Soundcheck with Ethan

By: Ethan Barrocas

Sade is a remarkable visionary in her craft. From her silky vocals to her quiet storm melodies, or her ability to produce timeless records one after the other. Her 1992 album Love Deluxe is in a league of its own. Blending elements of neo-soul, smooth jazz, pop, and R&B, it designs its own world of love, loss, and the emotional complexities of the human condition.

I recall the time when I was first introduced to Sade. It was the summer of 2024 when I attended a pre-college program in New York City. One day, my friend and I were bored and were discussing the state of the music industry. Somehow, we randomly came up with an idea to immerse ourselves in a record we had never heard. The twist was the other person had to pick it. I made my friend listen to BRAT by Charli xcx because it was the only thing I was listening to at the time, (BRAT summer was in its peak.) She gave me Love Deluxe. I accepted my challenge, grabbed my headphones, put them in, and pressed play.  

The first track, “No Ordinary Love,” is a seven minute quiet storm ballad infused with pieces of funk and smooth jazz. Sade’s band is immaculate; mysterious guitar riffs, foggy synths, and light drum rhythms encapsulate the song. It was composed through deep feelings of rejection and realizing someone doesn’t feel the same way that you feel for them. Instrumentally it reminds me of another track on this record, “Cherish the Day.” It shares the same drum machine components as “No Ordinary Love.” It’s a deeply introspective love song ventilating the most romantic aura, which contrasts under the suffocating feelings shown on “No Ordinary Love.”

One of my favorite parts on this record for me is how Sade writes some of the songs on here through different perspectives. Such as my favorite track, “Pearls.” She sings, “There is a woman in Somalia/Scraping for pearls on the roadside.” She emphasizes a woman’s fight for survival and the trials she faces to ensure she can live another day. The strings on “Pearls” create a melancholic, dark atmosphere, giving insight into the Somalian woman’s emotions. Her vocals are some of the best I have ever heard, magical in ways I have never experienced from other artists. 

“Like a Tattoo” is another notable example of different perspectives being utilized on Love Deluxe. At one of the shows from her 1993 Love Deluxe World Tour, Sade explained to the audience how she created this song, “A long time ago, I met a man in a bar in New York. He told me his story. This is his song. It’s about war and what he had to go through” (Sade, 1993). It reflects his internal struggles over committing a war crime. It’s an extremely descriptive song, accentuating Sade’s impeccable songwriting, “Like the scar of age/Written all over my face/The war is still raging inside of me.” She explains how the soldier still carries the trauma of his actions with him even as he ages and time passes. 

After “Like a Tattoo,” the ambiance transforms into the flourishing tropics. “Kiss of Life” exudes the vibrance of the sunshine with strong, passionate emotion. Stuart Matthewman is exemplary on the saxophone and his solo moment on “Kiss of Life” is absolutely amazing. It’s another love song but it solidifies itself as a standout track on Love Deluxe due to its upbeat nature but also its invigorating beauty.

“Feel No Pain” shares the tropical influence with “Kiss of Life” but its message is darker. It explores themes of poverty,  social injustice, and the emotional numbness as a result of said themes. Lyrics in the track discuss an impoverished family and how society neglects those who are suffering. Sade calls out humanity, asking, “​​Don’t let them stay home/And listen to the blues.” It alludes at members of society being excluded from the workforce, resulting in emotions of despair. The drums are my highlight in the song. The rhythm of the drums finds a wake to evoke the feelings of weariness. It’s slow and pusaltes the feelings of suffering. 

“Mermaid” is an exquisite closer. It’s effervescent and rich,  as if summer was shooting out of the instruments. The entire song was played by the band, Stuart Matthewman on guitar and saxophone, Paul Denman plays bass, Martin Ditcham on drums and percussion, and Andrew Hale plays keyboard.  What I enjoy the most about this track is that it showcases the band at the forefront of the track, and explains their knowledge of how to create exuberant music. 

I wanted to back track to when I was introduced to the record. I found myself looking at the album cover when my friend introduced me to Love Deluxe. I was enchanted. Somehow one of the most simplistic album covers I ever seen made such a lasting impact that I felt like I was being put under a spell. It’s difficult to explain why I loved it, but there’s this energy it evokes, it has so much beauty and depth in it. The beautiful image of Sade really manages to capture what love and vulnerability mean to her.

(Album cover of Love Deluxe)

Love Deluxe is a one of a kind gem. Up until my friend introduced it to me, I had never heard a record as well-crafted as this one. It encapsulates ideas of love and manages to branch them out into different categories such as, supporting one another, suffering, or even just undying love. Sade and her band put blood, sweat, and tears into this body of work and it’s evident through its timelessness, showing how Love Deluxe will live on as one of the best R&B albums of all time.