Diamond Life

great album, no misses. i love sade

Their second best one after Promise. Still a 10/10 though. Been listening to it for 42 years and still not sick of it. Thank you Sade, the band, Robin, and Mike.

Looooove it

This album is perfect & timeless. Just an absolute pinnacle of Jazz/R&B pop. The sound quality is amazing. I have a hard time picking out and stadout tracks because they all qualify.

I love sade

so good

A masterclass. A classic. I will forever be grateful for my dad showing me Sade. I now own so many of her CDs and she’s such a soundtrack to so many different vibes. Such a calm, quaint and smooth aura. Delia, reminds me of you. Fav tracks: Cherry Pie, your love is king and smooth operator

this album was awesome

Surprised to see this album has quite a number of negative reviews, as far as I'm concerned this is one of the greatest albums of all time. It's silky smooth, Sade's voice is incredible and carries the jazz lounge aesthetic so far; overall this is an album I just can't help but love listening to. It's an album that knows exactly what it wants to be, and executes that vision near flawlessly.

amazinggggg

One of those odd albums that people of my generation (in their teens or twenties when it came out) thought was very uncool, but people who are now at that same age absolutely love. I suppose the context is missing. In the 80s, this would have been daytime radio fodder along with all the other terrible chart music of the time, so my generation associate Sade with all that other shite. Today's young people judge it on its own merits, whereas I find it unlistenable. All I can hear after Smooth Operator is Dave Lee Travis telling the nation how much he enjoyed the song whilst touching up 15 year old girls off-camera on Top of the Pops. Fkn Hairy Cornflake 😡

Shite Life

Not my favorite Sade record, but a fantastic one regardless. It's got the hits! And what a statement to make on your first album. Smooth, rich, beautiful and so well recorded and performed.

CARLOS SAINZ

pretty good, some classics in here

Beautiful, sultry, soulful.

Love this album!!

Ett album i världsklass som alla borde lyssna på då och då. Förträffligt trevligt när man behöver lite lugn i tillvaron.

amazing j'adore sade

Smooth soul jazz that sounds very much of the time. Someone should have told Sade that LA to Chicago is absolutely not coast to coast.

She’s so beautiful and talented I love Sade.

She’s so beautiful and talented I love Sade.

Smooth (Operator) album. But also light touch, precise back band. Well pittifwther and mixed album. It is an assured first album and feels like a silk sheet being passed through one ear and out the other. While that might be nice every now and then, it isn’t something you want to do all the time.

Not a big R and B guy thats an established fact

Pretty good, smooth operator is phenomenal obviously, but the rest of the album feels like trying to be smooth operator with little variation, just different arrangements and not different enough to make the album meet the opener

Against all odds, I dig Sade. Not everything she’s written, but damn it, when she knocks one out of the park, she really knocks one out of the park. And, I just learned something about Sade: it’s actually the name of the band, rather than the singer. I’ve literally gone 35+ years thinking it was the name of the lady singer. You learn something new everyday, I guess. Anyway, it’s a pretty great record, and I say that as pretty much a hater of smooth jazz/soft rock. I wish there were more hits on this record, but even the “misses” are decent. 7.8/10

Sade serviert hier den vollendeten Smoothie aus Soul, Jazz und kühlem Pop: samtige Vocals, elegante Arrangements, alles butterweich ineinander gerührt. Smooth Operator setzt den Ton, doch das ganze Album fließt wie ein perfekt gemixter Nachtdrink – stilvoll, geschmeidig, zeitlos.

I knew the opening track already (who doesn't) but nothing else. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would, but it was fine. Would make okay background music but not my kind of foreground music.

People talk about the saxophone in Wham!’s “Careless Whisper” but “Sweetest Taboo” should get equal credit for a memorable use of sax! I’m not really a R&B fan, but I remember this album being huge. I do love Sade’s voice, but her Love Deluxe album is more of a standout to me. I was surprised by how sad / heavy a lot of the lyrics were on this album, especially “Sally.”

6.1/10. A jazz and soul album, it definitely is smooth, but sometimes that smoothness translates into boring, which it did for me at times. The vocals were good, and can understand why it is important, but it wasn't something I feel I want or need to listen to again.

I was very much charmed by this one. I love Sade’s slightly subdued and sultry voice. It also doesn’t fall into that slightly awkward sound that a lot of r and b from this era where it starts to sound corny. This is earnest and I can take it seriously as music. Liked it quite a bit. 4/5

Sade’s voice is soooo luxurious and smooth. Really carries even the would-be corny songs.

