Track Listing

1. Smooth Operator
2. Your Love Is King
3. Hang on to Your Love
4. Frankie's First Affair
5. When Am I Going to Make a Living
6. Cherry Pie
7. Sally
8. I Will Be Your Friend
9. Why Can't We Live Together

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4107 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2000-11-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
It could have been that Sade (collectively, the vocalist Sade Adu and her band) would have remained the darlings solely of the British underground rare-groove scene, but their sound proved irresistible to the mainstream, and the rest is history. Caught at the beginning of her career in 1985, Sade's cool vocals and exotic looks grabbed everyone's attention. But equally as important to Diamond Life's success was the velvet muscle of the band's accompaniment, a sinewy after hours groove, laden with minimalist funk. Eight of the nine tracks are self-penned. Straddling R&B and pop, this disc lays out the hooks and sultry allure that became Sade's soulful standard--intelligent and sexy at the same time. --Derek Rath

Customer Reviews

Pure Liquid Elegance
There has never been a singer quite like Sade Adu. Although she is of Nigerian origin, and her voice is clearly that of a woman of color, she is equally influenced by her English upbringing; the resulting combination of African heat and British coolness, particularly when combined with her band's elegant mixture of both American and European jazz idioms, is as original today as when it first appeared. Superficially cool and seemingly detached, everything about the band simmers with an underlying passion.

While Adu and her band (collectively known as Sade) have done many memorable recordings since they debuted, DIAMOND LIFE remains their single finest recording: it is pure liquid elegance every step of the way. Opening with "Smooth Operator," which makes particularly good use of Stuart Matthewman on sax, the entire collection flows effortlessly from cut to cut--some dark, some slightly dissonate, some slightly upbeat, and every one of them memorable in the most haunting way imaginable.

Like "Smooth Operator," both "Your Love Is King" and "Hang on to Your Love" actually broke into the charts as singles--a truly amazing feat for a jazz-oriented club band in the ultra-synthetic 1980s. But in truth, be it "Cherry Pie," "When Am I Gonna Make A Living," or "Sally," there isn't a bad cut on the entire CD. Everything shimmers with a sultry yet subtle beauty, pulling you into an atmosphere in which you seem to feel the pulse of a midnight lounge, the atmosphere of the club scene fromw which Sade emerged.

As a band, Sade is sexy, cool, smart, delicately shaded, and brilliantly shaped, and the aptly titled DIAMOND LIFE is perhaps one of the best debut recordings made over the past fifty years. Mix yourself a drink, turn the lights down low, drop it on the stereo, and dream of smoke, the clink of cocktail glasses, and the murmur of voices gone suddenly silent when the band begins to play. Strongly recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

LUSH SULTRY VOCALS WITH SMOOTH JAZZ & WORLD BEAT BACKING
Sade Adu and her group are unique in their smooth, but always rythmic style, with the jazz interplay, with the Nigerian beat that puts this in a place of their own in pop music.

There's a rythym, a plan, to this debut CD, a placing of four of the best songs at the very forefront: The signature "Smooth Operator", the more intimate "Your Love Is King", the relaxed yet playful and inviting "Hang On To Your Love" in which the instrumentalists have a stronger voice and effect on the cut, "Frankie's First Affair" which seems to me a nod to legendary standard favorite "Frankie and Johnny" (strictly my impression). The next song, "When Am I Going to Make A Living", seems weaker to me, but provides a little balance after the strong opening group. "Cherry Pie" and "Sally" bring us back up, maybe not to the peak of the opening four, but "Cherry Pie" especially is exciting, and "Sally" pretty well keeps us going. "I Will Be Your Friend" and "Why Can't We Live Together" round out the CD, and seem to me more run of the mill, but still suitable to relax, listen to, and enjoy.

My enjoyment of Sade comes from the fact that she actually sings without loud, overly dramatic emoting, and the softer moments of her songs have us listening attentively, in her spell. Those who prefer the loud and the brassy won't likely enjoy it, but if you appreciate melody, harmony, some good jazz, and a spicy African beat, I honestly think you will want this CD.

Diamond Life
Thank goodness for music fans that Sade debuted at a time when the music business was truly focused on the music side. I shudder to think about what could've happened if this uniquely original songstress & her dynamic band had debuted in 2006 instead of 1985 - would she be well received or become a one hit wonder?

Overall, this is a strong debut with just a couple of songs that bordered on the filler side for me & since I usually skip them, I couldn't give the disc the full 5 stars. I can't thank Sade enough for opening me up to different styles of singers & music.

My favorite tracks: SMOOTH OPERATOR - midtempo, jazzy song with a story to tell (the accompanying video was also excellent in its storytelling); HANG ON TO YOUR LOVE - the song that introduced Sade to the US, it created a sense of intrigue in me regarding what more this group had to offer, great lead off single; WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING - catchy, love the chorus; CHERRY PIE - love the music moreso than the lyrics; SALLY - very thematic song, precursor of what was to come from Sade, beautiful lyrics & moody music; WHY CAN'T WE LIVE TOGETHER - same as the aformentioned, Sally; YOUR LOVE IS KING - very smooth, jazzy track.

Even today, I'd highly recommend this disc - since the music production is so excellent & Sade's vocals are so unique the music sounds as fresh as if the disc had been released this year as opposed to 20 years ago!