Diamonds And Pearls

Warner Bros. Records

Album

Diamonds And Pearls is the debut album co-credited to Prince and his backing band the New Power Generation (NPG). Prince assembled the group at a time he needed a refresh of his act and boost interest in his music again following the poor box office performance of the preceding Graffiti Bridge motion picture in 1990.

The year 1990 bought a new dawn in many aspects in Prince’s career. Long-standing members Matt Fink and Miko Weaver quitting Prince’s band on the conclusion of Nude Tour provided Prince an opportune moment, entering the third decade in his career, to completely refresh his touring lineup and repackage himself for the 1990s to compete against new acts and the explosion of hip hop and R&B. Sonny Thompson was brought in on bass, and Thomas Elm was enlisted in replacement of Fink on keyboards and given the stage name Tommy Barbarella. Levi Seacer Jr switched from bass to fill Weaver’s place on rhythm guitar. Along with recent arrivals Rosie Gaines and Michael Bland joining the touring band for Nude Tour, the new lineup formed Prince’s New Power Generation, his first named band since the dissolution of The Revolution in October 1986.

NPG played their first public performance at Glam Slam on 6 January 1991. Like The Revolution, the new band was afforded equal creative input with Prince in the creation of their debut LP Diamonds And Pearls. Having already produced twelve albums, Prince had seen interest in his music steadily decline in the US since his peak with Purple Rain during 1984/85 owing to the surge of hip hop. Prince’s music was seen States-side as too focussed on white mainstream pop and hence sales of his music in Europe was getting continuously stronger. The creation of the NPG was Prince’s attempt to restore this balance, and his relevance amid changing music tastes. Tony Mosley, who joined Prince’s entourage as a dancer for Nude Tour became central member in NPG’s lineup as the band’s resident MC. Mosley first met Prince when working as an extra for the Purple Rain movie and in 1990 was hired to head the touring band’s street dance trio Game Boyz.

The earliest track recorded with the new band was Live 4 Love, laid down at Paisley Park in December 1989. Featuring Tony M’s raps, it was tracked immediately after Prince’s introduction via Michael Bland to Minnesotan musicians Sonny T and Tommy Barbarella, to complete the lineup of the NPG. The title track was created next. The recording of Diamonds And Pearls continued while on the road with the band for Nude Tour; Seacer, Gaines, Mosley all giving writing input alongside Prince. These sessions began in August 1990 at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, laying down the tracks Daddy Pop and Walk Don’t Walk, then continuing at Warner’s Tokyo studios with Money Don’t Matter 2 Night, Willing And Able, Horny Pony and Strollin’. After Nude Tour, that October, Insatiable was laid down at Larrabee Sound Studios in North Hollywood in sessions that also produced NPG’s introductory release, an EP titled New Power Generation issued in promotion of Graffiti Bridge. The recording of Diamonds And Pearls concluded back at Paisley Park Studios in December 1990; delivering Thunder, Cream, Jughead and Push and was completed by February 1991. That May, Gett Off came as a late addition to boost the LPs hip hop content. Although the principal genre of Diamonds And Pearls is hip hop, driven by Tony M, in what was typical with Prince many other styles are also featured: soul, funk, pop, R&B, in addition to rap – a direction that at the time drew criticism that Prince for once followed existing trends than innovate with his music: such was the expectation and benchmark of Prince’s output. Diamonds And Pearls also tackles the hot political issues of the day such as the Gulf War and domestic poverty and comments for the first time his simmering distrust of label executives – a theme that would dominate his lyrics in later albums.

You know when you buy someone’s record and there’s always an element missing. The voice is wrong or the drums are lame. On mine there’s nothing missing.

