Reviews (page 12 of 13)
before my time, my parents and many adults in my life treasure this artist. i did not know it was a British band but that makes sense that there is more life going on in the music rather than solo driven pop. Smooth Operator is at this point a certified old school masterpiece still radio played today. The album is a testament to the 80's style of horns and mellow renditions of jazz/funk/r&b that was goin on in 1984. there is def more behind the vocals that gives a vibrance to the tapestry in the background to the singing. soft and cool is the theme, but there is energy on tracks like Hold on to Your Love. there is a range of ability transforming older methods of music to the modern era. When Am I Going to Make a Living is a good song with heart. its goin to be a 2/5 for me because of how often I would listen to it by myself, but if i was back at my parent's patio having BBQ dinner, we would for sure play it from start to finish. reminds me of Prince on some tracks. its a quick record, but achieves the atmosphere its going for in 44 min. the end starts to slow down a bit, but its par for the course with this mood. the last track is a slow buildup to a final message of peace that has a 60's funky vibe. for a debut album, its hot out of the gate and shows a refined handling of 1980's pop music.
Not really for me
Mostly good. But a bit too mellow and bland for my taste.
I'm one of the 'I don't get this' listeners. I know people love Sade. But this just passes me by and I feel no connection or draw to it. It's fine at best.
Listenable but not really to my taste.
Souly pop record that seems like solid background music. Lacks some spice though.
Great voice. Another album where it seems like it's just repeating the same song though
Feels very much like this was the coffee table CD of 1984 - for those early adopters who already owned a CD player - which, I'm assuming, any self respecting Sade fan would have done.
It was fine. Not really anything that stuck with me on this one. Smooth Operator was a good opener, but then the rest faded into the background.
This never grabbed my attention. I think it might be the high point of a very specific 80's sound... at least I have it pigeonholed in my head. It's like they had a very specific idea of what 'cool' sounds like, and they bought into it and performed it over and over.
Very soul, with some jazz overtones. I knew one song. Kinda chill.
This isn't great, maybe it's not for me.
I remember this from the 80s. I didn't care for it then, and I still don't care for it. The album seems to me to be a succession for very similar songs all in a terribly smooth inoffensive style. But essentially quite dull, and backward looking.
I've heard of Sade, and of course I've heard Smooth Operator before. This album is not bad, but it isn't my style.
Great voice, but once in a blue moon will I find myself enjoying it.
Another artist my parents subjected me to a lot in the 80s. I'm a big fan of brass instruments in general and think they almost always improve music, but by the 400th sax solo I wanted to throw stuff. Interestingly I liked some of the album tracks more than the singles I already knew well (Cherry Pie for example) but I can't see me listening to this again. 2/5
These songs go on for a long time. It's like repetitive story telling because she doesn't rhythm and just says the same thing over and over
Tylko jedna dobra piosenka - smooth operator
Sounds like what was always playing when my mom got her hair permed. Very sterile. No feeling really. Nice voice though.
# 467 : 25/04/2025 : Diamond Life by Sade Bland generic smooth Jazz, Smooth operator was alright, but not something you would deliberately put the on the stereo to listen to. Honourable mention: Smooth Operator
Bland
Meh. Credit to Sade as a person - she always seemed very aware of politics, and for any woman of colour to make a success of herself in the 80s takes talent...but this doesn't do anything for me. You can see why Smooth Operator and Your Love Is King were big 80s hits, but the production is just utterly dull. It's soul music with every possible rough edge sanded away, music for dinner parties where economists and lawyers complain about those dreadful oiks protesting again. Offensive in its inoffensiveness. It gets a two because I can see why it appeals to others, just not for me.
Not for me
Just a bit meh for me.. some catchy tunes in here, but not really my cuppa tea
Meh
Easy listening jazz. not my thing, but well executed
good listen, not very memorable for me though
smOOOoooOOOOooooOOOOooooOOOOthhh operatorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Listenable but doesn't stir me. Fun thing I found on the internet... "To pronounce "sade" accurately, follow these steps: The name is a single syllable, pronounced as "shahd." Begin with the "sh" sound, produced by placing your tongue against the roof of your mouth and forcing air through a narrow gap."
Sade has a great voice and I don’t disagree with this albums inclusion on the list— I’m just not someone who ever finds themselves in a Sade mood. I guess I just don’t want to be a mother figure to the men I bang.
I absolutely hate this. I fully accept that there is some skill on display here, but it's absolutely not for me. It's not just that this overly smooth music isn't my taste, or that I'm bored, it makes me irrationally angry. There's nothing in the sound that's the least bit challenging. Vocals are uninteresting, even if the voice is great. There's a thousand sax solos, but none of them are interesting.
On the album review page, among the 100 reviews that you can read by default, there are more than 50 occurences of "smooth". That sums it up.
