| | |  | Music | Home » » Lovers Rock | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | Sade's brand of elegant pop/R&B owned the charts in the '80s, making the Nigerian/British chanteuse one of those artists whose very name becomes the adjective to describe their sound. After an eight-year layoff, Sade and her core band (and longtime producer Mike Pela) are back with a CD that is both a stunning reaffirmation of her artistry and a solid soulful collection. Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Lovers Rock is that it picks up where Sade left off, which means you will hear no cool beats or hot hired hands or hip-hop cameos. This is Sade music, and on the first single, "By Your Side," she glides back into the spotlight on gentle, countryish, sparse wings--singing, once again, about love's power to redeem. Of course, Sade knows that love can stink: listen to the dub-riddim-tinged "Every Word" and cry tears of recognition. Decidedly female but utterly universal, grown up yet not hardened, Lovers Rock ranks as one of the best of the year, and marks the return of a true original. --Amy Linden | | | Product Details: | | | Audio CD Release Date:
| November 14, 2000 | | Studio:
| Sony | | Number Of Discs:
| 1 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 468 reviews |
| | | Track Listing: | | | 1. | By Your Side - Sade, Adu, S. | | 2. | Flow | | 3. | King of Sorrow | | 4. | Somebody Already Broke My Heart | | 5. | All About Our Love | | 6. | Slave Song | | 7. | The Sweetest Gift | | 8. | Every Word | | 9. | Immigrant | | 10. | Lover's Rock | | 11. | It's Only Love That Gets You Through | |
| | | Customer Reviews: | |
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 incredible vibe, tight groovesJun 08, 2010
Trite as it might sound, I simply can't fathom why anyone would rate Lovers Rock as only worthy of one or two stars. Simply put, its best cuts showcase Sade's best lyrics and tightest grooves. Here are my favorites:
By Your Side- The lead single from the album, it possesses a beguiling, introspective quality. It isn't an easy-listening gem like Smooth Operator or Sweetest Taboo; nor does it command your attention like No Ordinary Love or Cherish the Day. Rather, it's a heartfelt affirmation of unconditional love.
Flow- This one blows me away. A stone-cold groove with tribal elements, and deeply felt emotions. Music critics noted the use of more acoustic, percussive elements on this album upon its release, and Flow is one of the best expressions of Sade's artistic growth.
King Of Sorrow- Bleak lyrics, wrapped in an agreeable melody.
Somebody Already Broke My Heart- Gives me chills; absolutely incredible. This one sweeps you up in a hypnotic, percolating vibe One of those songs that truly qualifies as a neglected masterpiece.
Lovers Rock- The title track washes over you, like waves over a rocky beach. Enthralling, brilliant statement.
Great albumMay 25, 2010
This is one of Sade's best albums I think. All the songs are good! You can listen to this album from beginning to end! If you like Sade I def recommend this!
 The Delcine of SadeMay 24, 2010
Sade went 8 years without a new studio album. You would think the resulting release would blow your socks off. Compare this album to Basia's new album and you'll see what I mean. Stuart Matthewman's great sax work (once a vital part of the band's sound) is nowhere to be found. What's that all about? He gets in a few long background long tones (not even a solo) on the album's first tune on tenor sax, but you can't hear it without headphones. The instrumental backing in mostly keyboard washes, synthesizer bass, distorted guitar chords and drum machines, making it sound more dated than the band's original albums released several years earlier.
The album is mostly SLOW, SLOW, SLOW depressing songs about Sade Adu's broken heart. She's in fine voice, but so what? After one listen I wanted to throw this one in the garbage but opted for selling it instead. Sadly, the new album, "Soldier of Love," is even worse. Stick to Sade's "Best Of," or the material from the '80s/'90s instead.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Take up your love and come to Lovers RockMar 18, 2010
It's no secret to people who know me that I'm one of Sade's hugest fans. I wasn't even born when Smooth Operator and The Sweetest Taboo were tearin' up the charts, but I grew up with her music via my parent's music collection. I became a certified Sade freak in 2003 and picked up Lovers Rock the next year.
