''A Private Heaven'' is the fifth studio album by Scottish pop singer

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

, released on 21 September 1984 by

EMI America Records EMI America Records was started in 1978 by EMI as a second US label next to Capitol Records. It absorbed Liberty Records in 1984. In the late 1980s, EMI America was consolidated with Manhattan Records to form EMI Manhattan Records, which late ...

. The album featured two US Top 10 hit singles: the lead single "

Strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. Human anatomy Part of the functionality o ...

" and the controversial "

Sugar Walls "Sugar Walls" is the second single from Sheena Easton's 1984 album ''A Private Heaven''. It spent 16 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States, nine of which were in the top 40. It reached number 9 on the Hot 100, number 3 on the ...

". " Swear", a third single, peaked at No. 80. The album is Easton's most successful studio album in the United States to date, peaking at No. 15 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and selling over one million copies, earning a gold and platinum certification from the RIAA. In Canada, the album also went platinum. The tour that year featured

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

on keyboards in the live band.

Background and legacy

The album marked a conscious effort by Easton to change her image to that of a sexy pop singer after cultivating a "sweet and innocent" image since the launch of her career five years earlier. The sexually-charged "Strut" - co-written by

Charlie Dore Charlie Dore (born 1956) is an English singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and actress. Although best known as a singer-songwriter, Dore has a multi-faceted career that includes acting in film, TV and radio, comedy-improvisatio ...

- became Easton's biggest solo hit in the US since 1981's " For Your Eyes Only". Easton collaborated with

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

on the controversial track "

", written by Prince under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Alexander Nevermind. The track and its accompanying video were banned in some regions due to its sexually risqué lyrics and was one of several songs cited by

Tipper Gore Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore (née Aitcheson; born August 19, 1948) is an American social issues advocate, activist, photographer and author who was the second lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. She was married to Al Gore, the 45th vi ...

on her Filthy Fifteen list in her efforts to introduce mandatory warning labeling of explicit musical albums. Easton's musical association with Prince continued for the next few years, with him writing "Eternity" for her eighth studio album, ''

No Sound But a Heart ''No Sound But a Heart'' is Sheena Easton's eighth studio album, released in 1987 on the EMI America label. The album was issued in the Canadian, Mexican and Asian markets. The album consists of midtempo and ballad songs, including the single and ...

'' (1987) and Easton later featuring on Prince's single "

U Got the Look "U Got the Look" is a song by American musician Prince. It opens the second disc of Prince's double album '' Sign o' the Times'' (1987), and became the album's runner-up chart single. Musically, the song is a standard 12-bar rock song with emphasi ...

" in 1987. The album also includes

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of

Tim Scott Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Carolina since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Scott was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Go ...

's new wave track " Swear" and

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, (, born 9 December 1950) is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She received ...

's 1976 classic " Love and Affection". Converse to the album's success in America, in the UK, it was her first studio album not to chart, and none of the singles released made the official Top 75. In 2000,

One Way Records One Way Records was an independent record label based in Albany, New York that specialized in budget reissues of classic rock albums. In the 1990s, it gained business pressing reissues of those records that had "fallen through the cracks" in the t ...

released a remastered version of ''A Private Heaven'' with bonus tracks and B-sides. On February 23, 2013, Edsel Records (UK) reissued Easton's ''A Private Heaven'' and its follow-up studio album '' Do You'' (1985) on two CDs remastered with bonus tracks. On November 24, 2014, the album was included in a box set in the UK with all of her first five albums with EMI through

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

. A 2CD deluxe edition of ''A Private Heaven'', remastered from the original master tapes for the first time with 21 bonus tracks, including 12 previously-unreleased tracks, along with 12" mixes and B-sides, was released on 25 February 2022 by

Cherry Pop "Cherry Pop" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Alexandra Stan for her second studio album ''Unlocked (Alexandra Stan album), Unlocked'' (2014). It was made available for music download, digital download on 28 May 2015 through Roton (label), R ...

/RT Industries.

Critical reception

'' Cashbox'' magazine reviewed the album in October 1984, writing that with "Virtually unlimited talent, Sheena Easton is at her absolute best", describing the album as "dazzling" and featuring "solid, punchy, techno-pop production with dramatic ballads".

Track listing

Side one #"

" (

, Julian Littman) – 4:05 #"

" ( Alexander Nevermind) – 4:01 #"Hungry Eyes" (Greg Mathieson,

Trevor Veitch Trevor Veitch (born May 19, 1946 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian musician/record producer who has worked behind the scenes on many pop trends from the 1960s to the present. He is mostly known for his involvement in the popular 1960s ...

