Diamonds And Pearls Deluxe due July?

When the 30th anniversary of Diamonds And Pearls slipped by uncelebrated in October 2021 and then also that for Love Symbol album likewise in October 2022, the much anticipated Deluxe remaster of either album marking their milestone anniversaries seemed a strikingly lost opportunity by The Prince Estate.

It left fans questioning the organisation of The Prince Estate, but unbeknown to everyone then, come 30 June 2022 there was a changing of the guard at purple HQ when the bank appointed management were replaced with Prince’s heirs, under the guise Prince Legacy LLC. The saga bought to a close six-years of relentless legal wrangling that had been so exhausting some of the family sold their share to legacy publishing firm Primary Wave to escape the strain and ever mounting legal bills. The outcome was a mutually agreed valuation and settlement with the IRS, and all because Prince neglected to leave a will. The case was widely reported as the most complex estate settlement in US legal history, even to the point lawyers citing it as a salutary lesson to everyone to consider writing a will.

D to the I to the A to the M

Two years late in the eyes of fans, in which it was strongly rumoured the release of Prince and the NPG’s 1991 debut LP Diamonds And Pearls was expected to drop on or near its 30th anniversary. Those rumours received further credence with the issue of a two-track vinyl titled Live At Glam Slam handed to attendees of the Celebration event at Paisley Park during 2-5 June 2022. It was also confirmed the entire gig – the Diamonds And Pearls Tour preview performed on 11 January 1992 – had been mixed and readied for release to accompany a Super Deluxe Edition of Diamonds And Pearls. Seemingly inexplicably the momentum fell worryingly silent, likely due to the tax settlement growing ever more imminent and then the new personnel taking the helm. The release schedule fell silent, and then painfully so, with no announcement forthcoming for months following the 30 March 2022 press release confirming Prince and The Revolution: Live on Blu-ray that summer.

Fast forward to 7 March 2023, the silence was broken when word of Diamonds And Pearls Deluxe spread like wildfire on Twitter reporting copies newly pressed remasters of Diamonds And Pearls and Love Symbol albums surfacing on eBay. How the sellers got hold of them remains a mystery, leading many to doubt the authenticity of the releases. But as soon as the track listing and official looking catalogue numbers followed, fans plunged into dismay when the configuration displayed no songs from the vault.

O to the N to the D to the pearls of love

The track lists and images circulating on the interwebs show those of the Deluxe Edition. There is currently no official word of either the Deluxe or Super Deluxe, but it is anticipated a full Super Deluxe with outtakes of the era is also in the offing. The track listing for Diamonds And Pearls as far as the Deluxe Edition shows, in addition to the remastered original configuration, there are single edits and additional cuts from the Gett Off and Cream EPs. Of most interest to fans are the video version of Willing And Able and Damn Near 10 Minutes version of Gett Off. Love Symbol album has just the original configuration. CD versions are also expected. An official announcement is expected to coincide with Celebration 2023 which is being staged over 8 to 11 June.

Update

The Prince Estate’s silence on the release, plus a lack of activity for almost a year, has drawn increasingly vocal criticism from the fan community. It has since emerged the cause behind that is understood to involve a number of factors, from the digitisation of the tracks to the record label’s request to delay any announcements until the marketing is ready.