Diamonds and Pearls

Diamonds and Pearls is the 13th studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the first with his new backing band The New Power Generation. It was released on October 1, 1991, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album produced several hit singles, including "Gett Off", "Cream", "Money Don't Matter 2 Night", "Insatiable", and the title track. Dancers Lori Werner (then dancing under the stage name of Lori Elle) and Robia LaMorte, known as "Diamond" and "Pearl" respectively, appeared on the holographic cover (re-pressings of the album are non-holographic). Diamond and Pearl also appeared in the music videos for "Cream", "Strollin'", "Gett Off", and the title track, and also participated in Prince's Diamonds and Pearls Tour.

This article is about the album. For the song, see Diamonds and Pearls (song). For the video album, see Diamonds and Pearls Video Collection. For the Pokémon games, see Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.

Diamonds and Pearls
Studio album by
Prince and The New Power Generation
ReleasedOctober 1, 1991
RecordedDecember 1989 – May 1991
StudioPaisley Park and London
Genre
Length65:45
LabelPaisley Park, Warner Bros.
ProducerPrince
Prince chronology
Graffiti Bridge
(1990)		 Diamonds and Pearls
(1991)		 Love Symbol Album
(1992)
International release
Singles from Diamonds and Pearls
  1. "Gett Off"
    Released: June 7, 1991
  2. "Cream"
    Released: September 9, 1991
  3. "Insatiable"
    Released: November 4, 1991
  4. "Diamonds and Pearls"
    Released: November 25, 1991
  5. "Money Don't Matter 2 Night"
    Released: March 3, 1992
  6. "Thunder"
    Released: April 18, 1992 (UK only)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[4]
Robert Christgau[5]
Entertainment WeeklyC[6]
Mojo(favorable)[7]
MusicHound3.5/5[8]
The New York Times(favorable)[3]
Pitchfork8.3/10[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
Spin(favorable)[11]

Diamonds and Pearls contains a hybrid of music styles, from the funk of "Daddy Pop", "Jughead", and first single "Gett Off", to some of the more mainstream pop/rock songs Prince had recorded in some time, such as "Cream", "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" and the title song. "Willing and Able" was used in a video montage during the closing credits of CBS coverage of Super Bowl XXVI.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Prince; all music is composed by Prince and The New Power Generation except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Thunder" 5:45
2."Daddy Pop" 5:17
3."Diamonds and Pearls" 4:45
4."Cream" 4:13
5."Strollin'" 3:47
6."Willing and Able"Prince, Levi Seacer, Jr., Tony Mosley5:00
7."Gett Off" 4:31
8."Walk Don't Walk" 3:07
9."Jughead"Prince, Tony Mosley, Kirk Johnson4:57
10."Money Don't Matter 2 Night"Prince, Rosie Gaines4:46
11."Push"Prince, Rosie Gaines5:53
12."Insatiable" 6:39
13."Live 4 Love (Last Words from the Cockpit)"Prince, Tony Mosley6:59

Album evolution

One of the earliest songs that ended up on Diamonds and Pearls was "Live 4 Love", a track from 1989.[12] The bulk of the material would be composed in 1990, however. A few songs evolved during Prince's Nude Tour in 1990, notably "The Flow" and "Schoolyard". Prince decided to place an emphasis on rap with this album, handing the reins over to Nude Tour dancer, Tony M. An early version of the album from November 1990[13] consisted of the following:

  1. "The Flow"
  2. "Daddy Pop"
  3. "Diamonds and Pearls"
  4. "Cream"
  5. "Strollin'"
  6. "Willing and Able"
  7. "Violet the Organ Grinder"
  8. "Walk Don't Walk"
  9. "Horny Pony" - unreleased version
  10. "Money Don't Matter 2 Nite"
  11. "Something Funky (This House Comes)"
  12. "Schoolyard"
  13. "Live 4 Love"

Most of these songs went through minor to major revisions before being released, and five of them did not make the cut at all. The five songs that were omitted from the album are "The Flow", "Violet the Organ Grinder", "Horny Pony", "Something Funky (This House Comes)", and "Schoolyard". "The Flow" would be revised for the Love Symbol Album. A later version of the album had "Horny Pony" in the place of "Gett Off", a newly-written track that replaced it at the last minute. In fact, "Horny Pony" still exists on the track listing, written in red over "Gett Off", and is mentioned in the lyrics to "Push".

