Listen to Mr. DeVaughn’s tape, we liked his last one: Mr February aka March Madness + Theophilus London’s “Humdrum Town” clip after the jump, but first…
Last Wednesday night, against my will to stay warm, I ventured into Manhattan to hear Sade’s first album in ten years, “Soldier of Love.” What’d I think? If you like the first single, then you’ll enjoy the rest of the album because the scratching, big bass is a recurring theme.
The event began with a short documentary on the making of “Soldier of Love” featuring Sade’s four male band members, guitarist Stuart Matthewman, bassist Paul Denman, and drummer Paul Cooke and keyboardist Andrew Hale, who’ve worked with her since the first album, “Diamond Life” in 1984. The singer shared that even with all of her accomplishments, she “never wanted to be a singer…(this is) why sometimes I’m quite uncomfortable with the fame…(because the process of song-making) its all quite introverted.” She admitted that she doesn’t have much of a vocal range, which is why she never fancied herself a star, however she’s “developed skills over the years” and says she’s “less limited.” Ultimately, she admitted that producing an album is hard work and she doesn’t begin writing until she physically enters the studio, one song can take an entire notebook of scribbles to write.
Sade on making an album: “It’s not like digging a ditch…but its not easy…(Being a musician is like being) “a soldier, you choose within yourself what you think is the best thing at that time.”
“Soldier of Love” is primarily filled with the melancholy you’d expect from Ms. Adu. “Morning Bird” opens the album with a slow double drum beat, heavy bass peppered with violins and lyrics like “you are the morning bird that sends me into life…the harvest of my dreams.” “Babyfather” is a bit peppier, and plucks a reggae-tinged male vocal singing “daddy loves ya child.” The standout track is the last entitled “The Safest Place”, where Sade simply sings over a two guitars and an electric piano that “in my heart your love has found the safest hiding place, inside is a field trees and a lake, around is a wall no one from hell could break, there you’ll shine…my heart has been a lonely warrior.” The LP may take more than one listen to love, but it’s classic Sade, in her purest form. “Soldier of Love” hits shelves Feb. 9, and it might hit the web earlier. Either way, let’s support real talent.
Tracklist for “Soldier of Love”:
The Moon and the Sky
Soldier of Love
Morning Bird
Babyfather
Long Hard Road
Be That Easy
Bring Me Home
In Another Time
Skin
The Safest Place
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