Prince And The N.P.G. - Diamonds And Pearls

YOURZ

Prince is responsible for writing The Cross, one of my all time favourite songs.  While I don't mind the original version, it is the cover version done by Aussies Died Pretty that blows me away.  And I've only ever seen them do it live.  (You can hear it here)  Still, sometimes great songs need to be covered before you realise how great they are.  But I've always had mixed feelings about Prince.  Some of his songs, as far as I'm concerned, are near genius while others are, well, I'll be polite and say less so.  Way less...

Diamonds And Pearls, unfortunately, falls in the latter realm.  Most of this album, released nearly 20 years ago now, makes me cringe and want to stick my fingers in my ears.  But there are a couple of cool tracks, though, like Gett Off, which is sticky sex turned into music and Cream, which is foreplay put to music.  But then, he has always had a way of being able to turn the sensuous into music.  But the pay off for this is having to put up with the schmaltz as well, something I'm not prepared to do.  Two songs does not make an album, as far as I'm concerned, so, sorry babe, but I'm gonna vote to...

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

MINE

Getting this album out of the drawer just made me angry.  Not because of the CD - it's OK, I guess - but because it revealed to me that for the THIRD time in my life I'm going to have to buy 1999.  Because it's gone, to who knows where.  Did I leave it at a party?  Did I lend it to someone who hasn't returned it?  Whatever the reason, my favourite Prince album is gone - again.  I lost it the first time in the infamous Surry Hills robbery that lost me Neneh Cherry.  And it was replaced pretty soon afterwards, as I recall.  But it's been a while since I dragged it out of the drawer and now it's not there (sob).

But all of this isn't telling you what I think of Diamonds and Pearls.  Prince's sex album.  Really, if you're playing Gett Off to anyone, you better be ready to get at least semi naked and get busy right then and there - that song isn't sexy, it sticks its hand down your pants and makes you jump.  And a lot of the other songs are either about getting it on, or of staring lovingly into someone's eyes.  Hip-hop fans will like Jughead and I generally only enjoy a couple of other tracks - Thunder and Cream.  It's not his best - but I'd vote we also get his greatest hits albums (YourZ sez: sounds good to me), because his Royal Purpleness has done some damn fine work over the years.  Not including movies, I hasten to add.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP if you're in that kind of a mood (wink wink)

For more information: http://www.last.fm/music/Prince (dude doesn't have a site - how cool is that!)