Sade- Soldier of Love

Helen Folsade Adu, better known as Sade is back with her long awaited studio effort, Soldier of Love. The follow up to 2000's Lovers Rock finds the Nigerian born R&B chanteuse and her band returning to their roots to deliver a seductive and superb album that welcomes Sade back to the fold after a long absence.

The album's opening track "The Moon and The Sky" is vintage Sade with her sensual vocals and laid back rhythms setting everything in motion here. My favorite track off the album is the disc's title track, a rock tinged effort that quickly changes pace early on the album, but finds a way to easily blend in Sade's beautiful vocals with the hard edged rock sound, a solid track all around. "Babyfather" is a warm, breezy track with Sade's cooing vocals and a light backing acoustic guitar guiding the song along very smoothly. "Long Hard Road" is the perfect song to accompany you on your late night drive with Sade's vocals once again taking charge and also compliments the sound of the guitars so well on this one.

As we head into the second half, we come across "Be That Easy", a laid back summertime jam with light, syncopated rhythms and if you listen towards the end, you can also hear some faint whistling which is a clever addition to the tune. "In Another Time" is a jazz inspired number with Sade's vocals pouring through every crevice of the song with remarkable precision. To close out the disc, we have "Skin", a laid back, soothing track that makes you reflect and look back on yourself and the changes that you have undergone. "The Safest Place" closes out the disc perfectly with Sade's superb vocals taking center stage with a mystical and unifying track that ties all the elements of the album together in one cohesive package. With this album, Sade has set the bar both in quality and longevity as she released her first album, Diamond Life back in 1984, producing the hit singles "Smooth Operator" and "Your Love Is King". Four more studio efforts followed, including 2000's Lovers Rock, which produced the instantly memorable track, "By Your Side". Here we are 25 years later, and Sade is still putting out music that is real, authentic, and is pure as the salt of the earth.

In conclusion, a fantastic album that continues the musical quest for Sade and leaves no stone unturned with image conjuring lyrics and pure, unfiltered rhythms that proves artists who stay true to their original sound are the ones who have the greatest shot at career longevity.

                                                                                                                           Album Score: 4.5/5

Track Listing:

1. The Moon and The Sky
2. Soldier of Love
3. Morning Bird
4. Babyfather
5. Long Hard Road
6. Be That Easy
7. Bring Me Home
8. In Another Time
9. Skin
10. The Safest Place