My god, it's so smooth.

Fin plate, men føltes som en langs seission med Radio Tromsø. Er litt lei 80-tallet.

Not for me but undeniably a classic!

not a David Bowie fan

I enjoyed this, glad to finally check out some Sade after always seeing her pop up in the music communities I am a part of. Really unique sound, I would definitely check out some more Sade. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's a very nice album, Sade's voice is amazing. "Your Love is King", "I Will Be Your friend" and "Smooth Operator" are my favorites.

Smooth operator and your love is king are bangers. And I do love sade as a whole but this album did feel a little lackluster too me. Starts with a bang then kinda sleepy. She is still a queen though

Стильно

Another I never heard of, but this kicked ass. Several really cool songs in here, especially Smooth Operator, Your Love is King, and When Am I Going to Make a Living. Maybe not always my style, but I had a good enough time.

oh my goddd YESSSS I've never heard this version of smooth operator but I love it sades music is absolutely timeless. the basslines go so hard favorites are: smooth operator, hang on to your love, cherry pie no skip album!!! also this is a Jojo reference!!!

This reminds me of late night radio when I was a kid. Very solid debut album. 4 stars

Absolute smooth, soulful, funk jazz. I’ve heard Sade’s hits before but had never listened to a full album and it was as good as expected. 4/5

gute Musik, komische Frau

Lovely and sultry, still a great album to listen to even forty plus years later. I may not have understood all the themes/lyrics when younger, but always appreciated the music for what it is. One I have definitely listened to before, but glad it came into the feed for this.

436/1089 okay i’m kinda hyped for this one and it kinda lived up to it! love the sensual 80s vibes, it doesn’t feel too dated (or dated in a bad way) i will probably revisit this faves: when am i going to make a living, why cant we live together, cherry pie, smooth operator 79/100

Smooth Operator est super, mais si l'album pouvait être autre chose que réinterpréter en boucle ce morceau, ce serait pas mal. Mention pour Sally qui propose quelque chose de différent.

"Smooth Operator" is an absolute banger. The rest is okay.

it's nice and relaxing and she clearly has a loving sould

A little flat energy but lovely to listen to

Never again pls

Ta bom.

Sechs Wochen, mehr hat Sade für Diamond Life nicht gebraucht. Aufgenommen 1983 in den Power Plant Studios in London – zu einem Zeitpunkt, an dem die britische Band noch nicht einmal einen Vertrag bei Epic Records hatte. Was dabei entstand, würde ich nicht einfach als Soul-Album abtun. Es ist eher eine Mischung aus Jazz, Pop und Soul, die später unter Etiketten wie Sophisti-Pop oder Smooth Jazz einsortiert wurde, weil ihr niemand so recht gerecht wurde. Produzent Robin Millar strich lieber, statt hinzuzufügen, und genau das hört man bis heute: Nichts an diesem Album klingt überladen. „Smooth Operator" kenne ich, glaube ich, seit ich denken kann – und trotzdem überrascht mich jedes Mal, wie unaufgeregt der Song bleibt, obwohl er alles hat, was einen Hit ausmacht. „Your Love Is King" wirkt dagegen fast zerbrechlicher, direkter. Bei „Hang On to Your Love" und „When Am I Going to Make a Living" merkt man, dass diese Band von Anfang an wusste, was sie nicht tun wollte. Kurios: Die Aufnahmen von „Smooth Operator" und „Your Love Is King", die man heute hört, sind unverändert die ersten Demos aus der Session – nie neu abgemischt. Millionenfach verkauft, 1985 mit dem Brit Award ausgezeichnet – die Zahlen erzählen die halbe Geschichte. Die andere Hälfte ist, dass das Album vierzig Jahre später nicht klingt wie ein Relikt seiner Zeit, sondern einfach wie gute Musik. Ein Debüt, das sich nicht beweisen musste und genau deshalb bis heute trägt.

Easy listen and enjoyable, although I think listening to this on a boat in the Caribbean would make it even better. Great voice and you gotta love the sax. Smooth Operator gets the notoriety here, but several other good songs. It’s definitely on the Yacht Rock playlist!

Sultry little album — hard not to feel like you’re the lead in a Casablanca-esque film when listening. Obviously knew Smooth Operator, but really glad I learned the rest of the songs exist.

Smooth operator was fun, but the rest was rather dull. Too much saxophone.

