skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Level 42 are an English band coming out in the mid 80's. I didn't know much about them beyond the song they were most famous for in the US. There was a time during the 90's... I'd found a used CD store in Las Vegas where I could buy CDs for as little as a dollar. I used the great selection to beef up my 80's collection. I looked specifically for songs I loved then and hoped to discover new music from these different bands. Level 42 was one of those groups. I picked up this album hoping to discover more songs like 'Something About You'.
What I discovered is a group that had a lot of the pop sensibility of the Stock, Aitken, Waterman production happening all over the UK. I don't know exactly when SAW started, but if it was after Level 42 came out, I'd say they copied some of the pop styling of this band. Level 42 started out more jazz oriented and you can still hear the dedication to instrumentation on certain tracks.
There's a lot to be said for the sensibility of the music appearing on this disc. The lead singer has a nice voice and the catchier songs are fun to sing along with. I recognize some of the tracks other than the one big hit from the disc. For example, 'Leaving Me Now' is a great tune and I've heard it someplace before. It could very well be a tune I've heard on a soundtrack.
There's a lot happening on this record and the tempo of most of the songs are more in line with R&B, Jazz infused soul and that tropical funk bands like Sade and UB40 were so popular for. It really verged on Reggae. However, there's only one song on the disc that really fits in with the popular 80's sound and that's 'Something About You'. There's some great music on this disc and some of it I want to spend time with before I make a final decision. Sadly, I wanted to write this review tonight and so it's not going to get the full review I could give it as I will continue to listen to it after I close this post out.
I'm hopeful I'll find more exciting and enticing songs to rave about before long. In the meantime I'll say my final words: AN ENJOYABLE, THOUGH SOMEWHAT LACKLUSTER RELEASE BY A POTENTIALLY GREAT BAND!
LEVEL 42 - WORLD MACHINE
01. World Machine
02. Physical Presence
03. Something About You
04. Leaving Me Now
05. I Sleep On My Heart
06. It's Not The Same For Us
07. Dream Crazy
08. Good Man In A Storm
09. Coup D'Etat
10. Lying Still
This actually was my first Sade CD. Well, in those days it was a cassette. 'Smooth Operator' was the song that inspired me to buy the tape and one that I really loved. Even though I still love the song, it stopped being my favorite once I gained exposure to more of her material. There are so many great songs by this band.
'Smooth Operator' starts the album off and it's a smash hit of course. Anyone who was around during the 80s remembers this song. I don't know how high it went on the charts, but I know it's one of their most well known numbers.
It's followed by the song that might very well be my absolute favorite Sade song of all time. Knowing what I like instrumentally, you wouldn't consider this song as one I'm partial to. But it's the lyrics and the sentiment that make this song so important to me. 'Your Love Is King' is the most romantic song ever written.
"Your love is king, crown you in my heart." Absolute brilliance.
'Hang On To Your Love' is the next number and it maintains the island/reggae sound texture they're known for. It's also got another amazing message. When Sade writes about love, it's a strong powerful commitment. A deep abiding love. One I think about a lot. 'Frankie's First Affair' fits into another type of Sade song. It's the storytelling side of the band and reminds me of an older kind of song. From the 50s. It has elements of those songs by girl groups like the Shangri-Las. There are a couple other songs on this CD that fill in the same category. 'Cherry Pie' and 'Sally' are the two I'm thinking of. I'm not sure I love these songs as much as the others, but they're still enjoyable.
'When Am I Going To Make A Living' is a song about making life better for yourself. It's quite subdued. It's followed up by 'Cherry Pie' and 'Sally'. Of the two, I prefer 'Cherry Pie'. 'I Will Be Your Friend' is the next track. It's a very sweet sentiment and another song I really love.
'Why Can't We Live Together' is the final track and I remember hearing this one about the same time I heard a song by the Pet Shop Boys with a similar title. I sometimes confuse the two. But I do love it.
Although this isn't my favorite Sade album, it has my favorite songs on it. This is a band that you can't really define from album to album. Each subsequent release enriches the body of work as a whole. Unlike an artist like Meshell Ndegeocello who's sound changes with each release, Sade seems to add chapters to an ongoing book. They continue the story. My final words: IF ROMANCE WAS MUSIC, THIS ALBUM WOULD HAVE IT ALL.