This doesn't do a whole lot for me, even though sophisti-pop is something I like a lot, in the Destroyer/Prefab Sprout/Julee Cruise vein. This is too lounge-y, too atmospheric? Closer to a 2.5.
It's a perfectly nice-sounding album, I enjoy the saxophone and synthy instrumentals. It reminds me of being a tot at my parents' parties or my nan's house - it sounds dated. It's sepia, a VCR blur of vague smooth jazz and funk. It's perfectly fine, I enjoy nostalgia. But this is best albums of all time, right? It doesn't set itself from the rest, it's timeless in that I still hear "Your Love is King" or "Smooth Operator" in an elevator or on Magic Radio. Just didn't do enough. High 2.
I love Smooth Operator. The rest of the album isn't as interesting to me.
What was it about Sade that made her an international hit? Just good timing? Deal with the devil? It can’t be off the back of this distinctively average offering. Nothing special here.
Smooth operator? 10/10 The rest? Absolute snore. I thought “hey, maybe it’s just the genre that’s not for me.” No, every song that came on recommended after was a banger. This was just so same after Smooth Operator
Great voice, outstanding production, boring as fuck.
While I like soul and neo-soul, I'm not sure if this hits for me. A little too easy listening and not enough oomph. Would consider chucking at a zombie.
Smooth Elevator
Reminds me of something I would hear at JCPenney at 9pm or Foust’s car on the way to mars hill
Smooth Operator is peak Sade; on the other tracks her voice sounds a little tuneless and the songs aren't too interesting.
SMOOOOOTH OPERATOOOOOOOR 🌶 Never really cared for that song before, but now it has become iconic for Carlos Sainz fans I didn't like the album version of Smooth Operator with the talking. Much prefer the single version. I also knew Your Love Is King. Those two songs aside I found the album pretty boring. It all sounded the same and I was bored. Sorry, Sade Nice voice though A 2.5 rounded down 2 ⭐️
I can appreciate the craft of this and the vocals, but I just do not enjoy the lounge-y, smooth jazz-pop which is a big ingredient here.
Yeah, no... Not bad but I really wouldn't play this record again willingly
I mostly know Sade from references from 90s rap songs as baby making music and that pretty much checks out. Not a huge fan for the most part, but I did like “hang on to your love”.
Mid, couldn't get through the whole thing.
feels very similar to everything else like it
One good track
2.5 the production was really good but the content was a bit to smooth for me
Definitivt en av de bättre soul album jag hört. Fin röst känns inte som hon gör till sig, kan fortfarande kännas långsamt ibland men de första låtarna är långt ifrån det
Not my cup of tea
The perfect soundtrack for mindlessly browsing the clothes section at a Sears in the 1980s. Not a genre for me and this album does nothing to change that. 3.5/10 (1.75/5)
Great voice, but her album felt too much of its time. Too cliche 80s R&B sax sounding.
A reminder that the expectation of bongo drums is far less exciting than the reality of bongo drums.
I didn’t expect to like this, but was pleasantly surprised. Production is okay for 1984. Sound is smooth as silk. Too smooth? Not sure I’d just sit and listen to it, but it was perfect to throw on while I was sanding some walls.
Is this the smoothest album ever made? The answer is yes. Two stars are automatically removed for such a heavy use of saxophone, but one star is added back for the thrusty bass playing on the lusty “Cherry Pie”.
Man, sexy sax and electric piano are just a little too smooth sometimes. I guess once you’re old enough to appreciate Steely Dan, you kinda have to open your mind. The most 80s production I’ve ever heard. Surprised it’s not a Quincy Jones project. Nice and sexy, perfectly pleasant, not something I imagine I’ll come back to though?
Boring. Except for the first song. The rest all sound the same to me. Kinda bland elevator music. But it makes good background music while doing something else.
2+ Stars (6/15)
It was fine
some decent tunes on here but i didn't like the album as a whole
Not really my cup of tea
If Beige was an album.
Попса, ничего особенного, но биты неплохие
Surprisingly easy listening. Got me through Monday morning.
Nice sound, but every single song sounds exactly the same.
This ain’t it
I saw a review saying some people just don’t get it, and I don’t really get it. Favorite song: Smooth Operator
This album was not for me
I get it. It’s smooth, the sax is lovely, she can saaaang. It’s still dreadfully dull. The vocal control is incredible but the loud power at the end of every other syllable is obnoxious and becomes a one trick pony. Every word doesn’t need to be dramatically emphasized. No thank you, Sade.
a bit too lounge music for me.
