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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoy the sound and the colours of Love!, July 22, 2001
Sade is ideal to kick back after a day of work and a light dinner. It was my first reason to buy this DVD. Like many of you, I knew a couple of Sade's songs, heard regularly on the radio. One day, my alarm clock radio, tuned in to Today FM, woke me up with the famous "Sweetest Taboo". And then, a strange thought came to my mind: "what does the video look like?" I wondered.Generally, my weird morning existential questions vanish after breakfast but not this one. As Sade is definitely a recognised artist, I eventually purchased the DVD of her videos. Surprise. Big, big surprise. Two things immediately attract your attention. The colours and the hypnotic effect of the picture. Sade sings about Love and she *shows* it; the power of her videos comes notably from the different palettes used to match the mood of the lyrics: In "Never as good as the first time", black and white represents lost Love. The superb "Hang on to your love" is replete with highly contrasted colours to symbolise the tearing of a man between love and game. The desertic tones of "Feel no pain" enhance the cruelty of isolation and despair caused by unemployment. Three examples, among many many others. Peaceful and originality are two other terms that come to my mind. "Kiss of life", for instance. The song is like a tender, a sweet lullaby telling the story of an explosive passion. But the voice of Sade remains soft, peaceful precisely. It's there again that the colours suggest the force of this passion. The magnificent blend of purple, dark green, violet and other warm colours, all constantly following the melody, provoke such an intense emotion that you could almost cry of joy!! You're in peace with yourself. I said originality? Oh, sure. Originality in lyrics, in music, in scenarios. Sade's lyrics, though frequently related to love, are able to say something deeper than a simple "I love you, babe". She masters love in all its complexity: affection for a child (the cute "Paradise", shot in South America), masochism ("Is it a crime"), sympathy ("Feel no pain"), uncontrolled passion ("Smooth operator"), tolerance ("No ordinary love"). How to describe Sade's music? Oh, but you probably know that yourself. She can't be easily classified. She's a genre by herself. Of course, I could tell you, R&B, but I know she refuses this appellation. Whatever her style may be, it is well served by a soft, sometimes murmuring voice but always... loving. That's it! Loving. Even in the sad "Feel no pain", where she talks about lay-offs. The song is soooo beautiful and enriched with an unusual structure. I guess you'll never forget her final "Ohh, did you ever see a man break down?..." Some videos have a neat scenario. You all remember the hit "Sweetest taboo", don't you? Did you know that "Is it a crime" is all but its sequel? "Sweetest taboo" tells the story of a nascent love. "Is it a crime", its brutal ending. The latter involves the same characters but contrasts with the former for tainted with regrets and conjugal violence. The DVD is quite complete by itself. It compiles all of Sade's videos from "Your love is king" (1984) to "By your side" (2000). The picture, as I said, is excellent. The sound, PCM Stereo or Dolby Digital 5.1 keeps its promises. But there's more, much more. The features include an almost complete discography (the album "Lovers Rock" is curiously not quoted, despite the fact that the video of "By your side", excerpted from this album, appears in the DVD, but as a bonus, that's true!) The lyrics can be displayed in their original version (English) but also in French or Spanish. What else? My God, you are greedy, hehe! Well, there's a complete and verrry interesting biography of Sade. I learnt a lot of things about her life and her career. No gossip. Just the real but riveting facts that you need to know. Did you know for instance that she was born in Nigeria? That she started to compose songs purely per chance and as a hobby with old school friends? What I appreciated as well in this DVD, apart from the usual instant access to the songs, is the quality of the navigation: the menu is very well done, which allows you to enjoy the DVD on your player as well as your computer. Furthermore, the menu appears *immediately*, no useless presentation beforehand. If you really want to see the logo of the publisher (SMV), you have an option for that in the menu but I never use it... oops, it slipped out *blush* The only caveat I could say is, I didn't like "Turn my back". The video, shot in Las Vegas, is nice but I just can't stand the song. Ah, well, I just have to skip it and then, all things considered, fancying 15 videos out of 16, contained in a fine DVD worthy of Sade's talent, why should I complain? I don't give it 5 stars because it hasn't reached the mighty emotion I felt with the fabulous, splendid, marvellous Fleetwood Mac's "The Dance". That said, these 4 stars are fully deserved. Go ahead and enjoy!
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