Romance 1600

Romance 1600
Studio album by
Sheila E.
ReleasedAugust 26, 1985[1]
RecordedJanuary 4 – February 8, 1985
GenreFunk, pop, R&B
Length38:59
LabelPaisley Park, Warner Bros.
Producer
Sheila E. chronology
The Glamorous Life
(1984) 		Romance 1600
(1985) 		Sheila E.
(1987)
Singles from Romance 1600
  1. "Sister Fate"
    Released: July 26, 1985
  2. "Bedtime Story"
    Released: August 12, 1985
  3. "A Love Bizarre"
    Released: October 1985

Romance 1600 is the second album by the American singer and musician Sheila E. It was released on August 26, 1985, by Warner Bros. Records and Paisley Park Records. The album was recorded from January 1985 to February 1985,[2][3] and was produced by Sheila E. herself, alongside Prince.

Recording and production

The recording of the album took place over a monthly period.[2][3] The album was recorded in various locations including Cheshire Sound Studios, Master Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia; Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California; Le Mobile in Houston, Texas; and 5th Floor Recording Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio.[4] Sheila wrote two songs "Merci for The Speed of a Mad Clown in Summer" and "A Love Bizarre"; the latter of which was co-written with Prince.[4] Prince wrote and produced the remaining songs on the album.[4]

Release and promotion

They thought the whole thing about the first album was to sell sex, which was how it was presented. But for the second album, I cut my hair and wore a long-sleeved blouse and long pants, because I wanted to be seen as a strong musician. But no one got it.

— Sheila E. Prince and the Parade and Sign O' The Times Era Studio Sessions in 2021[2]

After American singer and musician Prince founded his own record label Paisley Park Records in 1985, Sheila E. became one of the first artists to sign to the label.[5] In collaboration with Warner Bros. Records, Paisley Park Records released Romance 1600 on August 26, 1985. On October 12, 1985, she performed "Sister Fate", "A Love Bizarre", and "Holly Rock" on musical variety television show Soul Train. She also performed "A Love Bizarre" on Dutch music television program Countdown in 1986.[6]

To further promote the album, Sheila appeared as the female lead in the musical comedy-drama film Krush Groove, released by Warner Bros. Pictures on October 25, 1985. She performed two songs in the film, "A Love Bizarre" and "Holly Rock"; a single released on the film's soundtrack. On June 16, 1986, a concert film titled Live Romance 1600 was released by Warner Reprise Video.[7] The concert was filmed at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, California, and featured a special appearance by Prince and the Revolution.[8]

Singles

"Sister Fate" was released as the album's lead single on July 26, 1985. The song failed crossover to the pop chart, only making an impact on the Hot Black Singles chart at number 36.[9] The accompanying music was directed by Prince.

"Bedtime Story" was released as the second single on August 12, 1985. Like its predecessor, the song was only released in the United States, however it did not make the charts.

"A Love Bizarre" was released the final single in October 1985. The song became an immediate success, peaking at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and topping the US Hot Dance Club Play chart; her second song behind "The Glamorous Life" (1984) to achieve this.[9] The song also peaked at number 3 on the Hot Black Singles chart.[9] Internationally, "A Love Bizarre" reached the top-twenty in Austria,[10] and several European countries.[11] The accompanying music video was directed by Michael Schultz.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Robert ChristgauB[13]
Rolling Stone[14]

Romance 1600 received mixed reviews from music critics. Alex Henderson of AllMusic noted "Although Escovedo did most of the writing and producing herself, Prince's influence is strong throughout the album."[12] The Ottawa Citizen praised Sheila E. as the "most promising Prince spinoff".[2] According to the 2021 publication Prince and the Parade and Sign O' The Times Era Studio Sessions, People magazine gave the album a harsh review, referring to the album's lyrics as "foolishness" and "cornball".[2]

Commercial performance

Romance 1600 debuted at number 79 on the US Billboard 200 on September 21, 1985.[15] On March 8, 1986, the album peaked at number 50 on the chart.[15] During its final week, it fell to number 179 on May 3, 1986, before dropping off the chart after a total of thirty-three weeks.[15] Romance 1600 peaked at number 12 on the US Top Black Albums chart.[9] Internationally, Romance 1600 peaked at in the top forty in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden.[16] Romance 1600 was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on January 28, 1986.[17]

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". Recording Industry Association of America.
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 c Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
  4. ^ a b c Romance 1600 Album Liner Notes
  5. ^ Sheila E. in recording pact with Prince label (page 23). Jet. Retrieved on February 12, 2026
  6. ^ Sheila E. - A Love Bizarre (Countdown, 1986). YouTube. Retrieved on February 12, 2026
  7. ^ Sheila E.: Live Romance 1600. imdb. Retrieved on February 12, 2026
  8. ^ Sheila E.: Live Romance 1600 (Overview). Letter Box. Retrieved on February 12, 2026
  9. ^ a b c d Sheila E. Billboard Chart History. Billboard. Retrieved on February 11, 2026
  10. ^ MegaCharts (May 1, 1986). "Austrian Singles Chart". Austrian Charts. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  11. ^ MegaCharts. "Dutch Singles Chart". Dutch Charts. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  12. ^ a b Allmusic review
  13. ^ Robert Christgau review
  14. ^ The Rolling stone album guide : completely new reviews : every essential album, every essential artist. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on February 12, 2026
  15. ^ a b c Romance 1600 Billboard 200 Chart History. Elpee. Retrieved on February 12, 2026
  16. ^ Sheila E. Romance 1600 dutchcharts. Dutch Charts. Retrieved on February 12, 2026
  17. ^ "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  18. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  19. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  20. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  21. ^ "Sheila E Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  22. ^ "Sheila E Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  23. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
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