Top Artists – Sade

Sade – Diamond Life

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  • Both sides of this original UK import have stunning sound for Sade’s debut LP, earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this killer copy in our notes: “big and rich and breathy”…”silky and focused vox”…”really solid and weighty drums”…”natural and roomy”…”HTF! [hard to fault] (side two)”
  • The key to the best copies is Tubey Magical richness and sweetness, and this vintage analog import has plenty of both
  • 4 1/2 stars: “[Sade] projects a wised-up sensuality, and the record neither creaks with the revivalism of Harry Connick nor the sterility of Simply Red, to name but two of Sade’s neo-cocktail rivals.”

This copy gives you the kind of present, breathy vocals absolutely critical to this music. There’s no denying the power of Sade’s sultry voice when you can actually hear it. All it takes is a top copy such as this to make her talents — and those of her bandmates — abundantly clear. (more…)

Sade – Stronger Than Pride

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  • An original Epic import pressing (one of only a handful of copies to hit the site in nineteen months) with solid Double Plus (A++) sound from start to finish – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • This is probably the quietest copy to come out of our shootout — plenty of these had issues, including most of the best sounding pressings
  • This copy had more of the in-the-room vocal presence, note-like bass, and powerful dynamics we were looking for than most of the other pressings we played, many of which had exactly the same stampers
  • Forget the veiled, closed-in domestic pressings and whatever crappy Heavy Vinyl poseur may be in print – this copy will bring a living, breathing, oh-so-sultry Sade Adu (age 29) right into your very own listening room
  • “Sade demonstrated some intensity and fire on her third release… she had more animation in her delivery on such songs as ‘Haunt Me,’ ‘Give It Up,’ and the hit ‘Paradise.'”

(more…)

Sade – Promise

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More Titles Only Offered on Import LP

  • Sade’s Best Album returns with stunning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Both sides of this UK disc are guaranteed to be amazing sounding compared to whatever you’ve heard
  • There’s no denying the power of Sade’s sultry voice when you can actually hear it – she is on fire on this album
  • Her best song is on side one here – Is It a Crime – and the big band arrangement will surely send chills up and down your spine, especially with Triple Plus sound quality

Not many copies manage to have this kind of consistently sweet sound across both sides. Here are the kind of present, breathy vocals this music absolutely requires to work its magic.

If you know this album at all, you know that most pressings are just too damn dark sounding. Sade herself is typically recessed in the mix and veiled; it takes an exceptional copy such as this one to make her voice both present and breathy. (more…)

Letter of the Week – “Very spacious, perfect mids, full of details, tonal balance to dream of…”

More of the Music of Sade

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased recently:

Hey Tom, 

This is just to give you a short feedback on the Sade “Love Deluxe” record. The sound is really outstanding, a completely new experience for me. Very spacious, perfect mids, full of details, tonal balance to dream of…

Yes, the record is quite expensive but worth all the money! I’ll be back for a further purchase… for sure…

It must be a lot of work to find such records!

Cheers, Florian
from Germany

Yes, Florian, it is! Glad you liked the record as much as we did.

Tom

Sade – Love Deluxe

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More Titles Only Offered on Import LP

  • A SUPERB copy of Sade’s 4th studio album with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on both sides 
  • The import sound here is richer, fuller, more musical and more natural – Sade’s breathy voice is reproduced with a kind of natural, relaxed, effortless quality that, in our experience, is only available on vinyl
  • 4 stars: “Sade’s fourth album, Love Deluxe, included the hit “No Ordinary Love” and marked a return to the detached cool jazz backing and even icier vocals that made her debut album a sensation.”
  • This is an album we simply cannot afford to do shootouts for these days –original import copies are currently selling for two to three hundred dollars, which means it has been tagged as never again, a record you, dear reader, will have to find for yourself.

By 1992 records like this were only released on import vinyl and typically went out of print soon after they started their descent down the pop charts. I used to sell them back in the day. Supplies were extremely limited and unpredictable – they went out of print without warning and never came back. Once they were gone they were virtually never reissued, although Simply Vinyl took a crack at filling that gap, with mixed results as I’m sure you know.

All of those factors conspire to make the cost of acquiring the mintiest pressings from overseas fairly high. It’s the main reason you have never seen the album on our site before. I’m sure we paid more than $100 for this very copy; rarely can they be found for less. And most of the pressings that came in had condition problems the way this one does.

Be that as it may, we have this copy available and it is not only wonderful sounding but the music is every bit as good as I remember it. (more…)

Letter of the Week – “Never before have I ever experienced the pleasure I received from the recent Sade album.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Sade Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased recently:

Hey Tom, 

Wow! Wow! Wow! I’ve been playing records all my life. A few years on the road kept me from home as well as my duty to country… but ever since my Dad introduced me to vinyl in the early 1960s I’ve been loyal and proud of it.

Tom, your record albums are just beyond fantastic. Never before have I ever experienced the pleasure I received from the recent Sade album. I’ve got most of her work and have always loved Sade’s sexy, dominating vocals. Listening to the percussion — not to forget the saxophone –is just awesome!

Tom I certainly thank you and your team for making this marvelous medium available to us hard-core music lovers and audiophiles.

Frederick