Diamond Life
Sade
1984
Album Summary
Diamond Life is the debut studio album by English band Sade, released in the United Kingdom on 16 July 1984 by Epic Records and in the United States on 27 February 1985 by Portrait Records. After studying fashion design, and later modelling, Sade Adu began backup-singing with British band Pride. During this time Adu and three of the original members of "Pride"—Paul Anthony Cook, Paul Denman and Stuart Matthewman—left the group to form their own band called Sade. After various demos and performances, Sade received interest from record labels and signed to Epic. Recording for the album began in 1983 at Power Plant Studios in London and took six weeks to complete. The album's content was written by the group Sade and the production was handled by Robin Millar. Fifteen songs were recorded. The album contained a variety of musical elements including soul, jazz and sophisti-pop, mostly with love lyrics. The album spawned four singles, including "Your Love Is King" and "Smooth Operator". Music critics acclaimed Diamond Life and it was also a commercial success, winning the 1985 Brit Award for Best British Album. The album reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and number five on the US Billboard 200, and has been certified multi-platinum in both countries. Diamond Life sold over 10 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the top-selling debut recordings of the era and the best-selling debut album by a British female vocalist, a record that stood for 24 years.
WikipediaI had a visceral reaction to this album, like a child revoking after touching a hot stove for the first time. I was driving faster on my way to work as if I could outrun the music. It feels like robots. It feels like lies. It’s like a nice glassy wrapped package that someone left empty. It has all the heart of the incidental music of a summertime Hallmark movie. Hopefully I won’t cross paths with this album again.
Generic ass middle of the road, nauseatingly smooth and uninspiring jazz sung with a boring vocal performance, what am I missing here? Best part is obviously the instrumentals, they carry Sade hard.
I feel an uncontrollable, visceral revulsion for almost every element of this. It's canned, bland, and impossible to stand. I can't discern any semblance of genuine human emotion from it. The sounds are flat and textureless, the songs plod along interminably, and the lyrics seem like they were written by a concussed android. Whether they're celebrating promiscuity and duplicitousness, as in 'Smooth Operator', or criticising it in 'Frankie's First Affair', (it's genuinely hard to tell), they are abject with an almost impressive uniformity.
I wasn't expecting to be as into this album as I am. It's so smooth, funky, and jazzy. The musicianship is fantastic and Sade's vocals are phenomenal as well. The drums and bass are locked in and are doing really interesting lines and rhythms in the background. This is a marvelously produced album and is sequenced and mixed very well. In retrospect, it makes total sense that I love this album as I love funk and jazz. I was expecting something more dated I think.
Un album très agréable à écouter. J'ai particulièrement apprécié le moment où Sade chante ♫ Shine bright like a diamond life, shine bright like a diamond life, We're beautiful like diamonds life in the sky ♫. Très sympa.
I tried to ignore my preconceptions about this album. Turns out they were right, utter shite.
I'm trying so hard to approach this album objectively and failing. British sophisti-pop is possibly the most obnoxious genre of music ever created and Sade is the epitome of the genre. I found nothing redeeming in this album. The vocals are lazy, the melodies are sleazy, the lyrics are insipid, and DEAR GOD WHY ARE THERE SO MANY SAXOPHONE SOLOS. "Diamond Life" is absolutely infested with saxophone solos and it's not good. It's not good at all. I hated literally every moment of this album.
perf combination of old and new soul and jazz. sade has been a huge influence to so many modern artists with a fresh take on this style of music. this album is so easy and nice to listen to. pretty romantic n smooth 💓💞💓💞💓truly iconic
Beautiful. So much soul with such a unique and fresh take on soulful jazz vocals. Def right up my alley
Boring adult contemporary music. Better than I thought it was going to be, but I'm writing this 10 minutes after I finished listening, and I remember almost nothing about it. Best track: Why Can't We Live Together
If you did the lounge-y rhythms are dated you'd be half right. Bust them out now and they'd sound pretty rote, but that doesn't mean they aren't snazzy. The downer isn't the bongos, it's the description to boilerplate ratio, which (BS statistic coming up) is something like 3:7. More Sally, less Cherry Pie.
