Romance 1600

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.

Romance 1600
Studio album by
Sheila E.
ReleasedAugust 26, 1985
Recorded1984–1985
GenreFunk, pop, R&B
Length38:59
LabelPaisley Park/Warner Bros.
25317
Producer
Sheila E. chronology
The Glamorous Life
(1984)		 Romance 1600
(1985)		 Sheila E.
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauB[2]

During her break, she had 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.[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Prince, and credited to Sheila E, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Sister Fate"3:50
2."Dear Michaelangelo"4:38
3."A Love Bizarre" (Prince and Sheila E.)12:18
Side two
No.TitleLength
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"2:47
8."Bedtime Story"3:45

Personnel
  • Sheila E. – lead vocals, percussion, drums, strings, bass guitar, keyboards, arranger, producer, writer
  • Juan Escovedo – percussion (tracks 3 and 8)
  • Eddie M. – background vocals (tracks 3 and 4); saxophone (tracks 1–4; 6–8)
  • Ken Grey – organ (track 1)
  • Stef Burns (Stephan Birnbaum) (It) – guitar (tracks 2 and 8), background vocals (tracks 3 and 4)
  • Karl Perazzo – bongos (track 6)
  • Prince – guitar, bass guitar (tracks 3 and 4); background vocals (tracks 3 and 5)
  • Micheal Weaver – background vocals (track 4)
  • Susie Davis – background vocals (tracks 2, 3, 6)
  • Benny Rietveld – background vocals (track 6)

Charts
Chart (1985) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[4] 33
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5] 36
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[6] 33
US Billboard 200[7] 50
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[8] 12

References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. Robert Christgau review
  3. "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  4. "Dutchcharts.nl – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  5. "Offiziellecharts.de – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  6. "Swedishcharts.com – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  7. "Sheila E Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  8. "Sheila E Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
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