Diamonds and Pearls (1991)
Written ten months after the release of Scandalous Sex Suite it’s perhaps not surprising Insatiable has a similar sound. The drumbeats on both ballads are reverb-heavy, suggesting a cold, cavernous room with a bed as its altar. Seduction as sermon. Only this time there’s a camcorder involved. But Insatiable also contains elements of every Prince slow jam that’s come before. It has Do Me, Baby’s vulnerability, International Lover’s cockiness, Adore’s reverence and humour. Prince is the Hokusai of soul ballads and the late-night seduction is his Mount Fuji; explored via different moods, landscapes and perspectives. Speaking of Japanese artists, there’s a tradition for calligraphers there to spend hours grinding inks, and only putting brush to paper at the end of the day in a single, short flourish. You can imagine Prince doing the same; spending daylight hours preparing the studio and then as soon as the sun sets, committing the track to tape in a steamy, one-take sitting. Another ode penned to the higher power that is Unbridled Lust.