Tag: Sade

audio review : Love Deluxe ( album ) … Sade

audio review : Love Deluxe ( album ) ... Sade

Sade claims it’s No Ordinary Love, but it kind of is. It’s the romantic kind most singers sing about, albeit a Deluxe version of it. The fact that not every song on the album fits that theme; Feel No Pain and Pearl deal with the stresses of poverty; throws things off a bit. That’s if individual concepts even matter when the music sounds this good.

The vocals, on all but the one song that doesn’t have any, are accommodated by what I’d describe as gentle mood music. It’s mostly jazzy quiet storm stuff, but a couple of songs, arguably the best ones, rely on not much more than a soundscape of strings. That said, while the set isn’t alluring enough to fall in Love with, I do like it.

my rating : 4 of 5

1992

audio review : Soldier Of Love ( album ) … Sade

audio review : Soldier Of Love ( album ) ... Sade

Songstress Sade has a thing for Love. This is her third album in a row with that word in the title. For her, it’s a catch-all for romantic allure, which this time comes with the theme of war. Even the Babyfather ballad, presumably dedicated to her own daughter, has “troops and extra backup standing by”.

It’s a waste of resources though. The one place Sade needs back-up is on the hooks of these songs, which rarely sway from the narrow melodic range we’ve come to expect from her. It, along with the smooth jazz grooves it’s presented upon, represents her comfort zone. But neo-soul only goes so far.

There’s some impressive, subtle yet sporadic, instrumentation happening during the last third of the title track, which marches like the beat of a military band. The best song though doesn’t come until the album’s end. “In my heart, your love has found the safest hiding place,” she sings to her soldier.

my rating : 3 of 5

2010