Smooth Operator was definitely the highlight of this album but I generally enjoyed all of it

80s ok

I liked this much more than I expected! Super smooth and so cool, great length that lends itself to multiple playthroughs… really nice 4/5

I think I'm too young for this, even though I'm very middle aged. It's very smooth. I'm sure there is a lot to appreciate on here. Sade's voice is lovely. This is just not my personal taste. Going with 3 stars and acknowledging that the problem is me...not Sade.

Actual Perfection; So nostalgic for me. I grew up on Sade and this album.

baffling. polished dogshit.

its just horny

didn't know that Smooth operator was singed by a woman, WOW

Definitely a stand-out album of the early 80’s from a classy artist. Great combination of jazzy arrangements that were/are danceable at the same time. 4

Pretty good maybe a bit more on the boring side but not in a bad way. I feel like this would be a good background album. Favourite song: I will be your friend

SMOOTH

So smooth, so polished. I understand why some find it bland, but to me it's just so relaxing with near-perfect production.

Blech

Sade is smooth as ever, there aren't many voices as good as hers. This album is great, easy listening

One of the best soul jazz sophisti pop albums ever!!!

The sleeve design for Sade's "Diamond Life" was created by Graham Smith, with photography by Chris Roberts. A normal sort of sleeve for the era. Remembering Sade at St Martin's, it was a shock when she became famous, and perhaps we were in awe of her success. I always thought I really liked her voice, the songs and the music, but now I realise why none of us owned the album.

If the rest of the songs on this 1984 sophisti-pop record had the same mix of drama, glamo(u)r and emotion as standout track "Hang On To Your Love", this record would be 5-star. Alas, the other eight tracks don't come anywhere close - even singles from this album like "Smooth Operator" and "Your Love Is King" sound superficially good but lack the depth of "Hang On...".

smoooooooothhhhhh operatorrrrrrrrr i see why my friend said this album was good for taking nudes

First Listen Favorites: Smooth Operator Your Love Is King When Am I Going To Make A Living Honorable Mentions: Frankie's First Affair I Will Be Your Friend

Dette er bra shitt, men ikke nødvendigvis min favoritt om jeg skal høre på musikk. Den gjør seg godt som bakgrunnsmusikk på en rooftop cocktailbar. Første låta er jo banger da! Jeg har hørt gjennom og jeg syns det ble bedre og bedre. Ordentlig bra 90-talls jazz aktig bakgrunnsmusikk. Skal prøve å sette på dette på vors i kveld.

Liker smooth operator

Smooth operator er en legendarisk låt. Resten av albumet er litt samme stil, smooth men ikke storartet. for meg blir dette middels, 3 av 5

I had a very smooth breakfast today.... I know this from my youth due to the big hit "Smooth Operator" and few other chart singles. Very soft smooth jazz/pop very suitable for radio and music charts. It is very well crafted and produced. Actually this was quite a nice listen during breakfast, but it is so smooth and polished that it gets also a bit boring.

Smooth

One of the smoothest and grooviest voices ever. Crazy how old this record sounds a decade into the future

What godly album openers.

"Nice to meet you I'm Operator, Smooth Operator" - Carlos Sainz

A vibe

Sade's voice is so smooth that butter is described as smooth as Sade

feels like velvet

Smooth as hell. Great bass and a really nice voice. Could listen to this for a while.

Smooth operator - great Cherry pie- cool

I'm not sure if this album would be as famous if it weren't for Smooth Operator, but it's definitely not bad. Sugary sweet (as cherry pie, hehe), but too sweet for me.

What a beautiful voice, lovely listening experience

Smooth operator - 4 Your love is king - 3 Hang on to your love - 4 Frankie's first affair - 3 When am i going to make a living - 3 Cherry pie - 3 Sally - 3 I will be your friend - 3 Why can't we live together - 3

1. "Smooth Operator" 2. "Hang On to Your Love' 3. "Why Can't We Live Together?"

yeah this exists

Hermoso

Joda, "Smooth operator" er fin, men blir langtekkelig over et helt album.

Really nice 👌

4/5. Smooth Operator definitely is the highlight.

So THAT's who did the Smooth Operator song. Good to know, I'll toss that one on the list. If you like smooth and mellow music, this is the album for you. Very delightful. I recommend tossing this on if you got a date over and want to set the mood without the music being overbearing. Finish that bottle of wine in front of the fake fireplace, then make your move. It must be done, I don't make the rules here.

I like Smooth Operator, and the rest of this album was a smooth mellow listen.