This album ultimately just didn't impress me. The vocals weren't very strong, the lyrics were kinda boring and the music faded into the background as "muzak" or cocktail lounge-y
smooth operator is a catchy tune. beats are pretty neat for 84, but grating cheesy lyrics won out. 2 minutes into frankie, i turned my stereo off from the toilet and finished shitting in silence.
If you like the sound of Casio keyboard and drum sounds together with alto saxophone solos and a smooth vocal then this album is for you. I've seen this described as sounding like elevator music and that's probably about right. It amazes me people actually bought this (I'm pretty sure my sister had this in her cd collection). Why, is beyond me. I guess smash hits or just 17 gave it a rave review? And I suppose the cover is quite cool in an art noir kind of way. Um, yeah, not really my bag. Is that 1000 words yet?
Bloody awful. Music for people who don't actually listen to music - they just like something on while they're hosting a dinner party.
Timeless album. Not sure I will ever get tired of this one. First three songs are perfect, although I would prefer the US version of Smooth Operator to the UK version (on Spotify).
Fantastic album, smooth, funky, a pining and loving masterpiece. Possibly the best album so far.
Música de tono medio; voz agradable de escuchar, muy melodiosa; bien acompañada por una buena banda; vocaliza bien; no interrumpe los pensamientos. Otros: Quincy Jones; Roberta Flack; George Michael; The Isley Brothers; Barry White; Donny Hathaway; Grace Jones; George Benson; Randy Crawford
Oh man. Silky-smooth sexy vocals over a funky, chill background? Yes, please. More, thanks.
Bought this on vinyl when it was first released way back in 1984. Awesome album and the production is stunning.
It was great look into the smooth jazz of the 80’s. I’d heard of Smooth Operator but I never knew the actual song.
First great album, it brings back memories of listening to Sade as a kid with my parents This is real 80s music for me, amazing voice, amazing vibes amazing mix of genres 5/5
super cool album, I’m a sucker for 80s pop like this, Anita Baker, Madonna, Mariya Takeuchi and Miki Matsubara are some of my other favorites - 10/10
Stylish, soulfully smooth, musically flawless, timeless album. I love every song on it. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Your Love Is King, Hang On to Your Love, Smooth Operator, Cherry Pie, I Will Be Your Friend, Why Can't We Live Together, When Am I Going to Make a Living, Sally, Frankie's First Affair
So very good. Sade's voice is amazing and this entire album is a masterclass in storytelling. Great stuff.
Sade’s music is so damn cool. So damn sexy and so damn well made. I enjoyed this album from back to front. Excellent listen!
As smooth as a fine scotch. I can’t get enough of her smoky voice. “Smooth Operator” has slowly worked its way up my list of favorite songs over the years. Any time I hear a cover of it on the radio or in a department store, the song makes me happy. And the original is incredibly seductive and sultry. The opening 1-2-3 punch of “Smooth Operator,” “Your Love is King” and “Hang On to Your Love” is really impressive and the record continues with a string of very strong album tracks. I’m loving this.
One of the essential 80s romantic albums, with slightly melancholic undertones and that certain touch of neon. Close your eyes to this and you will see inner city streetlights and neon signs flashing by, hear the rustle of dimly-blue-lit satin sheets in a bedroom illuminated by a skyline through flowing white curtains. You get the picture. This album does too. Smooth Operator is an undisputable 80s classic. Pretty strong, considering it's Sade's debut.
2/12 Great, sophisticated R&B. Standout Tracks: Smooth Operator, Frankie's First Affair
goddamn can Sade sing, guess shes the city-pop inventor. so fuckin gud. words cannot describe, i understand the praise
Such a beautiful voice. Great laid back background music. Will be adding this to my record collection someday.
This one was good. Smooth Operator was one I'd heard a ton, but never knew the artist. Not a genre I get super excited about generally, but you can't deny that this music is very enjoyable.
Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would! Spent my morning drive grooving to this and feeling like a sexy adult.
