Review: “Lovers Rock” by Sade (CD, 2000)

Today’s Pop Rescue from an uncertain fate is the 2000 fifth album Lovers Rock by the English band Sade. Does this album deserve to be By Your Side at all times, or will your Love for it it belong on the Rocks?

This 11 track CD opens with lead single By Your Side. What hits you instantly is a) how chilled out this track sounds with it’s gentle beats and guitars, but also b) its likeness to Procol Harum’s Whiter Shade Of Pale. Sade Adu’s vocals sound rich and warm here, and the track allows her plenty of time and space to show off her range and harmonies. It’s a wonderfully mellow start to the album. The track reached #17 in the UK singles chart.

Next up is Flow, and this serves us some mellow R&B beats and a nice repeating bass line, as lead and backing vocals drift in and out. Again, it’s a nice gentle track, and the simplicity of the acoustic guitar and Sade’s vocals makes it feel sincere as she sings ‘I won’t let you go’. It’s a nice little song.

That’s followed by second single King Of Sorrow, which opens with descending chord sequences on the acoustic guitar with electric riffs thrown in. Sade’s vocals drop in soon after and she cuts in with a vocal that would make this track perfect on a Portishead album. The track sadly stalled in the UK chart, where it reached #59, which I guess sort of fits in with the sorrow theme.

A simple beat leads us into Somebody Already Broke My Heart. Again, Sade’s vocals sat alongside this beat hits hard, allowing you to focus on the heart-aching lyrics. The track allows you to hear those wonderful tones that you’d be familiar in Smooth Operator and Sweetest Taboo, but it’s slower tempo keeps it flowing easily and yet another really nice song.

All About Our Love is next, and this track feels like it picks up the tempo, as the vocals lift in mood and key. Sade is flanked by another nice plodding beat, but guitars and keyboards help to keep the track light and flowing effortlessly.

Next is Slave Song, and as the title perhaps leads you to expect, this song is powerful, and finds Sade singing about the disgusting history of slavery. This track feeds us with nods to reggae in the beats and scattered notes from the guitar (or is it keyboard here?). Sade’s lyrics sound heartfelt, and the emptiness in this song is given over to the lyrics, which is as it really should be.

That’s followed by The Sweetest Gift, and this song has some wonderful vocal melodies, and it gives off strong lullaby vibes. Sade’s vocals are soft and gentle, and this is matched expertly by a delicate acoustic guitar. A really pretty song.

The tempo lifts again for Every Word, with percussion easing gently in alongside Sade’s soulful vocals. I think that this song should have been a single, as it builds well, with cello joining in alongside backing vocals. Think Dido, but good.

Immigrant follows this, and this gives us some wonderful keyboards alongside guitars. The beat is simple and Sade is once again downbeat. Strings slide in from time to time, helping to keep the tone a bit miserable.

That leads on to the titular Lovers Rock, revealing that this is a song about Sade’s ‘rock’ she can cling to. Some moody guitars sit alongside Sade’s vocals as it flows effortlessly over the beat and simple keyboard chords.

The album closes with It’s Only Love That Gets You Through, and here we find some gentle piano sitting alongside Sade’s rich warm vocals and harmonies. It’s a beautiful ending to the album and feels perfectly in place.

Sade’s lead single ‘By Your Side’ (2000).

Verdict

Over all, this album is a gentle, stripped down, yet emotionally turbulent album that feels almost awkwardly private at times.

If you’re a Sade fan solely off the back of Smooth Operator, No Ordinary Love, and Sweetest Taboo (which I admit I am), then this album may be quite a shift for you. However, it is beautifully made, and Sade Adu’s vocals really shine here. This uncluttered sound allows you to wallow in her rich and warm voice, and she puts in a perfect performance.

The highlights here are By Your Side, Every Word, Sweetest Gift, and It’s Only Love That Gets You Through, with only All About Our Love feeling like a weaker point – but it’s only slight, and this gentle sound is almost consistent throughout – so its hard to dislike any part – it’s just genuinely nice.

Her vocals sit perfectly alongside the beats and the stripped back music, led often by acoustic guitar, and this makes it a really pretty consistent album. Give it a spin!