Slim Sade

Tis typical that my last entry had to do with desire to consume obscure art and think about esoteric topics, and now I am going to attempt to quickly review Sade's new album, which was surprisingly numero uno on the Billboard chart and sold over a half million copies in its first week. Not only am I gonna review it, I am going to discuss this strange popularity. Not only that, but I am going to follow up that brief review with a review of Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now," the supposed country album that was the numero uno Billboard topper last week. See, I told you I went mainstream.

Here is the thing with Sade. I have an irrational fondness for her music even when I recognize its limitations, and there are many to recognize. If you ever listen to one of her albums (and the three last three are all the best as far as I am concerned), you will also quickly notice her limitations. I am using "her" even though Sade is really a band, but Sade Adu is the singer and face of the band, so let's treat her as the sole author and creator, kind of like Will Shakespeare. But Will Shakespeare has no limitations, and Sade has many. Her voice is limited, her lyrics treat heartbreak and comfort in romantic love, and really nothing else; her songs never stray from a consistent beat and a one-octave melodic variation; her instruments typically consist of a rhythm guitar, some piano, bass, and drums. But that is just the thing:

A good poet will use the form in which she is working. That is, if you are going to write a sonnet, the point of the sonnet is what you can do within its form--subtle changes of meter, effect, tone, and so on makes the poem interesting. Anyone can blow up a form, shock, defy, but few can express something original within the limits that form provides. But I'm not even going to talk about doing something original with form. Rather, what I am impressed with is getting the form just right--finding the formula and proving it without fizzures or seams. That, to me, is why Sade is such a pleasure to listen to: she has her style, and she's had it for 25 years, and she continues to work in that style, occasionally tweaking it here and there but never disrespecting her form nor trying to move beyond it. To Sade, it is enough to do one thing in this world and do it well. That is why I buy her albums. I also buy them because they remind me of radio stations that don't exist anymore, like kjazz 95.5 in Phoenix.

Let me add that there is a slight little sax solo in one of the tracks called "In Another Time" on her new album makes saxophones into a good instrument again. Memories from sitting by the saxophone section in middle school have scarred my taste ever since, so I am always happy when I hear something that helps justify the saxophone's existence.

So I bought the Sade album, and it made me feel more romantic than I normally feel. In turn, I went out and bought Kathryn a CD for Valentine's Day in that romantic mood. Buying CDs for Kathryn is risky business--the last one I got for her that she liked was a Sarah McLachlan album for Valentine's Day in 2004. Making her CDs is a skill I am particularly good at, buying her CDs is not a skill, and I am bad at it anyway. But I heard a song while I was being drained of plasma a few weeks ago, and my immediate thought was "Hey, I bet Kathryn would like this," so I learned more about the CD, previewed it on itunes, and then went and bought it. The song was "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum, a country group that is not really country. They are more like soft-rockers who believe in America and God, so they are called country. The song is certainly catchy, and the voices were nice, and Kathryn likes songs with a solid pop hook. So do I, for that matter. There is something wonderful about a great pop song, and I still admire "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson every time I hear it. Same goes for "I Want it That Way" by the Backstreet Boys.

Here is my review of Lady Antebellum's Need You Now: it is not very good, but it has two or three catchy hooks, and it doesn't have any over-the-top annoying songs. That is a good thing, and it appears as though Kathryn likes it. The album has lame lyrics with the exception of the title track, and it has one of the most horrible album covers ever, and it sounds an awful lot like songs from a high school mix from a girl who liked Garth Brooks and Del Amitri. In fact, now that I think about it, the album could have been released in 1996 and it would sound exactly the same, with the same hits, the same cover, the same lyrics. But I shouldn't contradict myself--I just finished praising Sade for not changing her style in 25 years (although Sade's albums, which are 8 to 10 years apart, are always like Corn Flakes, it feels good tasting them again for the first time)--so Lady Antebellum's 90s country crossover sound is fine I guess. So if you are a girl who liked Garth Brooks and Del Amitri, or if you are Kathryn's mom or a man or woman who listens to country music and likes the Taylor Swift stuff, you should buy this album. Although I admit all the romance of Sade was stripped away when I heard Lady Antebellum, but maybe that is a good thing. I get the feeling that a romantic James is about as intolerable as a joking Kobe Bryant.