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Diamond Life

 
Album Review: Diamond Life
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Diamond Life

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  • Artist: Sade
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1984
  • Total Time: 44:52
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rhythm & Blues

Review

Former model Sade made an immediate and huge impact with her 1984 debut album, Diamond Life. Her sound and approach were deliberately icy, her delivery and voice aloof, deadpan, and cold, and yet she became an instant sensation through such songs as "Smooth Operator" and "Your Love Is King," where the slick production and quasi-jazz backing seemed to register with audiences thinking they were hearing a jazz vocalist. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Smooth Operator (Lyrics) Sade, Sade Adu, Clyde Otis, Murray Stein, Antonio Hardy, St. John Sade (4:57)
Your Love Is King (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman, Gordon Matthewman Sade (3:41)
Hang on to Your Love Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman Sade (5:55)
Frankie's First Affair (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman Sade (4:39)
When Am I Going to Make a Living (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman Sade (3:27)
Cherry Pie (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Paul S. Denman, Andrew Hale, Stuart Matthewman Sade (6:20)
Sally (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Paul S. Denman, Andrew Hale, Stuart Matthewman Sade (5:23)
I Will Be Your Friend (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman Sade (4:45)
Why Can't We Live Together (Lyrics) Timmy Thomas Sade (5:28)

Credits

Dave Early (Drums), Tom Coyne (Remastering), Graham Smith (Artwork), Paul Cooke (Drums), Gordon Matthewman (Trumpet), Mike Pela (Production Engineer), Martin Ditcham (Percussion), Paul S. Denman (Bass), Ben Rogan (Engineer), Chris Roberts (Photography), Andrew Hale (Keyboards), Terry Bailey (Trumpet), Graham Smith (Sleeve Design), Stuart Matthewman (Saxophone), Mike Pela (?), Robin Millar (Producer), Sade Adu (Vocals), Stuart Matthewman (Guitar), Graham Smith (Design), Dave Early (Percussion)
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Wikipedia: Diamond Life
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Diamond Life
Studio album by Sade
Released 28 July 1984 (UK)
23 February 1985 (U.S.)
Recorded Power Plant Studios
(London)
Genre Soul, R&B, jazz
Length 44:52
Label Epic (UK)
Portrait (U.S.)
Producer Robin Millar
Professional reviews
Sade chronology
Diamond Life
(1984)		 Promise
(1985)
Singles from Diamond Life
  1. "Your Love Is King"
    Released: 25 February 1984
  2. "When Am I Going to Make a Living"
    Released: 26 May 1984
  3. "Smooth Operator"
    Released: 15 September 1984
  4. "Hang on to Your Love"
    Released: 8 December 1984

Diamond Life is the debut album by the English group Sade, released in the United Kingdom on 28 July 1984 by Epic Records and in the United States on 23 February 1985 by Portrait Records.

Although initially not a big seller, the album was catapulted into the spotlight once the track "Your Love Is King" went top ten. Diamond Life was also highly successful in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, where it reached number one for ten weeks, eight weeks, and five weeks, respectively.

The album won the BRIT Award for British Album in 1985.

Contents

Track listing

CD

  1. "Smooth Operator" (Sade Adu, Ray St. John) – 4:16
  2. "Your Love Is King" (Adu, Stuart Matthewman) – 3:57
  3. "Hang on to Your Love" (Adu, Matthewman) – 5:55
  4. "Frankie's First Affair" (Adu, Matthewman) – 4:39
  5. "When Am I Going to Make a Living" (Adu, Matthewman) – 3:27
  6. "Cherry Pie" (Adu, Matthewman, Andrew Hale, Paul S. Denman) – 6:20
  7. "Sally" (Adu, Matthewman) – 5:23
  8. "I Will Be Your Friend" (Adu, Matthewman) – 4:45
  9. "Why Can't We Live Together" (Timmy Thomas) – 5:27

