This has always been my favorite album from her. The whole first side (sans the first track) is an EP within itself. While I love the whole record, I'm actually not a fan of the first song on either side of the album.

From wikipedia:

Sheila E. is the third solo album by Sheila E., released on Paisley Park Records in July 1987.

Two singles were released from the album in the U.S., "Hold Me" and "Koo Koo". "Love on a Blue Train" was the first single released in Japan. The album is notable for its Latin influence and prominent presence in this hybrid of jazz, rock, funk and salsa. The video for "Koo Koo" shows Sheila dancing with Cat Glover.

The album has the earliest recorded appearance of members from the group Tony! Toni! Toné!, who Sheila E. attempted to bring to Paisley Park. Almost a decade later, in 1996, she appeared on their final album, House of Music.

Side One:

1. One Day (I'm Gonna Make You Mine) *
2. Wednesday Like A River
3. Faded Photographs
4. Hold Me
5. Koo Koo *

Side Two:

1. The Pride and the Passion *

2. Boy's Club *

3. Soul Salsa

4. Hon E Man

5. Love On A Blue Train *

*Written by Sheila E. & Prince

• Sheila E. – bass guitar, congas
• Levi Seacer, Jr. – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, background vocals
• Juan Escovedo – percussion
• Boni Boyer – keyboards, background vocals
• Timothy Riley – drums
• Norbert Satchel – saxophone, flute
• Carl Wheeler – keyboards, background vocals
• Rafael Wiggins, Jr. – bass guitar, background vocals
• Peter Michael Escovedo – percussion
• Eric Leeds – saxophone
• Matt Blistan (aka Atlanta Bliss) – trumpet
• Eddie Minnifield – background vocals
• Carlos Rios – guitar
• Howard Kenney – background vocals
• Steph Birnbaum – guitar
• Coke Johnson, David Leonard, Peggy McCreary Leonard – recording engineers
• Jeff DeMorris, Mike Kloster, Steve Himmelfarb, Leslie Ann Jones, Chuck Webb, Thom Kidd, Tom Wright – second engineers
• Mary Ann Dibs – art direction and design
• Jeff Katz – photography
• Chris Bellman – mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering

.

[Edited 7/1/16 17:03pm]

Released: July 1987

Recorded: 1986-1987: Sunset Sound, Paisley Park, Capitol Studios, Fantasty Studios, Cheshire Sound

Length: 39:35

Label: Paisley Park, Warner Bros (25498)

Producer: Sheila E and David Z.

From PrinceVault:

Sheila E. is the third album by Sheila E., and her last until 2013's Icon to feature Prince input.

Five of the ten tracks were co-written by Prince (although credited only to Sheila E.), and feature his input musically. The album was released worldwide in February 1987.

Recording process

The tracks containing Prince input were recorded between December 1985 and September 1986. Love On A Blue Train was recorded in November 1985, at Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, USA, with Boy's Club following in March 1986, and Pride And The Passion following in May. One Day (I'm Gonna Make You Mine) and Koo Koo were recorded in September 1986, at Prince's Galpin Blvd Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA.

Prince also offered the song Love And Sex for the album, but it was not included on the final release.

Promotion

The album produced three singles; Love On A Blue Train was released in Japan only in 1986, initially to tie-in to an EP release, The Glamorous Club EP. The first worldwide single release was Hold Me (which preceded the album), followed by Koo Koo.

Sheila E. did not tour to promote the album, instead playing drums on Prince's Sign O' The Times Tour, which began shortly after the album's release, and, other than a video for Koo Koo, she did not promote the album much.

Perhaps as a result, the album reached only number 56 on the US Billboard Top Pop Album Chart, and number 24 on the Billboard Top Black Albums Chart.

