200. Sade, "Diamond Life"

 

When last we saw Sade, I was less than impressed.  In fact, I didn't like Love Deluxe at all.  My sister texted me after that, "You dissed Sade? Tsk."  Rough, I know!  Well the good news is that I liked this album quite a bit more than that one.  In fact, I liked this album a lot!  I know, I was surprised too.

My first point of contact with this album, like a lot of people, I'm sure, was "Smooth Operator," a sultry, sexy, incredibly catchy song about, yes, a smooth operator.  I have one specific complaint, however, I've held onto for more than 30 years and now it can some out: one repeated refrain in the song is "Coast to coast/LA to Chicago" and LA to Chicago is not coast to coast.  Ok whew thank GOD I finally got to release that, it's been bothering me since the Reagan administration.

I was surprised to learn that the first single was actually the second song, "Your Love Is King," which is also a midtempo soulful ballad punctuated with the porn sax that was so big in the 80's.  There's a pretty big Latin undercurrent in the album too.  You can really hear it in the percussion on "Smooth Operator," but there's kind of a samba flavor in "When Am I Going to Make a Living" as well, another great song.

The whole thing feels very cocktail loungey, but not in a cheesy way.  Maybe a little cheesy, but it was the 80's, nobody knew any better.  One thing I've learned doing this project was how important Sade was.  I had this sort of vague idea that she was a one-hit wonder for "Smooth Operator," and I come to find out she's so important she has two albums on this list.  As my sister said, I dissed the last one, but I am more than happy to give this one its proper due.

Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? Yes.