I'm almost embarassed to admit I only listened to and liked four of the songs (By Your Side, King of Sorrow, All About Our Love, and the title track) without giving the others a chance. I was used to Sade's later work being sparse, but this one made me zone out. Stuart's sax that worked it's magic on Bullet Proof Soul and I Never Thought I'd See the Day makes not even one appearance. I missed it and made due with the older stuff. Until 3 years ago.
For some reason I decided to let the cd continue playing after By Your Side and I fell in love with Flow. After King of Sorrow, Somebody Already Broke My Heart caught my ear and so on until the cd was over. I wish I had appreciated this album from the start, but better late than never, I say.
The opener By Your Side is so sweet with it's country-ish guitar and Sade's velvety vocals. It's an oath to stick with the one you love through thick and thin. "When you're cold/I'll be there/To hold you tight to me/When you're alone/I'll be there/By your side, baby". The lyrics might seem bland and uninspired on paper, but the execution is fresh. A perfect wedding song. The folk meets hip hop twilight vibe of Flow explores the highs of falling in love for the first time. "Is it possible?/I could feel this good?/I could really love you the way I do?" and "See me in the light/Flowin' like the river/To the sea". The layered vocals are top notch.
The strumming of a forlorn spanish guitar opens King of Sorrow and makes way for dramatic yet subdued violins. Sade is miserable with her mundane day to day life and wonders if she should "just walk away" or "disappoint my future if I stay." "The DJ's playing the same song/I have so much to do/I have to carry on/I wonder if this grief will ever let me go/I feel like I am the king of sorrow." The lyrics are brought to life in the video where Sade plays a single mother who juggles parenthood with pursuing her dreams of being a singer. It's beautiful. As is the electronic quiet storm of Somebody Already Broke My Heart. After being "torn apart so many times before", Sade wants her new man to "be careful and be kind" to her heart. Her voice is soft, cautious, and a bit wary.
I wish All About Our Love was longer. It's so bright and easy breezy with it's sunny reggae flavor. No sax, but a few horns slyly make their way in towards the middle. "It's all about our love/So shall it be forever/Never ending". Happy Sade is always lovely. She tackles the history of slavery on the darkly primal Slave Song. As if she's witnessing the scene from a distance she sings "I see them gathered, see them on the shore/I turned to look once more/And he who knows me not/Takes me to the belly of darkness" and hears them say "Teach my beloved children/Who have been enslaved/To reach for the light continually". The way Sade reaches from the past to remind those of us today to never forget in a non preachy way is spellbinding. Excellent storytelling.
The soft as a lullaby The Sweetest Gift is dedicated to Sade's then 4 year old daughter Ila. "Quietly while you were asleep/The moon and I were talking/I asked that she'd always keep you protected/She promised all the sweetest gifts/That only the heaven's could bestow/You bring your light and shine like morning". It's not clear how Sade's lover betrayed her, but she "found a picture" and asks him "how could you be so careless?/How could you have done that to us?" She "loved you like a child/I really trusted you", but not anymore. A man's voice quietly chanting "love is what the word was" in a Jamacian accent in the background adds to the eeriness of the track.
Immigrant reflects on the racism Sade's Nigerian father faced after marrying her English mother. "He didn't know what it was to be black/'Till they gave him his change/But didn't want to touch his hand/To even the toughest among us/That would be too much" Sade sounds understandably angry yet proud at the same time that her father never let that break him. The tropical flair of title track lightens the mood. Although Sade is far away from the one she loves, she "won't fall apart completely" because "You are the lovers rock/The rock that I cling to/You're the one/The one I swim to in a storm/Like a lovers rock".
The dusky hymn It's Only Love That Gets You Through is a wonderful closer. With only a church organ and piano backing her, Sade reminds herself that "tenderness comes from pain" and "It's down a rugged road you've come/Though you had every reason/You didn't come undone/Somehow you made it to the other side".
Although it's more down tempo and less lively than her other work, Lovers Rock is a welcome addition to Sade's catalog and should be in your collection, Sade fan or not. Sometimes it takes a while for the nuances to get to you. Most slowburners do.
Love this albumJan 24, 2010
I like it so much, it is currently/still in the playlist of my iPod Touch. Smooth and relaxing. Very good for when sitting in rush hour traffic.
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