SADE - DIAMOND LIFE
01. Smooth Operator
02. Your Love Is King
03. Hang On To Your Love
04. Frankie's First Affair
05. When Am I Going To Make A Living
06. Cherry Pie
07. Sally
08. I Will Be Your Friend
09. Why Can't We Live Together
This album marks my first exposure to Alison Krauss and her music. One of my sisters had this disc and it was always in one of the bathrooms at my parents' house. I'd see it all the time and one day, I just decided to listen to it. I put it in and when I heard the first tune, I was completely hooked. Her angelic voice, delicate delivery and sentiment just swept me up. Maybe I was in love at the time or infatuated or whatever, but that song made perfect sense to me. The other songs on the cd don't affect me as dramatically as the first one. 'Baby, Now That I've Found You' came along at just the right time.
I got a copy of this disc and over time I picked out other songs that became favorites. I'm drawn to different tunes as I mature. I've found myself singing along loudly to 'Oh, Atlanta' from time to time; and although I hated it when I heard Keith Whitley sing it, I love Alison's version of 'When You Say Nothing At All'.
She is a rare performer for someone like me. I almost never follow bands or artists based on singing ability or the sound of their voice. I certainly enjoy unique sounding vocalists, but I'm rarely prompted to buy something just because someone is singing it. I'm more into song writers, musicians and stuff like that. Yet, here I am listening to Alison for all the reasons I normally avoid singers.
I'm not partial to her earlier material. She was slack-jowled yokel yodeling when she first started out. But over time, she pulled a Sade and her singing style found footing. She's moved away from shrill vocalizing and made her home in the warmth, comfort and healing touch of a songbird's song. It's steady, strong, rising and falling, but always delicate and fragile. She has a voice that emotes.
I think this record is a double whammy of sorts. It certainly contains older material that is cringe-worthy. But it simultaneously showcases some of her lovelier numbers. I've grown to love more songs over time, but there are still a couple I manage to avoid every time I put this disc in to play. It doesn't change the fact I love her and her voice. My final words: SPOTTY, BUT WORTH THE PURCHASE.
ALISON KRAUSS - NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU A COLLECTION
01. Baby, Now That I've Found You
02. Oh, Atlanta
03. Broadway
04. Every Time You Say Goodbye
05. Tonight I'll Be Lonely Too
06. Teardrops Will Kiss The Morning Dew
07. Sleep On
08. When God Dips His Pen Of Love In My Heart
09. I Will
10. I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby
11. In The Palm Of Your Hand
12. When You Say Nothing At All
Prince jumped on the Hurricane Katrina bandwagon with this little ditty. He donated the profits from sale of this one off single to disaster victims. Both songs are only available on this release. The first track, 'S.S.T.' is a rather uneventful number with plenty of religious references owing to Prince's conversion to the Jehovah's Witness faith. It uses lots of imagery and tries to invoke feelings of guilt in the listener. This song's message is so similar to another track he wrote on the album 'Rainbow Children' called 'Last December'. It basically says, when you look back on your life will you have done the charitable and right thing or will you regret your actions and behavior. He also brings up Sade's 'Sweetest Taboo' song. Hence the title. 'S.S.T.' = Sade's 'Sweetest Taboo'. About the most interesting thing about this track is the instrumental coda the song fades out on.
The second track, 'Brand New Orleans (Instrumental Jam)' is essentially a musical jam based on the coda from 'S.S.T.'. It's over 6 mins long and does get somewhat boring up until the last two minutes when the band really starts to improvise and make some changes to the progression. Still, of the two tracks, it's the more interesting of the two.
It's an perplexing thing to try to review Prince material. I've found there's a difference between critically looking at his music versus that of other artists. When you look at another band, you compare their work to pop culture, their influences, contemporaries and their own compositions. Because Prince's body of work is so extensive, I find myself comparing whatever I'm listening to with his previous efforts. I compare Prince to Prince. Unless he's done something blatant like rip off a current sound or trend. If I compared these two tracks with other artists out making music, I'd have to say they are still quite excellent. I'd still give the nod more to the second track than the first, but he is in a league of his own. My final words: A GUILT FREE SLICE OF MUSIC.
PRINCE - S.S.T.
01. S.S.T.
02. Brand New Orleans (Instrumental Jam)
I've yet to write here about Sade, but I've written other places about her. Right now, this disc is burning up my player. It's no secret I'm a big fan of Sade and her band. I love the mellow grooves and sultry vocals. There's nothing complicated about their music except for the complexity of her messages of love. She often puts feelings into words in such a delicate and beautiful way... It's hard to see as anything other than amazing.
'Stronger Than Pride' is the third disc from this exciting band and singer. The album starts off with the soft title ballad, 'Love Is Stronger Than Pride' in which Sade tells her wayward lover despite his actions, she still loves him. She won't take him back, let his infidelity hold her back or easily forgive him. But she still feels love more than anything else because love is stronger than pride. The soft sound of the music and the sadness in the vocal delivery are heart rendering and once again, Sade shows us that even a cliche overwrought subject like love has multi-facets we can continue to explore and discover. It's followed by 'Paradise'; a huge hit for the band. The song is based around a simple bass line and almost island rhythm section. It's the mellow groove of the rhythm track that gives this song it's momentum. The lyrics are simple, invoking the imagery of waves and tropical weather.