Diamonds And Pearls was released on 1 October 1991 under Prince and Warner’s imprint label Paisley Park Records. It was his fourth double LP and commercially went a long way to recover his US appeal, peaking at number 3 in the Billboard 200 and topping its R&B chart. The LP enjoyed strong publicity, as never before had Prince leveraged TV so much to promote a record: Launched with Prince and the NPG opening the Special Olympics in Minneapolis 20 July 1991 with a performance of the title track. Broadcast on ABC, the Special Olympics was Prince’s first televised live performance alongside the NPG playing their new material. Prince and NPG then staged a raucous performance of Gett Off for the MTV Music Video Awards on 5 September. The appearance preceded a short preview of the album performed on the Arsenio Hall Show on the 9th. A vibrant live studio video shot in Studio C at Paisley Park of Willing And Able premiered during the CBS broadcast of Super Bowl Today on 26 January 1992.

UK promotion of Diamonds And Pearls was scheduled to begin on August 31st, which would see Prince play his largest show to date headlining the Blenheim Palace summer festival before an audience of 75,000. It would be his only concert of 1991 and the demand was high, but the show was controversially cancelled owing to the collapse of the promoter. With 50,000 tickets already sold and no show, Prince’s relationship with fans came under strain. Mercifully, the saga did not harm the album’s success and Diamonds And Pearls landed in the UK chart at number 2. The Blenheim saga did however pose a threat to the success of his upcoming European tour, which Prince’s management was keen to smooth over, affected fans would be able to redeem their Blenheim tickets to attend the shows. With 900,000 copies of the album sold owing to the immensely successful European centred supporting tour, Diamonds And Pearls delivered Prince’s highest selling release in the UK. US sales of Diamonds And Pearls garnered 2 million units and earned RIAA’s double Platinum certification on 30 January 1992. With global sales clearing 7 million units Diamonds And Pearls ranks as the second best selling album of Prince’s career.

Originally intended as a remix for the club circuit, the original uncut ten minute version of Gett Off was issued to DJs as a single sided 12″ vinyl promo. Issued on Prince’s June 7th birthday in 1991 and limited to 1,500 copies, Gett Off DJ promo marked the first release the New Power Generation. Its cover sported an illustration drawn by Prince himself, thinly disguised in the artwork credit as Encirp. Proving so popular, Gett Off‘s late inclusion on the album provided the record’s lead single having proved so popular its hasty insertion bumped original track #7 Horny Pony off the configuration. Consequently early pressings of Diamonds And Pearls slipped out bearing the original track configuration. With the lyrics of Horny Pony starting with “New dance commercial – take 1”, its late removal confusingly leaves the reference “New dance commercial – take 2” in the opening line of Jughead. A second reference also lingered in Push when Prince incorporates the LP’s track titles into the lyrics. The switch is playfully referenced on the final artwork with Gett Off overprinted with Horny Pony in the back sleeve’s tracklisting. Gett Off was released as a commercial single on 29 July, but with neither a CD nor 12″ format issue, the US 7″ charted only at number 21. Its CD and 12″ UK equivalent significantly improved chart success and peaked at number 4. Horny Pony was demoted to B-side for Cream, released in the US on the same day of the Arsenio Hall performance. For the US market Gett Off and Cream were developed into EPs, each not only comprising several remixes but entirely reimagined versions of the original tracks – most notably the outstanding Violet The Organ Grinder. The album’s fifth and final single, Insatiable was a US only release, aimed directly to the R&B audience its B-side reissued the sultry Batman era I Love U In Me. Restricted to cassette and 7″ formats Insatiable struggled in the Billboard singles chart and reached only as far as number 77.