Sade’s confidence to name her band after herself AND to be an artist that goes by one name is woefully misplaced. That isn’t to say she’s untalented, or that this album was bad. On the contrary - I’ll tell you now that I’ll be giving it a pretty fitting rating of two stars. But I can’t help thinking that maybe, just maybe it would’ve been cool if the band had a different name. Carlos Santana named his band “Santana” because he was the generational talent at the center of it. Can you name any other members of that band? I’ll wait. Because I can’t. Beyoncé goes by one name because she’s Beyoncé - there’s only one and we all know it. So does she. Madonna did the same. As did Prince. So you can’t just decide to go by an eponym AND name your band after yourself unless you either A: really are a generational talent and know it or B: are marketed that way by your record label because they think they can best sell you that way. I think the latter must have happened here. This album is…boring. Sure it’s got fun moments here and there. Some cool grooves. But Sade herself isn’t, in my opinion, the main attraction. Her voice is good, but is it THAT good? If it is, she doesn’t find space to show it off here. And sure, fine, you can tell me that the genre doesn’t fit a vocal style where she could show off, and you’d be right. But still. Snoozefest. She’s the focus of the band, its main attraction. But I don’t really understand why. Maybe because this is the closest thing to elevator Muzak I’ve had thus far, and the record label knew that and needed to make it about her to sell it better. This is “jazz” for people who don’t really know jazz. Those people hear this and can feel cultured by listening to it. I listen to it and feel disappointed and bored. Standout Tracks: Hang Onto Your Love, Cherry Pie
It all sounded like the same song. She's got a great voice, though. 2/5
Not really my thing. 2/5
I know it’s a classic, it’s just not for me. I was also sleep deprived when I listened to this, so not great timing.
Other than the first two tracks, the rest of the album is just meh.
not my cup of tea, too slow
1. operator - 2 2. king - 1.5 3. hang - 1.5 4. affair - 1.5 5. living - 1 6. cherry pie - 1.5 7. zally - 1.5 8. friend - 2 9. together - 1
Everything sounds a bit samey. All very classical jazz. Smooth operator has a good melody i can listen to over and over, and the only one that doesnt really bore me is cherry pie.
SmooooOOooooth. And also kinda boring towards the end
radio music.... for la noire detective movie women
Not my type of music
Besides "Smooth Operator" the songs just didn't appeal to me. Most of the tracks seemed dated.
Kinda boring
Looking at the top 1001 albums released in 1984, this is one I would probably have picked last to listen to. However, that’s what makes this project interesting, you never know what hidden gems you might discover. Unfortunately, in this case... not much. It’s really not my cup of tea. I was already familiar with the opening two tracks from radio play, and while it was nice to sit down and listen more closely, there wasn’t much beyond that. There are some interesting layers in those first two songs that I hadn’t picked up on before, but that was where the intrigue ended for me. "Cherry Pie" was decent, but the rest of the album felt like background music a wealthy yuppie might play in 1984 to show off their brand new CD player at a party. Overall it's just not my thing.
Doesn't get much more 80s than this. A bit dull overall.
Clearly an influential album and an incredibly successful band, but not really my thing. I struggled to get through it tbh.
This was fine, but uninteresting.
starts strong but then turns into background music quite fast
If it's raining outside and you want to feel sad, this is the album. But today it's sunny, so I didn't love love it.
Good singer but I heard the album too much in the 80s. I simply don't like it anymore.
Yesterday's music, yesterday's sound, yesterday's feeling. Did not age well.
I should have probably paid more attention to this record, but I never really wanted to.
Overall not for me - Smooth Operator and Frankie's First Affair were alright but the rest were incredibly boring and overproduced. She has a decent voice but fairly monotone and the production of the songs doesn't really help - seems to "cover" her voice too much. 1 feels harsh.
If this was the go to album for the dinner party scene in the 80's, id rather starve
R&B. Not too bad but not really my thing.
It’s fine - but I’m not an 80s R&B guy.
Overdose of adult contemporary jazz on this one! I know some folks that loove Sade and I normally respect their opinion on music. Not so sure on this one.
Hát ez nem volt az én világom. Közepes, talán... Áh inkább annyi se.
The epitomy of romantic baby making music.
I remember Sade from the 80’s. Didn’t like this album then, don’t like it now. Granted, she has an amazing voice and Smooth Operator was all over the airwaves. However, I find this album boring with boring themes. Not for me.
Elevator manufacturers called: They want their music back. At least it had some sexy saxophone throughout the album. Favorite song: "Love Is A King".
Smooth and soulful. Not really my style.
Average 80's music. Didn't find anything special here.
Huge back in the day, but it doesn’t really stand the test time and we never hear it anymore on the radio.
I know this is a touchstone record for a lot of people. But I just can't get into it. Smooth Operator is a great song; and Your Love is King is mild fun. But 45 minutes of smooth jazz just isn't my bag.
Nah it's not good
I know this is a well regarded album but something about the very laid back smooth vibe just irks me. I just find it annoying for some reason, and makes me want to listen to some punk. 2 star.
She has a very unique voice but it's not always for me. It's really a 2.5 but I can't rate in halves
Some great songs but mostly ones that weren't good at all
Smooth as a pebble, but unfortunately as interesting as one too. Full of banal sentiment.
