// Essential Listening
Led by their incomparable singer, Sades seductive brand of sophisti-pop, classic jazz and adult contemporary R&B has always felt timeless. Their quiet storm hits would have thrived in any era, which is why the English bands first compilation album still sounds as lush and stylish today as it did when it was released in 1994.
Collecting Sade’s best music from the previous decade, this outstanding 16-track LP is a testament to the groups enduring class, and the magnetism of their vocalists sultry contralto. Featuring early singles such as “Your Love Is King” and “Smooth Operator,” alongside aching ballads like “Love Is Stronger Than Pride” and “No Ordinary Love” – The Best of Sade brims with certified classics.
By the time this was released in 1994, something unexpected happened. Sade’s early work became classic and the later additions boasted even better vocals and songs that nicely improved on the theme. The timeless sound and class always exhibited makes Sade Adu and her band a no-brainer for an appealing compilation. Like Al Green’s Greatest Hits, The Best of Sade doesn’t detract from the original albums and is a marker of time, not the end of the act.
The ice-princess demeanor and detached vocals worked perfectly for the mid-’80s singles and radio samples “Smooth Operator” and “Your Love Is King.” The tracks from the make-or-break second album, Promise, seem less dolorous propped up and sequenced for a compilation. The sensual-to-a-fault “The Sweetest Taboo” and “Never As Good As the First Time” both retain their strength here. The songs from Stronger Than Pride – “Love Is Stronger Than Pride,” “Nothing Can Come Between Us,” and the great “Paradise” – all benefit from Ian Cooper’s mastering job. (viaAllMusic)
Label: Sony Music, Epic
Series: Legacy Vinyl
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Reissue, Gatefold, 180 Gram
Country: Europe
Reissued: 2016 / Original Release: 1994
Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul
Style: Smooth Jazz, Soul
File under: Contemporary R&B
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