
Welcome 2 The Dawn
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Reply #13 posted 04/16/19 10:26am

Germanegro

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databank said:

lurker316 said:

In my mind I group these two together. I guess that's because they're the two studio albums attributed to Prince & The New Power Generation. Plus they both have healthy doses of Tony Moseley, which gives them a similar sound.

.

When they first came out I greatly prefered The Love Symbol Album. I thought D&P was too commerical. Plus I thought Tony's rapping improved significantly on the second album. And I thought the Love Symbol Album had more of an edge.

.

But now, all these years later, I find myself pulling out D&P far more often than the Love Symbol Album.

.

I can still rationalize arguments in my mind that The Love Symbol is a better album. But when I stop analyzing the albums / stop trying to be an armchair critic, and I simply sit back and enjoy the music, I gravitate to D&P.

I love D&P but prince was always my favorite, it's epic, it's hysterical, it's more ambitious both musically and lyrically, it's Prince at the top of his game.

But, I think, D&P, it's an easier listening, it does not involve me as much, it's just a relaxing album to me, while prince is so intense.

Agreed with databank's culled bits yeahthat

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Reply #14 posted 04/16/19 10:40am

lurker316

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bwaaatch said:

lurker316 said:

In my mind I group these two together. I guess that's because they're the two studio albums attributed to Prince & The New Power Generation. Plus they both have healthy doses of Tony Moseley, which gives them a similar sound.

.

When they first came out I greatly prefered The Love Symbol Album. I thought D&P was too commerical. Plus I thought Tony's rapping improved significantly on the second album. And I thought the Love Symbol Album had more of an edge.

.

But now, all these years later, I find myself pulling out D&P far more often than the Love Symbol Album.

.

I can still rationalize arguments in my mind that The Love Symbol is a better album. But when I stop analyzing the albums / stop trying to be an armchair critic, and I simply sit back and enjoy the music, I gravitate to D&P.

“Plus they both have healthy doses of Tony Moseley” I think we all know that there is no safe level.

.

Ha. I should chosen my words more carefully. I agree that there's no such thing as a "healthy" dose of Tony. Obvious I just meant both albums had a lot of him.

.

I know some people are replying to this thread and saying they have no problem with him, but I thought he was godawful. Like I wrote above, I think he did marginally improve from D&P to 0+>, but he still sucked.

.

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Reply #15 posted 04/16/19 12:58pm

TheKid94

Love Symbol gets my vote. While D&P is more hit heavy, Love Symbol's music is more expansive and diverse.

prince
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Reply #16 posted 04/16/19 5:08pm

robertgeorge

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My first Prince records were Diamonds and Pearls and Love Symbol which I bought on cassette, so they are pretty closely linked in my book. I go for the grandeur of the Love Symbol, Prince's wannabe rock opera. I think Diamonds and Pearls is a cool album, but I like the scope of Love Symbol. Whatever you think of the song, you have to say the 3 chains of gold is a pretty ballsy and Purple version of bohemian rhapsody. I mean who does that, takes on Queen and in my mind comes off not too bad. The ballads are delicious - Damn U, Sweet Baby, The Morning Papers (such a cool rock sheen on this song and I happen to like the 3 chains of gold videos). Then you have diversity with the slinky Blue light, the playboy channel ready I wanna melt with u. You have 7, the song that many non-prince fans liked/like at the time. You have the groove of And God Created Woman. You have the second best use for Carmen Electra doing a talk rap on the superb continental (why be a star when you can be a sun), The funk of sexy mf (with some cool instrumental contributions from the band), the swagger of My name is Prince, the incredible harmonys in love 2 the 9's, and some quality theme based filler in the flow and arrogance. What about the playfully semiautobiographical play of the sacrifice of victor. Even the contentious interludes have a quality with the raspy voice of Kirsty Alley and some humour cool lines and chemistry between her and P. And the gold foil symbol on the cover. Yes I like this album the best. Diamonds and Pearls does have classics like cream, diamonds and pearls, money don't matter 2 night (my fave on the album), and some cool tracks that are slept on like daddy pop, thunder, strollin, and the epic live 4 love.

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Reply #17 posted 04/16/19 5:30pm

TheFman

To me, they have less than nothung in common.

While I love D&P pretty much; I very VERY much dislike the other one.

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Reply #18 posted 04/16/19 7:29pm

RJOrion

Love Symbol and For You are my favorite Prince lps of all time, so im biased
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Reply #19 posted 04/16/19 7:45pm

TrivialPursuit

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Genesia said:

Neither is among my top picks, but I'll go with whichever has less Tony M.


I remixed and edited Tony M. out of about 98% of those two records. I was never greatly connected to D&P, but loved prince. When I edited Tony out of both, I loved D&P in a new way, and found a more concise record with prince album. Frankly, I think they're pretty great mixes, and I've had good feedback on them. It was a fun project, a little tricky here and there, but I got it done.

To the OP: prince is still superior, a bit, although I would have loved to hear Rosie's voice on it.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #20 posted 04/16/19 8:22pm

EddieC

I don't think I've listened to either one as an album since his death--but I've listened to the Diamonds and Pearls Beginnings release several times during the same period. So... whatever that means. I'd probably choose Symbol as a better album, and I certainly prefer it to the released Diamonds and Pearls the last time I listened to them.

But I was singing Diamonds and Pearls out of nowhere earlier today...

But I was singing Arrogance out of nowhere yesterday...

So I don't guess I need to listen to either album, as they seem to both be playing in my head anyway.