Receiving heavy promotion, Diamonds And Pearls produced six supporting singles. Gett Off achieved RIAA’s Gold certification on 23 October 1991 and was a global hit and was accompanied with a video maxi-single release which also received Gold certification. Following it on 9 September, and likewise ahead of the release of the album, multi-format single Cream (Warner’s original preference as lead single) stormed the US chart all the way to the top spot on 9 November 1991. Making Prince’s fifth and final US number 1 single, Cream held the position for 2 weeks and received Gold certification on 16 January 1992. Gett Off and Cream were additionally aided as EPs: Gett Off EP boasted remixes and reimagined versions of the main song, its Cream EP counterpart comprised alternate versions and rich instrumental jams, departing so far from the song the Cream EP was more a mini LP complete with segues. The pairing greatly contributed to the album’s hype and success of the singles. The title track provided another Hot 100 top ten hit, issued in both limited and regular versions for CD. Gett Off, Cream and Diamonds And Pearls singles achieved impressive sales, achieving over 1 million units apiece. The fourth single Thunder was a UK only release, issued on 12″ as a limited picture disc to coincide with the opening night of his 8 night residency at Earls Court Arena supporting Diamonds And Pearls Tour it was a top-40 single despite its limited circulation of 20,000 units. The tour itself smashed venue records and was a considerable commercial success. The world tour visited Europe, Japan and Australia, but crucially once again missed the US entirely to focus on territories where sales of Prince’s music were much healthier. Fortunes fared better for Money Don’t Matter 2 Night, backed with the non-LP track Call The Law and delivered yet another top 40 single in both the US and UK. Leveraging every format at their disposal, a home video featuring the album’s singles was also released, Diamonds And Pearls Video Collection, incorporating footage from the tour. All being considered Diamonds And Pearls confirmed Prince’s hit making ability. The album restored Prince commercial appeal following the disappointment with Graffiti Bridge movie. With Prince’s contract approaching its expiration, Warner doubled their efforts to renew their relationship with Prince, with an enticing record-setting offer.

The dialogue which ends in a fight in the closing sequence of Jughead was wrongfully reputed to be based on Prince’s former manager, Steve Fargnoli. Fargnoli filed a lawsuit against Prince over this despite the whole dialogue in reality written by Tony M recounting his past experience with a record executive prior to joining the New Power Generation.

When Rosie Gaines left the NPG immediately after the Diamonds And Pearls Tour in 1992, Prince vowed never to duet the title track Diamonds And Pearls with any other vocalist. He held true to that promise since. The track received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group in 1992. The single Gett Off had been nominated in the same category the previous year. Prince himself received a nomination at the AMAs for R&B Artist of the year. Marginally outselling 1999 to rank it as Prince’s second most successful album, Diamonds And Pearls was a resounding success and is critically regarded as one of the most influential albums of the 1990s.

2023 reissue

In recognition of being Prince’s most successful non-soundtrack album, and thirty-two years after the release of the original, Diamonds And Pearls was remastered and reissued as Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe on 27 October 2023. Lavishly packaged and comprising 7 discs, the set included thirty-three previously unavailable outtakes and alternative versions recorded between 1990 and 1992. The reissue caused the re-entry of the album in both the Billboard 200 (number 85) and the UK official chart ( number 50). 

Cover story

The Diamonds And Pearls album cover is noteworthy that it was available in two alternative designs. On seeing the work of Warner’s senior art director VP Jeff Gold, who had incorporated a hologram onto the limited edition of Suzanne Vega’s 1990 LP Days Of Open Hand, Prince asked Gold to arrange one for his album. The session to capture the video to produce the hologram lasted four hours and took place at Studio Instrument Rentals in Hollywood was shot by Chris Mahne and overseen by hologram innovator Sharon McCormack. Prince and dancers Diamond and Pearl are sat on a circular platform with the camera arching round them 180 degrees to produce the holographic multiplex stereogram. The finished hologram reproduced on the CD version of the album and is the first mass produced hologram in printing history. An alternate cover featuring Prince with Diamond and Pearl shot by Randee St. Nicholas was created for the vinyl edition of the LP and subsequent pressings of the CD. Continuing this theme, the singles Money Don’t Matter 2 Night and Diamonds And Pearls were additionally issued as Collectors’ Edition holographic CDs bearing holograms of the songs’ titles printed on the disc itself.

Performers

Vocals/Guitar

Prince

Drums

Michael Bland

Rhythm Guitar

Levi Seacer Jr.

