Sometimes music manages to be successful simply because it's *good music*, despite the fact that it may not tie in to anything that's remotely popular at the moment. This has been the case for almost two decades now for Sade (pronounced "Shah-day", not "Sadie", as my uncle's cornpone wife called them at the outset of their career). The British band started out as sort of a jazz/pop combo, and along the way, have flirted with genres such as reggae and electronica, making fans along the way but rarely (if ever) making anything that sounded like typical Top 40 fare.

"Wait a second," some of you might be saying. "Sade's not a band. It's just one chick". WRONG. While the fetching Helen Folasade Adu might be the public face and voice, the band also includes Andrew Hale (keyboards), Stuart Matthewman (guitar) and Paul Denman (bass). The four have always made it a point of enforcing the fact that Sade is a band, not just a vocalist.

And what does Sade do best, you might ask? Seduce, baby!! Sade's music provides the perfect soundtrack for some hardcore sensuality. The band's easygoing, smooth grooves are practically made for the horizontal mambo, while Sade herself has a unique voice that coos and moans just like the jazz singers of old. Of course, their music is just as good without sex involved, but it...well, just listen to this album while naked. With a partner, of course. Then tell me what you think about their music. "The Best of Sade" might not be their most essential purchase, but it is certainly a good place to start for the uninitiated.

Sade is one of those bands that got better with time. Although their early stuff (their first two albums, 1984's "Diamond Life" and 1986's "Promise") are great, the later two albums reflected on this collection (1988's "Stronger Than Pride" and 1991's "Love Deluxe") have more of a sense of daring and experimentation. However, that's not to say the old stuff's not good. Songs like "Smooth Operator" and "Hang On To Your Love" are great, with an urbane, European feel to them. It's sort of a jazzier offshoot of the classy pop that was made by other 80's bands like Spandau Ballet.

Songs like those two incorrectly got Sade pegged as a "jazz" group, and while they certainly had jazz elements, it was immediately obvious that they were not going to be pigeonholed into one genre. Sade certainly proved herself an able torch singer-songs like the spare "Is It a Crime" and the heartbreaking "Please Send Me Someone To Love" tug at the heartstrings with aching vocal performances by Sade. However, the band was also able to groove, as tracks like "Never As Good As the First Time" and "Nothing Can Come Between Us" prove. These tracks, while not particularly caffeinated, are a little more bottom-heavy and danceable. They also flirted a little bit with reggae-the stutter-step beat of "The Sweetest Taboo" and the tropical vibe of "Paradise" are among this album's highlights.

Sade the singer was a powerhouse vocalist, although not in a showy way at all. Although she did occasionally belt, her best moments found her matching a sort of sly seduction with an almost detached, icy cool. This quality is something almost always found in British female singers (Tracey Thorn, Alison Moyet, Lisa Stansfield, etc.). Listen to a song like "Love is Stronger Than Pride". The song is so airy it almost floats away, with atmospheric keyboards, the slightest whiff of percussion and a cooing horn. Factor in Sade's vocals as she expresses her confusion over taking back someone who might not be good for you, culminating in the words "I still really, really love you...love is stronger than pride". The match of lyrics, vocals and instrumentation is breathtaking.

You can tell that artists like Massive Attack and Portishead were listening to Sade, as the band's later music has elements that later mutated into "chillout"
or trip-hop. "No Ordinary Love", which was famously used in the film "Indecent Proposal", has a snaky bassline and a slow pace that sort of puts you in a spell. "Cherish the Day" has a similar effect, but it sounds almost as if it was made on a cloud. Similar to "Love is Stronger..." it finds a lovelorn Sade singing "if you were mine....I wouldn't want to go...to heaven". Almost get wood just thinking about it. Oh, was that an overshare? Sorry.

Of course, Sade's music is good for things other than bonin'. Actually, in order to make this the perfect CD for a bout of late evenin' winin' and dinin', you may have to edit a couple of tracks, lest your date start weeping in the middle of getting it on (and the weeping won't be because of how good you are). "Jezebel" and "Pearls" (which starts off with the words "there is a woman in Somalia" and goes downhill from there) are both a bit overwrought, and they're definitely not the happiest songs in the world, so you're best off programming your CD player to bypass those two songs.

If you're a newcomer to this band's music, I definitely recommend this "Best of" as the place to start, especially since they've only released one (admittedly excellent) album in the twelve years since this compilation made it's way into stores. With a pinky toe in genres ranging from jazz to pop to funk, this album is a worthwhile purchase for fans of just about all kinds of music. And it just might help getcha some, too.

Thank me later, OK??


"The Best of Sade"
Released 1994 on Epic Records
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Recommended: Yes