The Original Smooth Operator

Let your mind drift back to the times of Miami Vice (no, the TV show, not the movie). It was a time when men weren’t afraid to wear white suits with pink tee-shirts, every home had some form of neon lighting and cigarette boats were the preferred method of transport for interesting people on the go. Lying in bed, listening to Sweet 98 FM, Hot Scott dropping the dedications, cheap red boombox delivering the hits of the day . . . Then out of nowhere, the smoothest voice you’ve ever heard comes through the speakers, like clean linen in a soft breeze, “coast to coast, LA to Chicago,” . . . Sade’s “Smooth Operator” was like nothing else on the radio, then or now. The song can still fill the brain with visions of pink flamingos and steamy nights under palm trees, her voice calmly soaring up and down the scale, her cadence and delivery an unrivaled level of sultry sweet, an exotic voice on familiar airwaves, a transcendent listen every time she sings.

Sade serves as the name for both the band and the female vocalist. Born in Nigeria in 1959, Helen Folasade Adu was given the nickname Sade (a shortened version of her middle name) shortly before her parents split and she accompanied her mother to the London area at the age of 4. Both fashion and music became powerful vehicles in Adu’s life. After a short foray into the London modeling world, Sade began her path as a vocalist filling in for a friend’s funk band. Her sophisticated sound has never been easy to pigeon-hole, pulling from jazz, funk, r&b and Afro-Cuban influences, she and her band have always existed outside of music’s comfort zone, offering a strangely beautiful mélange of sonic tapestries.

In 1984 the band broke through to the World with the release of “Diamond Life,” a stunning debut record with the singles “Smooth Operator” and “Your Love is King.” Sade and the band would win The Grammy that year for “Best New Artist” and begin a career consisting of infrequent releases, opting to create albums as works of art as opposed to the pre-packaged unit-moving commodities much of popular music had become. “Diamond” still stands the test of time, serving as a fully-realized glimpse of a unique voice on the rise. Hugely popular at the time of its release, the album is not so much a relic of the 1980s and it’s synth-heavy pop crooning as it is a testament to the band’s and singer’s timeless artistic vision. During “Smooth Operator” Sade sings “moves in space, with minimal waste,” the line not only describing the song’s shifty protagonist but also serving as an apt description of the band’s playing: efficient and beautiful, straight-to-the-point but not overly concerned with how long it takes to get there.

While 1985’s “Promise” and 1992’s “Love Deluxe” featured memorable singles like “The Sweetest Taboo” and “No Ordinary Love” and found the band embarking on massively successful world tours, it would be 8 years later in 2000 that Sade released the masterpiece “Lovers Rock.” The album earned the Grammy for “Best Pop Vocal Album,” however that award and distinction are a disservice to the smooth-soul-brilliance of “Lovers.” While the record finds Sade tipping more towards the popular forms of the day (lead single “By Your Side” incorporates strummed guitar), her smoky, sensual and sexy flourishes are in full force, the resulting mood one of post-day-at-the-beach, soundtracking that strange dusk between bright, sunny sandcastles and the forlornly beautiful and encompassing mass of darkness as the Sun dips below the horizon, slowly burning down into brilliant oranges and purples as the waxing moon ascends. And then you and Crockett have to go chase bad guys on a cigarette boat. But I digress. “Lovers” is an all-time favorite record for me, solid from beginning to end. The title song finds Adu and her band composing one of the finest songs of the past 20 years. The stunningly gorgeous opener “By Your Side” is one of the most endearing love songs you'll ever hear, honest joyous in the face of some vague misfortune.

The next year and a half found Sade embarking on yet another massive World tour, performing a brilliant setlist with a perfect mix of older favorites and songs from “Lovers.” The band is incredibly tight and focused, a slight funk just under the surface, grooves that stroll down the sidewalk, never running or getting too rambunctious, steady and soulful. The live record taken from this tour “Lovers Live” is hands down the best live recording you'll find of this dynamic act. Sade's voice not having lost an iota of her otherworldly charm, classics like “Smooth Operator” and “The Sweetest Taboo” getting a treatment that treads lightly on the original's winning formula but adds enough new flourish to be a completely different animal. “Lovers”' cuts “By Your Side” and “Somebody Already Broke My Heart” find the playing sophisticated and nuanced, these are players who know the tunes as well as each other's blood type, yet still find the movement and give-and-take of the pieces exhilarating.

“Soldier of Love” is the most recent offering. Released in 2010, the band had been hiatus post-World tours for “Lovers.” They hadn't seen each other in well over 7 years but they found the magic and added to it. The production is the most polished yet, touches of reggae and electronica can be found but the overall feel is pure Sade, tempered yet moody, seductive and simple. It's a great record with more depth and flavored nuance than most the band's work, well worth a listen. It's been nine years since we've heard anything from Sade, if 2018's single “The Big Unknown” is any indication, we should be due another great record any day now.

Records to Stream/Download:

Sade: “Diamond Life”

Sade: “Lovers Rock”

Sade: “Lovers Live”

Sade: “Solider of Love”