Michael Jackson's and Prince's 91 turn to "urban" sounds (R&B, rap, new jack swing...) : Dangerous Vs Diamonds and Pearls

https://media0.giphy.com/media/3Z1My6pLcjNvO/giphy.gif

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

the pearls have it.
wonder how this might've faired in the pre-MJ-is-cancelled era or even before prince died.

"I Hate U" is my favorite post-80s Prince song, I think.

It's absolute genius.

Dangerous is dreadful, right down to the horrible rococo cover art. Black Or White is like a six-year-old's idea of a rock song.

I suspect an American vs Brit divide

Dangerous shits all over this album, and i am a huge Prince stan

Mj has been, in my mind, a paedophile since around the time dangerous came out. I voted how I voted because I dont like that album

Wait WTF

I'm one of those weirdos who actually likes Diamonds and Pearls. I've been convinced MJ was a pedo for at least a decade. These results are still bullshit.

I feel like everyone who voted for D&P forgot what "Jughead" sounds like

nah, it's just that Dangerous is THAT BAD

Except... it isn't

It does have filler but the highs are pretty damn high

I feel like everyone who voted for D&P forgot what "Jughead" sounds like

― brigadier pudding (DJP),

And "Push." And "Live 4 Love."

aw cmon, "thunder" "strollin" "Get off" "Insatiable" and "willing and able" are all tops and i could listen to "money don't matter" all day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmGVAu9lk6I

I EVEN LIKE "JUGHEAD." Dangerous is still a way better record. It's improved with age, too.

Love Symbol > Dangerous > Diamonds & Pearls

I dunno if I'm ever gonna listen Michael Jackson again, but objectively speaking Dangerous is better than D&P, though obviously both are very uneven. "Cream" is one of Prince's best singles, but so is "Who Is It" with MJ, and the other good songs on Dangerous are just of higher caliber than the other good songs on D&P.

Tuomas completely otm

I dunno if I'm ever gonna listen Michael Jackson again

I do.

yeah, except that part

We never polled Diamonds And Pearls? Seems unlikely but..

I get how D&P could beat Dangerous in many respects, but it's the wrong outcome

I stand by everything I originally wrote on this thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJWVUrLAjyA

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ISSSSSS IT

IS IT A FRIEND OF MIIIIIIIIIIIINE

This is freakin’ great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2M2FnDdB1I

Love that 'Daddy Pop' 12" mix, esp the vocal ride-out

That part when Prince slides into the crowd at the end of the Arsenio Hall appearance is the greatest moment of either campaign

the title track to "diamonds and pearls" is so lame, maybe his worst song?

i've always liked it! *shrug*

the title track to "diamonds and pearls" is so lame, maybe his worst song?

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, October 23, 2023 3:38 PM (

I know what you mean. Listening to it as an album track in '91 before it became a single, its concession to contemporary R&B sounded like a surrender ("Isn't Mint Condition doing this better?!"). But he needed to reclaim his R&B fanbase, and it worked. And I'm a sucker for guitar solos that are in essence the main melody line.

in other words: I never say, "Lemme play 'Diamonds and Pearls'!" But when I catch it at CVS or on quiet storm I dig it!

it's all about "The Morning Papers"

"Diamonds and Pearls" is certainly one of the worst songs on The Hits 1 & 2. It moves from merely mediocre to true misfire territory when it gets to the trumpet fanfare into the "D to the I to the A to the M" bridge.

I love D&P the track too.

I'm kind of with Alfred - I never think to put it on by itself, but if I ever listen to the album or just a survey of Prince's hits that covers that era, I let it play and enjoy it.

Cream
sha-boogie-bop

The outtakes are excellent pop-inflected R&B jams in the mode of "Daddy Pop" and the live stuff (mostly) smokes.

Yeah, except for "Jughead," the Glam Slam show is really good. (I'm only streaming this, so I haven't seen the additional live material that's on the Blu-ray.) And the three discs of vault items are a great listen.

The album was already mastered well, so the first disc feels redundant if you already have it. The second disc isn't so hot - I never really liked the remixes or B-sides featured on there, especially the ones that heavily feature Tony M, and the single edits feel superfluous.

I still love the House-style mix of Gett Off, the first time i heard it was on Pete Tong's Friday night Radio 1 show and straight after he played the Disco Fever edit of De La Soul's 'Rollerskating Jam..'. Man THAT was an incredible 15 minutes of radio. It's enough to make me nostalgic for the early 90's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bi-xdXFsqk

The only "Gett Off" is "Gett Off (House Style)."

yes.

Fuck, having a good sounding version of prince’s “open book” demo is quite frankly a deeply moving moment

A marvelous reappraisal by Matos: https://www.thecurrent.org/feature/2023/10/27/digging-for-diamonds-and-pearls-in-princes-expanded-reissue

Yeah “Open Book” is definitely the standout of the vault tracks on the SDE of D&P’s…. I’d say the vocals on his demos are some of his best…

Nice that matos singles out willing & able. He’s right that it’s the best track on the album. It seems like the original small group version of it isn’t on here though which is odd to me. It’s even better than the released take imo

That video is incredible

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Apk2Qr9yVc

Nice... was expecting Bela Lugosi's Dead to kick in

“alice through the looking glass” blew my mind, wtf

the live show is obv incredible but in particular i lost my shit when he quoted “it” in the middle of “thieves in the temple”