Awesome 80's bass "Diamond Life sold over 10 million copies worldwide ... becoming the best-selling debut album by a British female vocalist, a record that stood for 24 years"
Astonishing that this debut album has so many solid, solid tracks. This is probably the only mainstream easy-listening jazz/pop album that I'll ever admit to liking. I was also surprised that its from 1984, I thought it was from the 90s, so that cheezy sax didn't date it too much.
An album with one of the most ubiquitous songs of our generation and one of the most elegant & iconic performers. I was hoping the songs that I hadn't heard didn't turn out to be too sugary and they weren't. Socially conscious lyrics and beautifully understated delivery as always. The band and studio musicians provide a nice jazzy, soulful background and never get in the way. Quite a debut!
I knew what I was getting into kinda with sade, but was very pleasantly surprised, actually liked it more than I expected :)
You can’t really go wrong with Sade. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to anything by her that I didn’t like. May sound a bit too 80s for some (that sax!) but it’s hard not to enjoy her silky voice.
I thought this was really good and can perfectly suit a certain mood. “Smooth Operator” is the standout but really everything in the first half was really good
This came at a good time for me as far as this list goes. I was happy vibing on something different. +1
So far very smooth and easy to listen to. Seems like to what one would relax on a beach at sunset. Reminds me a bit of James Bond music. Overall not bad.
Wikipedia mentions "sophisti-pop" and that's a great name for this. It's a jazzy, r&b, lounge music with svelte vocals that's sometimes sultry, sometimes lamenting. like sitting in a hotel bar after being stood up for a date
What an album, what a woman. I grew up on Sade so this gives me so much nostalgia. Her voice is like listening to silk, I loved it!
Una mezcla de jazz y r&b, 80s, un timbre algo grave para ser una mujer pero es lo que la hace especial <333
First 2 tracks absolute Smooth classics. Was really ready to give this a 4 after the first 2 tracks but because its not massively my genre it dipped to a 3 in the middle and felt more like background music. Decent though, last track real good too. Good late night album. M-people defo took inspiration. 3.5 so rounded up to a 4.
Smooth, sophisticated, but not over crowded jazzy pop music with THAT voice. Very cool, good for sunny days and relaxed evenings.
- SMOOTH OPERATOR!!! MY JAM!!!! although i do like the single version better - the saxophone in your love is king makes my heart do rolly pollies - hang on your love is my new fav it's so calm yet catchy at the same time. i'm listening to it lying down in the sun and the experience is transcendental (duh i googled the spelling) - i could never get tired listening to her voice ever. that smoother than butter huskiness. yeah.
nice and vibey! i get some amy winehouse vibes from it. adds: 0 highlights: frankies first afair, i will be your friend
Excellent bass lines with crazy smooth and soulful jazz over it. Can't not groove to it, but so smooth it's always relaxing. Favorite song: Hang On To Your Love
Best Tracks: Smooth Operator, Your Love Is King, Hang On to Your Love, Frankie's First Affair, Cherrie Pie
It was a big joke to listen to Sade when I was a kid. Now that I’m grown, this record is excellent. Smooth vibes throughout and she is in complete control of her voice and sound throughout the record.
Silky vocals, smoothe saxophone, great songs -I love this. This is nice relaxing music. A couple of five star tracks and above average on the balance. Easy 4 stars.
From easy listening to soulful punches, incorporating R&B, soul, jazz, and even disco, there seems to be something for everyone... That is until I read the top reviews of this site. Not sure how anyone could hate this. It's not boring or repetitive or annoying but rather borrows from a diverse range of styles with pulling hooks to keep each track interesting. First track is a masterpiece, 2nd track is pretty good, and the rest follows.
Very good start with smooth operator. Pleasant background listening. I was surprised when it was over, left wanting more. Good album I think
This was a surprise knowing the first song to kick off the album. Really enjoyed this jazzy soul like album!
Smooth. My employer uses 'Your love is king' as its hold music. Customers have complained that, having had to wait so long, they can't enjoy the song any more. One customer said hearing the song outside of the work environment induced panic attacks.
Some of it is way too cheesy 80s but Cherry Pie is great. Groove. Gave it 4 stars just because I'm obsessed with Cherry Pie now.