More detailed personnel from PrinceVault:

Wasn't HOLD ME co written with Eddie M?
He did his own version on his solo album

TrivialPursuit said:

More detailed personnel from PrinceVault:

Musicians

Sheila E. - all lead vocals, percussion Prince - all instruments, except where noted (uncredited) Eric Leeds - saxophone on One Day (I'm Gonna Make You Mine), Pride And The Passion and Love On A Blue Train Atlanta Bliss - trumpet on One Day (I'm Gonna Make You Mine), Pride And The Passion and Love On A Blue Train Juan Escovedo - percussion on One Day (I'm Gonna Make You Mine); percussion on Love On A Blue Train(credited, but involvement is unlikely) Peter Michael Escovedo - percussion and vocals on Boy's Club Norbert Stachel - saxophone on Koo Koo (credited, but involvement is unlikely), Pride And The Passion and Love On A Blue Train Levi Seacer, Jr. - bass guitar, organ, guitar, vocals (credited, but involvement is likely limited to backing vocals) Raphael Wiggins - bass guitar and vocals on Koo Koo and Love On A Blue Train (credited, but involvement is likely limited to backing vocals) Boni Boyer - keyboards and vocals on One Day (I'm Gonna Make You Mine), Koo Koo and Love On A Blue Train(credited, but involvement is likely limited to backing vocals) Carl Wheeler - keyboards and vocals on Koo Koo and Love On A Blue Train (credited, but involvement is likely limited to backing vocals)

Production

Prince - producer, arranger (credited to Sheila E.) David Z. - co-producer Coke Johnson - engineer David Leonard - engineer Peggy McCreary - engineer Chris Bellman - mastering

I love that album, from start to finish The Pride and the Passion is my Jam .......I wish Sheila E was a bigger star, she deserved it

I have always considered this to be Sheila's strongest,most consistent album.Songs like "Faded Photographs","Love On A Blue Train","Hold Me",and "Pride And The Passion" are superb.This is the album that should have made her a solo superstar,but when it was released,she had temporarily put her solo career on hold to play drums for Prince.Thus,this album didn't receive the aggressive promotion that it deserved.But it is truly her best work.

TrivialPursuit said:

I like "Koo Koo" as an album track,but it should have never been released as a single.The song has some interesting lyrics,but it lacks a strong chorus/hook.This song didn't stand a chance on the radio.

A much better second single would have been the catchy "Faded Photographs" (which should have been promoted to pop stations).

"Hon E Man" is one of the best tunes on the album.I love the lyrics

shades of your past begin to stir the heat

roll over,baby,and get off my satin sheets

One thing I really like about this album is....Prince produced five songs,but Sheila was allowed to write and produce the other five songs.She was able to grow and evolve,instead of just making another album where Prince did everything.I remember being surprised when I first heard "Hold Me'.It was totally unexpected.A sultry,sexy R&B slow jam.Sheila absolutely shines on this song.

The best track on the album 4 me is Faded Photographs. It should have been released as a single and could have been a hit 4 Sheila.

jungleluv said:

The best track on the album 4 me is Faded Photographs. It should have been released as a single and could have been a hit 4 Sheila.

I agree! This song is the catchiest track on the album.With a really good video and some aggressive promotion,this could have been a major pop hit for Sheila.What a missed opportunity.

SoulAlive said:

jungleluv said:

The best track on the album 4 me is Faded Photographs. It should have been released as a single and could have been a hit 4 Sheila.

I agree! This song is the catchiest track on the album.With a really good video and some aggressive promotion,this could have been a major pop hit for Sheila.What a missed opportunity.

That song is gold. And how it segues into "Hold Me" - such perfect sequencing. The first side is more moody and love-oriented, whereas the second side is the party side. I like that contrast.

"Love On A Blue Train" is fantastic,isn't it? Love that song the lyrics are so naughty,lol

let me take your ticket...I'll show you where to stick it

My fav track off this was always Wednesday Like a River, not even a Prince-penned track!

jaawwnn said:

My fav track off this was always Wednesday Like a River, not even a Prince-penned track!

And that always had an interesting metaphor in the lyrics.

Wednesday's like a river,

Thursday rivers are lakes
Friday finds me in the ocean

sometimes love is hard 2 take
Emotional evidence sometimes hard 2 face
The double-edged sword can be like arsenic and fine lace

This is my favorite Sheila album, by far. I agree Koo Koo was the wrong choice for a single. It should've been Faded Photographs, along with a hot video, it would've been a hit.

Wednesday Like a River and HonE Man were also hightlights.

Love this album so much. When it first came out I preferred it to "Sign O The Times"... which after a couple of months I realised was insane, but it's still a really strong album.

phunkdaddy said:

Her debut still gets my vote as her best album. This album was okay but not as good as her first two in my opinion. Hold Me was a strong single. I actually liked Koo Koo. I thought it was clever and quirky. My favorite song on the album was the opening track One Day I'm Gonna a Make You Mine.