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Reply #21 posted 04/17/19 2:28am

tump

The spoken-word interludes on Love Symbol were best left in the studio. Both albums have a high portion of inspired content, but I'd give it to Love Symbol if I had to choose.
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Reply #22 posted 04/20/19 8:33am

Un2TheJoyFanta
stic

Love Symbol

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Reply #23 posted 04/20/19 8:33am

Un2TheJoyFanta
stic

The symbol album for sure.

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Reply #24 posted 04/20/19 2:01pm

lurker316

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TrivialPursuit said:

Genesia said:

Neither is among my top picks, but I'll go with whichever has less Tony M.


I remixed and edited Tony M. out of about 98% of those two records. I was never greatly connected to D&P, but loved prince. When I edited Tony out of both, I loved D&P in a new way, and found a more concise record with prince album. Frankly, I think they're pretty great mixes, and I've had good feedback on them. It was a fun project, a little tricky here and there, but I got it done.

To the OP: prince is still superior, a bit, although I would have loved to hear Rosie's voice on it.

.

I came across a fan edit of Love 2 the 9s with Tony's rap cut out. I already loved that song, but it's even better without Tony.

.

To all those people posting that the Love Symbol Album is better. Like I said in my original post, I agree from an analytical perspective. It's edgier, less commerical, Tony's raps are better, etc. But at the end of the day I simply enjoy listening to D&P much more. Which surprises me because for years I hated D&P.

[Edited 4/20/19 14:27pm]

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Reply #25 posted 04/20/19 5:33pm

TrivialPursuit

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lurker316 said:

I came across a fan edit of Love 2 the 9s with Tony's rap cut out. I already loved that song, but it's even better without Tony.


I wonder if it's my edit. There is one guy who literally cut whole sections out of songs, like the chorus from "The Max" or whatever. It's horrible.

I used instrumental loops from the song to lay over Tony's parts. So in things like "Gett Off", it just uses instrumentation from the intro over "23 positions in a one night stand", etc. Same with "The Max". Other raps were easier to just cut out as a whole.

When I did my edits, I realized that so many of those songs on D&P & prince were done, and the raps were tagged on the end somewhere. When I worked to take them out and keep the flow of the song, it was actually pretty easy. The raps started to stand out like sore thumbs. I took him out as much as possible in every song, but in some things he stayed just because of aural logistics. He's about 5% there, opposed to his former 100%.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #26 posted 04/20/19 5:53pm

JohnShaft

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Both albums mean a lot to me as they were the first Prince albums I bought brand new after falling in love with his music. "Money Don't Matter Tonight" and "Strollin" were the two I couldn't get enough of. Apart from those two, I enjoyed the rest of the album but it just didn't "stick to my ribs". However, The Love Symbol album still gets a lot of play here at the house. Apart from "Eye Wanna Melt With U", every cut on this one is rock solid: "Damn U", "And God Created Woman" and "The Max" are three I love just as much as the day I first heard them. I have to give the nod to The Love Symbol album here!

Who's the private d*ck that's a sex machine to all the chicks?
Who's the man that would risk his neck for his brother man?
Who's the cat who won't cop out when there's danger all about?
John Shaft ... Damn Right!
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Reply #27 posted 04/20/19 6:20pm

LenguaDePlata

Diamonds & Pearls was the first album I bought when it came out after becoming a fan. For many years I would have told you it was my favourite. Now I barely listen to it. Apart from Gett Off, I never fell any need to listen to any of the tracks in that album, not even the ones I liked.
Like others have mentioned, I also tend to group both albums together. And again, although I liked it when it first came out, there’s not a lot in prince I come back to. Damn U, God Created Woman and Sweet Baby I can always listen to, sometimes Love 2 the 9s, and that’s about it...
Life is just a party, and parties weren’t meant to last...
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Reply #28 posted 04/20/19 7:24pm

lurker316

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TrivialPursuit said:

lurker316 said:

I came across a fan edit of Love 2 the 9s with Tony's rap cut out. I already loved that song, but it's even better without Tony.


I wonder if it's my edit. There is one guy who literally cut whole sections out of songs, like the chorus from "The Max" or whatever. It's horrible.

I used instrumental loops from the song to lay over Tony's parts. So in things like "Gett Off", it just uses instrumentation from the intro over "23 positions in a one night stand", etc. Same with "The Max". Other raps were easier to just cut out as a whole.

When I did my edits, I realized that so many of those songs on D&P & prince were done, and the raps were tagged on the end somewhere. When I worked to take them out and keep the flow of the song, it was actually pretty easy. The raps started to stand out like sore thumbs. I took him out as much as possible in every song, but in some things he stayed just because of aural logistics. He's about 5% there, opposed to his former 100%.

.

The version I have just cuts his part of the song rather than looping music on top. Right after Prince says "Hit it" / right before Tony starts questioning Mayte, it cuts. It jumps right to the part with Tony singing "Dance, girl, let me see the booty boom..."

.

I came across what appear to be earlier versions of some the D&P songs. I have Willing & Able and Live for Love without Tony's raps, and the song Diamonds and Pearls minus Rosie. They aren't cutout or looped over -- it just sounds like an early mix before Prince added their parts.

.

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Reply #29 posted 04/20/19 8:22pm

itsjustaroundt
hecorner

LOVE SYMBOL is definiltey my favorite between the two

I could cut 30% of it out and it would be even better... get rid of Bue Light/The Flow/Arrogance/3 Chains...actually I would get rid of MNIP too (shhh!)

The Max should have been the single after 7 for sure... that song is RIDICULOUS!!!!!

Ideal Tracklist:
Sexy MF

Love 2 The 9's

The Morning Papers

The Max

I Wanna Melt With U

Sweet Baby

Continental

Damn U

And God Created Woman

7

Singles Should Have Been:

Sexy MF

7

The Max

And God Created Woman

I would also add Player from this period ... love that song!

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