Este es un GRAN disco de pop ochentero. Por supuesto, conocía Smooth Operator, pero no conocía ninguna de las otras. El álbum tiene un "feeling" muy similar al de 'The Nightfly', y me agradó el uso de instrumentos electrónicos, que le dan una textura muy característica a la música de esta época.
Nice enjoyable album, easy listening yet not boring or simple. Liked the saxophone and the vibe
God I love me some mournful saxophone and this has that in spades. Going in I was only familiar with 'Smooth Operator' but by the end of the second listen I'm not sure I'd have that in the top 3 on this record. A joy, start to finish.
This is the chillest thing I've ever heard. I would've HATED this 10 years ago. Also I guess this is the original smooth operator song.
Solid production, sets and hold a cool vibe, good musicianship, excellent use of space. Great for the genre
An excellent album, with some great songs on there. And I learned I had been mispronouncing the artist name all along.
Sade's voice is absolutely amazing and I loved the 80's groove to this album, especially on Smooth Operator. I did wonder if there was any connection between the album being produced in 1984 and Orwellian predictions for 1984, but probably not.
This was a lot better than I was expecting. This was always my go-to stereotype song to play when a bar was closing down and you wanted people to leave but I never actually listened to it. Her voice is smooth and the songs are all easy to listen to. Does the job.
Delicate, exquisite, soulful, stirring, eloquent, elegant and a chock full of diamonds. No wonder why the first track was called smooth, hehe. Favorites: Smooth Operator, Your Love is King, Frankie's First Affair, When I Am Going to Make a Living, Cherry Pie.
7/10 nice smooth 80s pop with a good vocal performance, kind of cheesy though and definitely got weaker in the second half
I was not expecting this to be so good. Sade as a whole was ok, but this album was amazing.
smooth jazz isnt my thing but maybe this one caught me on the right day. thought it was pretty cool
The songs + her voice are absolutely beautiful. This is not my style of music but the merit rates it
Just a really nice album, love her voice and the piano and the smooth pop/jazz/rnb tunes which have a style of their own.
Enpä tajua, miksen oo tätä ennen jaksanu kuunnella. Varmaan avausraidan kuluneisuuden takia. Mut on kyl todella jees. Sopivan hillittyä ja ehkä vois sanoa urbaania.
Smooth Operator en Hang on to your love waren bij mij al bekend. Rest van het album klinkt vrij hetzelfde. Goed voor diner of s'avonds. Stand out van het album is voor mij why can't we live together. Soms herhaaldelijk maar zeer goed album
I kept picturing someone like Christian Bale in American Psycho putting this on the stereo after bringing a date home. I dug it, some great sax on here
Wow. Pretty much everyone associates "Smooth Operator" with Sade. And thinks the one track, because that was her big crossover hit. But MAN this whole album just exudes sultry. I didn't think it was possible, but she was able to outdo the sax there all throughout the album. "Sally" really struck a chord with me, not sure why. I really liked the lyrics and how she brought those out. I had to listen to more of the band's stuff after listening to the album, which says a lot about that first album. Really enjoyed the whole first album. Close to a 5-star rating, although the "Why Can't We Live Together?" seemed kind of forced. Still, all in all a really good album.
i thought this was pretty good! not sure if i’m gonna come back to it but it was a fun listen
Ahh 80's Smooth Jazz/Pop.... Sade was a sensation on the Live Aid Wembley show, super smooth and so elegant... I bought this soon after seeing her on that show. Love "Smooth Operator" "Your Love Is King" "Frankies First Affair" and "Sally" Worthwhile addition to this list in my opinion.
So, usually, I don't lie things that are too smooth and polished. I like a little bit of grit. But this album is an exception. I really love it. I love her voice; smooth and airy, no over-singing, just a little bit of breathiness. The lyrical content, I think, adds just that little bit of frisson. The romantic situations described a bit seedy, a bit gritty. I was interested to read that, because they were working at a relatively inexpensive studio without automation, they recorded live and with six people working the faders to mix, so I think there is a touch more human feel than something recorded to the grid, with samples and lots of synths and super smooth mixing. This sits right on the line between smooth jazz that becomes wallpaper lite and a laid back, mellow reverie. A quiet storm. I think this is on the right side of that line, and set a path for a whole range of British jazz-inflected music to come (Soul II Soul, trip hop, etc). Really, though, the reason I love this album is because my first girlfriend really liked it, and we listened to it a lot together. So, some fond memories there.
