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Old 04-13-2022, 02:48 PM   #19 (permalink)
Trollheart
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Album titleThe Glamorous Life
Released as: Sheila E
Label: Warner Bros
Recorded: 1984
Release Date: June 5 1984
Producer: The Starr Company
Studio(s): Sunset Sound, Los Angeles
Chart Position* 28
Singles Released: “The Glamorous Life”, “The Belle of St. Mark”
Singles Chart Performance: TGL 7@BH100, 1@USDCS, 9@USHBS, 98@UKC; TBOSM 34@BH100, 68@BHR&BHHS, 18@UKC
Sales:

Being rather literal here, Prince, kicking off with an actual bell tolling! And anyway, it’s a different kind of belle, isn’t it, with an E (Sheila E?)? Anyway, once it gets going the Prince influence is immediately evident, with boppy, squeaky synth hopping all over the place, and a great hook which is hard to get out of your head. It seems to me to have a kind of Spanish/Mexican feel to it, though I do have to wonder at the title. Belle usually/always refers to a woman (Southern belle, belle of the ball and so on) but here Prince makes the belle male. Hmm. Gender fluidity in an age before the concept was even thought of, or Prince just messing around? Guess it doesn’t matter, as it is one killer song, and not surprisingly was released as a single, doing better, oddly, in the UK than the USA. Great start to the album, which has a mere six tracks, but if they’re all this good I’m sold.

The cleverly-titled “Shortberry Strawcake” kicks off with a very Prince guitar, a slower, raunchier song with more of the rock/funk in it than the electropop of the opener, reminds me a bit of Janet Jackson’s “What Have You Done For Me Lately”, with The Time’s Jesse Johnson handling guitar duties as he does all through the album. You can see where studying under Prince has taken him - assuming that’s not actually Prince, as you never really know one way or the other. Guess it’s an instrumental, as there have been no vocals yet. I like the dancing synth line keeping pace with the often manic guitar riffs. If he doesn’t play on this (it says he sings backing vocals on the title track, though uncredited - probably his choice) his mark is still all over it, with Jill Jones and also Brenda Bennet from Vanity/Apollonia 6 playing on it, and as already mentioned Jesse Johnson from The Time.

The ballad is again pure Prince, and it’s titled “Noon Rendezvous”, with a soft drumbeat that reminds me of “Thru These Walls” by Phil Collins and gives Sheila the chance to croon and show how well suited her voice is to softer songs too. This is one of three songs written by Prince (or at least, three he admits to) - the opener and closer being the other two, so at least Sheila retains some sort of compositional control over her debut album, not a claim many others could make once Prince got involved. Usually, almost always to their benefit, it has to be said, but still. There’s a definite sense of Gloria Estefan here too. The ghost of Janet is back though as “Oliver’s House” gets going, with a healthy dose of Paula Abdul too, though the biggest influence is of course Prince. I can’t help hearing “Overcoat” when she sings the chorus/title though. Hur hur. But if I have a least favourite track on this short album - and so far it hasn’t put a foot wrong - this is it. Just don’t like it. Very throwaway. I’m told there’s a cello in it, but I don’t see where it will go.

Okay well there it is in the fifth minute, and there’s still another and change to go. Pointless, as it really adds nothing to the song and it’s way too long as a track, stretched to breaking point for nearly six and a half minutes, in true Prince style, though it says she wrote it. Perhaps odd that on an album with only six tracks there are two ballads, but of the two the far superior one is “Next Time Wipe the Lipstick Off Your Collar”, a heartbreaking tale of a woman putting up with her man’s philandering and cheating, ready to forgive him as long as he doesn’t make it obvious. It’s a beautiful tune with a very savagely almost misogynistic message in the lyric. Maybe odd that it’s written by two women, Sheila and Brenda Bennett.

The closer is the title track which was such a hit in the US, getting to number 7 and to be honest I thought it did better over here, but I read it only got to number 98! Well it certainly got a lot of radio airplay, is all I can say. It gives Sheila a chance to unleash her prowess on the skins, and also features saxophone and it’s really, let’s be honest here, a Prince song in all but name. He wrote it, and it has his pawprints all over it. But it’s a great song, and it’s possibly a brave decision, or else a stroke of genius, to leave it till last. Very dancy, very pop/soul, it’s a great closer but is it too long at nine minutes? You decide.

TRACK LISTING

The Belle of St. Mark
Shortberry Strawcake
Noon Rendezvous
Oliver’s House
Next Time Wipe the Lipstick Off Your Collar
The Glamorous Life



Even though Sheila retains some control over this album, and it is hers, you can’t help thinking that it would not have been half as successful without Prince’s input. In fact, as we read, without him pushing her there probaby would never have been an album. Which would be a pity as this debut illustrates the old adage, that good things often come in small packages.

Meanwhile, things were not going well with The Time. Morris Day, who had already left once, continued to have itchy feet, wanting a solo career, and Prince was finding to his dismay and anger that it can often happen that when you raise children, musically speaking, they grow up and want their own lives. Like a controlling parent, Prince wanted everyone to be subordinate to him, and the idea of anyone going solo did not sit well with him. Considering The Time’s third album was nearly ready, this was bad - and I’m sorry for saying this - timing. To add to his woes, Jesse Jackson was also thinking in terms of bettering himself, and it looked like both might soon leave the band. This did not fit in with Prince’s plans, the idea being that if Day left then Johnson was to be his replacement.

He celebrated his twenty-sixth birthday, but did not seem to enjoy it. Though his mother and stepfather attended, mostly it felt like a choreographed event, with people all but paid to be there, no real emotion or feeling. Talk about an entourage, all dutifully singing “Happy Birthday Prince!” Days later he accepted an award at the Black Music Awards for “Most Valuable Player”, but must have felt upset that he was still relegated to winning awards based on his colour than his talent. He couldn’t break into the Grammys, despite how popular his last album had been. Jackson had it all sewn up, and if any black artist was to be - grudgingly - accepted by the mainstream music crowd, it was the King of Pop. Watching Mazarati, Mark Brown’s band, receive rapturous applause at the ceremony, he decided to sign them and handed his ex-bassist a contract. They would be the first band to be signed to his new Paisley Park label.

Impressed with the all-girl pop group The Bangles, Prince decided to give them a song he had originally intended for Vanity/Apollonia 6’s second/debut album, but which he now told Warner would not be included on the record. It was called “Manic Monday”, and to forestall any arguments from the label he asked The Bangles to credit it to “Christopher”, but everyone would know it was him anyway.

He made an announcement to The Time, telling them Morris Day was out, but instead of appointing Jesse Johnson as the new lead singer he chose a relative newcomer, Paul Petersen, who was white. The other band members did not agree, sure that their loyal fans would not take to a white man singing their songs and leading the band, and all left. It was the end of (The) Time (sorry). But Prince was determined to pick up the pieces, and created a new band, The Family. His new girlfriend, Wendy’s sister Susannah (guess the other guy got kicked to the kerb) would share lead vocals with Paul, now renamed St. Paul, and having attended a Springsteen gig, Prince was taken with the idea of a sax player. Alan Leeds had a brother who played the horn, called Eric, but he wasn’t too thrilled with joining a pop band, being a jazz player. Alan had to convince him - like we said before, what Prince wanted Prince got - and he was added to the lineup as Prince headed into the studio to begin writing the debut.

Meanwhile, his new album, the soundtrack from the movie which would stand alone as an album in its own right, but always be linked to the film was released. The world was about to be drowned in Purple Rain.
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