Sade - Sweetest Taboo

OTM. Thrilled by the new album story.

She kind got screwed by production technology. If she had made the same exact record with 60's or 70's production she would get so much more respect. She has a great voice and has some great songs but they are wrapped in 80's smooth jazz production or adult contemporary productions.

I think the same thing happened with Annie Lennox. I think she has a great voice, but she choose really slick commercial production. It worked commercially in the short run, but I think she got stuck in AC and has never escaped.

And just to be clear, I am not hating on either one of them. I think they are both great singers.

I disagree. At their best (ie. Love Deluxe), Sade have a level of musical spareness that incredibly enhances the songs. That record for me is a testament of ahow wesome the guys behind Ms. Adu really are. I'd have hated Sade to go down the new soul road.

despite the "band" name implying it's all her, it's always been about sade-and-the-incredibly-tight-band-that-backs-her-up,-in-particular-that-one=bloke-she's-still-dating-apparently-who-always-makes-her-sound-incredible-and-stretches-her-boundaries-without-alienating-a-single-listener-in-the-entire-world.

btw sade is the only artist in the world who makes adult contemporary easy listening a respectable art form. hell, she makes it sound easy -i hear her and i think, why should't the world be full of nice, chilled, quality makeout music everybody can agree to like?

miles davis -- not exactly free-handed w/the compliments -- thought she was great, comparing her to billie holiday. for a 1998 article i talked to maxwell, d'angelo and eryka badu and they all cited sade as a major influence (unprompted) and at that point she was off most people's radar.

sade never got the critical respect she deserved but who're you gonna believe -- miles or those white motherfuckers

She kind got screwed by production technology. If she had made the same exact record with 60's or 70's production she would get so much more respect.

This is the sad story of the early-80s jazz/pop revival. The first Style Council, Everything But The Girl, and Carmel albums were all so good in part because of their live real-jazz sound, and then it all went to digital hell.

wtf I have no problem with Sade's productions.

I guess the thread is about Sweetest Taboo and all - but by the 3rd album, Sade had quite a different sound from 'Smooth Operator' and all that.

Yeah, I'm fine with the production on her albums, don't think of them as part of the digital hell.

From the Absolute Beginners soundtrack, a little fun and over-the-top:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKQlLUxzR_Q

and at that point she was off most people's radar.

― m coleman, Monday, July 6, 2009 7:55 AM (4 hours ago)

?? she was hugely popular

The only nigga Sade dated, the most hated, Nas nigga

So was the genre "quiet storm" invented by "Sweetest Taboo"?

not at all --

http://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/smokey%20quiet%20storm%20cover.jpg

wasnt there some DC radio dj who bascially invented it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiet_storm

(I've got a quietstorm remix of "Motownphilly", can hook you up.)

Smokey looking rustic! Quiet Storm just seemed like a strange turn of phrase, didn't even remember it being a lyric in Sweetest Taboo. This type of stuff isn't what I concentrate on but it's really great.

Which taboo is sweetest, is there a consensus?