Oldie but goodie
CD name: ‘Soldier of Love’
Artist: Sade
Genre: R&B/Soul
Sounds like: Alicia Keys
Soundwaves: 4/5
Release date: Feb. 9, 2010
British R&B band Sade has sold more than 50 million records worldwide within the last 25 years, but it has perplexingly remained under the radar since debuting in 1984. Named after its female lead vocalist, Sade Adu, the band has consistently achieved widespread success, despite releasing only two albums since 1992.
Sade’s latest album, ‘Soldier of Love,’ continues in its classic style of understated, soft and jazzy pop while managing to sound both familiar and refreshing. This is the kind of enjoyable soul music that grooves the right way.
‘Solider of Love’ kicks off with ‘The Moon and the Sky,’ an acoustic guitar-driven song that builds dramatic tension throughout. Adu’s voice stands out here. Deep, rich and mysteriously sexy, it is a relief from the standard croons of modern divas like Rihanna and Beyoncé.
Title track ‘Soldier of Love’ is a stark departure from the musical silkiness that Sade is known for, featuring military-style drum rolls and strange tempos. It doesn’t sound like Sade, yet it works well to reinforce the theme of the album – war as a metaphor for love.
Despite the group’s success, chances are younger audiences haven’t heard anything by Sade. 1984’s ‘Smooth Operator’ is the band’s earliest and most contagious hit, combining soft jazz instrumentation with the soulful vocals of Adu. Adu has always been praised for her voice, a rich contralto.
The songs in the album are more typical of the band’s variety of calm jazz. ‘Morning Bird’ has the 51-year-old Adu impressively stretching out her voice. Age has done little to her vocal chords, as she effortlessly hits some very high notes in her range.
‘Be That Easy’ is the feel-good song of the album, a jam fit for sitting on the beach and enjoying life. ‘In Another Time’ is a beautiful groove that will immediately catch the ears, featuring the best instrumentation on the album. Piano, guitar and sax solos remind us of the broad musical talent hidden in other tracks.
The ninth track, ‘Skin,’ grooves along in the quiet style that helped launch Sade’s career back in the 1980s: a calm, slow jam ideal for late-night listening.
The album closer, ‘The Safest Place,’ is wrought with irony, commenting on the heart being a place of refuge.
Sade remains completely within its comfort zone in terms of subject matter, content to fall back on tried-and-true themes of love and pain. Some would criticize the veteran band for this. But for the type of music Sade puts out, which values mood and atmosphere over flashiness and glamour, remaining within that comfort zone is understandable and even oddly refreshing.
Considering that this is Sade’s first album in a decade, the familiarity and consistency of ‘Soldier of Love’ should gratify longtime fans and win over new ones.
Published on February 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm
