Diamonds and Pearls - Prince (CD 1991)

Prince is truly one of the most created and individual artists to have altered the landscape of music. Ranging from funky to refined, cultured to crude and brilliant to perverse, this artist plays the spectrum. Diamonds and Pearls is an uneven, but enjoyable foray into his distinct style. Featuring some hot singles like "Get Off" and "Cream", this album was a commercial success and introduced him to yet another cohort of teens and continued to satisfy long time fans.

The album opens with urban harmony on the eclectic "Thunder". Thunder combines old school Prince with his interesting touches and flamboyant nature with a more sleek and innovative sound. Guitars compete with a jazz like piano. Showing impressive vocal range and the ability to produce a complicated and quite impressive sound, Prince puts his musical ingenuity on full display.

"Daddy Pop" takes the listener into a completely different direction with his sugar daddy, pimp mentality and the result is fun. Blasting us with some funky organ licks and touching his bass like vocals with a synthesized edge, he makes great use of a drum machine.

"Diamonds and Pearls" is a slow ballad with wonderful vocals and a really mystical and elegant sound. Prince is a wonderful singer and comes off especially genuine when he moves away from the histrionic squeals and over the top theatrics. Granted that is fun, but its nice to hear him kick back and just sing. His voice on this song is like velvet caressing that sensitive spot on your body. Truly sensual. The woman he has singing with her adds a lot to the song with her full and resonant voice. The interlude has this fun classical turn that shows his ability to portray different genres.

"Cream" is a delicious slice of naughty innuendo accompanied by a slippery guitar.
"This is it, its time for you to go to the wire
You will hit because you got the burning desire
It's your time, you got the horn so why don't you blow it
You are fine, you're filthy cute and baby you know it"
A groove persists through the song made for grinding and getting down with that special someone. This was a pretty big hit because of its simmering innuendo and erotic implications.

"Strollin'" has a more classic soul vibe but it just doesn't fit where its placed on the album. I usually skip it because it kills the mood the previous track provoked. Its like being thrusted from your bedroom all hot and bothered into a broadway musical. Not the tempo I'm looking for to say the least!

"Willing and Able" is almost blues inspired with a funky Prince twist. This is a very interesting sound. I like it. Its kind of like Clapton meets The Gap Band meets your local church choir. Leave it to Prince to do the unexpected.

"Get Off" takes us to the land of getting down right raunchy with an exuberant scream and then some off key moan/wail type vocals. The lyrics are fantastic, the groove is amazing and the song just speaks to that inner freak ready to get out and get off.
"I got the dish from a friend of yours named Vanessa Bette
She said you told her a fantasy that got her all wet
Something about a little box with a mirror and a tongue inside
What she told me then got me so hot I knew that we could slide"
These lyrics are very rapid fire and done in a low, almost sleazy tone that is actually appealing. Honestly, Prince is not very sexy to me but his music definitely can make someone break out a sweat.

"Walk Don't Walk" is really halted and strange with its steel drum sound. I honestly didn't like this at first but it grows on you with its eccentric charm. He actually makes music with car horn samples. How's that for divergent thinking! "Jughead" follows and it is so outdated that I just don't like listening to it. Definitely a reminder of a really bad trend in the early nineties. Rap mixes with funk doing absurd lyrics is the main gist of this song. "Push" occurs later with some of the same flaws but its more energetic, therefore more enjoyable.

Retro soul rears its delightful head on the song "Money Don't Matter 2 Night". It sounds like older songs in the Prince catalog and also sounds like something from the seventies. The lyrics are simple but effective. Falsetto galore adorns the next track "Insatiable". Displaying soul and emotion on this slow burn number he plays with his range in elaborate fashion. This song is really impressive and can be stimulating when you are in the right mood. This would be great featured in a movie during that intimate moment.

"Live 4 Love" is like funky nintendo music but I think its highly creative and perfect for dancing or aerobics. A steady beat, great synth effects and some bombastic style make this a great finish to a Prince album.

This is a fun album with its varied stylistic choices and really shows Prince digging through his gigantic bag of tricks. He can do pretty much any style, any mood and pull off what most artists would look ridiculous doing. Except maybe for that yellow, cheekless number he tried at the MTV awards. But since I am rating him on his music and not his fashion sensibilities, he gets a great rating from me. I recommend this artist because of his creativity, musical courage and the ability to pull off almost anything.