Source: Wikipedia
“Diamonds and Pearls” is a single from the album of the same name by Prince. It released in 1991 and was produced by Paisley Park Studios and Warner Bros. The genre is funk, pop and R&B. All of Prince’s works are a combination of a variety of sounds. Even though he is most known for his 80s music, “Diamonds and Pearls” was a record that stood out for its unique “90s” sound. It is also one of the songs from his vast collection of music that has a double meaning. On the surface, the song could be interpreted as a romantic love story. However, the artist revealed that the song is actually about parents who want to give their children everything they possibly can in life.
The lyrics tell a good story in this song. What is great about it is that the lyrics from each verse build upon each other and ends up describing the exact way that parents feel. They would love to give their children diamonds, pearls or anything else precious in life to make them happy. Since it’s not possible to give someone everything in life, as the lyrics say-“all I can do is just offer you my love”.
In many interviews Prince expressed his affinity for female vocalist. Sometimes to add some extra flare to his solo works he will add a female vocalist to sing with him. In this particular song, Rosie Gaines sings very well with her solos and in harmony with Prince.
“Diamonds and Pearls” has a unique instrumentation. It plays as something completely original; it doesn’t sound like anything else. He uses guitars, drums and using the lower octaves of the piano. He delivers a broad vocal range, singing low during the chorus and alongside Gaines, and a couple higher notes just to switch up the sound.
In the early 90s musicians were trying to find new sounds that could define their genre of music for the decade and for their generation. Prince was probably never concerned about that because all of his projects are completely different than each other. I’ve been a fan for a long time and I’ve bought around 10 of his albums and everything is completely different than the last. Here are the albums that I have: 1999 (one of my favorites), Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day, Sign o’ the Times, Lovesexy, Love Symbol Album (one of my favorite albums of all time), Emancipation, Crystal Ball (rare album of unreleased 80s music),The Rainbow Children (extremely original), Musicology, 3121, Planet Earth, and possibly a couple others. Every album had a different instrumentation and he was just playing music that he felt like playing. If he wanted a piano and microphone, he would do a whole show with just his vocal and the piano. If he wants to rock, he would collaborate with 3rd Eye Girl and other musicians. Albums like 3121, a pop record, seemingly came out of nowhere simply because he felt like making a pop album.
“Diamonds and Pearls” is a classic Prince song that a lot of his fans appreciate. It demonstrates how artists can go in a completely different direction when creating their works; there is no need to stick to one and only formula.