Romance 1600 Sheila E album

Warner Bros. Records

album

He asked me to marry him

Romance 1600 is Sheila E’s second solo LP. Despite only being credited in the liner notes as co-writer and as a performer on A Love Bizarre, every track is written by Prince, albeit the exception of Merci For The Speed Of A Mad Clown In Summer written by Sheila. The recording of Romance 1600 began in December 1984 over sessions at a string of studios in Atlanta, Houston and Cincinnati due to being on the road for the Purple Rain Tour when Sheila was Prince’s support act. Romance 1600 was completed at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood in early February 1985, when the final track Yellow was created. Sheila and her band members Boni Boyer and Levi Seacer Jr. would later join Prince’s backing band in 1987 for his Sign O’ The Times Tour. Sheila’s saxophonist Eddie Mininfield performs on the LP, the balance of the instruments are performed by Prince.

Released on 26 August 1985, Romance 1600 was the third LP issued under Prince’s newly established Warner imprint Paisley Park Records; following, by exactly two weeks, the release of The Family, and Prince and The Revolution’s Around The World In A Day that April. Prince’s production credit on Romance 1600 is concealed under the name Jamie Starr, the pseudonym he used also to release his side projects The Time and Apollonia 6.

The theming of Romance 1600 is drawn on a stage play set in the French Renaissance, each track presented as a Scene, with sides A and B Reels. A Love Bizarre is the album’s noteworthy and most successful track. Its album version clears twelve minutes in length, the 12″ single is cut into two parts, although edited to 3:46 for the 7″. The single topped the Billboard dance chart and peaked at 11 on the Hot 100. A Love Bizarre became one of Prince’s most popular songs and often performed in his concerts.

Failing to emulate the success enjoyed by Sheila’s Grammy nominated debut LP The Glamorous Life, Romance 1600 failed to enter the Billboard 200 album chart. Romance 1600 charted at number 12 in the Billboard Soul chart and was awarded RIAA’s Gold certification on 28 January 1986 having sold 500,000 copies.

Prince’s version of Dear Michelangelo with his guide vocals was released in 2019 by Warner Brothers on the collection Originals, including Holly Rock an outtake created at Sunset Sound in April 1985 intended for Romance 1600. Holly Rock was instead released on the soundtrack compilation of the movie Krush Groove on 30 September 1985 and was one of that album’s five singles. A Love Bizarre also featured in the movie but was not included on the soundtrack.

Performers

Vox / Percussion

Sheila E

All instruments

Prince

Saxophone

Eddie "M" Mininfield

Data

Producers

Prince (as Jamie Starr) and Sheila E.

Label

Paisley Park Records

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records

Cover/Design

Rebecca Blake and Laura LiPuma

Released

41 years ago on 26 August 1985

Running Time

36:13

US Chart Peak

Did not chart

US R&B Peak

12

UK Chart Peak

Did not chart

Orig. Formats

Tracklist

1. Sister Fate (3:50)
2. Dear Michelangelo [feat. Prince] (4:38) ²
3. A Love Bizarre [duet with Prince] (12:18)
4. Toy Box (5:32)
5. Yellow [feat. Prince] (2:11)
6. Romance 1600 (3:56)
7. Merci For The Speed Of A Mad Clown In Summer (2:47) ¹
8. Bedtime Story (3:45)

Released as a single

¹ Written by Sheila E.
² Cowritten by Prince and Shelia E.

Supporting tour

Parade Tour

1986

• Hit And Run Tour (USA & Canada)
  10 shows from 3 March to 3 August, 1986
• Parade Tour (Europe & Japan)
  19 shows from 12 August to 9 September, 1986

 

Romance 1600 album review

Romance 1600 is worked on a premise of a production, in that each track is a Scene rather than a “track”, which is really a cover-up to instil the album the air of sophistication, and hence the 17th Century getup Sheila wears on the cover. But the product is very much conventional fare, nonetheless. The album begins with a jump, with Sister Fate, a somewhat nondescript track on which Sheila percussion’s the bejesus out of the backing, reputedly inspired by Prince’s relationship with her. This continues throughout and the Latin feel is also dominant. Track 2 is where the business gets started, with Dear Michelangelo, complete with Prince’s (uncredited) backing vocals the product lacks the impact of his version later released on Originals in 2019. Prince plays instruments throughout the album and this input likewise uncredited. (One can see why.) The third track is the album’s most famous, be that only within Prince circles – A Love Bizarre – which is, yes, as catchy as hell but clearing 12 minutes requires commitment – its reputation precedes itself.

Romance 1600 continues with Toy Box and Yellow, which are also receipt of Prince input but which too fail to ignite, if only slightly doing so with the title track until the excitement it gains is likewise dissipated. Merci For The Speed Of A Mad Clown In Summer is perhaps the most chaotic track released on Paisley Park Records, played back at high speed it might even warrant a health warning. Bedtime Story peters out what is a unremarkable record, one that is perhaps trying too hard either to be both different and but still follow convention – it achieves neither.

Romance 1600 is rated 2.5 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.