Graycap23 said:

I must listen again. I remember liking a few tracks especially
the first one.

phunkdaddy said:

Do a comparison.....

NoVideo said:

According to media reports, the album is currently # 1 in ten additional countries including Canada, Switzerland, France, Italy, Dubai, Poland, Greece, Japan, Portugal and Spain.

why was this unstickied? sick of this topic mod?

2elijah said:

Girl, don't mind him...he obviously done bumped his head again,

Identity said:

I was just at Target and they had it for sale for $3.99.

sosgemini said:

On the other hand, my coworkers who were late to the party are complaining that they couldn't find a Sade cd anywhere over the weekend because the stores sold out.

babynoz said:

Ouch.

Sade’s Comeback Succeeds With Quiet Application of Old-School Approach
February 18, 2010

How do you make it to No. 1 on the Billboard chart? Sade’s strategy: take a decade off and remain mysterious.


Last week Sade, the Nigerian-born singer whose song “Smooth Operator” has been a radio staple for a quarter-century, released “Soldier of Love” (Epic), her first album in 10 years, and it zoomed past all competition. It reached No. 1 with a remarkable 502,000 sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a better debut week than Jay-Z, U2 and Britney Spears had for their latest albums.

“Soldier of Love” has received strong reviews. But the album’s success also points to the consumer power and loyalty of older listeners, who helped make Susan Boyle’s album “I Dreamed a Dream” (Syco Music/Columbia) the second-best selling album of 2009. No. 1 was “Fearless” Taylor Swift (Big Machine).

“It’s easier to reach an older, more traditional consumer by using the old means of promotion,” said Carl Mello, buyer for Newbury Comics, a music and media chain in New England. “You can build awareness with younger people, but fewer of them will actually put their hand in their wallets and pay for it.”

“Soldier of Love,” Sade’s first No. 1 album in 24 years, runs contrary to prevailing sales trends. Her previous album, “Lovers Rock,” sold 370,000 copies in its first week in 2000. Since then overall album sales have dropped by more than 50 percent, and most artists have gotten used to the pattern of gradual sales erosion; Sade’s sales — at least for this first week — have increased significantly.

She is not the only R&B artist to have come back recently from a long absence with a splash, however. Last year Maxwell, gone for eight years, came back at No. 1 with “BLACKsummers’night,” as did Whitney Houston, whose “I Look to You” was her first since 2002.

To promote her new album, Sade said little but sang much. She performed on “Today,” “The View” and “Late Show With David Letterman” but gave very few interviews. That reticence — which goes against every rule in the current pop-marketing playbook — may have worked to her advantage on the radio, said Doc Wynter, vice president of urban programming for Clear Channel Radio.

“The audience was really thirsting to hear more of her music,” he said. “I was particularly surprised when a number of our mainstream stations that play hip-hop and R&B gravitated to the song as well. The beat is timeless, and she’s just got that X factor that makes people curious.”



http://www.nytimes.com/20...8sade.html

I'm finally gonna get to see her live.

Okay.....so I got 2 finally sit down in the studio and listen 2 this cd.
I fell asleep by track 4. Snooze fest.

Next.

^

Whew...what a relief. You had me on the edge of my seat.

Another review:



Soldier of Love A Masterpiece

Feb 19, 2010


Ten years is a long time between albums. Soldier of Love was worth the wait. Helen Folasade Adu (known as Sade) has been living her life out of the public eye since completing a tour in 2000 to support her album, Lover Rocks. Prior to that tour, there had been an eight-year gap. Two albums in 18 years would spell career suicide for most artists, but these reclusive tendencies make her music even more valuable when it does finally surface.


In a recent interview, Sade said "it's not an easy job making an album. You have certain rules and limitations and terrain that you can operate within."

Sade's voice maintains a sublime nobility that is unaffected by the trends of current popular music. In an era of Idol

wannabes, Beyonce acrobatics and Lady Gaga spectacles, Sade's pure alto delivery gives her music an honesty and sincerity that is sorely lacking in the ego-fueled pop trash that dominates today's music scene.

The music tracks that support these evocative yet understated vocals are sparse and tasteful, yet entirely vital and dynamic.

The Moon and the Sky opens the album with a Spanish guitar, synth textures and a hip hop beat. The contrast between the organic sound of the guitar and the synthetic sounds of keyboard and drum loops give the song depth and colour.

Morning Bird opens with the heartbreakingly simple line "How could you?" above long piano chords, rippling tambourine and shivers of cello.

In Another Time is built upon the 6/8 pattern of soda-shop pop like the songs of Neil Sedaka. Even with the familiar chord progression and punctuating saxophone, the song sounds simultaneously retrospective and fresh.

The title track has predictable military drum beats over a hip hop loop, but somehow they avoid sounding cliché. The electric guitar is fragmented and surgical, giving the song gaps and space.

Skin is a beautiful reference to peeling away an old lover like emotional exfoliation.

Identity said:

Lol.....masterpiece? Ohh my, not even close.

Graycap23 said:

you lost me when you said Elixer was better than Soldier of Love...

***Outta Lurk Mode***

Sade Adu is the most beautiful woman EEEEEVVVVEEERR!!

***Okay, back in lurk mode***

LOL

I've only listened to it twice. I'm a bit underwhelmed considering the insane hype surrounding this prioject. One good thing I can say now its that its great to see a short album, and not 1 where they stuff as many tracks as possible. U know- the bigger the ego, the longer the album. So thats a good thing. Next week, I will write a review after I've gotten some more listens. I cant even tell u what my faves are, the shit all sounds the same. I need to get into it, I'm listening to other stuff right now.

Nick715 said:

ohh lawrd.....

Graycap23 said:

syl said:

Thank you...one might not care for the cd but let's not get crazy.

Identity said:

And there it is...

How is this bitch 51 years old??? She looks about 35.

I saw Sade on tv once during this recent push for "soldier"..
the new album is alright, but after 10 years I was expecting more. something "jazzier," more along the lines of "is it a crime" & the whole "promise" vibe..

to me that is "classic" Sade.

Identity said:

That skit was cute but I'm mad that we didn't get a song too...

babynoz said:

Damn that woman is fune.

syl said:

Id actually like to hear Sade sing "Another Boy" "Immersion" or "Elixer" very velvety thoughtful tracks.

Vendetta1 said:

Exquisite-ness personified...

I love Sade's album. Real class, true artist, very original, real music.

2elijah said:

I've had the album for a few weeks but went and picked it up in the stores yesterday.