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Sade
Lovers Rock
(Epic) |
Words
by Jen Kriesel
Bonanzaradio.com
January, 2001
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Sade
Lovers Rock
Eight
years we've been waiting. This long-anticipated Sade album could
have been finished yesterday, or perhaps she's had it in the can
for a bit, just letting it age like a fine aural wine. Lovers
Rock is timeless, an instant classic, just like all the rest of
her records. Sade is not merely a singer, a songwriter, or a performer
- she embodies the very notion of a true artist.
The production this time is remarkably sparse, organic, and unpretentious.
Casual, unhurried, sensual grooves never need to try too hard
to make their inevitable impression. The instrumentation is nothing
fancy, just the clear beauty of acoustic guitars and airy beats,
with touches of keyboards that let us know the whole band's kept
their ear to the ground in the music world. There's an obvious
reggae influence in the loll of the pace in several tracks ("Slave
Song") and the smoothest, chillest hint of hip-hop in others
("Flow," "King Of Sorrow"). Neither Bob Marley
nor Dre could ever dream of being this effortlessly slick. Lauryn
Hill ("Immigrant") and Erykah Badu owe much praise and
gratitude for their career paths being laid out so smoothly in
front of them by this ultimately classy lady, whom I do believe
may have just trumped them both from out of the blue. You'll never
miss the horn sections or the glitzy, heavier-handed 80s production
of Diamond Life and Promise - Lovers Rock is so modern in every
way. The quintessential Sade songwriting is still awe inspiringly
simple; the orchestration is the ideal level of support and spice.
The lyrics ah the lyrics. The absolute savvy of Sade has always
been her ability to encapsulate the universal themes of love,
to summarize and identify with just about everyone in so few words.
Their directness and staid power keep them from ever coming across
as trite, flowery or romantically sappy. A common misperception
is that all Sade songs are love songs, the best get-it-on tracks
since Barry White. There's steam, yes, and passion too. But there's
also distance, heartbreak, torment, regret, worry, history, integrity,
abandonment, disappointment, strength, prayer, worship, wonder,
grace, curiosity, confusion, secrecy, betrayal, exploration, effort
and redemption. The stark simplicity of the mostly narrative verses
paint crystal clear images of the stories she tells, so much meaning
saturating every carefully and emotionally-truthful sung word.
Humbly honoring her poignant precision, Lovers Rock summed up
in just three words:
More.
Sade.
Finally.
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