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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sade's "Pride" is stronger than most, March 18, 2002
Ask anyone to name Miles Davis' three most influential works and "Kind of Blue" will no doubt be one of them. Unanimously considered one of jazz's most important recordings, the album consisted of songs that were compositionally minimal, giving Miles and his band so much space to play with, it naturally lead to growth and expansion. Sade and her band tried a similar approach on their third outing, 1988's "Stronger than Pride." Leaving behind the lush, thickly-chorded approach to songwriting found on their first two albums, here the group opted for strikingly simple songs; half of them only have three or four chords each. But the room this affords Sade's luminous voice is priceless, and when combined with the subtle production effects sprinkled tastefully throughout the record, you have something of a pop-flavored modern jazz classic."Love is Stronger than Pride" relies on tom-toms for its backbone, and keyboard effects from the late 80's should by all accounts sound dated...but here they do not. Acoustic guitar accents are littered about, and the final result, a warm and blissful sensuality, is perfect for lyrics like "I can't hate you, though I have tried/I still really, really love you/love is stronger than pride." The album's smash single, "Paradise," consists of one bass line and two chords (three, if you count the spontaneous-sounding variation the keyboardist throws in near the end), but the song lacks for nothing. Instead of using chord changes to break up the song, we instead have very distinct verses, choruses, and a bridge, thanks to subtle changes in vocal melody. "Keep Looking," another sultry midtempo treasure, and the album's other hit, "Nothing Can Come Between Us" boast a couple more chords but essentially use a similar approach. For those fans that appreciate Sade's slower, percussionless ballads, the record offers the Spanish folk-flavored "Haunt Me" (considering her vocals here, a most appropriate title indeed), and the gorgeous "I Never Thought I'd See the Day," a ballad so open it's almost impossible not to envision the massive expanse of an ocean at sunset while listening. Featuring only ethereal keyboards, strings, and the occasional muted trumpet flourish, there's an incredible amount of space in the song's production; occasionally you can even hear the hi-hat keeping time that the microphone must have picked up from Sade's headphones while she sang. The mood here inspires one of Sade's strongest performances, with an impressive range of texture and projection onhand. The sweet ballad "Clean Heart" and the seductive instrumental "Siempre Hay Esperanza" are the sort of material you'd expect from Sade, but on the irresistible "Turn My Back on You," the band gives hint to the harder-hitting, funk-laced pop that would make up the bulk of their next album, 1992's "Love Deluxe." Here a massive drum beat and thick bass line give the song a sturdy backbone, but the jazz guitar and Rhodes keyboards are subtle, and with Sade's high, breathy vocal (generously reverbed), you're faced with an altogether different kind of funk, the kind you can either dance to at a club or seduce with in the privacy of your own home. Initially criticized by some for a predictable sound, "Stronger than Pride" certainly stands taller when viewed in retrospect. Sade may not have the most varied approach to singing, but the beauty and purity of her voice makes it able to go anywhere, and the giant leaps in production prove that her band realized this. A crisp remaster for 2000 makes it nearly three-dimensional, and what you're left with is one of music's most distinctive voices and bands offering a stellar work rich in experimentation of groove and production. Anyone interested in how to make a pop record more interesting will no doubt learn volumes from "Stronger than Pride." And everyone else can just drown in the beauty.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not for beginners, March 11, 2000
By A Customer
I am a huge Sade fan, so needless to say, when I was browsing through this site and saw that a box set of her CDs is being released at the end of the month, I was thrilled. Interesting, though, that this one is not included. Sade's third CD (after Diamond Life and Promise, the latter of which was mistaken for her first CD rather than her second) is indeed a little off the beaten path. It has more of a Latin flavor than the other three, which might have made the album more popular had it been released this year. It doesn't stand out as much as her other albums, and I agree with a previous reviewer who said that some of the songs sound similar to stuff that she has already done. I don't think that those who are new to Sade should pick this one as an introduction to the band's music. This is not to say that it isn't good -- the first cut 'Love is Stronger Than Pride' makes this CD a keeper by itself -- but a listener won't appreciate how the departure from the sound of the previous 2 CDs makes this one worth listening to unless he or she is already familiar with Sade. I love it primarily because I loved the first two, but can see where it comes down after 'Promise', hence the 4 star rating.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this album like, like an Italian, October 19, 2005
Stronger Than Pride is probably Sade's most stripped down and sparse album. Rather than offer any particular standout singles, it seems more like a concept album. I'm not saying it doesn't offer good individual songs, but that all songs meld together to create a continuous sense of sophistication and understated elegance, two hallmarks of the Sade sound. But the elegance and sophistication is so understated, so refined, so austere, that it is perhaps best for a diehard fan and not a good place for the new fan to start. For a new fan, I would recommend starting with Diamond Life or perhaps Best of Sade.
The other sensation this album evokes, also a hallmark of the Sade sound, is melancholy. Haunt Me, Keep Looking, I Never Thought I'd See the Day, and many of the other songs (save for the tropical and romantic Paradise) have a somewhat lonely, sad undertone. It reminds me of Eddie Murphy's comments in the movie "Boomerang." He tells Halle Berry that he is having the kind of sad day where he just wants to go home, stare at the wall, and listen to Sade. I'm sure he listened to Love is Stronger Than Pride quite a few times that day.
There are, however, two songs that stand out for me.
Love is Stronger Than Pride is almost a hymn. After the betrayal of a lover, Sade is opening her heart again, admitting that though she's not good at forgiving she may give her lover another chance because, after all, love is stronger than pride. And since this song seems to be a hymn to forgiveness, it always makes me think of "A Course In Miracles," the spiritual book that says we find peace through forgiveness. Love is Stronger Than Pride came into my life back in 1997 when I first found "A Course In Miracles." They seemed to be perfect companions. Love is Stronger Than Pride was my theme song for a car trip I took with my friend, Mary Jean, back in 1997. We visited Multnomah Falls and Bridge of the Gods, on the Columbia River Gorge outside of Portland. The mist of the falls seemed a metaphor for the mist of forgiveness.
But the song that haunts me most is Clean Heart. At first, it comes across as a suave mid-tempo R&B song. Sade's delicate voice is little more than a whisper, almost drowned out by the rhythm section. It's the kind of breezy song you can't help but snap your fingers to. I couldn't understand the lyrics, which was fine because they seemed inconsequential, but from the gentle melody and sunny, laidback atmosphere, I figured it was a simple love song. Perhaps a predecessor to Cherish the Day.
After a few listens, I decided to take a look at the lyric sheet. My intuition, however, told me that doing so might be against better judgment. It seems that every time I think a song is light and fluffy, I later find a darker meaning. Once again, my intuition proved correct. The lyric sheet reveals that Clean Heart is actually about a man involved in a life of crime, in an attempt to escape a life of poverty.
"He straightened his belt, and with a lover's touch, he said I'm gonna bring home the things that are out of your clutch."
But the line that really gets me choked up, the line that haunts me, is, "He loved his daddy, though he never told him. And how he loved his mother. He loved, he loved her like, like an Italian."
Andrew Michael Parodi
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