A smoochy compilation album (The Best Of Sade - Sade)

Member Name: music-mad

Product:	The Best Of Sade - Sade
Date:	08/06/09 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good introduction to Sade. Contains some classics.

Disadvantages: Little incentive to buy if you already own the albums

"The Best of Sade" is a compilation album released in 1994 containing a selection of tracks from their first 4 albums. Sade is a talented band consisting of:
- Sade Adu (vocals)
- Andrew Hale (keyboard)
- Stuart Matthewman (guitars & sax)
- Paul S Denman (bass)

If you've never heard of them, Sade achieved fame in the 1980s for mainly producing easy listening/romantic songs. Their first 2 albums, "Diamond Life" and "Promise" (my favourite), were characterised by a jazzy emphasis that would be lost in later albums. Whilst Sade's vocals are not the strongest, the lyrics and smooth, mellow melodies on certain tracks really appeal to me.

The breakdown of tracks from the 4 albums, as detailed on the album sleeve, are as follows:

"Diamond Life" album
1. Your love is king
2. Hang on to your love
3. Smooth operator

"Promise" album
4. Jezebel
5. The sweetest taboo
6. Is it a crime
7. Never as good as the first time

"Stronger than pride" album
8. Love is stronger than pride
9. Paradise
10. Nothing can come between us

"Love deluxe" album
11. No ordinary love
12. Like a tattoo
13. Kiss of life
15. Cherish the day
16. Pearls

Bonus track
14. Please send me someone to love

If you already own the 4 albums, the only real incentive to purchase this compilation is the bonus track, which is a cover of the Percy Mayfield original. Sade's version of "Please send me someone to love" replaces the original's piano tinklings with bluesy guitar and is part of the film soundtrack to Philadelphia - I can't say it is an improvement but it's not bad. Worth noting is that the version of "Smooth Operator" on this compilation has been tweaked, most noticeably with the opening dialogue of the original removed and a new additional bongo flourish before the chorus (I like both versions).

If you are new to Sade then this gives you a reasonable idea of what to expect from the albums and represents good value for money. My favourite tracks from this compilation are:

- "Smooth Operator". One of Sade's most well-known tracks and it features a catchy guitar solo and sax solo right after each other. The "smooth operator" of the song title refers to a charming lady-killer but it could equally be used to describe the track itself.

- "Is it a crime" is a straightforward jazz tune on unrequited love but it is well done and I find it extremely soothing listening to Sade's sultry voice. All elements of the track simply combine into a smooth, harmonious whole.

- In stark contrast to most of the compilation, "Pearls" is an extremely sad track dealing with the serious issue of starvation in Somalia. Mournful strings and the cutting lyrics: "There is a woman in Somalia, scraping for pearls on the roadside ...... she lives a life she didn't choose and it hurts like brand new shoes" combine to powerful effect.

Summary
Don't waste your time with this compilation if you own any of the albums because there isn't much added value. Do consider it if you are after a broad introduction to Sade or as an alternative, buy their 2nd album "Promise" instead and see if you like that. The refined jazzy tones and consistency of the tracks makes "Promise" my favourite album out of the four.

[Also reviewed on Ciao and Epinions]

Summary: Does what it says on the tin...er... case