1985 Part 2: Associated Artists: Sheila E. & The Family
Before the tour for “Purple Rain” was over, several projects were already underway, including Prince’s next film “Under the Cherry Moon,” but mixed up in all this were sessions for the soundtrack to the film, plus Sheila E.’s next album and an album for a new group, called The Family. Prince was expanding his sonic palette quickly, and these projects that did not include The Revolution, let him push those boundaries at a speed that would not normally be possible in the context of “Prince and the Revolution.” These are not the easiest works in the catalogue to obtain at the time of writing, which is a shame, because they are both fantastic. If you can, definitely listen to both of these.
Sheila E. wearing the only outfit more ornate than the stuff Prince was wearing.
Sheila E. / “Romance 1600”
Sheila E’s second album is superior to her first in almost every way, in no small part because of Sheila’s own increased confidence and input. The arrangements are all far more interesting, and the songs were obviously written specifically for the album. Sheila E. is going to prove her worth as a collaborator many times over in the coming two decades of Prince’s career, but “Romance 1600” gives us a glimpse of how that chemistry definitely ran both ways between them. Highlights of the album include “Sister Fate,” “Dear Michelanglelo,” and the oddly titled instrumental “Merci For The Speed Of A Mad Clown In Summer.”
The real centerpiece of the album is “A Love Bizarre,” which is billed as a duet with Prince. It’s a twelve-minute monster of a track, and the kind of funky, driving beat that can go on for that long without wearing out its welcome. There are, unsurprisingly in this case, many shorter versions released on singles, but they are inferior. The only thing they have to recommend them is they are, of course, more digestible to the radio / streaming listener. And I get that. But the primo stuff is on the album. Prince played “A Love Bizarre” live regularly through about 1990 or so, and it always killed, often going almost as long as the original.
The arrangement and production of “A Love Bizarre” are interesting because they definitely point the way to the future for Prince. Fuller arrangements with instruments that went beyond the confines of the band lineup he had been working with since 1979. He clearly was feeling the need to spread his wings a bit.
The Family: mit dem Original!
The Family / Self-Titled Album
This is a strange one. First off, this album is genuinely good, occasionally great. If you can track it down, you should. The problem is, the project occurred under such strange circumstances and at such a strange moment in time that the album is nearly forgotten, and as far as I know cannot be streamed (legally) anywhere.
When Morris Day left The Time in 1984, there seemed to be a hole in Prince’s stable of artists. He still had several members of The Time on the payroll and nothing for them to do, and so The Family developed out of that idea.
When the project started, it was just Prince and a saxophonist by the name of Alan Leeds, who had been on the Purple Rain tour, and would be a regular collaborator for at least the next decade. Paul Peterson, a keyboardist from the reconstituted “Ice Cream Castle” version of The Time then stepped in to share lead vocal duties with Prince’s girlfriend at the time, Suzannah Melvoin (Wendy’s twin sister). The Time’s drummer Jellybean Johnson, and Morris’ comic foil Jerome also joined, but most of them were largely irrelevant because apart from Suzanna and Paul Peterson, they never made an appearance on the album.
Once the album was made, the band basically disintegrated. Prince did not tour in 1985, so there was nobody to open for, and Prince carted Suzannah off to Paris for the duration of production of “Under The Cherry Moon,” during which process, Jerome and Leeds were rolled over into the last incarnation of The Revolution and Jellybean went to work for Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. So Peterson was left hanging, essentially and he drifted off into his own career.
The content of the album is remarkably solid. For example, the first released version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” is on this album. There are, in fact, no real duds. “High Fashion” and “The Screams of Passion” are fantastic, and the two instrumentals “Yes” and “Suzannah’s Pajamas” both have catchy hooks. For me, the best thing on the album is “Mutiny,” and if you can possibly find this version of it, you should. Prince released a couple of live versions of “Mutiny” over the years, and they are great, but the original really delivers the goods better than the others.
NEXT WEEK: Prince’s worst movie and the swan song of The Revolution! Plus “Kiss!” Be here in seven days to join the “Parade”.
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