SADE
THIS FAR
Steve Harnell
SONY/EPIC
★★★★
Bona fide soul music icons in the States thanks to their popularity on ‘quiet storm’ radio station formats, there’s a glacial development to Sade’s output across their first 26 years. In keeping with their understated sophistication, this six-album boxset on 180g heavyweight vinyl is a showcase for a career of evolution rather than revolution. Debut Diamond Life was bracing in its adoption of jazz legends at odds with the pop scene of the early 80s - few artists noted Billie Holliday as a touchstone at the time - yet its hooks, Stuart Matthewman’s slinky sax and Sade Adu’s smouldering voice are undeniable. Follow-up Promise stretches out elegantly, a confidence oozing out of its lengthy cuts and 1988’s Stronger Than Pride would place an emphasis on the groove as much as traditional songcraft. They add socially-conscious classic 70s soul and trip-hop to the mix for 1992’s Love Deluxe but reinvent themselves more successfully after lengthy hiatuses on the reggae and dub-flecked Lovers Rock and nuanced urban R&B stylings of Soldier Of Love. Rarities and unreleased tracks would have been welcomed here - a foam insert printed with an enigmatic question mark in the box suggests a seventh LP is in the works, though.