PRINCE — Diamonds & Pearls (review)

Album · 1991 · RnB

3/5 · 2012-08-16
dreadpirateroberts

Prince’s 1991 ‘Diamonds and Pearls’ was co-billed with his backing band the New Power Generation and saw him take further steps toward straight ahead pop, but steps also, into the hip hop market. This obviously constituted a departure from the RnB and funk material of earlier releases, but such elements are not absent here.

After a stretch releasing soundtracks (Batman & Graffiti Bridge) Prince delivered ‘Diamonds & Pearls’ which was a massive chart success in the UK, US and Australia especially. It was an album complete with slick early-90s production, raps and catchy hits that just begged for erotic film clips. While a similar production style would be taken further on albums like Michael Jackson’s monster-selling ‘Dangerous’ later the same year, Prince was always more eclectic. On ‘Diamonds & Pearls’ he puts touches from funk, RnB, rock, soul, jazz, and rap on his pop songs, even using the occasional industrial drum sound and spoken narrative. Lyrically he’s still in the bedroom most of the time, one of the exceptions being highlight ‘Money Don’t Matter 2 Nite’ or when he hands the mic over to dancer and rapper Tony M, who delivers boasting in a serviceable manner that isn’t ineffective but might not win him many ‘serious’ hip hop fans.

Prince also raps on occasion and the ‘up close’ vocal sound he employs (such as in ‘Jughead’) suits his sometimes almost lazy delivery and somehow adds more fuel to the sexualisation of his performance – something he takes to almost comical extremes in the slow-jam of ‘Insatiable.’ A more than talented vocalist nonetheless, his arranging skills are on display in the dramatic opener ‘Thunder’ where his lower register, rock voicing, and trademark falsetto are multi-tracked to great effect.

While Prince handles his usual plethora of instruments, The New Power Generation do feature too. The rhythm section sound together despite attempts to make them come across as ‘sampled,’ and aside from Tony M’s lead raps and the occasional co-write from some of its members, it’s Rosie Gaines who gets much the spotlight, especially on the title track. Her backing vocals are distinctive and she often appears in a manner comparable to the way Fergie would later be used in The Black Eyed Peas.

This isn’t Prince’s best album by any stretch. Instead perhaps, it’s now partly a time capsule of 1990s pop and should appeal to fans of the era as much or more than Prince fans, and this is certainly true if you’re mostly looking for his funk and RnB. Aside from ‘Willing and Able’ and the delightful ‘Strollin’’ there isn’t too much. The general feel of the album is better demonstrated by singles like ‘Cream’ or ‘Diamonds and Pearls’ and ‘Get Off.’ The occasional misstep like ‘Daddy Pop’ doesn’t really effect the general flow of the album, at its worst its formulaic and at its best it’s fun, well-written pop blessed with Prince’s distinctive singing.