I finally got this cd and i really like it! I think it's better than Glamorous Life in fact. My fave tracks are sister fate, love bizarre, romance 1600, dear michael angelo and toy box. yellow is cool too. i guess my least faves would be the last 2 songs. what do you all think of this album?

I remember liking Faded Photographs.

LinnLM1 said:

what's that from??

This album is not as immediately accessible as The Glamorous Life or the Sheila E. album (which is what Faded Photographs is on), but it's wonderful. It's funky as hell and fun, but a little bit flawed too. It was risky somewhat to release it, because, except for A Love Bizarre, it doesn't have the commercial appeal of her debut, and it probably could have benefitted from having one or two more songs from the vault on it. Still, it's a good album. I have it on CD too, but I still love my vinyl version, where you can truly appreciate the brilliant packaging of the inner sleeve.

Great album.Love Sheila!

Efan said:

i agree with that statement. it's not catchy imidiately but it has grown on me nicely. it's pretty funky, avant garde and poppy all at the same time. so what is the Sheila E album like?? does it have a similar sound??

dancerella said:

The Sheila E. album is wonderful. It tends to be the favorite album of hers for most people on the board, I think. It doesn't sound like Romance 1600; it doesn't have the stripped-down funk of that album. It has a more full sound and leans more pop. It's worth tracking down.
[Edited 6/13/08 14:32pm]

dancerella said:

Of Sheila E's three Jamie Starr/Paisley Park albums, The Glamorous Life is the one I like the least. Her self-titled one is the best.

dancerella said:

It's from SHEILA E...self titled third album with the hot album cover. 'Faded Photographs' sounds so much like 'Love Is a Battlefield'...it was a good song...

'Koo Koo' is my favorite from that album..

...

Efan said:

Good post.. I agree with what u stated. Prince was going to make damn sure there was at least ONE hit from this album. So much so that he sung co lead on it! As cool as it is, I think the album suffers mostly from being recorded during the Purple Rain tour. He would record this in strange studios that he wasn't familiar with right after doing one of his shows and I always got a sorta "rushed" vibe on this album. The Glam Life album is better overall. Not just the material but the vibe is there. Prince was way more in control of the enviroment...more familiar. Her first album was well thought out, material wise. He was yanking hits from other projects to put on that first album. The second was very "superstar-ish" which was cool in a way (A Love Bizarre) but was somewhat caught up (Sister Fate). Especially lyric wise. Prince and Sheila were seeing each other a lil' bit mo' heavier than before and that showed in the writing as well. It wasn't as focused as the first, overall. But I dig those outfits. Her band's clothes were kinda fucking up's The Revolution in a way!

blackguitaristz said:

True. Those outfits were great fun. Eddie's especially.
You probably know this story better, but the Penthouse model that Prince was also seeing at the time said Bedtime Story was written for her. Whether it was or not, that song (which is kind of a guilty pleasure) was a terrible closer. Sheila needed another ballad like Noon Rendezvous, something better suited to her vocal abilities.
You're right about those songs being rushed. Sister Fate and Toy Box sounded killer live, when some elements were tweaked, though.
But they took their time where it counted--A Love Bizarre. I'm always blown away just by the percussion on that song.

my fave sheila e. album, by far. just for toy box alone . a love bizarre is a classic song, but the version here is too long and almost boring after a while . the rest of the album is fire though! sort of a companion piece to atwiad and parade. has that kind of a feel to it. love it!

Toy Box was hot.I liked Bedtime Story too. That album was actually a little bit better than Glamorous Life in my opinion.It is very funky. and Everybody knows Sister Fate was the jam. Plus I really liked the way she dressed when she was on tour to support that album.

As much as I loved "in The Glamorous Life", I just couldn't get into the follow-up at the time and still hardly ever play it. OK, the album cover and the outfits were great at the time (apparently inspired by the Amadeus movie), but the songs are pretty much forgettable. I agree with the previous poster that "A Love Bizarre" is too long, I prefer the equally long but musically more interesting live version from the Romance 1600 video.

The Sister Fate 12" b-side "Save The People" is brilliant, though. If somebody ever decides to release a best-of, I'm hoping the full-length version will be included.

whitesockedfunk said:

the live version of a love bizarre is great . i've never heard save the people though .

What we need now is a best of Sheila E album. It is long overdue and she has enough songs. What would you put on the track list?

lipstick said:

The Glamorous Life (full length, not the club remix)
Noon Rendez-vous
The Belle Of St Mark
Oliver's House
Too Sexy
Sister Fate
A Love Bizarre (12" edit)
Holly Rock
Save The People
Hold Me
Love On A Blue Train
Koo Koo
Funky Attitude (Ford Failrlane version)
Sex Cymbal (remix)
Droppin Like Flies
Cry Baby
Lady Marmalade

Hmm, this wont fit on a single disc though and a 2cd set will never happen OK if I must... delete Cry baby, Lady Marmalade and Love on a blue train

was listening to romance 1600 today,so good , i wanna hear save the people . what is it like anyways?

purplepolitician said:

It's a jam. All of Sheila's b-sides are excellent, imo. Save the People has very few lyrics ("Save the people/Feed their hungry eyes/Save the people/Don't let them die"--that's it) and has some truly incredible percussion going on.

whitesockedfunk said:

sosgemini said:

What? She does a great cover of that song.

"GET OUT!!"

sosgemini said:

I still love it.

A great album, and there's no way 2 compare it 2 'The Glamourous Life' album.

It would be like comparing Prince's 'Controversy' with 'Around the World in a Day' (YES, I HATE acronyms)

They R both fantastic albums, and 2 whomever said that "A Love Bizarre" was 2 long... ??? That was the JAM.

All in all, "Shortberry Strawcake" was one of my fav jams from 'The Glamourous Life', and yes, "A Love Bizarre" was my fav from 'Romance 1600'...

I never bought the 'Sex Cymbal' album, because from the singles I heard, she was going 4 more of a BET rotation vibe, back in the Donnie Simpson days of BET... Not that that was bad, but I wanted the Prince sound again. 4 all I know it's there, but I never gave that album a spin, so 2 speak...

I also (somehow) never got the 'Sheila E' album...
[Edited 6/18/08 13:07pm]

Efan said:

sounds !

sextonseven said:

I agree! 'The Glamorous Life' is my least favorite.The self-titled album from 1987 is her masterpiece.That album should have made her a superstar.So many outstanding songs and potential hits on that album...."Faded Photographs","The Pride and The Passion","Love On A Blue Train","Hold Me","Hon E Man".The whole album is slammin!

'The Glamorous Life' is a good album but it sounds like it was hastily recorded.'Romance 1600' sounds more fleshed out but the third album is superior to both of those albums.

^^delusions of a prince fan.

purplepolitician said:

i so agree with you. after a while i get bored with that track as it goes on for too long. otherwise it's great!

dancerella said: