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Promise

 
Album Review: Promise
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Promise

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  • Artist: Sade
  • Rating: StarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1985
  • Total Time: 54:15
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rhythm & Blues

Review

Sade's second album improved on the performance of her debut, as "Sweetest Taboo" was a huge hit and "Never as Good as the First Time" landed in both the R&B and pop Top 20. She was once again the personification of cool, laid-back singing, seldom extending or embellishing lyrics, registering emotion, or projecting her voice. This demeanor made her more desirable in the minds of many fans and was perhaps the ultimate misapplication of the notion of sophistication. But this album topped the pop charts and eventually went triple platinum. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Is It a Crime (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Andrew Hale, Stuart Matthewman Sade (6:22)
The Sweetest Taboo Sade, Martin Ditcham Sade (4:38)
War of the Hearts (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman Sade (6:49)
You're Not the Man (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman Sade (5:11)
Jezebel (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman Sade (5:31)
Mr. Wrong Sade Adu, Paul S. Denman, Andrew Hale, Stuart Matthewman Sade (2:53)
Punch Drunk [Instrumental] Andrew Hale Sade (5:27)
Never as Good as the First Time (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman Sade (5:01)
Fear (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman Sade (4:11)
Tar Baby (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman Sade (4:20)
Maureen (Lyrics) Sade Adu, Paul S. Denman, Andrew Hale Sade (4:21)

Credits

Sade (Arranger), Sade (Producer), Sade (Main Performer), Robin Miller (Producer), Sade Adu (Arranger), Sade Adu (Vocals), Sade Adu (Producer), Terry Bailey (Trombone), Terry Bailey (Trumpet), Pete Beachill (Trombone), Carlos Bonnell (Guitar), Paul S. Denman (Bass), Paul S. Denman (Guitar (Bass)), Martin Ditcham (Percussion), Dave Early (Percussion), Dave Early (Drums), Andrew Hale (Keyboards), Nick Ingman (Arranger), Jake Jacas (Vocals), Stuart Matthewman (Guitar), Stuart Matthewman (Saxophone), Robin Millar (Producer), Pela (Producer), Mike Pela (Strings), Mike Pela (Producer), Mike Pela (Engineer), Mike Pela (Mixing), Mike Pela (Production Engineer), Ben Rogan (Producer), Rogan Millar (Producer), Tom Coyne (Remastering), Toshi Yajima (Photography), Lee Barrett (Management), Graham Smith (Design)
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Wikipedia: Promise (album)
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Promise
Studio album by Sade
Released 16 November 1985 (UK)
21 December 1985 (U.S.)
Recorded Power Plant Studios
(London, England)
Studio Miraval
(Le Val, Var, France)
Genre Soul, R&B, jazz
Length 54:15
Label Epic (UK)
Portrait (U.S.)
Producer Sade Adu, Robin Millar, Ben Rogan, Mike Pela
Professional reviews
Sade chronology
Diamond Life
(1984)		 Promise
(1985)		 Stronger Than Pride
(1988)

Promise is the second studio album by the English group Sade, released in the United Kingdom on 16 November 1985 by Epic Records and in the United States on 21 December 1985 by Portrait Records.

The major hits from this album were "The Sweetest Taboo" and "Never as Good as the First Time", which reached number five and number twenty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Also, "Is It a Crime" was released as a single. While not as initially successful as their debut album, Diamond Life, Promise became the band's first album to top the albums chart in both the United Kingdom and the United States, helped by an appearance at Live Aid and a cameo in the film Absolute Beginners.

The title Promise comes from a letter from Sade Adu's father where he refers to the "promise of hope" to recover from cancer.

Contents

Track listing

CD and cassette

  1. "Is It a Crime" (Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale) – 6:20
  2. "The Sweetest Taboo" (Adu, Martin Ditcham) – 4:36
  3. "War of the Hearts" (Adu, Matthewman) – 6:47
  4. "You're Not the Man" (Adu, Matthewman) – 5:09
  5. "Jezebel" (Adu, Matthewman) – 5:27
  6. "Mr Wrong" (Adu, Matthewman, Hale, Paul S. Denman) – 2:49
  7. "Punch Drunk" (Hale) – 5:21
  8. "Never as Good as the First Time" (Adu, Matthewman) – 4:59
  9. "Fear" (Adu, Matthewman) – 4:09
  10. "Tar Baby" (Adu, Matthewman) – 3:57
  11. "Maureen" (Adu, Hale, Denman) – 4:20

LP

  1. "Is It a Crime" – 6:18
  2. "The Sweetest Taboo" – 4:35
  3. "War of the Hearts" – 6:47
  4. "Jezebel" – 5:30
  5. "Mr Wrong" – 2:50
  6. "Never as Good as the First Time" – 5:01
  7. "Fear" – 4:05
  8. "Tar Baby" – 3:58
  9. "Maureen" – 4:22

Personnel

Musicians

Sade

Additional musicians

  • Terry Bailey – trumpet
  • Pete Beachill – trombone
  • Carlos Bonnell – guitar
  • Martin Ditcham – percussion
  • Dave Early – drums, percussion
  • Jake Jacas – vocals
  • Mike Pela – strings

Production

Charts

Chart (1985) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[1] 6
German Albums Chart[2] 2
Norwegian Albums Chart[1] 6
Swedish Albums Chart[1] 4
Swiss Albums Chart[1] 1
UK Albums Chart[3] 1
Chart (1986) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200[4] 1
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[4] 1
U.S. Billboard Top Jazz Albums[4] 4

Certifications

Country Certifier Certification Sales
Canada CRIA 2× platinum[5] 200,000
Finland IFPI Platinum[6] 58,935
France SNEP Platinum[7] 300,000
Germany IFPI Platinum[8] 200,000
United Kingdom BPI 2× platinum[9] 600,000
United States RIAA 4× platinum[10] 4,000,000

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Sade – Promise – swisscharts.com". swisscharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sade&titel=Promise&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
  2. ^ "Charts-Surfer: Music". Charts-Surfer. http://www.charts-surfer.de/musikcharts1024e.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
  3. ^ "Chart Stats – Sade – Promise". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=10092. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
  4. ^ a b c "Promise > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:39ftxqy5ldje~T3. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
  5. ^ "CRIA: Search Certification Database". CRIA. 27 June 1986. http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php. Retrieved 2008-05-31. 
  6. ^ "IFPI Finland – Sade" (in Finnish). IFPI. http://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/artistit/sade. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
  7. ^ "Certifications Albums Platine – année 1995" (in French). SNEP. 20 April 1995. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/monopage.xml?id=259165&year=1995&type=12. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
  8. ^ "IFPI Germany – Gold/Platin-Datenbank" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/. Retrieved 2008-05-31. 
  9. ^ "BPI Certified Awards". BPI. 17 January 1986. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/Search.aspx. Retrieved 2009-09-17. 
  10. ^ "RIAA – Gold & Platinum". RIAA. 23 July 1997. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&title=Promise&artist=Sade&format=ALBUM&perPage=25. Retrieved 2008-05-31. 
Preceded by
The Love Songs by George Benson		 UK Albums Chart number-one album
16 November 1985 – 23 November 1985		 Succeeded by
The Greatest Hits of 1985 by various artists
Preceded by
Let's Talk About Love by Modern Talking		 Swiss Albums Chart number-one album
1 December 1985 – 15 December 1985		 Succeeded by
Casanova by Rondò Veneziano
Preceded by
The Broadway Album by Barbra Streisand		 U.S. Billboard 200 number-one album
15 February 1986 – 22 February 1986		 Succeeded by
Welcome to the Real World by Mr. Mister
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)
Related articles

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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