It's background music.
bleh
Slow and elegant but not sure I'll give it another listen
Actively avoided this throughout the '80s as I figured it did not sound much like Duran Duran. So it proved when it finally caught up with me today; apart from the ubiquitous first couple of tracks it leaves the impression of very high quality wallpaper. Smooth Operator is the exception, geographic accuracy notwithstanding
I don't agree with the reviews that thought this is artificial or lacks feeling. I did find it boring but I don't think it's fair to say there is nothing here of artistic or musical merit.
Admittedly, I am pretty allergic to the 80s bass tones and keyboard featured here. I am also struggling to decouple “smooth operator” from the office slow jams and hold music that have embraced it over the years. When I imagine this album under different textures I (only) kind of like the vocals, grooves and lyrics.
I would put this on for my gran when she comes round.
Strangely, I can listen to 70s soft rock but have always hated the stuff from the 80s. Maybe because I hit puberty in 1982 and started listening to the Clash and the Stones. In any event, I still can't listen to this. It's like hotel art - so carefully crafted to be inoffensive that it drives me mad. Top-notch production tho.
🤷
Enjoyed Smooth Operator, rest of the album was fine but not my thing.
It was ok, last songs into was far too long though
Smooth Operator is a really enjoyable song but also completely forgettable. Same with the rest of this album. It just didn’t feel really special or interesting.
Smooth operator is perfect, the rest of this album is deeply boring
DNF. Light disco jazz. :(
This was okay. I’ve never really liked Sade though.
Super weak sauce.
Lovely, but very monotonous
Smooth lounge music, but that's about it.
Wasn't really a fan of this one. It's not a music style I like to start with, and outside of Smooth Operator, I didn't really have anything here that I found enjoyable. Not for me, but maybe good for someone else.
Smooth jazz is a little easier on the ears now than it was when I first heard this as a kid. But it's still pretty shruggy for me.
Not good
Instantly transported to sitting in the dentists office waiting room in the 80s.
Smooth Operator Your Love Is King
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I expected I'd rate it a 1 or 2, but the sax has me leaning 2 or 3. Overall, it doesn't hold my attention. But under the right conditions, darkly lit jazz club at 2 am, I'd feel the vibe more.
Ha this was fine, not my cup of tea at all. It was not bad by any means, but certainly not essential.
Nothing wrong with this. Nothing great either.
Well crafted pop music. Just not my thing
So polished that it's kind of boring and nothing really stands out. Highlights: "Your Love is King" (classic 80s sexy sax solo), "Why Can't We Live Together" (the bongos are cool)
Meh
buiten de singles die gewoon goed zijn, is de rest eigenlijk meer van het zelfde... gepolijste 80s rock
Just straight up boring
One of Sade’s classics
I like this about as much as I'm ever bound to like a hybrid of smooth soul and sophisto-pop. Which is still not very much. 2.5/5
Bit sad that I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked to, but it's okay
Feels as relevant as a lifetime romcom.
One star each for the 80s Hits - Smooth Operator and Your Love is King. A nice background listen, but I'm not sure how important the album is as far as the evolution of music is concerned.
I don’t see myself listening to this again - sophisti-pop (first time hearing of this as a genre) is not really my thing. Both stars are for Smooth Operator
Софистик-поп - это когда вроде и шарм есть, и гармония какая-то, но трэки хуй друг от друга отличишь.
Faded into the background. When I did notice it was hard to tell songs apart. Lots of saxophones.
Not a huge fan of R&B. I just listened to snippets of this and I still feel this way.
Some good
Nice voice but one paced.
Twooooth Operator
Bland, easy listening pop. Sounds a lot like The Most Wanted Music to me.
Sade has a great and very distinctive voice. The sound and songs all seam very similar though. Clearly she has not had any even good relationships based on the sadness of the majority of her tunes.
Might as well add a sad version of Fly me to the moon since it’s so sad
Totally and utterly mid. Her voice is pretty good I guess but the songwriting is just the same sort of feeling over and over. Did absolutely nothing for me. Very boring, very bland, not nearly special enough that I NEEDED to listen to this before I died.
Holy 80's! This isn't bad in any way but it is absolutely not for me. For some reason it reminded me of the mall when I was a kid. I'm glad Frankie had the affair.
Smooth Operator
Album's not even done and it's just not for me. I'd heard Sade was well-regarded critically, and had really hoped for more - repeated listens aren't going to change my opinion of some milquetoast soft rock.
#172. Spotify says there are 13 million people listening to this character every month. 13 million. Monthly. What the fuck? Who is purposefully listening to this shit? 2/5: not great
Not for me
Sultry jazz/R&B
I liked 'Smooth Operator'. Not my favorite type of music to listen to. Wouldn't listen again. 2/5
Smooth jazz. Sade has had a number of reasonably big singles but I've never listened to one of her albums. She has a breathy, lower-register voice that fits this style of music very well but I find the genre generally kind of boring. It's over-polished and a bit lounge-y (if that's a word) and more suited for LITE-FM or background music at a spa than the type of jazz I like. Yes, the songs have complex beats and quality sax playing but there's not the kind of creativity around chord structures and phrasing you find from top[ jazz artists. Smooth Operator is the best tune of a very bland bunch.
