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19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
A "Promise" Fulfilled.Jul 16, 2003
By The Groove
Listening to a Sade album is like wearing an Armani suit: it's stylish and impeccably tailored, but it won't look foolish in six months. In other words, the band's music is elegant yet able to survive passing trends and fads. Their second release, "Promise," may be the best. Fusing jazz and pop with a dash of r&b, "Promise" is the personal journey of a broken heart and a bruised soul. It bleeds with emotion, and it captivates the listener through its refined and understated grace. Sade Adu won't go down as a singer with tremendous range, but she sure uses the best of what she's got. We can both hear and feel Sade's longing in the excellent opener "Is it a Crime," in which Ms. Adu can't seem to shake the man who once loved her. She also runs the gamut of emotions from affection ("The Sweetest Taboo") to longing ("Maureen") and pain ("War of the Hearts"). But the track that makes me stop EVERYTHING is the have-your-Kleenex-ready breakup number "You're Not the Man." With the assistance of Stuart Matthewman's pained saxophone, Sade wakes up and realizes that she no longer can connect with the man she loved for so long. I think this may be my favorite Sade song ever. "Promise" is simply a work of class done to near-perfection. In fact, Sade is one of the reasons why I can't warm up to jazz pop upstarts like Norah Jones. The latter singer is an able, but unexceptional, singer whose material suffers from milquetoast production and too many contrivances. But Sade gives you the real deal, straight from the gut. "Promise" still has the juice after all these years and it comes highly recommended. It's one of the best records money can buy.
17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
A classic and her Best CDOct 31, 2000
By MarvelousMarla
"MarvyM"
Promise is my favorite of Sade's CDs and the one that I listen to on a regular basis -- 14 years later! I don't even skip tracks, I just hit play and let the music flow until there's nothing left. This is great mood music with a combination of torch songs, a couple of uptempo cuts and a fantastic, and underrated, instrumental.It's hard for me to pick a favorite track because they are all good, still there are a couple of standouts. "Is it a Crime" is the ultimate torch song about a love that you can't shake. May I never be so afflicted. Whew! "Jezebel" is a haunting number about a beautiful call girl who 'wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth.' "You're not the Man," takes to task a lover who has become a disappointment. The one instrumental on this CD ,"Punchdrunk," is sexy and languid. I don't want to sit here and list all of the tracks, but it's no exaggeration to call them all great. Sade combines lyrics, delivery and arrangements to produce a polished final product. The end result is timeless music that we can all enjoy for years to come.
24 of 27 found the following review helpful:
The Soul of a Vulnerable Yet Strong WomanMay 03, 2002
By Neal C. Reynolds
Sade's "Diamond Life" was a brilliant introduction to this smooth, sultry songstress and her group. "Promise", her second album, accentuates her femininity. Here, you have a woman who fell in love, who got hurt, and who pulls herself up to continue. This album has a cohesiveness I seldom sense. Rather than just a collection of songs, there is a development of a theme here, and the songs blend together into a whole. Musically, this is imminently satisfying with the elements that make Sade Adu's vocals and the group's instrumental backing distinctive. As in their initial album, the group is given space by the vocalist to exercise it's own voice. This is an emotional set, one with which many women can empathize as Sade portrays the hurt coming from a love that goes sour, and yet at the end shows the strength so that she can get on with her life. It's a set which helps men understand what the woman is going through during such a period. Some of the songs stand better on their own than others. The opening song, "Is It A Crime", certainly is a strong one as are her hit, "The Sweetest Taboo" and "War of the Hearts". These three set the stage for the entire album. "You're Not the Man", while not as notable musically, does wring a sensitive person's heart as she expresses how the man seems at the end of the affair. "Jezebel" has a touch of bitterness. "Mr. Wrong" is a bit of a filler, but fits in nicely before the instrumental "Punch Drunk". And this instrumental is a great jazz number, hardly likely to be one's favorite cut or anything like that, but it plays a role in the mood of the whole set. "Never As Good As The First Time" was another hit for her, but in the context of the entire album takes on deeper meaning. "Fear" is a darker song typifying the aftermath of the woman's hurt. And then, thankfully, Sade lightens up as a woman coming up from the depths with "Tar Baby" and "Maureen". This is a CD to listen to with lights down low, to really listen to alone, or to share with a compatriot spirit. This CD can be a great listening experience for those who are really tuned in to smooth and yet meaningful music. However, if you are one who wants a hard driving beat, loud and brassy vocals, this isn't for you. Also, if you are one who just listens to a new CD once and instantly judges whether or not you will ever give it a second spin...no, I don't think I'd recommend it. But for those appreciative of true singing, of evocative world beats, of jazz that comes naturally from the hearts of the performers, chances are you'll prize this.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Sade's blue side is revealed ......Dec 19, 2000
