Happy 10th Anniversary to Sade’s sixth studio album Soldier of Love, originally released February 5, 2010.
“If you're only making an album every 10 years, it better be good.”
- Sade Adu, The New York Times, February 5, 2010
When thinking of Sade (the band) and their music, a plethora of words come to mind. Sade’s music, should the listener truly be awake to it, evokes the most vibrant of emotions ranging from a sense of pensiveness through to sadness, yearning and most definitely love in all of its forms. For many, Sade has an uncanny ability to invite listeners to contemplate the messages in their songs, almost as if the songs were written just for them. There is a kind of romance in Sade’s melancholy, a vulnerability that lies within the most intense strength any artist could muster: honesty.
At the sawn of the new millennium, Sade released their fifth studio album Lovers Rock (2000). The album was entrenched in love and loss, giving us beautiful songs such as “Somebody Already Broke My Heart,” “By Your Side” and the title track “Lovers Rock.” Having found my own first true love at this time, this album became a soundtrack to our relationship and one that would go on to to signify so much more than just the music we had both come to love. Nor could I have imagined what the future would hold for us, not to mention the connection Sade’s next album would bring to my life, nearly a decade later.
As humans, young humans at that, we think we are invincible. That nothing, no matter the velocity of what is coming at us, will stop us. We can do anything and most certainly overcome everything. Then, sadly, reality hits you in the most extreme way and the loss of someone close to you, the closest to you, hits you like nothing you could have ever imagined. As you search for answers, scrambling for anything that would or could put your mind and aching heart at ease, you reach for the safest thing you know: music. Music that reminds you of the times you shared, the love that was.
Enter Sade.
Nearly five years had elapsed since the passing of my first partner and I remember waking one morning in early 2010 to the news that Sade was about to release their next album, Soldier of Love. Now, you may be asking yourself, “What the hell does the loss of someone have to do with Sade?” I can tell you, a lot.
Music, as I mentioned above, connects us to memories, events and moments in time that will never be replicated. It reminds us of what has passed and also forces us to look forward to the future. It forever connects us to those we have lost and can even be the catalyst for creating new life. Music gives life to everything and Sade has offered one, a few or all of the above gifts for many in this world.
Soldier of Love had finally been released. I was eager to get my hands on a copy, but I was filled with trepidation and for the first time, fear. So much had changed since their last album and now, Sade and I would forever be intertwined. They had become a part of my life, guiding me between love and loss. I finally secured a copy and was hurriedly scanning the track listing, desperately looking for anything that stood out. Instead, I found that everything was standing out to me. Listening to the album was the only logical next step.
The album opens with the painfully beautiful “The Moon and the Sky.” The song speaks of a love lost, where Sade sings, “You lay me down and left me for the lions /A long, long time ago / You left me there dying / But you'll never let me go.” The sorrow in her voice is raw and when I first heard it, it left me feeling equally as raw. It was abundantly clear within minutes that Sade and I were yet again sharing something much more than just the music with this album.
The album’s lead single and title track “Soldier of Love” has an almost militant feel to it, as Sade declares “I’m a soldier of love / every day and night / I’m a soldier of love / All the days of my life.” Whilst a breakaway from the unfussy minimalist approach Sade often takes, this track doesn’t unfurl as forced, rather it highlights Adu’s vocal control in a completely organic, somewhat new way.
Adu wrote all eleven tracks, a strength that any critic will attest to. Adu’s voice, not just vocally, but also lyrically, can clearly be heard, but it is songs like “Morning Bird” that leave the listener wondering just how close to home the material is for Adu. On this scaled-back track, Adu’s voice is given center stage, as she delivers her cries of loss and mourning. Understatement is something that Sade do perfectly and not in some contrived, haughty fashion. It plays true to their core.
Moving through the album, it is easy to get lost in the uniformity that Sade’s songs can sometimes blend into. But with said uniformity also comes a fluidity and connectivity that leaves the listener with a sense of calm, a gift that is unique to Adu’s often hypnotic voice. The break in uniformity on Soldier of Love comes in the form of “Skin.” Love, it seems, is not always stronger than pride and this song exemplifies the power of goodbye, no matter how painful it is.
Soldier of Love claimed commercial and critical success when it was released, gaining a GRAMMY award for the title song, hitting the number one spot in the US Billboard 200, not to mention various European countries, coupled with a sold-out global tour. But the strength in this album is and always has been in the band’s unwavering connection to keeping things uniquely “Sade.” A certain amount of modernity can be heard on some of the aforementioned tracks, as well as on “Babyfather” and “Bring Me Home,” and yet even with these gentle moves into the now, Sade remain quintessentially just that: Sade.
Sade Adu’s voice is as unique as it is faultless. She and her band have made six studio albums to date and whilst each has its own story to tell, that connectivity I mentioned earlier always remains in the shadows, a constant in an ever-changing musical landscape. The words that are set to the music are also of the utmost importance for Adu and her band and yet again, Soldier of Love highlights her ability to tell stories in their rawest, unadulterated form, with “In Another Time” and “The Safest Place” serving as particularly impeccable examples of this.
LISTEN: