| Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition is the deluxe remaster box set of Prince’s thirteenth album Diamonds And Pearls (credited to Prince and the New Power Generation), including a disc of remastered b-sides and remixes, three CDs of vault tracks, a full show of live audio from the 11 January 1992 show at Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, and a Blu-Ray release of that same show, the 20 July 1991 Special Olympics performance at the Minneapolis Metrodome, as well as its soundcheck, and the full Diamonds And Pearls Video Collection, previously only available on VHS.
A vinyl edition is also available, along with smaller configurations using only the remastered album, and/or with the b-sides/remixes.
Sessions and compiling
See Diamonds And Pearls for details on recording of the thirteen original tracks.
The Prince Estate started to work on Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition in 2020, following the release of Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition. The set has ben years in the making and was the subject of some online controversy when it became apparent that a set consisting of material spanning both the Diamonds And Pearls and  eras was in the works. The set was rumoured to be released in 2022, when a screening of the 11 January 1992 show at Glam Slam, Minneapolis was part of Celebration 2022. In the summer of 2022 Prince’s estate was split between Prince Legacy LLC and Prince OAT Holdings LLC (owned by music publishing company Primary Wave) and the new team worked on the project some more, with a strict focus on the Diamonds And Pearls era.
The set includes 75 audio tracks across 7 CDs/12LPs, of which 47 are previously unreleased. The original album and b-sides have been remastered for the very first time by Prince’s original mastering engineer Bernie Grundman. The set also includes an entire previously unreleased audio recording of Prince and the New Power Generation’s preview performance of the Diamonds And Pearls tour at Prince’s Minneapolis club, Glam Slam, on January 11th, 1992. The Blu-ray features the same show (presented in 2K video with Dolby ATMOS / Dolby True HD 5.1 / Stereo audio), as well as the Special Olympics Concert recorded and broadcast on July 20th, 1991 (in 1080p HD video with Dolby ATMOS / Dolby True HD 5.1 / Stereo audio) and Special Olympics Soundcheck recorded on July 19th, 1991 (in 2K video with Stereo audio). The Blu-ray content is completed by the inclusion of a restored version of the Diamonds And Pearls Video Collection (in 1080p video with Stereo audio), originally released in 1992.
The Super Deluxe Edition is accompanied by a fold out poster and a 12” 120 page hardback book featuring rare and previously unseen photography by Randee St. Nicholas, handwritten lyrics by Prince and essays by author & broadcaster Andrea Swensson; Archivist and Senior Researcher for the Prince Estate Duane Tudahl; British music critic and Prince expert Jason Draper; De Angela L. Duff, an Industry Professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering in Brooklyn; Social Media Personality KaNisa Williams; and an introduction from Public Enemy founder, Chuck D.
Promotion
The set has been teased for months on social media for months. A pre-announcement was made on the official Prince social media channels on August 21st, 2023. The 7cd+Blu-ray/12LP+Blu-Ray set was announced on August 24, 2023. Along with the announcement the previously unreleased tracks Alice Through The Looking Glass and Insatiable (Early Mix - Full Version) were released digitally. A promotional video for the Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition was also released on August 24, 2023.
Charts
The album has not charted yet.
Certifications
Certification for this Deluxe edition will be noted as if it were a new release and not linked to the certification of the original edition of Diamonds And Pearls.
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Personnel
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| Musicians
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- Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted (liner notes state "insatiable", "all vocals and instruments on Thunder")
- Michael B. - drums on Daddy Pop, Diamonds And Pearls, Cream, Strollin’, Willing And Able, Gett Off, Walk Don’t Walk, Money Don’t Matter 2 Night and Live 4 Love
- Levi Seacer, Jr. - bass guitar on Daddy Pop, Strollin’, Willing And Able, Walk Don’t Walk, Jughead, Money Don’t Matter 2 Night, rhythm guitar on Cream, Gett Off (credited for "rhythm guitar and backing vox" for whole album)
- Sonny T. - bass guitar on Diamonds And Pearls, Cream, Gett Off and Live 4 Love (credited for "bass and backing vox" for whole album)
- Tommy Barbarella - keyboards on Daddy Pop, Diamonds And Pearls, Cream, Willing And Able, Gett Off, Walk Don’t Walk (liner notes state "Purpleaxxe™ sampler, other various keys and sex symbol" for whole album)
- Rosie Gaines - co-lead vocals on Diamonds And Pearls and Push, co-lead vocals and keyboards on Walk Don’t Walk and Jughead, background vocals and keyboards on Daddy Pop, Cream, Willing And Able and Gett Off (liner notes state "co-lead backing vox, Purpleaxxe™ sampler and organ" for whole album)
- Tony M. - rap on Daddy Pop, Willing And Able, Gett Off, Jughead, Push and Live 4 Love (credited for "lead raps and backing vox" for whole album)
- Damon Dickson - background vocals on Daddy Pop, percussion on Willing And Able, background vocals and percussion on Gett Off, Jughead (credited for "backing vox and percussion" for whole album)
- Kirk Johnson - background vocals on Daddy Pop, percussion on Willing And Able, background vocals and percussion on Gett Off, Jughead (credited for "backing vox and percussion" for whole album)
- Elisa Fiorillo - additional vocals on Daddy Pop and Walk Don’t Walk
- Bernard Purdie - drum loop on Daddy Pop (sampled from Rock Steady by Aretha Franklin, Young, Gifted And Black, uncredited)
- Sheila E. - synth drum fills on Diamonds And Pearls (uncredited)
- Fred Steele - background vocals on Willing And Able
- JD Steele - background vocals on Willing And Able
- Jearlyn Steele - background vocals on Willing And Able
- Jevetta Steele - background vocals on Willing And Able
- Janice Steele - background vocals on Willing And Able
- Eric Leeds - flute on Gett Off
- Clare Fischer - orchestration (sampled) on Push
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| Production
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| Thanks
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- "Special + 2 God = Love, The New Power Generation, Gilbert, Duane, Therese, Mike, Paisley Park Studios, Nancy C. Sex, The Steeles - J.D., Freddie, Jearlyn, Janice and Jevetta, Rio, Roger Vadim, Gary S. Warner Bros. - Mo, Lenny, Russ, Benny and Mike O., Minneapolis, SALOHCIN .TS EEDNAR, Diamond and Pearl, Derick, Hucky, Glam Slam, Robin Power, Publison, faith in music, Kathleen Battle, Alan Leeds, Mavis Staples, Earl J. Laurianne, Insomnia, Elisa, Charlie Friend, Daddy Pop, Abbey K., Joel L., Kate Bush, Voyeurism, Sinead O’Connor, Purpleaxxe™, the woman who invented the kiss, Thunder, and the Wizard of Oz."
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