The next major reissue project from the Prince estate is a big one — and one boasting a heavy imprint from the Twin Cities music scene.
Prince's 'Diamonds and Pearls' to be reissued with Minneapolis live sets for bonus material
The 1991 album is getting the deluxe-edition treatment with bonus tracks and Glam Slam and Metrodome recordings.
August 24, 2023 at 4:44PM
Newly remastered and expanded editions of the Minnesota icon's 1991 album "Diamonds and Pearls" will arrive Oct. 27.
Many of the deluxe editions will feature 33 unreleased studio tracks from the recording sessions, plus a January 1991 live recording from Prince's old club Glam Slam in downtown Minneapolis, which was a warm-up gig to the global tour for the original LP. More live tracks are included from a performance Prince & NPG gave at the Metrodome that year for the opening of the Special Olympics.
Variously heralded as his "biggest selling non-soundtrack album" — which leaves out "Purple Rain" and "Parade" — as well as his all-time bestseller in the United Kingdom, "Diamonds and Pearls" scored such hits as "Cream," "Gett Off" and the soft, romantic title track.
Both the album and subsequent tour featured a remade band of largely Twin Cities-based musicians that he dubbed the New Power Generation. Members included drummer Michael Bland (now with Soul Asylum), bassist Sonny Thompson (Cory Wong & the Wongnotes) keyboardist Tommy Barbarella and percussionist/dancer Kirk Johnson — all Minnesotans — plus guitarist Levi Seacer Jr. and co-vocalist and keyboardist Rosie Gaines.
The deluxe sets of "Diamonds and Pearls" now being offered for presale via store.prince.com range in size and price from a four-LP black vinyl set for $80 to a 12-LP set that includes a Blu-Ray DVD of the Glam Slam concert for $350. Clear-vinyl 180-gram copies of just the original album are also available for $40.
Efforts to locate the Star Tribune review of the Glam Slam performance featured in the deluxe set hit a dead end. Turns out, that's the show where Prince's team had longtime Strib critic and Prince biographer Jon Bream physically removed from the concert even after he bought his own ticket. Prince's handlers did kindly offer to refund Bream the $15.
Critics’ picks for entertainment in the week ahead.
