Track Listing

1. By Your Side
2. Flow
3. King Of Sorrow
4. Somebody Already Broke My Heart
5. All About Our Love
6. Slave Song
7. The Sweetest Gift
8. Every Word
9. Immigrant
10. Lovers Rock
11. It's Only Love That Gets You Through

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1947 in Music
• Released on: 2000-11-13
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
In the 1980s, Sade's brand of elegant pop/R&B owned the charts, making the Nigerian/British chanteuse one of those artists whose very name became the adjective to describe their sound. After an eight-year layoff, Sade and her core band (and long-time producer Mike Pela), are back with an album that is both a stunning reaffirmation of her artistry and a solid soulful collection. Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Lover's Rock is that it picks up where Sade left off, meaning that you will hear no cool beats or hot hired hands or hip-hop cameos. This is Sade music: on the first single, "By Your Side", she glides back into the spotlight on gentle, country-ish and sparse wings, singing, once again, about love's power to redeem. Of course Sade also knows that love can stink: listen to the dub riddim-tinged "Every Word" and cry tears of recognition. Decidedly female but utterly universal, grown up yet not hardened, Lover's Rock ranks as one of the best of the year, and the return of a true original. --Amy Linden

CD Description
Examining the career of former model/fashion design studentHelen Folasade Adu, it's apparent that the span between studio albums increased exponentially. Eight years after LOVE DELUXE, the original members of Sade's band regrouped and here recapture the magic of the former ensemble. The vocals on LOVERS ROCK are unmistakably sensual and enchanting. Guitarist Stuart Matthewman steers clear of the crunchy electric sound that was his signature on LOVE DELUXE, the one exceptionbeing "Somebody Already Broke My Heart", which has some tasty understated percussive palm muting in the choruses.
From an instrumental perspective, LOVERS ROCK leans a bit moreto the electronic side, but technology doesn't dampen the atmosphere and simple beauty of the music. Not surprisingly, the focus continues to be the sweet, often mournful melodiesof a unique pop vocalist.

Customer Reviews

Hanging on to Love
Sade had been absent for years and returned with this rich and bluesy masterpiece. It wasn't what some had expected after so long a time but it is exactly what it was meant to be. It is a sumptuous meal seasoned with love and emotion. Sade gives us a portrait of inner strength anyone who has ever loved, and lost, knows all to well. For the most part this is about holding on to hope for love and not becoming jaded by those who hurt us.

It would have been easy for Sade to have a 'guest' or two on this album but she has kept not only the integrity of her music but her own personal integrity in tact. "Lovers Rock" is a mix of African and Caribbean styles that has some great moments. It also includes what will surely become one of the most requested and fondly loved songs in her already full catalog of diamonds.

I am speaking, of course, of "Somebody Already Broke My Heart." Anyone who has ever loved has had the feelings Sade lays bare here. But that has always been the secret of Sade's music. It either captures a mood and makes us feel, or it puts into words what we do feel. It is a magic gift Sade posseses like few others.

"King of Sorrow" is another shining example of Sade's vocal artistry matched with perfect rhythms to create a song we have all felt before. Who hasn't felt at one time or another that it was sorrow, especially the sorrow love can bring, that rules our lives?

We are treated to the hope of love here as well though. "By Your Side" and "All About Our Love" shows how we hang on to real love once we find it. Even the love for a child is touched upon as Sade sings "The Sweetest Gift," a song she wrote for her daughter. It is about the light of hope all children carry into the world.

As Sade reminds us here, it really is only love that gets us through. In "Lovers Rock" we have an easy and peaceful portrait of a heart that has someone to cling to even in the darkest moments. This album is a meditation on love and hope, hanging on untill it comes our way. It is gentle and soulful.

This may not be what some were expecting but Sade fans will see it's beauty and integrity. It is Sade that we cling to musically. She is the rock we cling to and the artist we swim to in a storm....

Wonderfully Enchanting
I am afraid that words cannot do this album justice. Along with Jill Scott's debut, this is the year's finest album; it encxhants you. Songs, By Your Side and It's Only Love That Gets You Through, cannot help but bring a smile to your face. In total contrast are the sorrowful Slave Song and Immigrant, where you can really empathise with the pain. Every Word and Somebody Already Broke My Heart are also in a similar vain. But this standout of the set is the heart breaking King of Sorrow. Sade - sheer class!

Rock Solid!
It's been too long since Sade Adu was heard gently drifting over the airwaves, but finally, for those of us patiently waiting for new material since the release of "Love Deluxe" the wait is over. Was it worth it? Oh yes, Sade returns with her band and delivers an album of such beauty, pain and passion that one wonders how could anyone beat it. Accused in some quarters of always sounding the same, "Lovers Rock" is a new direction for Sade, the lyrics raw and the music achingly passionate, not an easy album to record, but a easy album to fall in love with. An instant classic. Nobody does it better or with such class. Welcome back girl, we've missed hearing you sing.