Worth Another Listen - Sade part 3 of 3

This is the last installment in my appreciation of the great Sade. As I said before, Sade has been long overdue on the blog. The group consists of singer Sade Adu, guitarist and sax player Stuart Matthewman, bassist Paul Spencer Denman, and keyboardist Andrew Hale. In 1984, Diamond Life, Promise and Stronger Than Pride releases. Next came the 1992 release, Love Deluxe. Eight years after the first album, Sade was still selling, earning a #3 on the US Billboard Top 200 album charts.



The first single was No Ordinary Love, and it went on to win the Grammy for Best R & B Performance by a Duo or Group. The video is exotic and exquisite.



The third single off the album was Kiss of Life, which scored a Top 10 on the US charts. On the song, the group put their own particular spin on a pop rhythm, and allow Adu to soar with the vocals.



By Your Side was the first single off the 2000 release Lovers Rock. It is just a beautiful love song.



So there ends my Sade journey. I could have listed more songs, but I picked 10 really great songs. For more information about Sade, I check out the previous installments in the series. I am looking forward to the release of Soldier of Love on February 8, 2010. You can also check out the official website here.

Worth Another Listen - Sade part 2 of 3

This is the second installment of my appreciation of the great Sade. As I said before, Sade has been long overdue on the blog. The group consists of singer Sade Adu, guitarist and sax player Stuart Matthewman, bassist Paul Spencer Denman, keyboardist Andrew Hale, and drummer Paul Anthony Cook, who has left the band. In 1984, Diamond Life was released, and spawned the singles Your Love Is King and Smooth Operator, and they both scored on the charts.In 1985, Sade released Promise with the single The Sweetest Taboo. Singer Sade Adu also had a single from the movie Absolute Beginners, Killer Blow.



My favorite song is the haunting Is It A Crime, a 1986 single from Promise. It might not be the highest charting single from the group, but it has an aching and longing that still touches my heart 23 years later.



The next album released was Stronger Than Pride, the 1988 release that was #7 on the Billboard album charts. The first single, Love Is Stronger Than Pride, followed by Never As Good As The First Time, an airy and breezy song that played with rhythms and melodies like few pop songs ever have.



The second single was Paradise, another song with jazzy beats and an almost Brazilian feel, with a smooth Samba rhythm. It topped the R & B charts, and hit #3 on the Adult Contemporary charts.



For more information about Sade, I will have one more coming in the series. I am looking forward to the release of Soldier of Love on February 8, 2010. You can also check out the official website here.

Worth Another Listen - Sade part 1 of 3

Sade has been long overdue here on the blog, and then I heard from both @xolondon and @wondermann5 that the band is putting out a new CD next year, a full decade since the last release. Well, color me giddy, because that is fantastic news! So I will run a three-part series for Sade as a Thanksgiving special over the next few nights.

Despite what many might think, Sade [pronounced shah-DAY] were a group consisting of singer Sade Adu, guitarist and sax player Stuart Matthewman, bassist Paul Spencer Denman, keyboardist Andrew Hale, and drummer Paul Anthony Cook, who left the band in 1984. Once Cook left, the band stood strong together to this day, adding additional musicians when touring, and bringing in studio musicians for recording. In 1982, Adu, Metthewman, Spencer and Hale were part of a Latin soul band named Pride, and formed a side band, along with Cook, moving in a different musical direction. What they wanted to do was a fusion of jazz, pop, r & b, and an inherent sensuality, and they soon left Pride to strike out on their own, writing their own music to put their own stylistic imprint on the music business.



In 1984, Diamond Life was released, as was the first single. Your Love Is King introduced the world to the sultry voice of Sade Adu, as well at the amazing sound of the band.



The final single off Diamond Life cemented the bands place in music. Smooth Operator soared on the charts, hitting #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, the US R & B chart, and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.



In 1985, Sade released Promise. The album followed through on the promise of Smooth Operator, landing in the #1 position on the Billboard Top 200 album chart. The first single, The Sweetest Taboo, topped the Adult Contemporary charts, was #5 on the Billboard Top 100, and #3 on the R & B chart.



Also in 1985, Sade Adu was cast to appear in Absolute Beginners, Julian Temple's ode to the Mod Generation staring some of the coolest names of the 80ss, including David Bowie. She played singer Athene Duncannon, and sang the song Killer Blow. By the way, if you love the 80s and haven't seen this movie, rent or buy it right away!



For more information about Sade, I will have more coming in the series. I am truly looking forward to the release of Soldier of Love on February 8, 2010. You can also check out the official website here.

Great Video - El Greco

More great video from Phillip Scott Johnson. Mr. Johnson can be found here, or here.

Doménikos Theotokópoulos (1541 - 1614)

Music: Luis Milan, Renaissance Composer (1500 - 1561)
0:01 - 2:12 - Pavana No. 1
2:13 - 3:26 - Fantasia No. 12
from "The Art of the Lute Player" performed by Jacob Heringman, Magnatune Records available here.

Art:
0:05 - Portrait of Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga
0:16 - Lady with a Flower
0:27 - The Opening of the Fifth Seal
0:38 - St. Francis Praying
0:45 - Mary Magdalen in Penitence
1:05 - The Martyrdom of St. Maurice
1:20 - Christ on the Cross
1:30 - Study of a Man
1:43 - Christ Healing the Blind Man
1:50 - The Holy Family with St. Mary Magdalen
1:58 - St. Paul and St. Peter
2:05 - The Agony in the Garden
2:27 - The Resurrection
2:32 - Female Portrait
2:38 - Portrait of a Nobleman with His Hand on His Chest
2:45 - The Repentant Peter
3:15 - The Burial of Count Orgaz

Great Video - That Darned Cat

This might be completely silly, entirely frivolous, but I can't help but post it. After all, is there nothing sweeter than a cat? Enjoy!

Sad News - A-Ha Calls It A Day

A-Ha announced that the band will split the end of next year, holding their last concert in Oslo in December. Blogger xolondon posted a link to a BBC article [link here] that gives December 4 as the date of the final gig. He went on to post a link to this video, which is just gorgeous.



If you enjoy music, check out xolondon's blog here or follow him on Twitter here. Good stuff!