Sheila E Sheila E album

Warner Bros. Records

album

Not bad, for a girl

Sheila E is the self-titled third album of Sheila Escovedo. Unlike her previous two albums The Glamorous Life and Romance 1600, Prince did not write every track, this time writing half of the album’s ten songs. The album was recorded between December 1985 and September 1986, initially at Sunset Sound in Hollywood then at Prince’s home studios both at Kiowa Trail and Galpin Blvd in Minnesota, at the same time he and The Revolution were working on an album titled Dream Factory which ultimately developed into Sign O’ The Times. Sheila E produced three singles (Love On A Blue Train released in Japan only), the album’s most successful single Hold Me was written by Sheila and peaked at number 3 in the US singles chart.

Prince again performs on the album, playing most of the instruments. As a headlining act in her own right, Sheila played a short three night stint at the Sands Casino, Atlanta City on 30 January to 1 February 1987 as part of an intended wider tour to promote the album. Having opened for Prince on Purple Rain Tour and Parade Tour, her solo tour was curtailed upon her sudden appointment to Prince’s touring lineup for Sign O’ The Times. At the time of the release of Sheila E, she was a full-time member and drummer in Prince’s backing band on his Sign O’ The Times Tour, during which Prince proposed marriage to her. Sheila was also the inspiration behind The Black Album, which he intended to release in 1987 in just a matter of months after Sign O’ The Times but replaced in 1988 with Lovesexy. Sheila remained as drummer for Prince for his resulting Lovesexy Tour in 1988, but as the show wound on the strain on their relationship intensified and led her to quit the band on completion of its final leg in Japan in 1989.

On departing Paisley Park Records in 1989, Sheila E was her final recording collaboration with Prince until the pair reunited for Musicology in 2004. Prince guested with Sheila’s on her track Leader Of The Band, on which he plays keyboards and on backing vocals. Leader Of The Band was eventually released on her seventh solo album Icon on 4 November 2013.

Sheila Escovedo was a major influence on Prince’s mid 80s output. First appearing on record with Prince with Erotic City in 1988, she was bought in to Prince’s full band as a funkier replacement for Bobby Z on drums following the dissolution of The Revolution in 1986. Her band E-Train would provide a major recruiting ground for Prince. Through Sheila Prince hired many of her band’s members to his own touring lineup: Miko Weaver, Levi Seacer and Boni Boyer, and keyboardists Renato Neto and Rose Ann Dimalanta. Kat Dyson, Rhonda Smith and Cassandra O’Neal were enlistments from Sheila’s 2007 touring band C.O.E.D. Through Seacer came the crucial introduction of Rosie Gaines.

Performers

Vox / Percussion: Sheila E
All instruments: Prince
Bass Guitar: Levi Seacer Jr
Keyboards: Boni Boyer ^{One Day (I’m Gonna Make You Mine), Koo Koo and Love On A Blue Train}
Saxophone: Eric Leeds ^{One Day (I’m Gonna Make You Mine), Pride And The Passion and Love On A Blue Train}; Norbert Stachel ^{Pride And The Passion and Love On A Blue Train}
Trumpet: Atlanta Bliss ^{One Day (I’m Gonna Make You Mine), Pride And The Passion and Love On A Blue Train}
Percussion: Juan Escovedo ^{One Day (I’m Gonna Make You Mine)}; Peter Michael Escovedo ^{Boy’s Club}

Data

Producers

Prince (uncredited) Sheila E. and David Z.

Label

Paisley Park Records

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records

Cover/Design

Jeff Katz (photo) and Margo Chase (logo)

Released

39 years ago on 24 February 1987

Running Time

40:55

US Chart Peak

US R&B Peak

UK Chart Peak

Did not chart

Orig. Formats

Tracklist

One Day (I'm Gonna Make You Mine) (4:47) ¹
Wednesday Like A River (3:25)
Hold Me (5:04)
Faded Photographs (4:11)
Koo Koo (3:24) ¹
Pride And The Passion [feat. Prince] (4:05) ¹
Boy's Club [feat. Prince] (3:56) ¹
Soul Salsa (3:08)
Hon E Man (3:22)
Love On A Blue Train (5:33)

Released as a single

¹ Written by Prince but credited to Sheila E.

Sheila E album review

Sheila E’s self-titled third album carries provenance. That it was recorded both at Prince’s Galpin Blvd home studio and Sunset Sound during that iconic summer of 1986 when Prince was cooking The Sign O’ The Times. In fact, Sheila was so busy playing drums for Prince for his Sign O’ The Times Tour, she was unable to promote her own album and it paid dearly with moderate chart performance – what else are friends are for? Shelia’s self-title album is a far more cohesive work to her previous solo outing Romance 1600.

Sheila E opens with the refreshing One Day (I’m Gonna Make You Mine), one of the album’s five Prince penned tracks. Yet it is Sheila’s own contributions Wednesday Like A River, Hold Me – with the mark of a sultry LA police TV drama, and Faded Photographs that offer the real brightness and reveal the distinction between Prince and David Z’s glossier production – the work holds true and the output is a highly pleasing release. Prince’s sound is as solid as always, with Koo Koo – the album’s lead single. The LP takes flight on side-B with Prince’s Pride And The Passion and the funky Boy’s Club. We close with the catchiest track, full of cheer and sun – Love On A Blue Train – co-written by, you guessed, Prince.

Sheila E is rated 3 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.

Prince trivia