The Story of Diamonds And Pearls, Episode 1: Welcome 2 The New Power Generation

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Prince | Official Podcast

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As the ‘80s drew to a close, Prince set his sights on completely redefining his look, sound, and band for the new decade. Musicians Michael Bland, Levi Seacer Jr., Rosie Gaines, Tommy Barbarella, and Sonny Thompson explain how Prince assembled the live band.

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https://prince.lnk.to/podcast

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https://podcasts.apple.co...0631096504

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https://open.spotify.com/...aX3PAKbCfw

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https://podcasts.google.c...FmNmJiNmFk

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[Edited 10/19/23 6:51am]

Yep I love this series of podcasts too.

See, seeee!!!

It IS Rosie on the "Gett Off" intro

Thanks for the link.

"Darkside"
What I've heard tells me it'll be on routine play.

laytonian said:

"Darkside"
What I've heard tells me it'll be on routine play.

Yes! Sounds a lot like the basis for PretzelBodyLogic

Is there a transcript of the podcast available anywhere? As long as Andrea Swensson unsed to work for The Current, the transcripts were available there, e.g. for SOTT deluxe: https://www.thecurrent.or...ete-series

It would make listening a lot easier especially for non-native english speakers.

I'd have to go back and relisten, but isn't Darkside basically a rehearsal version of Blood on the Sheets? It's virtually identical.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Laurianne sounds great. Its funny hearing someone say this album or band were all about 'greasy funk' cos d+p is not that album really! Exodus maybe. But not d+p. [Edited 10/12/23 14:10pm]

Yes I agree in regards to D&P, but the band were very funky and I guess they made Goldnigga which had some grease on it, plus NPGMadhouse 24 and Exodus - plus things like Billy Jack Bitch and other later outtakes (Calhoun Square etc) - but that hybrid of rock and funk was were the band were best Endorphinmachine for instance.

[Edited 10/13/23 1:30am]

[Edited 10/13/23 1:32am]

happyshopper said:

Really great. Some lovely insights into how quickly tracks were recorded, and in odd ways. I always thought Willing and Able and Money Don’t Matter had a similar vibe, and recorded in the same Tokyo session! The track D&P recorded last minute with the guys who happened to be in the studio doing something else! And Rosie being so awesome that Prince had to put her all over the album. (You hear how great she is during the Glam Slam show, which she really steals!) [Edited 10/13/23 2:56am]

I wonder how Rosie is doing tho, since her bits in the podcast are either from very old
telephone interviews or from stuff her daughter provided. Is she that ill or inconvenienced,
that she couldn't contribute to the podcast in person/on the phone? I feel bad for her now

happyshopper said:

Also insights into what’s in the Vault (at least from this period). Different versions of songs we know, and rough demos. Rather than a lot of finished tracks! (Which is what we seem to be getting with the SDE)

Back in 2014-2015, when Prince was asked why he left so much music in the Vault, his answer was "Because it's not finished". And that's what we're getting : unfinished works.

So while we're glad to listen to all this great music, let's never forget it's his archives not tracks he could have released (without the need to work further on it) during his lifetime.

There are some exceptions of course but let's be indulgent.

LILpoundCAKE said:

happyshopper said:

Really great. Some lovely insights into how quickly tracks were recorded, and in odd ways. I always thought Willing and Able and Money Don’t Matter had a similar vibe, and recorded in the same Tokyo session! The track D&P recorded last minute with the guys who happened to be in the studio doing something else! And Rosie being so awesome that Prince had to put her all over the album. (You hear how great she is during the Glam Slam show, which she really steals!) [Edited 10/13/23 2:56am]

I wonder how Rosie is doing tho, since her bits in the podcast are either from very old
telephone interviews or from stuff her daughter provided. Is she that ill or inconvenienced,
that she couldn't contribute to the podcast in person/on the phone? I feel bad for her now

She may not be in the headspace to do that. When I contacted her in 2000 for an interview, she plainly said that she wasn't going to talk about Prince.

So I just listened to Episode 1.

These shows are just so great. And I wasn't a huge fan of D&P when it came out. I didn't hate it, but I didn't immediately connect to it early on like most did. That era of my life was a bit of a blur, and I ended up homeless. So it wasn't until after came out that I able to live on my own again, and purchase things. I was more connected with , but I loved the D&P Video Collection VHS after that.

The podcast is giving me new stories and perspective on the project as a whole. It's hard to think of Michael B. as 18 or 19 for The Nude Tour. Fink was in the band and he was in his early 30s. Levi was in his late 20s, yet Miko was older than Fink. Rosie was somewhere in between.

Prince really did just farm and tap the best folks from wherever to land in his band. Age, race, and gender mattered none to him in many ways; although we know he purposely sought out diversity early on. All those folks got even better by playing with him.

The Story of Diamonds And Pearls, Episode 2: If It Ain’t From Minneapolis, It Ain’t S#!^

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The roots of The New Power Generation extend back to Prince’s childhood growing up in North Minneapolis. Founding NPG members Tony Mosley, Sonny Thompson, Kirk Johnson, Damon Dickson, and Prince’s high school girlfriend Cari Price shed light on what the community meant to Prince.

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https://podcasts.google.c...NjN2NjZDRj

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https://podcasts.apple.co...0631872105

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https://open.spotify.com/...SSk7UxGP6g

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https://www.iheart.com/po...126146211/

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Alternative ways to listen to this: https://prince.lnk.to/podcast

Listen DIRECT

nayroo2002 said:

Listen DIRECT

without clickin' someone else's shit

Mindbells9 said:

It was cool hearing Andrea interview Cari, but she wasn't too pleased about Prince lying about their encounter in "Schoolyard". She said she was pretty upset

dodger07 said:

Mindbells9 said:

It was cool hearing Andrea interview Cari, but she wasn't too pleased about Prince lying about their encounter in "Schoolyard". She said she was pretty upset

I thought Andrea was going to push it and ask about the glove line!

So, basically, Prince assembled a band to represent MPLS in 1990-91.

I think it worked.

No need to edit anyone out of this New Power Generation!

LILpoundCAKE said:

happyshopper said:

Really great. Some lovely insights into how quickly tracks were recorded, and in odd ways. I always thought Willing and Able and Money Don’t Matter had a similar vibe, and recorded in the same Tokyo session! The track D&P recorded last minute with the guys who happened to be in the studio doing something else! And Rosie being so awesome that Prince had to put her all over the album. (You hear how great she is during the Glam Slam show, which she really steals!) [Edited 10/13/23 2:56am]

I wonder how Rosie is doing tho, since her bits in the podcast are either from very old
telephone interviews or from stuff her daughter provided. Is she that ill or inconvenienced,
that she couldn't contribute to the podcast in person/on the phone? I feel bad for her now

Unfortunately I think the answer is probably yes. Just from things we've heard about her mental and physical health over the years. I wonder if Prince or the community reached out to assist but maybe she just wasn't or still isn't interested in receiving it. Which is her right of course.