Free Boot
Generation Catalog # FBG Release Year 2015 CD Length 51:59 Date/Venue
Studio Outtakes Source
Soundboard Recordings Quality
EX+
Rating
5.0/5.0
Track Listing Diamonds and Pearls Beginnings
The 27th November 1990 Album Configuration
1. Something Funky (This House Comes)
2. Daddy Pop (alternate version)
3. Walk Don't Walk (alternate version)
4. Diamonds And Pearls (alternate version, no Rosie Gaines)
5. Schoolyard
6. Strollin'
7. Interlude (Joyful Sound)
8. Willing And Able (drum solo intro, Prince background vocals, no Tony M.)
9. Insatiable (longer version with extra lyrics)
10. Money Don't Matter 2 Night (alternate mix)
11. Horny Pony (alternate version)
12. Live 4 Love (alternate version)
Comments Fink's Comments(rates this release 5.0/5.0) Something
Funky This House Comes. The officially released album opens with the spiritually
charged “Thunder,” but before that song was included, the album was set to open
with the rap-heavy “Something Funky This House Comes.” Tony M. introduces each
member of the band and gives them a chance to “do their thing.” A bold move for
Prince to sparsely appear on the opening song, but eventually he changed his
mind completely and the track remains unreleased officially to this day.
Daddy Pop. The song also sits as the second track on the officially released
album, but this version is dramatically different. It features different vocals
and the end rap verse by Tony M. is cut out completely in favor of an
instrumental break down. The song shows off Prince’s bad-assery (not a word),
where he plays the role of “Daddy Pop,” the funkiest man in the land who has
“grooves and grooves up on the shelf,” (the first lyric to acknowledge the
Vault). He also basically tell the competition to kiss his ass with the cut
lyric, “Oh yeah, I turn the other cheek/ Swing… oops and miss / See this, kiss
it!” Rosie Gaines is utilized greatly for the first time in her brief stint with
the NPG as she plays off Prince towards the end, but all of that was cut from
the final version. Personally, I think this version is much better than the
officially released version.
Walk Don’t Walk. Not that much different than the officially released version,
other than it’s a little more stripped down, and perhaps mixed differently.
Schoolyard. This song is Prince as his nastiest. Taking the view point of a 16
year old kid who is trying to get laid for the first time, it’s perhaps a little
more true to life than we all know as around that time, Prince had met his
future first wife, Mayte, who was 16 at the time of their meeting. Not only is
the song funky, but the lyrics are the tongue-in-cheek Prince that is very
absent from his recent output. Only Prince could have and get away with a chorus
that contains the refrain “Schoolyard / Schoolyard / Gettin’ it on in the
Schoolyard.” The first verse finds Prince fantasizing about his dream girl and
when he hangs out with her and his friends, they sit too close in the car and
with each turn “Carrie fell in my lap / He asked me where I wanted to / I said
“yeah right, like you need a map!” The second verse finds the botched seduction
with Prince getting turned down in favor of his girl getting stoned. “I said
“Carrie, do you wanna dance?” / She said “mmm hmm, yeah, like later man. First
let me smoke this weed.” / “I said “Damn! My cologne ain’t sayin’ shit if this
is what she needs.” The bridge comes around and Prince finally gets laid. “Now
boys and girls for the graphic part / Close your ears if you ain’t got a nasty
heart.” He continues by slipping a condom on and having premature ejaculation!
“Take a glove and fill it with hot baby lotion and slip it on / Pull it tight /
That’s what Carrie was like / 1 stroke and I was done.” Despite being super
funky, the song got shelved and has been circulating in sub-par sound quality
among die-hards for 20 years – until now! He could never release a song like
this now, because a Bill Cosby-like investigation of sex with underage girls
would surely come up (and maybe it should? Just sayin’).
Diamonds and Pearls. One of the big hits off the album, after all these years,
it comes a huge surprise to hear a Prince-only version of the song. The
officially released version features Rosie Gaines mirroring Prince’s lyrics and
she has her big solo in the middle of the song when she sings “D to the I to the
A to the M / O to the N to the D to the Pearls of Love.” This version features
music only during that part and your brain will still hear Rosie when that part
comes on. I’d also like to take this time to give a shout out to the video,
where during this part, Prince jumps off a couch and does the splits. BAD ASS!
Strollin‘. Again, not much different than the officially released version, but a
slightly different mix. What was great about this song was that Prince showed
the world that he could master any style of music from rock to funk and light
jazz, in this case, often all in the same album. Not many people did that then,
and certainly not that many people do it now. That’s yet another reason Prince
is so great!
Interlude (Joyful Sound). This has been circulating as part of an early mix of
“Willing and Able” among fans, and it’s basically just a false start and stop to
the next track.
Willing and Able. Prince and the NPG take you to church with this song as Tommy
Barbarella’s organ is featured prominently. The officially released version
featured backing vocals by The Steeles, giving the song an extra gospel vibe,
but this version features only Prince on vocals. The Tony M. rap verse at the
end of the song is also absent and instead we hear that organ solo I previously
mentioned.
Insatiable. This is the jewel in the crown of this set as this version of the
sexy single is dramatically different. The music is more sparse, to give it a
late night jam feeling, and while the vocals on the verses and chorus are the
same, the second verse was cut out of the officially released version (despite
the lyrics appearing in the CD booklet). As the song discusses Prince’s
insatiable appetite for sex, he also talks about filming his lover for their
tryst and as you hear the song, you will submit to any request Prince makes of
you! The ad-libbing at the end of the song is quite different too, and Prince
admits that he’s had too much wine, perhaps the only time in his entire catalog
he’s admitted that he is wasted. An interesting historical document even if
Prince’s ballads aren’t your thing.
Money Don’t Matter 2Night. The mix is different, but otherwise the politically
charged track is the same.
Horny Pony. The track was eventually scrapped to make room for the hit song
“Gett Off,” and later became the b-side to “Cream,” which was not on the first
draft of this album! A bootleg version that is different than the b-side version
has circulated among collectors for many years, and this version is different to
that one! Gotta love Prince! It is closer to the bootleg version than the b-side
version, with different lyrics than the one that got released, but this version
is more stripped back and is a lot funkier than both other versions.
Live 4 Love. The final track on both this and the officially released version of
“Diamonds and Pearls.” This version is slightly different from the original
version that has been in circulation and much different to the officially
released version. The lyrics are much more sleepy sounding, versus the released
version that finds Prince asserting the lyrics much more forcefully. The robotic
intro is gone from this version and once again Tony M.’s rap verse is nowhere to
be found. The lyrics are also a lot different in several places and the song is
about 1 minute shorter than the track that saw the light of day in 1991.
As you listen to this bootleg, you hear a whole different side to Prince, and
again, the things he decided to throw away are often better than the best tracks
from artists which we shall not name! It’s really remarkable. While the casual
fan probably cannot comprehend how prolific this man is, die-hards across the
world are simultaneously losing their minds as another puzzle piece of the
genius known as Prince is revealed.