SADE - DIAMOND LIFE - 1ST PRESS (1984) EPC 26044 Import VG+ to EX

$

30

SADE - DIAMOND LIFE - 1ST DUTCH PRESS (1984) EPC 26044 Gatefold VG+. Condition is "Used". please see photos as they are an integral part of description.  Shipped domestically with buyer's choice of  USPS Media Mail or Priority Mail. Shipped Worldwide with eBay International delivery.
Please see my AUDIOPHILE listings.
Media Condition:  Very Good Plus (VG+)  
Sleeve Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+) 
Hype stickered gatefold sleeve reads: 'contains Smooth Operator, Your Love Is King, When Am I Going To Make A Living

Diamond Life is the debut studio album by English band Sade, released in the United Kingdom on 16 July 1984 by Epic Records  and in the United States on 27 February 1985 by Portrait Records. After studying fashion design, and later modelling,  Sade Adu began backup-singing with British band Pride. During this time Adu and three of the original members of "Pride"—Paul Anthony Cook, Paul Denman and Stuart Matthewman —left the group to form their own band called Sade. After various demos and performances, Sade received interest from record labels and signed to Epic.

Recording for the album began in 1983 at Power Plant Studios  in London and took six weeks to complete. The album's content was written by the group Sade and the production was handled by Robin Millar. Fifteen songs were recorded. The album contained a variety of musical elements including  Soul, jazz, and sophists-pop , mostly with love lyrics. The album spawned four singles, including "Your Love Is King" and "Smooth Operator".

Music critics acclaimed Diamond Life and it was also a commercial success, winning the 1985 Brit Award for Best British Album. The album reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and number five on the US BillBoard 200, and has been certified multi-platinum in both countries. Diamond Life sold over 10 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the top-selling debut recordings of the era and the best-selling debut album by a British female vocalist, a record that stood for 24 years.

Lyrically, the album revolves around themes of love, discussing both the positive and the negative of relationships, the music features jazzy textures, built over prominent basslines, smooth drums and subtle guitar. The album also features heavy use of brass instruments and keyboards.[8] According to Paul Lester of BBC Music, the album is "sufficiently soulful and jazzy yet poppy, funky and easy listening", Lester described the album is being predominantly a quiet storm album with elements of mellifluous R&B. Sade's vocals on the album were described as "deliberately icy, her delivery and voice aloof, deadpan, and cold" while Ron Wynn of All, stated that the album contained "slick production and quasi-jazz backing".

In a contemporary review, Stephen Holden of The New York Times said Diamond Life "eschews the synthesizers that dominate British pop to make music that resembles a cross between the rock-jazz of Steely Dan and the West Indian-flavored folk-pop of Joan Armatrading. Smoldering Brazilian rhythms blend with terse pop-soul melodies and jazzy harmonies to create a sultry, timeless nightclub ambiance." Rolling Stone called it soul music with "self-possessed sophistication", and described Sade's vocal as "thick and rich".

The album opens with the single "Smooth Operator", musically song cross between R&B, jazz, adult contemporary, pop and dance music over a light production. The song contains a Latin-style percussion and lusty saxophone and features lyrics about an "international playboy". "Your Love Is King" is a dynamic smooth ballad, that contains wrenching vocals performed by Sade and saxophone solo by Stuart Matthewman. The following song on the album is the uptempo track "Hang On to Your Love", which contains a thumping groove and lyrics that revolve around someone holding on to a relationship when things are going bad. "Sally" is a haunting laid-back, bluesy ballad that was compared to the work of Billie Holiday. The album closes with cover version of Timmy Thomas' 1972 song "Why Can't We Live Together"

Track

Notes