I’ve known the name Sade since I was at least 12 or younger. I have no idea if I’ve ever actually heard her music. I also had no idea she’d been making music for 15 years by the time I’d even heard her name... Smooth Operator is definitely familiar somehow. The rest of this, not so much. For smooth R&B, this isn’t the worst. I don’t mind this as background music, maybe at a kitschy cafe that’s stuck in the 90s with all the collected knick knacks and shit on the wall. I am not entirely convinced that I needed to hear this before I die, other than to provide some variety. There’s certainly something to be said for that in the context of a list that feels heavily skewed toward otherwise forgotten and ignored britpop bands. I’m definitely not as upset by it as I have been previous albums on this list. TL;DR: Not something I’d pick, but I wouldn’t have heard this otherwise, so it gets some points for not being a predictable pick while not being terrible.
This album has not aged well.
It's like expecting cherry pie and ending up with red velvet. Like hoping for Friday night, but it's only Wednesday.
2/5 not memorable
Just find it boring and repetitive
Boring
Well produced but no thank you.
Bit boring to be honest, smooth operator is a classic, and the sound isn't terrible.
It's okay, but I want to be done with the easy listening stuff.
It's a bland, and forgetful soul pop/soft pop record.
Jesus, I thought I was going to be stuck on that elevator forever. I was about to pick out a pee corner.
this is good. it is. if you put it on i would mot complain but it’s not vibe could i write poetry to this? n
It's some fine 80's Smooth-Jazz-Pop. Unfortunately, I had to hear this album, in its entirety, every damn day, for about six years. The hostess at a job I was at LOVED this album and felt the need to keep it going as house music at all times. I never ever want to hear it again, thank you very much.
Not my thing. Fine background music, but nothing that makes me want to revisit it.
Not bad, not my thing. Huge record at the time. A little TOO smooth. Inoffensive pop from the eighties, I sort of can't get through it all the way. Just okay.
Ok, not much grabbed me.
Beautiful voice, but quite boring. Nothing stood out to me.
boring
3.5/10
p518. 1984. 2 stars. Bland background faux jazz/soul for 80s cocktail bars. Shiny production can't compensate for the mostly average songs, or the complete lack of emotion or passion in any of them. Most of the time Sade sounds like she is either bored or on Prozac. Hard to imagine that this was the soundtrack to a thousand Yuppie seductions.
This is obviously a high quality album, just not one for me. I wasn’t really aware of Sade before and didn’t know any of the songs, bar Smooth Operator which I mostly know of because of the meme of the formula one driver singing it. It’s an excellently produced album, which is all the more impressive when learning that the recording and production was a pretty DIY affair. Sade’s voice is great, too. It’s just really not my genre of music; I found it hard to focus on it properly without letting it drift into background music. Beyond Smooth Operator, I could imagine having a silly wee boogie with pals to Cherry Pie at a party. Sally was my least favourite song, appropriately dirge-like for a composition about the Salvation Army. It gets a 3/5 for the production and quality but it’s a 2/5 for my personal enjoyment.
For 80s adult contemporary MOR, it was better than I thought it would, but I also wasn’t expecting much. There was one track that I did get stuck in my head though so that has to be worth something.
Excellent voice but a bit meh
I am familiar with Sade's music, but I never listened to her albums all the way through. It all sounds the same. Not great.
smooth operator
Pretty typical smooth jazz to me. Nothing too stand out, but not much to criticize. Not my style. Favorite track: Smooth Operator
Ok.
Nothing particularly great about this album. "Smooth Operator" has become relevant again because of social media, but this album as a whole isn't very interesting. 2/5 Won't listen again
Er zijn vast toepassingen te verzinnen op deze smerige neukmuziek, maar voor mij kwam het net op het verkeerde moment.
Elevator music
Als relaxing achtergrondmuziekje tijdens het werk was dit best prettig.
Nee, dit heeft me nooit kunnen behagen. Bovendien denk ik steeds dat ik naar George Michael zit te luisteren.
Great, sultry voice. The melodies are nice but the backing smooth jazz sound cheapens everything.
uh. Not really my thing? Easy to listen to.
I have to say that listening to this while in a feverish daze was probably not entirely fair. Beyond the first two well known songs, it all just washed over me. The last song seemed to have lyrics written by ChatGPT
More nice background music. A bit samey throughout.
Boring bland background elevator music.
The Marquis de Sade. Smooth torture.
Cubic Zirconia life.
Talented singer whose music I thoroughly hate.