Keyboards

Tommy Barbarella

Bass Guitar

Sonny Thompson

Vox/Purpleaxxe

Rosie Gaines

Raps

Tony Mosley

Percussion

Kirk Johnson

Backing Vocals

Damon Dickson

Elisa Fiorillo ^{Daddy Pop and Walk Don't Walk}

Flute

Eric Leeds ^{Gett Off}

Orchestration

Claire Fischer ^{Violet The Organ Grinder and Push}

Data

Producers

Prince and the New Power Generation

Label

Paisley Park Records

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records

Cover/Design

Randee St. Nicholas, Jeff Gold and Greg Ross

Released

34 years ago on 1 October 1991

Reissued

27 October 2023 as Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition

Running Time

65:48

US Chart Peak

3

US R&B Peak

1

UK Chart Peak

2

Prince Album

#13

Orig. Formats

Tracklist

1. Thunder (5:45)
2. Daddy Pop [feat. Tony Mosley and Rosie Gaines] (5:16)
3. Diamonds And Pearls [duet with Rosie Gaines] (4:43)
4. Cream [feat. Rosie Gaines] (4:12)
5. Strollin' (3:46)
6. Willing And Able [feat. Tony Mosley, Rosie Gaines and The Steeles] (4:59) ¹
7. Gett Off [feat. Tony Mosley and Rosie Gaines] (4:31)
8. Walk Don't Walk [feat. Rosie Gaines] (3:06)
9. Jughead [rap Tony Mosley] (4:56) ²
10. Money Don't Matter 2 Night (4:48)
11. Push [feat. Rosie Gaines and Tony Mosley] (5:56) ³
12. Insatiable (6:37)
13. Live 4 Love (Last Words From The Cockpit) [rap Tony Mosley] (6:58) ⁴

Released as a single

¹ Co-written with Levi Seacer Jr. and Tony Mosley.
² Co-written with Kirk Johnson and Tony Mosley.
³ Co-written with Rosie Gaines.
⁴ Co-written with Tony Mosley.

Singles from Diamonds And Pearls

Gett Off

Paisley Park Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

7 June 1991

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records

US Chart Peak

Limited to 1,500 copies

UK Chart Peak

No Release

Cover/Art

Prince (as Ecnirp)

Format

1. Gett Off [Damn Near 10 Min.] [feat. Tony Mosley & Rosie Gaines] (9:36)

US limited edition for DJs.

Gett Off

Paisley Park Records

Released

29 July 1991

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records

US Chart Peak

21

UK Chart Peak

No Release

Cover/Art

Prince (as Ecnirp)

Formats

1. Gett Off [Single Remix] [remix by Keith "K.C." Cohen] (4:01)
2. Horny Pony [feat. Rosie Gaines] (4:17)

Gett Off EP

Paisley Park Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

12 August 1991

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records

US Chart Peak

Did not chart

UK Chart Peak

33

Cover/Art

Prince (as Ecnirp)

Formats

1. Gett Off [Extended Remix] [remix by Keith "K.C." Cohen] (8:31)
2. Gett Off [Houstyle] [remix by Steve "Silk" Hurley] (8:20)
3. Violet The Organ Grinder [remix by Keith "K.C." Cohen] (4:59)
4. Gett Off [Flutestramental] [remix by Steve "Silk" Hurley] (7:26)
5. Gangster Glam [remix by Keith "K.C." Cohen, rap by Tony Mosley] (6:04)
6. Clockin' The Jizz [Instrumental] [remix by Keith "K.C." Cohen] (4:51)

Gett Off

Paisley Park Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

19 August 1991

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No Release

UK Chart Peak

4

Cover/Art

Prince (as Ecnirp)

Format

1. Gett Off [Urge Mix] [remix by Steve "Silk" Hurley] (8:20)
2. Gett Off [Thrust Mix] [remix by Steve "Silk" Hurley] (9:29)

Gett Off

Paisley Park Records

Released

19 August 1991

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No Release

UK Chart Peak

4

Cover/Art

Prince (as Ecnirp)

Format

1. Gett Off [Single Remix] [remix by Keith "K.C." Cohen] (4:01)
2. Gett Off [Urge Single Edit] [remix by Steve "Silk" Hurley] (4:24)
3. Gett Off [Purple Pump Mix] [remix by Keith "K.C." Cohen] (8:31)

