The Best of Sade

Sade | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• ASIN: B000002AV7
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #989,980 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Your Love Is King

2. Hang on to Your Love

3. Smooth Operator

4. Jezebel

5. Sweetest Taboo

6. Is It a Crime

7. Never as Good as the First Time

8. Love Is Stronger Than Pride

9. Paradise

10. Nothing Can Come Between Us

11. No Ordinary Love

12. Like a Tattoo

13. Kiss of Life

14. Please Send Me Someone to Love

15. Cherish the Day

16. Pearls

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With her exotic beauty and steamy voice, Sade couldn't help but be a star. Taking the more sensuous elements of island beats, smooth jazz, and R&B, Sade scored major hits with the continental feel of "Smooth Operator" and the sultry stylization of "Your Love Is King." Her voice was often criticized for being thin, yet she made it work to her advantage with songs like the haunting "Jezebel," on which her delivery added the vulnerability necessary to the song. Sade sounded best when she stuck to the lower register, and there is nothing thin about her dynamic handling of her torch song "Is It a Crime." "The Sweetest Taboo" was one of her last great moments before years of mediocrity, chronicled here by the lifeless "Stronger Than Pride" and the limp "Nothing Can Come Between Us." "No Ordinary Love" was a return to form with the smoky richness back in her vocals and the urban/island feel of her first release. Best of Sade goes right up to her hit "Pearls," which, remixed, became a dance floor hit. The nicest surprise here is "Please Send Me Someone to Love," with Sade proving that although her range may be limited vocally, she doesn't suffer the same fate artistically. --Steve Gdula

Product Description

16 luscious tracks taken from Sade's first four albums and assorted singles, newly remastered and sounding (if possible) better than ever! Includes Smooth Operator; Your Love Is King; The Sweetest Taboo; Never As Good As the First Time; Paradise; No Ordinary Love; Kiss of Life; Nothing Can Come Between Us; Cherish the Day , and more. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Her Best Songs, October 31, 2000

By 

MarvelousMarla "MarvyM" (Way down in Dixie) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Best Of Sade (Audio CD)

I didn't need to buy this CD because I already have all four of Sade's releases, but a friend left this laying around the house, so I gave it a listen. This is a greatest hits compilation that lives up to its billing. Usually, on this type of collection, the listener gets maybe 4 or 5 truly great hits and some filler. Such is not the case here because all 16 tracks are fabulous. The only songs that are missing are "Maureen" and "I Couldn't Love You More," but I suppose there had to be some cut-off point.

Sade is one of my all time favorite artists because she is just so smooth and mellow. Her songs may be a little tortured, but that delivery is always flawless. And the inclusion of some of her uptempo cuts should silence critics who claim that she is monotonous. My top picks are "Is it a Crime" "Jezebel" "No Ordinary Love" and "The Sweetest Taboo."

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars no ordinary diva., November 12, 1998

By 

Yiannis Psaroudis "divastation.com" (soho, ny) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best Of Sade (Audio CD)

sade is truly amazing. possessing the captivating beauty of iman and naomi, more recluse than the artist formerly known as prince and exhibiting musical skills that unite roberta flack and astrud gilberto, sade is a legend in her own time, though we know nothing about her. the mystery that shrouds sade is reflected in the sixteen tracks selected as her best. present are her more popular songs like "smooth operator", "the sweetest taboo" and "no ordinary love", but it would seem that it is not lost on sade that some of her "best" work never saw the light of day, so to speak. true fans of the diva are privy to the sheer beauty of "jezebel", a third-person narrative about inner strength and beauty of a very uncommon streetwalker. similarly, "is it a crime", a jazz-infused song about the longing of a love that is over, but not yet dead, has attained cult status among sade's loyal supporters. the beauty of sade, the group, goes well beyond their front-woman's silky, soaring vocals and the band's undeniable skill. rather, like the spanish group mecano, what keeps fans waiting anxiously for the next release from the less-than-prolific sade is the lyrical depth of the material. ironically, the same thing that has prevented sade from achieving the cursory pop icon status of such stars as madonna and whitney is the same thing that has ensured that her records will always sell rapidly and consistently to fans who yearn for music that dips deep beneath the surface. if you can't be bothered to buy each of sade's albums...well, shame on you...buy this album. if you own all of sade's album...as well you should...buy this one anyway for easy-access to her best work (thus far).

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Misunderstood by some, this CD is an all-timer., April 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Of Sade (Audio CD)

MAN!! When I first started listening to Sade a while back, some friends warned me not to listen to her in the wrong mood, as her songs such as "Jezebel", "Is It A Crime", "No Ordinary Love", and "Pearls" will have you sitting in a dark room with a loaded gun(jokingly). I was somewhat skeptical at first, thinking this songstress would be crooning about the horrors of love. WAS I EVER WRONG!!! Well, they were wrong more, but that's another story. One of my top 5 songs of all time will allways be "Sweetest Taboo". This CD captures all of her famous sound with her trademark voice (personally, this collection would be complete if it had "Keep Looking" from her "Love Is Stronger Than Pride" CD and "I Couldn't Love You More" from her "Love Deluxe" CD, but that's like wanting to take back a Mercedes-Benz because it had a scratch on the bumper). She may not have the vocal range of a Teena Marie, but I still consider her to be one of the best female artists the 80's and 90's have ever seen. Combine her vocal talents with the pure talent of her musical accompanyment, and this becomes a must have. Get this CD if you're looking for a lot of replay value.