Avausraitansa mukaisesti smooth. Saksofoni ärsyttää, kun sitä on näin paljon. Why can't we live together on hienoa vaihtelua kuitenkin saman tyylin sisällä, saisi olla lopetuskappale. Plussaa eheydestä
Not a huge fan. She’s an alright singer, but the songs don’t resonate with me.
i guess it’s probably very well produced or something but this is really not for me
Sounds like a soundtrack to a late night "film" on Cinemax. Veers too much into easy listening and pop. One review I heard stated it's Steely Dan with a female singer. I don't like Steely Dan so this album is a meh to me.
Vocals are interesting and music is smooth. But it's dated and it's kind of cheesy "Shaft" sounding. No for me
Dit was echt 3 keer niets, paar bekende oke-ish nummers maar kon haar stem echt niet uitstaan 😮💨
Deze versie van smooth operator klinkt alsof die 1 octaaf naar beneden is gepitcht, heel raar. Verder nou niet zo’n lekker album, ben aardig teleurgesteld
Pretty chill jazz. A few tracks were pretty cool, but nothing significantly awesome for me to want to listen to again
jazzy pop
I knew Smooth Operator. A couple of other songs sounded familiar. It was OK album. It wasn't bad but not particularly good.
Much too smooth pop/jazz for my taste overall. That said, the basslines are grooving!
meio jazzy demais pro meu gosto, mas achei a sonoridade sexy e envolvente, então curti o álbum num geral.
Pretty good
There was a couple of solid songs on that and I enjoyed the vibe was nifty just got lost at times and wanted to get through it
Not awful, but really hard to get through. Jazzy but with no energy. Definitely sounds like the mid-80s; would fit right in on a Miami Vice soundtrack.
As is usual with smooth jazz, it's hard to think about it as more than "background music" with Sade's immediately recognizable voice being the most interesting part in the vast majority of the record. "Cherry Pie" and the obvious "Smooth Operator" are the standouts.
Diamond Life is basically Smooth Operator and then a bunch of forgettable soft pop songs. 2.
An odd one. Mostly, for me, it doesn't really work, it fades into the background far too easily, and when you do concentrate the lyrics aren't great. That said, I'd listen to Smooth Operator over and over again, great song. 2/5, Smooth Operator almost gets it to a 3 but not quite.
Absolute trash. The only thing saving this from 1 star is Sade’s vocal talent.
Cheesy 80’s hotel lounge muzak.
Kinda cool but somewhere around the halfway point I started finding it too much same same and was pretty keen on putting on some other music to have something different. 3.5/10
Nothing stands out and not my favorite genre
5/10
„Smooth Operator“: Sure, it‘s smooth, and it‘s a known quantity, but I‘m not really feelin the vibe „Your Love Is King“: Continues the theme, not sure if it makes sense continuing a song by song rating „Frankie‘s First Affair“: liked this one! „When I am going“: Caught myself quietly sit-dancing to this Some other decent songs on this, but overall not that engaging tbh
The hit is good in it's own way, but in general this album is weak and some very bad sax going on here
I suppose this was quite a nice listen and I was surprised to recognise a few. Can't believe Will Young stole one of her songs and got the same from it being in the Bridget Jones soundtrack. I didn't think much of it as it's not my genre but it's not bad per se
I went into this with an open mind, I really tried but fuck is this boring. This is barely a step above elevator or hold music. Cherry pie isn’t even that sweet, it’s more tart that anything. I read that Drake had Sade tattooed on his torso which is odd but I can hear the influence bc he’s just as dull. I can appreciate that she has had a long career but I can’t give this more than 1.5 rounded up to 2 stars
Took 3 tries to finish. Not my favorite but I see its value.
Elevator music
Unmemorable
vibey
eh. smooth operator.
Same flow throughout. Great voice. Liked a song not an album
Totally inoffensive muzak feeling album
2.5
Don't forget, it's pronounced "shah-day," not "say'd." They're legends in the soul scene (I think? also didn't know this was a group and not just one lah-day), but there's not enough on this one album for me to deduce why. Do they have big hits out there I'm not aware of (or maybe am aware of, but don't know are Sade)? I don't know man, I like these genres but the kind of R&B/soul I like is a lot more exciting than this. I honestly don't know if R&B is the right word here, as wikipedia says things like "smooth soul" or "sophistipop," what I might otherwise call "easy listening" or "adult contemporary," those purgatorial genres of stuff that doesn't really move my needle. There are couple tracks on here that I liked but a lot of it slips into the background for me. I think it sounds a little ahead of its time, as I would've guessed '90s rather than '80s, but still a bit too predictable and same-y for me. Favorite tracks: Hang On to Your Love, Cherry Pie. Album art: Pretty cool, strong framing here. Great picture, great font (though reminds me of that Guns n Roses album). Nothing special. 2.5/5
How am I supposed to go from Dead Kennedys to this, huh 1001 albums!? Sade is good, but this is the wrong album. 'Love Deluxe' better be on the list, if anything from Sade is. All the pieces are there, but it's a bit one-note out of the gate.
