Shining start from Sade

Press, 30 August 1984, Page 18

Shining start from Sade

SADE “Diamond Life” (Epic ELPS444S. “Diamond Life” sits on top of the English charts at the moment, and the single, “Your Love Is King,” is high in the New Zealand charts. It is not surprising, because Sade (pronounced Shar-day) have released a superb debut album, filled with crosscurrents of jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, and rock. The group is led by Sade Adu, the result of a marriage between a Nigerian father and an English mother. What a result. Her voice has been compared to Billie Holiday’s, but one can also catch moments of Grace Jones and Rickie Lee Jones in it as well. But above all she registers vocal approval in her own right. Although the band themselves sound like they should occasionally be in smoky jazz clubs, they successfully transend this with their original songs. The group were part of a much larger organisation called Pride, and although the big group were considered to be chic, it was a smaller foursome that came to be Sade. Pride were doing covers

with Sade Adu, such as Julie London’s “Cry Me A River,” and “Be Thankful” by William De Vaughan. Only one song from this period has been retained. “Why Can’t We Live Together,” by Timmy Thomas, and one can hear why it has been kept. “Diamond Life” opens with “Smooth Operator,” and is played and sung exactly as the title suggests, with the title being drawn from the lyrics. It is the closest that Sade Adu comes to Grace Jones. “Your Love Is King” is a great song, but is by no means the best on the album. Sade can be guilty of the occasional misdemeanour in allowing songs to drag on too long. A case in point is “Hang On To Your Love.” Although it is played in a strict style the funk is carried too far. On the other hand, a slightly negative song like, “When Am I Going To Make A Living?,” is given a positive voice by Sade Adu, lifting the whole track. “Cherry Pie” is another song that is given an extra edge by Adu’s vocals, with

the band chiming in to make it more than just another broken-hearted soul song. “Sally” is a doubleentendre, about the Salvation Army and also a woman, and a song that shows the band can come to

grips with a powerful theme like urban decay. “Sally” shows the qualities of Sade Adu; what a voice. P.S. The cassette has an extra track—“ Love Affair With Life.” -NEVIN TOPP.