'Nothing Can Come Between Us' is another number with a catchy bass line and great rhythm. This song demonstrates the power of creating verses and choruses that move along at a rhythmic pace and how effective Sade is at building complex verse structures for her limited vocal range. 'Haunt Me' is a beautiful number that in effect, is essentially haunting. The guitar played in the background gives it an ancient quality. 'Turn My Back On You' is a lovely song about loyalty and devotion to one's lover. 'Keep Looking' is a tune meant to encourage those with dreams while 'Clean Heart' tells the story of a young man killed in a back alley and how strong his love was for his family and friends. 'Give It Up' is a song relying heavily on a repeated line. Of all the songs on the disc, this is probably the least interesting. It's followed by 'I Never Thought I'd See The Day'. This song is a companion piece to 'Love Is Stronger Than Pride'. Both tunes deal with infidelity. I think it would have been better to close the disc with this track rather than 'Siempre Hay Esperanza', the album's only instrumental.
Although there are certain songs I'm drawn to and enjoy more than others, this is a strong record with almost no filler material. In my opinion, virtually all of these tracks could stand on their own as singles. Back in the 80's, Sade and her band released a string of records over a very short period all of which were incredibly strong. Instead of continually pumping out album after album of sub-par material when ideas started drying up, the group instead spent more and more time between records compiling strong material. I think this is smart and even though I sometimes wish for more music, I'm happy with what's available. Another great aspect of Sade is the fact the music refuses to sound dated. It continues to hold up even years later. The potency of the lyrics and the musical arrangements is timeless and strong.
They are a great example of a strong musical group who create dazzling records. My final word: CLASSIC!
SADE - STRONGER THAN PRIDE
01. Love Is Stronger Than Pride
02. Paradise
03. Nothing Can Come Between Us
04. Haunt Me
05. Turn My Back On You
06. Keep Looking
07. Clean Heart
08. Give It Up
09. I Never Thought I'd See The Day
10. Siempre Hay Esperanza
Sade was one of those 80s bands that always filtered around in the background of my conscious mind. I knew the songs from MTV. At least the popular ones. But I never paid much attention to them beyond a random liking. I can't remember how I got my first Sade tape, but I remember being struck by the complexity of the lyrics. At that time I was learning to write lyrics myself and also experimenting with feelings. Confronting my conflicting desires and need to connect to another person emotionally and physically. There were little crushes that went unnoticed and unsatisfied. These turbulent feelings were somehow defined through Sade's lyrics and grooves. I never appreciated ballads until "Stronger Than Pride". But afterward, life was very different.
'Lovers Rock' came out while I was with my ex. It was the first Sade album in a long time and I was really excited for it. We even wanted to see her perform in Vegas. I downloaded the album before I bought it, and my initial reaction was one of skepticism. The beats were more modern and less deep than on previous albums. Still, with a few exceptions, the music follows traditional Sade material. Love was the main theme. Three songs were somewhat out of place on the record. 'Slave Song', 'Immigrant' and 'The Sweetest Gift' are all songs with different themes. 'Slave Song' and 'Immigrant' are nods to Sade's African heritage and the enslavement of her ancestors. 'The Sweetest Gift' is a song about her kid. They're interesting, though 'Slave Song' really captivates my imagination. I love the tune. After a couple listens, I realized I could lay back and groove along with this disc as easily as any of the others. It was just as enjoyable. Even with an updated sound.
It's hard to say which songs are the stand-out tracks on this disc. I pretty much love them all. And at any given time, each one of them can seem extremely poignant. Right now, 'Somebody Already Broke My Heart' seems to be having a major impact on me. Normally 'Lovers Rock' is my outstanding favorite. Probably because I think it's such a hopeful tune. I listen to it and believe one day I will find true love.
I'm revisiting Sade cds because I'm excited about her new disc. I'm hoping it's wonderful and exciting. I'm also hoping to be more open-minded about any different directions the band chooses to take. 'Lovers Rock' was a surprising treat. I strongly encourage you to pick this disc up. It's worth it. My final word: PLEASING.
SADE - LOVERS ROCK
01. By Your Side
02. Flow
03. King Of Sorrow
04. Somebody Already Broke My Heart
05. All About Our Love
06. Slave Song
07. The Sweetest Gift
08. Every Word
09. Immigrant
10. Lovers Rock
11. It's Only Love That Gets You Through