Dull, but not as excruciating as I was expecting.
There is nothing extraordinary about this album requiring a look at the history of 1984 and why maybe it could have been. Maybe there is a respect for its simple sounds, Sade's careful vocal range, etc., that resonated deeply in 1984 that we are likely taking for granted in the present.
i know i know, semi-classic soul album, just not a fan 5/10
No me gustó mucho. No es mi estilo, aunque hay otra canción de Sade que sí me gusta. De hecho, me gusta tanto que hasta los covers son buenos
Did not particularly like the vocals. Music was good.
Great background music, but not for me.
Felt like I was in an elevator. Did not enjoy. I wonder if Beavis and butthead ever did a music video on this one.
I can see why it’s well liked, but it’s not for me.
great voice, but it's elevator music to me
Klarer ikke å la meg engasjere av dette. Mer kjedelig enn dårlig? Plata oppleves mest som en selvhjelpslydbok.
Just not for me I'm afraid
Extremely bland and inoffensive.
A lot of never before seen bands this week, some decent parts in this album.
It’s not really my thing, but I started getting into it the last couple of tracks.
As smooth as can be, but also just a bit bland. Could cope with it as background music in a busy cafe.
nah
i didn’t really think much of it and i think that on itself explains a lot. i just thought it didn’t give anything…
Nah
Mostly the same. Chilled
It’s fine for background music.
Back to the '80s with you Sade!
Bit bland.
Haven't heard Smooth Operator in decades. Which is good because wow did it get a lot of play. With fresh ears it's still smooth but together with the rest of the album the songs are lyrically pretty thin. Ideally suited to background/mood music when the mood is jazzy saxy.
Kinda soulful, but TOTALLY cheesy.
Kind of smooth jazzy. Smooth operator.
Mostly forgettable soft jazz
ok.
Melkoset saksofonirevittelyt. Mutta muuten oli kyllä aika juustoista kasaria. Smooth lauluääni pelastaa aika paljon, mutta kyllä tää silti tippuu mun mielestä huonon kasarin puolelle. Ei tarpeeks överi, mutta ei myöskään tarpeeks tyylikäs.
Kahden avausraidan lisäksi mikään ei kyllä herättänyt juurikaan tunteita. Ehkä ei vaan oo mun genre. 2/5
She had a nice voice but the music just wasn't that interesting. Not bad but not great either
Mostly boring
Take soul, jazz, and pop and put it in a blender and what do you get? Yes, you get Sade, but more importantly you get "sophisti-pop." "The term has been applied retrospectively to music that emerged during the mid-1980s in the UK which incorporated elements of new wave, jazz, soul, and pop. Music so classified often made extensive use of electronic keyboards, synthesizers and polished arrangements." It's a bit of a silly name for a genre, but regardless of the name it's not really a genre for me. A lot of sax and smoothness, but not what I'm looking for.
Remember how pretentious-ass couldn't get past the saxophones to appreciate Tina's voice? I feel the same about Sade. I can't appreciate the voice and the general groove because all I hear is the sax.
2.5
nao gostei,,,
🎶straight outta the 80s🎶 I was immediately at an 80s dinner party with nouvelle cuisine and black dinner plates. Didn’t like this album then, don’t like it now!
Baby-makin' music. Smooth saxophone, Sade singing some smooth jazzy R&B. Pretty much everyone should know Smooth Operator, and the rest of the album is the same style so you know what you're getting into. Not really my thing but it was ok.
Not for me
that one song
Boring album. I semi-enjoy Smooth Operator, but the rest of the album pretty much put me to sleep. 2/5
Very 80s sounding, which is not really my thing at all. One recognized song
Very eighties! Smooth operator- I always thought it was someone who connected telephone lines…
When I was a teenager I worked a Ric's Food Center in Mt. Pleasant. Aside from bagging groceries and making sure my cash drawer balanced at the end of the night, I spent a lot of time trying to be cool (not be lame) in front of all the college students I worked with. It was a real point of pride when "Smooth Operator" would come on the Muzak and my coworkers would refer to it as my them song. As far as I know, they weren't being tongue-and-cheek. As far as I know. And that wouldn't be a smooth move, so I'm sure I was interpreting this correctly. When I was 17 I went on a legit date with my 21 year old coworker. That didn't seem weird or illegal to me at the time. Not sure it was illegal. But it was weird. And I was definitely not a smooth operator on that date. Ok, that's enough cringing for me this morning... Getting past that song on this record, it feels like a list of 8 potential b-sides. All are equally smooth, pretty, proficient, and well-crafted. But they lack the hook of Smooth Operator. Music like this makes me think "why not just listen to Joni Mitchell's far-superior mid-late 70s albums?" I'm not sure I have an answer to that question.
