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Paisley Park is in Sheila's Mind........

zooni | long beach ,ca | 07/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sheila E.'s 3rd release was in my oppinion, her most creative effort. Under the heavy influence of Prince, this album came out during his "Sign O The Times" album, along with Madhouse and Jill Jones, all under Paisley Park. It was a funky free- 4- all, and Sheila E. guzzled up some of that creative juice and let Prince lead the way. His heavy influence can be heard throughout several tracks, this cd showcases that unmistakable Paisley Park sound, capturing a special time in the 80's when love was in the air. Here is a breakdown of the tracks and my oppinion of each song:



1. One Day (make U mine): 4/5 I didn't like this song back in 1988, but I've changed my mind. It's one of the more funkier numbers and very Prince sounding.



2. Wednesday like A River: 5/5 an acoustic affair with lyrics like poetry. a breezy song that makes u feel good, Sheila gets creative.



3. Hold Me: 3/5 a minor hit for Sheila on the adult contemporary scene. sappy lyrics about love, some may find it romantic, a lil too sugary 4 my taste.



4. Faded Photographs: 5/5 a good rock jam with cool lyrics. Sheila explores the rock genre with explosive results.



5. Koo Koo: 5/5 the Sheila E. version of Prince's song "Sign O The Times", with controversial lyrics like "first she had an abortion, now she's got the blues". The video is kick a**, Sheila E. looks fantastic.



6. Pride and the Passion: 5/5 another feel good jam where Sheila gets down like she oughta should.



7. Boy's Club: 5/5 m' fave track on the cd. this song is mystical and romantic, I love the music, it reminds me alot of Prince. It captures the moment, a sexy groove for all tha sexy people.



8. Soul Salsa: 2/5 the worst track on the album. it's a frantic jam that showcases the drums and the latin sound. Unfortunately it sounds like bad background music you would hear at El Torito.



9. Hon E Man: 5/5 I don't know how to best describe this song, the word strange comes to mind. I'd like to see Miley Cyrus even attempt to do a song like this. This new generation don't know what time it is, ok!



10. Luv On A Blue Train: 4/5 This is another song I didn't quite "get" when I was a teenager, but it sounds good today. Is yo blue train runnin' on a koo koo track?" Now I know what that means 20 years later!



I'm happy they finally released this on cd. I'm not happy that WB did a crap job with the packaging. The cd booklet looks like a bad bootleg you could buy in Tijuana Mexico. Talk about "Faded Photographs". They also could have included "The World Is High", which was a b side on the "Hold Me" 45 record. Anywayz, it is nice to have "Sheila E." on cd after 20 years. Now where's the Jill Jones re-release????????"