So silky and smooth! This album was part of the "cleaning the house" rotation of CD's my dad would blast through big speakers growing up, so I somehow smell Windex now.
SMOOOOOOOOOOOOTH OPERAAAATOR! Ta pjesma je vrhić. Album je groovy, dobar soul album, sviđa mi se, više je za noćnu šemu, i toj dobro.
Nikad album njen poslušala al uvijek mi je bila jako draga. Jako mi se svidio cijeli jazzy pop lounge zvuk albuma i sviđa mi se što joj volkali zvuče jako prirodno. Želim ovo na ploči.
I’ve herd of her and seen the album art but I don’t know her as such… Smooth operator is a fairly good opener I like how the instruments build up at the start and the fact that she drops the album’s title. The song definitely gets much better after the first chorus as there are added instruments and actual singing as opposed to talk/ singing! Your love is king is decent, I really love the vocals on the chorus and the sax breaks are killer! For a pop album the bass line in Hang on to your love is amazing, this album has to be perfect so far! (but we’ve only had singles). The storytelling in the first non single Frankie’s first affair is top notch and when the it explodes into a jazzy mess it’s amazing but I don’t think sade’s lounge pop style works with these lyrics. When am I gonna make a living is good not a favourite but I do like the more optimistic and slightly funky feeling that the song gives. The bass player knows how to do a cool bassline and the band really know how to build up a song cherry pie is no exemption. The only flaw here are the lyrics but at least they’re memorable ( actually a shortened version of this could’ve been a single). Sally is the most gloomy song so far and has one of the best chorus on the album also the fact that it’s apparently about the Salvation Army is cool. I like the Hercules line in I will be your friend but to be honest this one was a little boring compared to the rest of the album. The album closes with why can’t we live together there’s some good bass work but it isn’t a very interesting album in terms of the album as a whole. The last two tracks ruin what would be the 4th 5/5 in a very short space of time as up until that point it’s all so amazing every song was so interesting and provided something new. But I guess it has to be a 4/5.
R&B, Soul, 1984. The vocals on this record are extraordinary and the whole LP feels like a deep experience full of passion and love. The songs on the album are really sexy and smooth, and "Your Love Is King" is a hit which is still iconic nowadays.
Diamond Life is a great album with a ton of killer tracks, and it makes up as a total one of those perfect cross section "sounds of the 80s" kind of vibes. 4/5
A fabulously smooth jazz album, perfect for enjoying a warm cup of tea on a rainy day. The main attraction here is Sade Adu’s gorgeous voice; it slinks around a lyric like a silk scarf, finding the nuances with the greatest of ease.
Smooth and charming. A lovely album. Really close to giving it a 5 but it just needed something extra to blow me away to get there.
The vibe is incredible on this. It's classic R&B and pop at its finest. I really find Sade's voice to be unique as it's more of a sing-talk. I am interested in hearing more albums from her now.
Disc excel.lent de pop jazzístic amb ànima de soul i unes melodies que se't queden gravades per sempre. No només 'Smooth Operator'. 'Your Love Is King', 'Hang on to Your Love', o fins i tot 'Sally' són igual d'atemporals. Tot fet amb una elegància i sofisticació a l'alçada de molt pocs
I listened to this one many times when it was new. On re-listen I found it still enjoyable, if a bit tired.
I've heard smooth operator before, the rest was new. It all sounds about the same as that song. Doesn't exactly blow the roof off, way softer than what I usually would listen to. I guess it's good for easy listening? It's basically elevator music. It didn't make my hangover worse, so that's a plus. And if that's Sade on the cover, yowser she is hot. 2.5/5.
Subdued bossa nova. Pleasant enough while it's on, just very... wallpaper, and all the songs are very, very similar. Favorite track: "Smooth Operator"