Promise, Sades' second album is the album which I believe truly cements thier image as a group to be reckoned with and Ms. Adu songstress extraordinare. While Diamond life was an introduction to the Sade sound, Promise is bluer, more emotional. It wears its heart on it's sleeve and is a favorite of many Sade fans.This is the ultimate rainy day, i just got dumped by with my girlfriend/ boyfriend album. The first track the melodramatic is it a crime sets the tone for a bluesy, sad at times but utterly brilliant sophmore album. The sweetest taboo was the first single off of Promise is still as bewitching as when I first heard it. Never as good as the first time sounds better after each listen. You're not the man is another sad sade song which ranks up there with any Nina Simone song. And my favorite song on promise the raw emotioinal war of the hearts still sends shivers down my spine when i listen to it. What can easily be forgotten is the contribution the rest of the band makes to this Sade. Yes it's Ms. Au's vocals that are haunting an memorable but it's the groups music that gives them their controlled emptional sound. On Punch drunk, the lone instrumantal song is a soothing alternative to the rest of the tracks but it still keeps in stride with thier sound. Overall another winner from Sade and another must have for Sade fans.
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
A Timeless Masterpiece Of Lasting Magnitude!!Aug 17, 2006
By HE WHO FUNKS BEHIND THE ROWS!!
Okay, just let me overstate the obvious
and say that all of Sade's albums between
1984's "Diamond Life" and 1992's "Love Deluxe"
are timeless masterworks which will serenade generations
long after the original generation it was introduced to
is long gone!
But Bar None!!---her sophomore effort,
1985's "Promise" was and will forever be her
career-defining masterwork among her other masterworks!
I was a 21-yr old aspiring musician / songwriter who
was just begining to to get my taste of touring with
bands and studio sessionwork.
I was on a trek with a band at that time from
Jacksonville, FL to Memphis, TN and as we were
all chattering away and listening to our own
material as well as the hot jams of the day,
our bassplayer (JV) pulls a cassette out of
his bag and takes off the wrapper.
We ask what it is before we pop it in, and when
he says the new SADE, we already know who she is
because of the success of "Diamond Life".
So everybody asks is it as good as its predecessor
and he gets this big cheshire cat grin on his face
and says.."Just play it!"
We pop it in, and within seconds the cool but smoldering
intro to "Is It A Crime" fills up our time & space!
You could almost hear a collective GASP!! as we were
transfixed by the precision arrangement and the understated
but singularly powerful vocal performance was read...
in a style much like the great Billie Holiday, in
that you don't have to have a huge vocal range
to rock the masses!--It was a sonic orgasm!
As if that wasn't enough, the latin rhythms of
"Sweetest Taboo" began to play and it was if we
had been transported to the Carribean or Brazil
or somewhere beautiful & exotic!
But the pleasant assault did not end there...
The smoky jazz of "War Of The Hearts" with its do or die,
suicide-love lyrics... "You're Not The Man", another
Holiday-esque reading with a laid back track
setting it off perfectly!
Then, there was the song that has since become one
of my top 5 favorite Sade songs...
the haunting "Jezebel", which actually brought
tears to my eyes when I heard it for the first time
with its story of a girl who had to do what she had
to do to get hers, and the astoundingly clever band
with the brilliant Stuart Matthewman at the helm on
both sax and guitars, just as Roberta Flack would say..
"Killing Me Softly"!!
Man, I can't describe what that song does to me!
We were all left reeling after Side 1 was over..
wondering how could what we'd heard be topped!!
Then the "Ba-ba-ba-da-doo-doo" of the James Bond-esque
"Mr. Wrong" began to serenade and recast the spell
that Side 1 had cast!
Then came the rest of the songs on this masterpiece
that we Sade fans all know and love...
"Never Good As The First Time", "Punch Drunk",
"Fear" and the perky "Maureen", which is
another fave of mine!
Needless to say, we had to hear this album about
20 times both going and coming from our gig in Memphis!
Over the years, I have been to two of Sade's U.S.
performances, own all of her CD's, and even had
the pleasure of meeting the band "Sweetback" backstage!
This is true artistry!--Non trendy music that is
classic and just as relevant & moving in 1985
and it will be in 2085 and beyond!
If you don't already have it, get it!
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