Personnel
  • Prince – lead vocals and various instruments
  • Rosie Gaines – keyboards (2), co-lead vocals (3, 11), backing vocals and keyboards (4, 6, 7–9)
  • Tommy Barbarella – keyboards (2–4, 6–8)
  • Levi Seacer, Jr. – bass (2, 5, 6, 8–10), rhythm guitar (4, 7)
  • Sonny T. – bass (3, 4, 7, 13)
  • Michael B. – drums (2–8, 10, 13)
  • Sheila E. – synth drum fills (3)
  • Damon Dickson – percussion (6, 7, 9)
  • Kirk Johnson – percussion (6, 7, 9)
  • Eric Leeds – flute (7)
  • Tony M. – rap (2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13)
  • Elisa Fiorillo – additional vocals (2, 8)
  • Clare Fischer – sampled orchestration (11)

Production
  • Arranged and produced by Prince and The New Power Generation[14]
  • Engineered by Keith "KC" Cohen, David Friedlander, Michael Koppelman, Matt Larson, Sylvia Massy, Steve Noonan, Tim Penn and Brian Poer
  • Mixed by Michael Koppelman, Keith Cohen and Tom Garneau
  • Mastered by Michael Koppelman
  • All songs published[15] by Controversy Music-WB Music, except "Willing & Able" (Controversy Music-WB Music-Michael Anthony Music-Mac Dog Productions), "Jughead" (Controversy Music-WB Music-Mac Dog Music-Kinky J. Music) and "Push" (Controversy Music-WB Music-Mattie Lucille Publishing).

Singles and Hot 100 chart placings
  • "Gett Off" maxi-single (#21 US, #6 US R&B, #4 UK, #8 AUS)
  1. "Gett Off"
  2. "Horny Pony"
  • "Cream" maxi-single (#1 US, #15 UK, #2 AUS)
  1. "Cream"
  2. "Horny Pony"
  1. "Insatiable"
  2. "I Love U in Me"
  1. "Diamonds and Pearls"
  2. "Q in Doubt"
  1. "Money Don't Matter 2 Night"
  2. "Call the Law"
  3. "Push" (UK)
  1. "Thunder"
  2. "Violet the Organ Grinder"
  3. "Gett Off" (Thrust Dub)

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[38] 4x Platinum 280,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[39] Platinum 50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[40] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[41] 2x Platinum 610,100[42]
Germany (BVMI)[43] Platinum 500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[44] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[45] Gold 7,500^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[46] Platinum 100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[47] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[48] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] 3× Platinum 900,000^
United States (RIAA)[50] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References
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  2. Williams. Stereo (April 29, 2016). "Let Love Decide: Prince's 'Diamonds and Pearls'". Spin. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  3. Watrous, Peter (January 1, 1992). "The Pop Life; Top 12's, or So". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  4. Blender review Archived August 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Christgau, Robert. "Prince [extended]". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  6. Browne, David (October 4, 1991). "Diamonds and Pearls: Prince". Entertainment Weekly. No. #86. Time. ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  7. Simmons, Sylvie (1996). "Prince: The Best of the Patchy Years" (free registration required). Mojo. Bauer Media Group. ISSN 1351-0193. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  8. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 897. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  9. Weiss, Jeff (April 30, 2016). "Prince/The New Power Generation: Diamonds and Pearls". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  10. "Prince: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  11. Poulson-Bryant, Scott (November 1991). "Prince and the New Power Generation: Diamonds and Pearls". Spin. Spin Media. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  12. "Prince Songs List (Released & unreleased)". housequake.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007.
  13. "The Prince Alternate & W.I.P. Albums List '79 - 2001". prince.org. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  14. "Diamonds and Pearls > Credits at AllMusic. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
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