Cassette

  1. "Smooth Operator"/"Snake Bite" ("Snake Bite": Matthewman, Hale, Denman) – 7:28
  2. "Your Love Is King" – 3:41
  3. "Hang on to Your Love" – 5:55
  4. "Frankie's First Affair" – 4:39
  5. "When Am I Going to Make a Living" – 3:27
  6. "Cherry Pie" – 6:20
  7. "Sally" – 5:23
  8. "I Will Be Your Friend" – 4:45
  9. "Why Can't We Live Together" – 5:28
  10. "Love Affair with Life" (Adu) – 4:35

Personnel

Musicians

Sade

Additional musicians

  • Terry Bailey – trumpet
  • Martin Ditcham – percussion
  • Dave Early – drums, percussion
  • Gordon Matthewman – trumpet

Production

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[1] 1
German Albums Chart[2] 1
Swiss Albums Chart[1] 1
UK Albums Chart[3] 2
Chart (1985) Peak
position
Norwegian Albums Chart[1] 20
Swedish Albums Chart[1] 18
U.S. Billboard 200[4] 5
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[4] 3
U.S. Billboard Top Jazz Albums[4] 5

Certifications

Country Certifier Certification Sales
Canada CRIA 2× platinum[5] 200,000
France SNEP 2× platinum[6] 600,000
Germany IFPI Platinum[7] 200,000
Netherlands NVPI Platinum[8] 60,000
United Kingdom BPI 4× platinum[9] 1,200,000
United States RIAA 4× platinum[10] 4,000,000

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Sade – Diamond Life – swisscharts.com". swisscharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sade&titel=Diamond+Life&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
  2. ^ "Charts-Surfer: Music". Charts-Surfer. http://www.charts-surfer.de/musikcharts1024e.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
  3. ^ "Chart Stats – Sade – Diamond Life". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=8512. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
  4. ^ a b c "Diamond Life > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:w9frxqy5ldje~T3. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 
  5. ^ "CRIA: Search Certification Database". CRIA. 30 April 1986. http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php. Retrieved 2008-05-31. 
  6. ^ "Les Certifications (Albums) du SNEP (see "SADE")" (in French). Charts in France. http://www.infodisc.fr/Certif_Album.php. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 
  7. ^ "IFPI Germany – Gold/Platin-Datenbank" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/. Retrieved 2008-05-31. 
  8. ^ "NVPI – Goud/Platina" (in Dutch). NVPI. http://www.nvpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=61112&documentid=1237434&zoekform=60463&formposted=yes. Retrieved 2008-05-31. 
  9. ^ "BPI Certified Awards". BPI. 2 March 1987. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/Search.aspx. Retrieved 2009-09-17. 
  10. ^ "RIAA – Gold & Platinum". RIAA. 2 February 1995. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&title=Diamond%20Life&artist=Sade&format=ALBUM&perPage=25. Retrieved 2008-05-31. 
Preceded by
Discovery by Mike Oldfield		 Swiss Albums Chart number-one album
30 September 1984 – 18 November 1984		 Succeeded by
Perfect Strangers by Deep Purple
Preceded by
4630 Bochum by Herbert Grönemeyer		 German Albums Chart number-one album
20 October 1984 – 22 December 1984		 Succeeded by
Arena by Duran Duran
Preceded by
Der Sinn des Lebens by Wolfgang Ambros		 Austrian Albums Chart number-one album
1 December 1984 – 1 February 1985		 Succeeded by
Live Is Life by Opus
v • d • e
Sade
Sade Adu · Stuart Matthewman · Paul Spencer Denman · Andrew Hale · Paul Anthony Cook
Albums
Singles
"Your Love Is King" · "When Am I Going to Make a Living" · "Hang on to Your Love" · "Smooth Operator" · "The Sweetest Taboo" · "Never as Good as the First Time" · "Is It a Crime" · "Love Is Stronger Than Pride" · "Paradise" · "Nothing Can Come Between Us" · "Turn My Back on You" · "No Ordinary Love" · "Feel No Pain" · "Kiss of Life" · "Cherish the Day" · "By Your Side" · "King of Sorrow" · "Lovers Rock" · "Somebody Already Broke My Heart" (Live)
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Diamond Life".  Read more

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