...Shoulda been there...

Live albums are like colds; they affect every artist differently. More often than not, they end up being a combination souveneir/contract eater at best, and a
still-life with crowd noise at worst. Any smart money would say a band like
Sade has no business even attempting a live record, which may be why Lovers
Live is such an unexpected success.

One might wonder what an outfit that prides itself on concentration, subtlety and
efficiency as much as this one can bring to a live context; the band cleverly trades excitement for invention...or perhaps RE-invention. Statements that conclude with a period in the studio versions of these songs are finished with exclamations...and occasionally question marks. They strut and swagger through the double-time take of "Smooth Operator," pausing only to let bassist
Paul Spencer Denman tickle the air with his high octave break This is a band confident enough in both their own talent and the songs themselves to take issue with the very intent of the original recordings. Like a featherweght champ they effortlessly jab, tease, circle and even rope-a-dope the songs. Vocalist Sade Adu, now a wily veteran after nearly 20 years at this, knows enough to let her bandmates be not only the glue holding her music together, but also the fuel that makes it go. Using the swooping, deep groove of Denman's bass as anchor, Adu and her mates spin their songs into the next level, building the simple lovers' koans of the lyrics into high art; The elemental sentiments of adult romance, as opposed to the thunderous faux-angst of the boy and girl bands.

Nowhere on the record is this more evident than the band's take on "Somebody
Already Broke My Heart," from the wildly successful Lovers' Rock. With Denman and drummer Pete Lewinson driving the groove deep into the crowd, Adu and guest vocalist Leroy Osbourne pray over the shroud of heartache until they suddenly shock the room with a coda taken from "Never As Good As the First Time," from 1985's Promise. As the music tenderly punishes the (no doubt
swaying) audience, a 17 year-old song becomes a comment on a new song. This brand of hearing deep into a song is something that most bands can't manage in the studio, much less in front of a packed arena. You can almost see the band, nodding to each other with knowing smiles as the crowd swoons. Old skool getting the job done or just a day at the office? Who cares? If only every band could punch the clock so elegantly.

AWESOME!!!

This live cd is great!! I am a lover of live music and this concert is on point!! I listen to some of the songs AT LEAST twice a day!! No joke!!! You won't be disappointed.

Excellent live album!

Sade's live album was just superb! I played it over and over two years ago! I bought the live DVD earlier this year and love it too! She and her band do such a good job balancing the '80s and '90s hits with the newer songs from 2000's "Lovers Rock" in their live performances from two shows compiled for this album. Some highlights are No Ordinary Love (which I can't stop playing), Cherish The Day, Sweetest Taboo, Jezabel, Paradise, Somebody Already Broke My Heart, By Your Side, and the way she shrieks Crime in a dramatic, emotional way at the end of Is It A Crime. This is a live album in the finest way. Clean, clear sound and production for this album and the live performance!