The Glamorous Life is still my favorite of the 3 very concise and cohesive. strong album

I think Sheila E is stronger than Romance 1600 though

Sheila E feels like 2 different sounds/directions in one

Feels like a PPrince aisley Park album(has the sound)

OneDayI'mGonnaMakeUMine
Koo Koo
Hon E Man
Boys Club

Love On a Blue Train

The Pride & the Passion

(feels more like a 1980s album sprinkled with Prince)

Faded Photographs
Hold Me
Wednesday Like A River
Pride & the Passion

Soul Salsa

[Edited 7/7/16 16:15pm]

I think "Boys' Club" could have been a dance hit.In my area,our local R&B station used to play it.

SoulAlive said:

Sheila and her crew were damn good at imitating Prince's sound, as shown among others on Hon E Man. I recently "redicovered" this album, which I've had for nearly 25 years and know by heart but hadn't listened to in a long while. It's gorgeous, begining to end. And yeah, Boy's Club is sexy as hell. Sheila really missed a huge opportunity by choosing to be P's drummer over promoting the album, and declining to be an opening act for the SOTT Tour (as offered by Prince besides drumming). I wonder how many outtakes exist for that album (Prince penned or not).

On a side note Sheila's next effort, Sex Cymbal, is totally enchanting IMHO, and it's a pity WB didn't do much to promote the project. With that record, Sheila proved that she could do something totally cool without having P around. A must have for whomever digs early 90's new jack swing.

Sheila E is just totally awesome All her albums are great and she should have been a bigger star compared to all these cookie cutters who can't sing, dance and have NO charisma! Where's her grammys, life time achievement awards seriously? I read on twitter that Atlanta on 16 July gave her a Sheila E day that is how amazing she still is! An Icon

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databank said:

Sheila really missed a huge opportunity by choosing to be P's drummer over promoting the album

I agree.She should have told Prince "No" and focused on her own album This album is too good to not give it the full attention that it deserved.

databank said:

Ottensen said:

databank said:

Sheila and her crew were damn good at imitating Prince's sound, as shown among others on Hon E Man. I recently "redicovered" this album, which I've had for nearly 25 years and know by heart but hadn't listened to in a long while. It's gorgeous, begining to end. And yeah, Boy's Club is sexy as hell. Sheila really missed a huge opportunity by choosing to be P's drummer over promoting the album, and declining to be an opening act for the SOTT Tour (as offered by Prince besides drumming). I wonder how many outtakes exist for that album (Prince penned or not).

On a side note Sheila's next effort, Sex Cymbal, is totally enchanting IMHO, and it's a pity WB didn't do much to promote the project. With that record, Sheila proved that she could do something totally cool without having P around. A must have for whomever digs early 90's new jack swing.

I don't think it was really a matter of "imitating" since she was literally part of his sound and collaborated with the man for so long. Musically the two were actually extensions of one another's personal music tastes, building on genres that they both had in common as their favorites. The reason why she decided to get behind the kit for P, BTW, is because she felt her solo career was focusing on everything else except her musicianship, and she desperately wanted to get back to focusing on her chops as that's the essence of who she is. I think the Sex Cymbal album is cool, too, and Sheila was ridiculously gorgeous during this period to me. Just insanely pretty. Unfortunately this was roundabout the time one of her lungs collapsed and was at only 20 percent working capacity. By the time she was hospitalized, doctors told her she could have died. Her legs then gave way to semi-paralysis, and she lost ability to feed herself or walk, literally being spoon fed. If I recall the story correctly from her memoir, it would take a full half hour for her caretaker to get one spoon of mash potatoes in her mouth and swallowed properly. She needed physical rehab for months to re-learn to walk again. So I guess those were pretty dark days with record promo being the least of her worries. Sure was a good a recording, though...

Yuuuuuuuuuup she talked about this on Arsenio Hall in 1991 I think https://www.youtube.com/w...G2_ADy-oe0 Lady Marmalade https://www.youtube.com/w...MMWcshqsZQ and Droppin Like Flies https://www.youtube.com/w...PeG-TxEl8w Enjoy

It's a great album.

SHEILA E album Outtake

Love And Sex is an unreleased track recorded on 25 March 1986 at Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, USA (two days after Boy's Club). The song was intended for Sheila E.'s third album Sheila E., but was not included on the final release.

-PrinceVault