Cream

Paisley Park Records

Released

9 September 1991

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records / WEA Records

US Chart Peak

1

UK Chart Peak

15

Cover/Art

Kevin Mazur and Greg Ross

Formats

1. Cream [feat. Rosie Gaines] (4:12)
2. Horny Pony [feat. Rosie Gaines] (4:17)

Cream

Paisley Park Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

9 September 1991

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No Release

UK Chart Peak

15

Cover/Art

Kevin Mazur and Greg Ross

Formats

1. Cream [feat. Rosie Gaines] (4:12)
2. Horny Pony [feat. Rosie Gaines] (4:17)
3. Gangster Glam [remix by Keith "K.C." Cohen, rap by Tony Mosley] (5:06)

Cream EP

Paisley Park Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

4 November 1991

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records

US Chart Peak

Did not chart

UK Chart Peak

No Release

Cover/Art

Kevin Mazur and Greg Ross

Formats

1. Cream [feat. Rosie Gaines] (4:12)
2. [Segue #1] [Sonny T] (0:33)
3. Cream [N.P.G. Mix] (4:53)
4. Things Have Gotta Change [Tony M Rap] [Tony Mosley] (3:57)
5. 2 The Wire [Creamy Instrumental] (3:13)
6. Get Some Solo (1:31)
7. Do Your Dance [KC's Remix] [remix by Keith "K.C." Cohen. Feat Jevetta Steele] (5:58)
8. Housebangers [remix by Junior Vasquez] (4:23)
9. Q In Doubt [edited by Dave Friedlander] (4:00)
10. Ethereal Mix [edited by Dave Friedlander] (3:56)
11. [Segue #2] [Sonny T and his sister] (0:48)

Cream: Remixes EP

Paisley Park Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

4 November 1991

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No release

UK Chart Peak

Did not chart

Cover/Art

Kevin Mazur and Greg Ross

Formats

1. Cream [feat. Rosie Gaines] (4:12)
2. [Segue #1] [Sonny T] (0:33)
3. Cream [N.P.G. Mix] (5:47)
4. Things Have Gotta Change [Tony M Rap] [Tony Mosley] (3:57)
5. 2 The Wire [Creamy Instrumental] (3:13)
6. Get Some Solo (1:31)
7. Do Your Dance [KC's Remix] [remix by Keith "K.C." Cohen. Feat Jevetta Steele] (5:58)
8. Housebangers [remix by Junior Vasquez] (4:23)
9. Q In Doubt [edit by Dave Friedlander] (4:00)
10. Ethereal Mix [edit by Dave Friedlander] (3:56)
11. [Segue #2] [Sonny T and his sister] (0:48)

Insatiable

Paisley Park Records

Released

4 November 1991

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records

US Chart Peak

77

UK Chart Peak

No Release

Cover/Art

Joel Larson and Tom Recchion

Formats

1. Insatiable [Edit] (4:01)
2. I Love U In Me (4:12)

Diamonds And Pearls

Paisley Park Records

Released

25 November 1991

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records / WEA Records

US Chart Peak

3

UK Chart Peak

25

Cover/Art

Randee St. Nicholas and Greg Ross

Formats

1. Diamonds And Pearls [Edit] [duet with Rosie Gaines] (4:20)
2. Q In Doubt [edit by Dave Friedlander] (4:00)

Diamonds And Pearls

Paisley Park Records

Released

25 November 1991

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records / WEA Records

US Chart Peak

3

UK Chart Peak

25

Cover/Art

Randee St. Nicholas and Greg Ross

Format

1. Diamonds And Pearls [duet with Rosie Gaines] (4:45)
2. 2 The Wire [Creamy Instrumental] (3:16)
3. Do Your Dance [KC's Remix] [remix by Keith "K.C." Cohen. Feat Jevetta Steele] (5:58)

Also available as Collectors Edition holographic CD.