) – 3:42 #"Hard to Say It's Over" (

Adrienne Anderson Adrienne Anderson is an American songwriter, most notable for being the co-writer of "Could It Be Magic", among other Barry Manilow songs, as well as being the co-writer of signature songs for Dionne Warwick ("Déjà Vu") and Peter Allen (" I Go t ...

, Gino Cunico, Tom Saviano) – 4:24 #" Swear" (

) – 3:43 Side two #

" Love and Affection" (

) – 4:06 #"Back in the City" (Greg Mathieson, Lee Ritenour, Trevor Veitch) – 3:46 #"You Make Me Nervous" (Mark Holding,

Robbie Nevil Robert S. Nevil (born October 2, 1958) is an American pop singer, songwriter, producer, and guitarist who had five ''Billboard'' top 40 hits including his songs "C'est la Vie" (#2, 1986), "Dominoes" (#14, 1987), and " Wot's It to Ya" (#10, 198 ...

, Duncan Pain) – 3:53 #"All by Myself" ( Steve Lukather, Trevor Veitch) – 4:24 #"Double Standard" (

Steve Kipner Stephen Alan Kipner (born 1950) is an American-born Australian songwriter and record producer, with hits spanning a 40-year period, including chart-topping songs such as Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", Natasha Bedingfield's "These Words", an ...

, Ben Petterson) – 3:50

The 2022 2CD Deluxe version bonus tracks

The 12” Mixes #"Strut" (Dance Mix) #"Sugar Walls" (Dance Mix) #"Swear" (Dance Mix) #"Strut" (Dub Mix) #"Sugar Walls" (Red Mix) #"Swear" (Dub Mix) The B-Sides #"Letters from the Road" #"Straight Talking" #"Fallen Angels" The Studio Sessions (previously unreleased) #"Have You Ever Been in Love" #"Hungry Eyes" (Alternate Version) #"Hard to Say It’s Over" (Alternate Version) #"Sugar Walls" (Long ‘Roman’ Version) The Instrumental Mixes (previously unreleased) #"Strut" (Instrumental Mix) #"Love and Affection" (Instrumental Mix) #"Hungry Eyes" (Instrumental Mix) #"All by Myself" (Instrumental Mix) #"Back in the City" (Instrumental Mix) #"Hard to Say It’s Over" (Instrumental Mix) #"Straight Talking" (Instrumental Mix) #"In It to Win It" (Instrumental Mix)

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''A Private Heaven'' liner notes. * Sheena Easton – lead and backing vocals *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthe ...

– keyboards * Greg Mathieson – keyboards, arrangements * Michael Landau – guitars * Lee Ritenour – guitars * Steve Lukather – guitars (9) *

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

– bass *

Carlos Vega Carlos Vega (December 7, 1956 – April 7, 1998) was a Cuban-born Los Angeles-based session drummer best known for his performances with James Taylor. As a part of the L.A. studio scene from the late 1970s through the 1990s, Vega contributed to ...

– drums * Lenny Castro – percussion * Gary Herbig – saxophones *

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...

– saxophones *

Bill Reichenbach Jr. William Frank Reichenbach Jr. (born November 30, 1949) is an American jazz trombonist and composer. He is the son of Bill Reichenbach, who was the drummer for Charlie Byrd from 1962 to 1973. He is best known as a session musician for television, ...

– trombone * Gary Grant – trumpet *

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'', '' Rock with You'' ...

– trumpet, horn arrangements * Steve George – backing vocals * Tom Kelly – backing vocals *

Richard Page Richard Lewis Page (born 22 February 1941) is a former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and from December 1979 to 2005. Early life Born the son of Victor Charles Page, he went to the independent H ...

– backing vocals * Devo – backing vocals

Production

* Producer – Greg Mathieson * Recorded and Mixed by David Leonard * Recorded at

Sunset Sound Factory The Sound Factory (also known as Sunset Sound Factory) is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California. The Sound Factory was built in the 1960s on Selma Avenue in Hollywood. At the time, it served as the home of Moonglow Records and the Moon ...

(Hollywood, CA). * Mixed at

Sunset Sound Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the sprin ...

(Hollywood, CA). * Mastered by Wally Traugott at Capitol Mastering (Hollywood, CA). * Art Direction – Ria Lewerke * Logo – Sue Reilly * Photography –

Brian Aris Brian Aris is a British photographer who began his career as a photojournalist. Initially, he was a front line photographer of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the plight of Palestinian children in Jordan, the civil war in Lebanon, famine in Afr ...

* Management – Harriet Wasserman

Chart performance

The album spent 35 weeks on the US ''Billboard'' album charts and reached its peak position of No. 15 in early February 1985.

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Private Heaven 1984 albums Sheena Easton albums EMI Records albums