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.
I 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.
Too smooth. Yuck. Like a barbie crotch.
Wow. Now I know why people love Sade. Absolute banger of an album.
Surprised by how much i loved it.
Absolute banger. Sax for days.
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.
Like being stuck in a hotel lobby in the 1980s.
Very beige
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
8/10
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).
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.
Really not my thing at all. Feels very corporate and slick.
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.
Bloody awful. Music for people who don't actually listen to music - they just like something on while they're hosting a dinner party.
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
I listened to this on Friday, all I remember is r&b and not much else
Nah, fuck this.
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.
bland generic smooth jazz. feel like I spent the last 45 minutes in an elevator
Yawn with a layer of cheese
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?
a perfect picture of the eighties and a solid collection of songs
Fantastic album, smooth, funky, a pining and loving masterpiece. Possibly the best album so far.
Podre de chique.
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
Loved it
Ahhh.. Good old smooth op... :)
Fantastic
The Best!
This was rad, I would like to put this on again.
Nearly perfect
Excellent
Oh man. Silky-smooth sexy vocals over a funky, chill background? Yes, please. More, thanks.
Amazing debut
Bought this on vinyl when it was first released way back in 1984. Awesome album and the production is stunning.
oh YES
Always been a fan, a must listen.
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.
All time Classic
A superb album. I do love Sade.
smooth operator
A smooth operator. Beautiful album.
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
Classic.
Love. Love. Love.
Saxy and Smooth!
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
Love it, jazzy pop songs. Right up my alley, would definitely listen to again.
I could seriously listen to Sade all day long.
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
Really liked it! I'd never heard of Sade before and I found some new gems.
So very good. Sade's voice is amazing and this entire album is a masterclass in storytelling. Great stuff.
Just incredible
An absolute masterpiece. Sade was a god of this shit.
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.
Always fantastic. simple and groovy.
This album deserves 5 stars almost solely for Smooth Operator, fucking dynamite. And the smooth jams just keep on coming. Fantastic voice, and everything works together well, they found a sweet spot with this one, that despite sounding somewhat 80's transcends the decade because it's borrowing from other eras and the quality is high.
I didn't expect to give this five stars but then I listened to it and here we are.
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.
Sade is such a phenomenal singer. This is a lovely jazz pop album.
This was a banger album
Legendary.
Solid album.
Adore her and her voice. Background story about her is way more interesting than most people would assume because of her stunning looks. She worked incredibly hard to have the success she had. Great song choice here. She knocks it out of the park.
Smoooooooth.
One word sums it up: EXQUISITE. This crossed over multiple hits lists, hitting so many categories.
Sublime, smooth, soothing and interesting. Everything I wanted to hear as an introduction to r&b. Happy this came into my life :)
som relax, ótimo para ocasiões especiais
Мне кажется этот альбом не нуждается в описании. Несомненная классика , Sade восхитительна, шикарная женщина с замечательным альбомом. 100/100
Damn that was super funky
Wow. Can't believe I've never thought to listen to this album considering how much of a staple Smooth Operator is in Ric's. What a masterpiece. So much big sax.
What a great album. The saxophone in the first few songs goes so hard. My favorite so far for sure. The time signature stuff in Frankie’s Affair has me confused and I wanna get to the bottom of it lol. Favorite song is Love Is King.
Beautiful. I can & have listened to hours if Sade. Her voice is soft velvet.
Was für eine coole Music und dann diese sanfte Stimme dazu. Fast vergessen, aber immer noch großartig. Muss man sich wieder einmal öfters anhören. Diese Platte ist ebenfalls ein Meilenstein.
Absolutely slaps this so smooth and just no skips
This is a great palate cleanser after the Kanye album and pairs well with the group project as far as fully-formed and fantastic debuts that stand the test of time. An 80s album that doesn't sound like the 80s. A birthing ground for neo-soul. Smooth without being saccharine. Beyond tasteful: it's delicious.
one of the greatest albums ever
Nearly flawless.
music for the soft and sensual sex
A good mixture of funk, pop and soul. The lyrics could be abit repetitive but doesn’t stop it from being a top album. 9/10
Awesome album
This is so smooth. In addition to the more well-known favorites, "Cherry Pie" was great.
Wow! Now this is more like it! Beautiful!
great album
Amazing! Love Sade’s vocals.
Huge album when in high school. I may know every word to every song. We were taking about her this weekend.
What a fantastic album. It is funky and smooth and it feels like I have to be doing some kind of physical activity while listening to it like dancing. Absolutely amazing to hear for the first time.
”Diamond Life” by Sade is a masterpiece that effortlessly blends together elements of jazz, soul, and pop to create a smooth and seductive sound that is unmistakably her own. From the opening notes of "Smooth Operator," it's clear that Sade is a force to be reckoned with. Her sultry voice floats over a bed of lush instrumentation, drawing the listener in and never letting go. Tracks like "Your Love Is King" and "Cherry Pie" showcase her ability to deliver soulful, heartfelt performances that are both intimate and powerful. The album's production is equally impressive, with a seamless mix of live instrumentation and electronic elements that add depth and texture to each song. The arrangements are meticulously crafted, with each instrument given its moment to shine while still supporting the overall groove and mood of the track. This album is sure to leave you feeling captivated and transported thanks to its timeless sound and Sade's impeccable artistry.
God damn, Sade is good shit.
I love Sade - this album sounds so fucking effortless and cool, like their natural state is pure vibes.
One of her bests including the underrated "Why Can't We Live Together"
Absolutely fantastic album. I am a sucker for incredibly smooth, relaxed, and clean production, which this album has in abundance. It has a fantastic groove while maintaining a layer of stripped-back instrumentation, not needing to rely on insane musicianship to keep the listener engaged but just genuinely catchy melodies and bass lines. It's like a more R&B and cleaned-up version of 70s Steely Dan without the admitted cheesiness and extra bells and whistles, which works in its favor. Sade herself is just an incredible vocalist, floating over every single song, creating a chilly atmosphere while also filling your brain with dopamine. Highlights include Smooth Operator, Hang Onto Your Love, Why Can't We Live Together, really the whole album, its so consistently great. Must Listen.