Romance 1600
Studio album by
Sheila E.
ReleasedAugust 26, 1985[1]
RecordedJanuary 4 – February 8, 1985[2][3]
GenreFunk, pop, R&B
Length38:59
LabelPaisley Park/Warner Bros.
Producer
Sheila E. chronology
The Glamorous Life
(1984)		 Romance 1600
(1985)		 Sheila E.
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Robert ChristgauB[5]

Romance 1600 is the second album by the singer-drummer-percussionist Sheila E. Prince contributed some backing vocals, guitar, and bass guitar, and co-wrote/co-produced "A Love Bizarre", a 12-minute epic that became a major hit in its edited radio-friendly form.

During her break, she received a lot of media exposure, including appearing in the film Krush Groove, in which she performed "A Love Bizarre" and "Holly Rock". She had also performed for a wide audience as an act on Prince and The Revolution's Purple Rain Tour.

The video for the album's lead single, "Sister Fate", introduced a new image of the performer: a somewhat female-Prince influenced protégée. "Sister Fate"'s B-side had the cryptic protest song "Save the People". The album itself had many tracks that were personal and which help to support the embodiment of the thematic faux-French Renaissance episodic adventure that the lead single's video and the album art intended to set up for the listening audience.

Although the album received mixed reviews, "A Love Bizarre" was the album's most successful single. On January 28, 1986, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA.[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Prince, except where noted[2][3]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sister Fate" 3:50
2."Dear Michaelangelo" 4:38
3."A Love Bizarre"Prince, Sheila E.12:18
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."Toy Box" 5:32
5."Yellow" 2:11
6."Romance 1600" 3:56
7."Merci for the Speed of a Mad Clown in Summer"Sheila E.2:47
8."Bedtime Story" 3:45

Personnel

  • Sheila E. – lead and backing vocals, percussion (all but 4), drums (1, 5, 7), Simmons SDS-V (1), strings, arranger, producer, writer
  • Juan Escovedo – percussion (3)
  • Eddie M. – backing vocals (3, 4); saxophone (all but 5)
  • Ken Grey – Yamaha DX7 (1)
  • Stef Burns (Stephan Birnbaum) (It) – electric guitar (1), 12-string acoustic guitar (8), backing vocals (3, 4)
  • Prince – lead (3, 5) and backing vocals (1-3), electric guitar (2-4), Yamaha DX7 (all but 7), Oberheim OB-SX (2), Hammond organ (1, 4, 7), piano (1, 8), keyboards (3, 6), bass guitar (1, 3-5, 8), Linn LM-1 (1, 2, 5, 6), LinnDrum (3, 4), percussion (4), drums (8)
  • Micheal Weaver – backing vocals (4)
  • Susie Davis – backing vocals (2, 3, 6)
  • Jerome Benton – backing vocals (3)
  • Benny Rietveld – backing vocals (6), bass guitar (1, 7)
  • John Liotine – trumpet (5)
  • Steve Madaio – trumpet (5)
  • Ron Jannelli – trumpet (5), trombone (5)
  • Dick Hyde – trombone (5)
  • Robert Martin – saxophone (5)
  • Tim Misica – saxophone (5)

Charts

References

  1. ↑ "RIAA".
  2. 1 2 Tudahl, Duane (2021). Prince and the Parade and Sign O' The Times Era Studio Sessions 1985 and 1986. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538144527.
  3. 1 2 Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
  4. ↑ Allmusic review
  5. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  6. ↑ "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Sheila E Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Sheila E Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
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