Diamonds And Pearls

Paisley Park Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

25 November 1991

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records / WEA Records

US Chart Peak

3

UK Chart Peak

25

Cover/Art

Randee St. Nicholas and Greg Ross

Format

1. Diamonds And Pearls [duet with Rosie Gaines] (4:45)
2. Housebangers [remix by Junior Vasquez] (4:23)
3. Cream [N.P.G. Mix] [inc. segues] (6:16)
4. Things Have Gotta Change [Tony M Rap] [Tony Mosley] (4:01)

Money Don't Matter 2 Night

Paisley Park Records

Released

3 March 1992

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records / WEA Records

US Chart Peak

23

UK Chart Peak

11

Cover/Art

Jeff Katz and Greg Ross

Formats

1. Money Don’t Matter 2 Night [Edit] (4:12)
2. Call The Law [Tony Mosley and Rosie Gaines] (4:19)

Money Don't Matter 2 Night

Paisley Park Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

16 March 1992

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records / WEA Records

US Chart Peak

23

UK Chart Peak

11

Cover/Art

Jeff Katz and Greg Ross

Formats

1. Money Don't Matter 2 Night (4:48)
2. Push [feat. Tony Mosley and Rosie Gaines] (5:46)
3. Call The Law [Tony Mosley and Rosie Gaines] (4:19)

Also available as a 12" picture disc, and Collectors Edition holographic CD.

Thunder

Paisley Park Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

15 June 1992

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No Release

UK Chart Peak

28

Cover/Art

Jeff Katz and Greg Ross

Format

1. Thunder (5:45)
2. Violet The Organ Grinder [remix by Keith "K.C." Cohen] (4:59)
3. Gett Off [Thrust Dub] [remix by Steve "Silk" Hurley] (7:26)

Only available as a 12" picture disc.

Supporting tour

Diamonds And Pearls Tour

1992

• 50 shows from 3 April to 12 July, 1992

Diamonds And Pearls – review

Prince’s last commercially successful album for over a decade, Diamonds And Pearls secured his record breaking $100m (albeit swiftly regretted) recording contract renewal with Warner Bros. Unluckily for Warner they did not receive five more albums like it. Rolling Stone magazine too may well harbour remorse for rating the LP 2.5 out of 5, owing to and for once Prince was viewed not to have cut new ground in his output. That alone highlights how much all of us took it for granted each Prince album carried the weight of expectation it would reshape, not just his own music but the artistic direction of the rest of the industry for years to follow. The truth is it did. By any standard Diamonds And Pearls is a very light touch of hip hop. Laying the ghosts of The Revolution firmly to rest Diamonds And Pearls was the debut album showcasing Prince’s first named band since 1986 – the bold generation, New Power Generation. Driven by the Minneapolis power duo Michael B and Sonny T, Prince’s greatest talent discoveries, Diamonds And Pearls delivers an incredible cocktail of hip hop, soul, rock, pop and soaring ballads, proving beyond measure Prince was still able to storm the charts for as long as he was Willing. He was certainly Able.

The musicianship is phenomenal, delivered arguably by Prince’s best band, particularly Sonny T and Michael B who are exquisite. Rosie Gaines’ vocals is a gift from heaven, yet rapper Tony Mosley copped so much flack his tenure in the band would be short-lived is totally unjust. With monsters like Cream, Gett Off, Thunder, Live 4 Love and Money Don’t Matter 2 Night (this having even more resonance post the 2008 financial crisis) and especially the title track, albums don’t get more epic than this. We open with the thunderous Thunder and Daddy Pop, and slow with an absolute classic, the title track, to then return to tempo with Cream, all in just the first four songs. Diamonds And Pearls is relentless, written against the backdrop of economic turmoil and war, and Prince’s urgent need to return to the charts. It produced three top ten hits each still packing a hell of a punch 30+ years on.

Undeniably one of the greatest albums of the 90s and Prince’s broadest, Diamonds And Pearls showcases his true hit-making peak and so unjustly demeaned by Rolling Stone’s laughable rating. May they rue the day. The 80s had to move on, and boy did Prince give the 90s something to aim for.

Diamonds And Pearls is rated 5 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.

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