Customer Reviews

Glamorous Life

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If I were to list Sheila E.'s assets, it would be foremost as a drummer, then a singer. She could do long drum solos with a few words inbetween so the audience doesn't tune her out and that would be just fine. Not to say she isn't a good vocalist.

"The Belle Of St. Mark" is a fun and upbeat warmup exercise to what would be later heard in the title track. That is followed by the instrumental "Shortberry Strawcake" whose percussive and synthesizer backbeat would be used in "A Love Bizarre" with diluted results. Interspersed in the background are distorted and garbled voice trying to sound like a guitar, which does nothing to ruin this track.

"Oliver's House" clocks in at 6:20 and serves as a prelude to what the title track offers. Two ballads that give sparkle to this album are the lush and classy "Noon Rendezvous" and "Next Time Wipe The Lipstick Off Your Collar." Quite frankly, I don't know why she didn't maintain this sort of singing in Romance 1600. The second song shows her to be a girl with simple tastes, not minding hamburgers instead of a fancy place, dancing in the backyard instead of out on the town, but her sole request is the title of the song. Novi Novog, whose forlorn violin was a great touch on the "Purple Rain" song, returns here for "Collar." And guess who co-wrote this song? Why, none other than Brenda Bennett of Vanity 6 and later Apollonia 6.

And best for last, or best for penultimate, for the CD. The title track, a superlative exercise in pulsing percussive virtuosity and brass accompaniment, is present in its full, unadulterated near nine minutes. Larry Williams' sax works wonders here. From the lyrics beginning with "She's got big thoughts, big dreams," I've noticed what I think is Prince's vocals buried in the background. The myth is that Prince sang it first as a template and then had Sheila sing it. That's just a minor hand Prince had in this album, anyway. After all, the credits list the Starr Company as being the "director", as in Jamie Starr, one of many pseudonyms for Prince.

Also, the Club Mix, while a nice addition to the CD, does not compare to the original, but at least it's better than the tepid Eden's Crush remake.

A stunning debut whose potency was left unmatched by Romance 1600, Sheila E., and Sex Cymbale.

Shelia gives a cool performance in the "Glamorous Life". It's a slightly funky off beat pop record with lots of fun beats and a very catchy rhythm. The tracks are all good in their own special way. The romantic tragedy of "The Belle Of St. Mark" is done very well with controlled percussion and instrumentation yet a lot of spirit in Shelia's voice. "Shortberry Strawcake" is hot instrumental begging for sexy lyrics. The screams the grooves are fun and catchy. Shelia wails here. "Noon Rendezvous" is a sweet and loving account of lust. The next two tracks are silly and make Shelia look like a second rate Vanity with even weaker dialogue. The ending is essentially perfect. A long percussion production of "The Glamorous Life" with Shelia playing her heart out and making some of the best dance, R&B around are caught on both cuts that are full and complete. You don't feel something's missing like you do when listening to the radio edits. The full version starts off with a jazzy sax while the Club Edit just lets the steam start off from the top.

In general, it's a great set, but you are left wanting more. Other than "The Glamorous Life" nothings truly essential on the set and for the most part it just wanders off on to unneeded pop junk like "Oliver's House". If you get the album only for the title track, you'll be very happy and have a few really nice extras. The song "The Glamorous Life" is one of the brightest moments in eighties pop. A must have for fans.

The 1st solo outing for Sheila & her 1st under the purple one's reign. The title cut is, of course, the proverbial 80s classic that drove it to #7 on the pop charts. It's the best song on the album & the ample time given for Sheila's precisioned & energetic percussive solos as well as the fantastic sax of Larry Williams makes it a real jam. The rest was actually NOT filler but worth listening to. "Oliver's House" & "Shortberry Strawcake" provide funk-filled jams showcasing their Prince-fused inspiration. Where "Noon Rendezvous" is slower but equally appealing. "Bell of St. Mark" was another hit but I must admit, I didn't feel that one much. I liked "Next Time Wipe the Lipstick..." because of it's "cute" lyrics. Her singing voice on this one is not her strongest asset but when combined with her exceptional musicianship makes for pop music ear candy. This one is a must-have for Sheila E & Prince fans alike.

The debut album from Sheila E. is her best recording ever. The title track speaks for itself as Sheila lays the foundation for her arrival under the purple umberella. Sheila jams from beginning to the end proving that she has more talent than Vanity and Apollonia together. The Belle of St.Mark opens the cd and is followed by the instrumental sounds of Shortberry Strawcake. Noon Rendezvous and Next Time Wipe the Lipstick Off Your Collar are her signature slow songs. We all know the popular and famous dance track Glamorous Life which can bring most parties and dance floors to a standing room only dance scene. Prince found true talent this time and to him I say "Thank You". This talented female drummer and singer proves that her time has come and her reign is forever.

