| 16 is the second (and final) studio album by Madhouse, and was released in November 1987 (ten months after their first album 8). New Directions In Garage Music appears as a subtitle on the cover, in a nod to a series of albums by Miles Davis from the late 60s and early 70s.
All eight tracks were written or co-written by Prince, and all contain him playing most instruments, with Eric Leeds playing saxophone and minimal contributions from other musicians. Following on from the previous album, 8, all tracks are given written numerical names, from Nine to Sixteen, while the album is named numerically.
Prince and Eric Leeds would return to Madhouse projects in the future, although no other Madhouse albums were released. See 24 (1989) and 24 (1994) for two later unreleased albums.
Sessions and compiling
Prince and Eric Leeds recorded the album in a very dense few days of recording at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, Minnesota, from 30 July to 2 August 1987, shortly after completing filming for the Sign O’ The Times movie.
The only exception are Nine, which was recorded in March 1987 at Prince’s Galpin Blvd Home Studio, Chanhassen, Minnesota.
Musicians input
Four of the eight tracks on the album feature only Prince and Eric Leeds. Sheila E. plays drums and Levi Seacer, Jr. plays bass guitar on three tracks (Ten, Eleven and Fifteen), and Dr. Fink plays keyboards on Sixteen. Prince and Sheila E.’s contributions are uncredited. The band for the whole album is listed as Eric Leeds, Levi Seacer, Jr., Dr. Fink and the fictional John Lewis.
Promotion
The album produced two singles, 10 and 13, but failed to enter the charts.
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1987: Taja Sevelle ◄
