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Romance 1600

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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.[citation needed]

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. [citation needed]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]
  • 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

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References

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  1. ^ "RIAA".
  2. ^ a b Tudahl, Duane (2021). Prince and the Parade and Sign O' The Times Era Studio Sessions 1985 and 1986. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538144527.
  3. ^ a b 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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