Diamonds And Pearls super deluxe edition Prince boxset announced

Pic credit: Randee St. Nicholas

A boxset of Prince & The New Power Generation’s multi-platinum Diamonds And Pearls album has been announced featuring a wealth of unheard material.

On 27 October, Paisley Park Enterprises – in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Records – will reissue Diamonds And Pearls via all physical, digital and streaming partners, with the classic album remastered for the very first time, and featuring 47 previously unreleased tracks, as well as more than two hours of previously unreleased video concert performances from Prince’s legendary vault. You can pre-order it HERE

Alice Through The Looking Glass is now available on all digital download and streaming platforms. Featured on the Super Deluxe set, the track was recorded on 28 May 1991 at Larrabee Sound Studios, Studio A. Listen HERE

Also available now on all digital download and streaming platforms is Insatiable (Early Mix – Full Version), which also appears on the Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition.

This previously unreleased 8’02” mix features lyrics that were ultimately edited out and reveals how Insatiable originally sounded on its initial mix, as it contains a variety of instruments that were eliminated in the final version. Listen HERE

A new Dolby Atmos mix of Diamonds And Pearls will also be released on audiophile Blu-ray and a strictly limited edition, number 7” singles boxset is available exclusively from the official Prince store HERE

The reissue release will be comprised of the following formats:

Super Deluxe Edition (7CD+Blu-ray / 12LP+Blu-ray / audio-only download and streaming)

Deluxe Edition (2CD / 4LP 180g vinyl)

Remastered album (1CD / 2LP / 2LP 180g clear “Diamond” vinyl / download and streaming)

Released on 1 October 1991 and the 13th studio album by Prince, Diamonds And Pearls was the first with his new backing band, The New Power Generation.

Featuring six massive international singles, including the hits Gett Off, Cream, and the iconic title track, the album was a worldwide smash reaching multi-platinum status in the United States and the UK, where it remains Prince’s best-selling album.

Following the successful release of the 1999 Super Deluxe Edition in 2019, and Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition the following year, the Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition represents the third deep dive into Prince’s vault. It includes a total of 75 audio tracks across seven CDs and 12 180g vinyl records.

The set offers a newly-remastered version of the album, plus 15 remixes and B-sides from the era, including the never commercially released Gett Off (Damn Near 10 Min) mix.

The Super Deluxe Edition also features 33 previously unheard studio gems from Prince’s vault, ranging from alternate versions of album tracks, to songs that Prince gave away to other artists as well as material recorded while on the road in 1990.

Prince & The NPG previewed the Diamonds And Pearls Tour at Prince’s Minneapolis club, Glam Slam, on 11 January 1992. This previously unreleased live concert performance has been mixed from the 24-track master and rounds out the audio content of the 7CD and 12LP sets.

This same previously unreleased concert is also presented in 2K video on the Blu-ray disc that accompanies both Super Deluxe Edition formats, in Stereo, 5.1 Dolby True HD, and Dolby ATMOS audio formats.

The Blu-ray also features Prince & The New Power Generation’s performance at The Special Olympics at the Metrodome, Minneapolis, in July 1991 (also in Stereo, 5.1, and ATMOS), as well as a previously unseen soundcheck.

The Blu-ray is completed by the long out-of-print Diamonds And Pearls Video Collection, originally released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1993.

The 120-page hardback book, which accompanies the SDE set features unseen photos by Randee St. Nicholas, and essays by author and broadcaster Andrea Swensson, Archivist and Senior Researcher for the Prince Estate Duane Tudahl, music critic and Prince expert Jason Draper, De Angela L. Duff, who is an Industry Professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering in Brooklyn as well as social media personality KaNisa Williams and Public Enemy founder, Chuck D.

In addition, there will be a new Dolby ATMOS mix of Diamonds And Pearls. This marks the first time a Prince studio album has been mixed in ATMOS, and it will boast an audiophile Blu-ray, featuring the album in Dolby ATMOS and HD Stereo (24bit/44.1kHz) formats.

As a companion collector piece, fans have the opportunity to order a numbered 7” singles boxset, strictly limited to 1,991 units.

Containing remastered audio for six official singles released in 1991 and 1992, the set contains a brand new 7” single comprising two previously unreleased tracks, Alice Through The Looking Glass and Horny Pony (Version 2). The set is available to order now, exclusively via the official Prince Store.

Unlike previous Prince albums, the majority of Diamonds And Pearls was recorded with The New Power Generation, a group he had assembled largely from the Twin Cities area.

They shared cultural backgrounds and localised experiences, and helped Prince connect his past influences to the present creating a new uplifting blend of hip-hop, dance, gospel, and pop that would bring him to the top of the charts worldwide.

The New Power Generation was a band that Prince believed in so wholeheartedly that he gave them co-credit on the cover of Diamonds And Pearls, something he’d only done previously with one other band, The Revolution.

The group consisted of Sonny Thompson (vocals & bass), Damon Dickson (vocals & percussion), Rosie Gaines (vocals & keyboards), Michael Bland (drums), Kirk Johnson (vocals & percussion), Tony M (vocals), Levi Seacer, Jr. (bass, guitar & vocals), and Tommy Barbarella (keyboards).

PRINCE & THE NEW POWER GENERATION
DIAMONDS AND PEARLS
SUPER DELUXE EDITION
(7CD+Blu-ray / 12LP+Blu-ray / Digital *)

CD1 / LP1&2: DIAMONDS AND PEARLS (REMASTERED)

Thunder
Daddy Pop
Diamonds And Pearls
Cream
Strollin’
Willing And Able
Gett Off
Walk Don’t Walk
Jughead
Money Don’t Matter 2 Night
Push
Insatiable
Live 4 Love

CD2 / LP3&4: SINGLE MIXES & EDITS (REMASTERED)

Gett Off (Damn Near 10 Min.)
Gett Off (Houstyle)
Violet The Organ Grinder
Gangster Glam
Horny Pony
Cream (N.P.G. Mix)
Things Have Gotta Change (Tony M Rap)
Do Your Dance (KC’s Remix)
Insatiable (Edit)
Diamonds And Pearls (Edit)
Money Don’t Matter 2 Night (Edit)
Call The Law
Willing And Able (Edit)
Willing And Able (Video Version)
Thunder (DJ Fade)

CD3-5 / LP5-9: VAULT I, II, III

VAULT I

Schoolyard
My Tender Heart
Pain
Streetwalker
Lauriann
Darkside
Insatiable (Early Mix – Full Version)
Glam Slam ’91
Live 4 Love (Early Version)
Cream (Take 2)
Skip To My You My Darling
Diamonds And Pearls (Long Version)