When it was released, back in 1992, it was raved by critics and public as the best Sade release to date. No ordinary love became instantly a huge hit, especially since it was the main soundtrack in the Indicent proposal movie. Then, 4 more singles came out of this album and received a great deal of airplay, including Cherish the Day, Kiss of life and Feel no pain. This was one of the best selling albums in the nineties, and still is considered to be one of the best examples of REAL RnB music. With a soundproduction as clear as glass, a deep and sensual bass and Sades unmistakable Class, this album is nothing but sheer Perfection.. USHERING IN A MORE bassline groove while still incorporating some jazz overtones. I will admit a bit of inconsistency in my way of thinking. Yes, I was a bit put off by Stronger Than Pride because I was expecting another Promise or Diamond Life. Yet when I heard No Ordinary Love and heard that Paul Denmans opening throbbing bass and Sades still-sensuous vocals, I was blown away. Maybe it was because it had been four years and there was a quiet storm needed to counter all the grunge that was crawling from the woodwork (no offense intended to that genre, BTW) So, yes, I accepted the fact that the quartet were a kind of light jazz/R&B hybrid, and No Ordinary Love, with its yearning, appealing, and affirmation, I keep crying/I keep trying for you baby/theres nothing like you and I, baby was the best Sade song Id heard since the Promise album. Feel No Pain paints a moving portrait of a ghetto familys hardships. All the family has been laid off. Sade pleads for them, Help them to live life/help them to smile/dont let them stay home and listen to the blues. Done in the groups new style, Andrew Hales held-down backing synth chords provide the sordid atmosphere. The equating of a job with pride is emphasized in the two contrasting emotions: do you know how that feels/to walk the street with your head held high/.../did you ever see a man break down? The mid-paced and lush I Couldnt Love You More is another affirmation of romantic fealty, with piano chords and airy keyboards adding to the atmosphere. Simple lyrics, but effective. Stuart Matthewmans gentle guitars set the mood for the love lament of Like A Tattoo. Keyboards come into play when the mood goes up a notch. The sound of the love celebration Kiss Of Life reminds me of some of their Promise material, such as Tar Baby. The entire bands teamwork really shows up here, and Nick Ingmans strings really add to the loveliness of this tune. One of their mellower tunes, the love surrender Cherish The Day follows, with the airy keyboards and drums predominating. Must be some kinda man to elicit, Youre ruling the way that I move/you take my air. The melancholy and hearbreaking Pearls, complete with Ingmans strings and a cello, is about a Somalian woman living a hard life, the blistering sun overhead, searching for pearls. This is how shes dying/shes dying to survive, sings Sade, and at the same time, lauds her strength. She lives in a world she didnt choose/and it hurts like brand new shoes. Sades voice really reaches an emotional peak throughout the song, and especially when she sings Hallelujah. The slow Bullet Proof Soul uses the love/gun analogy, and the woman says that love hit her like a slow bullet. She then warns the man that only a bullet proof soul can resist her. The instrumental Mermaid conjures up the deep blue ocean, and the otherwordly sounds the fantasy world of mermaids. Im still not going to try to explain why I can handle their sound here and not on the previous album. All I can say is that it soothes me. Eight years and four albums and still the same lineup of Adu (vocals), Matthewman (sax), Denman (bass), and Hale (keyboards), so not bad at all. They are tighter and cohesive, yet I notice the gradual buildup of other players on the scene that really took shape in Stronger Than Pride, such as Leroy Osbourne (vocals) and Nick Ingman (string arrangements). Im unaware of what a near-decade break did for Sade on Lovers Rock, but Im sure to find out sometime in the future. So a Pearls-style hallelujah for Love Deluxe! vinylrecords.ca/sade-love-deluxe-1992-jazz-funk-soul-audiophile-p-17380.html
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 21:43:50 +0000
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