Sade one of those smokey, lounge-singer voices - and the hook in Smooth Operator is classic - but I can't really get into this (despite its heavy leaning on the bass guitar). I'm sure it's popular in elevators, department store playlists, and candle-lit motel rooms - but it ain't for me.
meh
Short album
Smooth operator was very catchy. Her voice is really nice. The sax went hard Your love is king is not the best but the sax carried again Hang on to your love was the best song on the album and sally was the worst song
Takiej odmiany bylo mi trzeba po ostatnich wyjcach, diamond life to debiutancki album brytyjskiej bandy sade z 83, zespol bierze swoja nazwe od nazwiska wokalistki Sade Adu, ktora pochodzi z kolonialnej nigerii, gatunkowo banda gra dosyc jazzowo, ale jest to ten popularny jazz, ktory dobrze i latwo sie slucha i mozna go zarowno puscic w radiu jako wolniejszy kawalek, czy tez w windzie, discog fajnym gatunkiem okresla te plyte, jako smooth soul, co ma sens biorac pod uwage tematyke jaka porusza krazek, czyli oczywiscie zycie milosne i jego wzloty, upadki i roznorakie niuanse, ciekawa rzecza jest, ze sporo referencji z tego materialu mozna znalezc, zarowno w formie sampli jak i liryki na murzynskich kawalkach, chocby u big daddy kane czy rakima, wiec jak na popowy, albo raczej sophisti-popowy album to jego material zyje swoim zyciem po zyciu, ale jednak muzycznie jest on nudny, trio przygrywajace pani Sade, to saksa, klawisze i bas, ale wystepuja takze muzycy sesyjni, wiec instrumentowy count jest troche wyzszy, nie zmienia to jednak faktu, ze jest nudno od strony instrumentalnej, lirycznie takze jest bardzo jednowymiarowo, jedynym trakiem ktory lamie konwencje milosna jest sally, kawalek traktuje o salvation army, wiec moze nie az tak bardzo lamie, ale z pewnoscia skupia sie na mniej romantycznym gatunku milosci do blizniego, ciekawy jest takze zamykajacy trak why cant we live together, ktory ma zdecydowanie inny vibe w porownaniu do reszty albumu, czuje ze moze miec to zwiazek z tym, ze jest to cover a nie orginalny kontent pani Sade, a na plejke leci openingowy smooth operator
STARTS WITH BONGOS OK HERE WE GO first album we've had so far that I've got really no context for - dunno who or what Sade is ah, so it's some smooooth R&B the most-listened track on spotify is Your Love Is King, with like 100m more listens than the rest in the album, but it leaves me pretty cold. I much prefer the tracks before and after. overall though doesn't really do much for me
From the get go, this album sounds like something I should be listening to while sitting in a dimly lit bar staring out over a city skyline. Sadly, this is an activity I engage in on a monthly basis at most, so this album isn't really for me, despite the undoubted talent Sade has. If I want background music there are better options in every genre, so I highly doubt I'll ever listen to this album again under any circumstances.
This is probably someone's favourite album, but not mine. Sails a bit too close to easy listening. A shame, cause her voice is indeed diamond.
Hardly unpleasant, but incidental. Not certain when it needed to be listened to, sure it doesn't belong on the list. It's the one piece of Smooth Operator that's iconic, not even the whole song.
Yeah, some of it is not too cringey.
I don't mind Smooth Operator, but the rest of this album is pretty dull. Seems like a strange choice for this list
Meh squared
Obviamente nunca he sido gran conocedor de Sade, la música que le conocía tenía en memoria que se me hacía aburrida y hasta ahí llegaba mi conocimiento. El escuchar todo el disco desafortunadamente no cambió mucho mi percepción. Simplemente es un estilo que nunca va a ser algo que busque, puedo aceptar que la producción es buena y de hecho también que su voz es mucho mejor de lo que recordaba y tiene un rango y textura bastante agradables. Ese smooth jazz de musica de fondo sin peso alguno simplemente no me va. No hay más que decir, buena voz y música que no toca ni una sola fibra para mí. Me sorprendió mucho ver que la canción más popular del disco no fuera Smooth Operator... creí era su canción más famosa.
Leyendo el artículo de Wikipedia del disco me enteré que se considera parte del género "Sofisti-pop" y creo que ya entendí que ese es el género que no me gusta. No sé qué se traían en los 80, que creían que toda la música debía sonar "sexy" y de cachondeo. Y la verdad es que podría ser que a ratos funcione, pero discos (o géneros) enteros de eso, no gracias. La voz de Sade (/ʃɑːˈdeɪ/ shah-DAY) es de hecho muy agradable aunque solo a ratos, y encima el resto de los elementos se vuelven tediosos y creo que la principal culpa es el ritmo de bossa nova y el sonido de piano eléctrico como de bar de Sanborn's.