When Sheila E. first came on the scene in 1984 (I was 14 then), I had the biggest crush on her, and played my "Glamorous Life" 45 at least a hundred times in one day, mimicing her as if I was on percussions. Man! Those were the days of REAL music and REAL artists--and to show you how influential and powerful that LP was and still is, I put it on the other night and immediately began singing the hooks to "Belle of St. Mark", "Oliver's House", "Next Time Wipe the Lipstick Off Your Collar" and "Glamouroous Life." Strangely enough at the age of 33, I was still pretending like I was on stage with the glow-n-the-dark drumsticks Sheila E. used during her fabulous concerts. "Glamourous Life" was truly the pinnacle CD that launched Sheila E.'s career, not to mention her associations with the Purple Rocker Prince himself. "Glamourous Life" is laden with the "Minneapolis-sound", but that's okay because with the addition of Sheila E's cowbell, bongo drums and sultry vocals, it sets her apart from the rest of the talentless artists in Prince's camp at the time.

Sheila E's debut is deifinately cemented the the
horn and percussion-fueled,catchy tital track,an obvious product
of the Purple Rain-era Minnapolis sound whipped with Shelia's
bombastic,latin drum work."Strawberry Shortcake" is a pounding
funk instrumental while "The Belle Of St.Mark" is a catchy
pop-rock number.This varried album also includes the very Prince
sounding "Olivers House",the torchy ballad "Next Time,Wipe the
Lipstick Off Your Coller" and on this CD and "12 inch mix of the
famous title track.One of the best of the Jamie Starr,early to
mid 80's Prince productions,mostly due to Shelia E's diverse
musical backround and tough-minded artistry.Take a listen!

Sheila E hit it on the head with this album. What a way to make a solo debut. From beginning to end the album is a total jam session and it seems that she doesn't lose herself and her own style which has been hard for other Prine Protege's

Glamorous Life was Sheila E.'s first album and I must say it inspired many of us in the 80's. She's the mother of percussion!

If you are a fan of this recording then get it on vinyl. Find a copy pressed in 1984 and dont get a reissue. It sounds way better than the CD. The CD sounds so bad they warn you on the back of the CD. Most of the Prince related stuff from the early 80's have this problem.

During the magical summer of 1984, Prince Rogers Nelson,
a young upstart musical genius out of Minneapolis had finally
come into his own on the world pop/rock stage with a blockbuster
semi-biographical movie "Purple Rain" and it's amazing innovative
soundtrack which was well atop the POP and R&B charts for weeks,
would go on to sell 16 million copies, and win an Oscar for best soundtrack!
To say that the world was his oyster at this time would be a gross understatement!

Always sharp & industrious, the prolific musical mastermind had already given the
world one of the funkiest bands this side of the 70's in THE TIME as well as
two sexy girl groups (Vanity 6 / Apollonia 6) who had potent hits at the time
but proved to be more dispensable. He decided to add another formidible protege'
to his purple roster in the summer of '84 with the addition of one Sheila Escovedo
or "Sheila E." as she was coined by him. Sheila E. had been a respected percussionist
on the jazz scene, playing behind greats like George Duke and others.
She had also toured and did session work with pop greats like Lionel Richie,
The Jacksons and others. She heralded from a respected musical family, so her pedrigree
was well documented within the industry. But Prince being Prince, he had a definite
vision for how this dynamic female drummer/percussionist would fit within his
"Purple Empire", and so in addition to giving her a new name & persona, he also
found a way to utilize some excess tracks he had in reserve.
As he did on The Time's 1981 self-titled debut, Prince (aka Jaime Starr)
produced, composed, arranged and performed most every instrument on every track
that you hear within this album and placed Sheila E. in the starring role of
"The Glamorous Life"!!--the rest, as they say, was history!

The title track is a tour de force in both Minneapolis and 80's funk!
This joint used to set the club off back in summer/fall of 1984 along with
another Prince/Sheila E. collab which I wish could've been on this album called
"Erotic City", which Prince used as a B-Side to "Let's Go Crazy".
When those two songs came on back in my club and house party days, it was all over!
(Does anybody remember dances like The Prep, The Smurf, The Bedrock, The Cabbage Patch, etc.??)
In addition to the title track, other slammin' tracks on here are "The Belle Of St. Mark"
which was pure 1984 Prince and Sheila E.'s second single from this gold plus-selling album.
The stank-funky instrumental "Shortberry Strawcake", the groovin' fun funk of "Oliver's House"
and the drama-filled slow jams "Noon Rendevouz" and "Next Time, Wipe That Lipstick Off Your Collar"
close out the rest of this memorable debut with a bang!
This album was short, sweet, funky & to the point....
Just enough to make you tune in for the next Sheila E. chapter,
which was 1985's "Romance 1600", which featured another Prince/Sheila E.
collab called "Love Bizarre" which was a huge hit.
Anybody lucky enough to see Prince during his amazing Purple Rain Tour of '84/'85
knew that Sheila E. and her band (formed after this album was released),
were the opening act to Apollonia 6, The Time, and the headliner, his royal badness, PRINCE himself!
I saw that show 3 times in Miami, Orlando and Tallahassee, FL in early 1985...
one of the best shows I've seen in a history of great concerts!
This album is still a funk essential!--Buy It! (-: