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Description

This box set features remastered versions of all of Sade's studio albums to date, on pure 180-gram black vinyl the first complete collection of their studio work up to the present day. All six of the band's acclaimed albums: Diamond Life (1984), Promise (1985), Stronger Than Pride (1988), Love Deluxe (1992), Lovers Rock (2000), and Solder Of Love (2010) are packaged into the beautifully finished, white case-bound box. Revisiting the audio, the band and Miles Showell worked from high resolution digital transfers of the stereo master mixes, from the original analogue studio tapes, remastered at half-speed at Abbey Road Studios. The elaborate, half-speed mastering process has produced exceptionally clean and detailed audio whilst remaining faithful to the band s intended sound. No additional digital limiting was used in the mastering process, so the six albums benefit from the advantage of extra clarity and pure fidelity, preserving the dynamic range of the original mixes for the very first time. The six album sleeves have been meticulously reproduced in exact detail with authentic paper and printing methods, perfectly replicated for the first time since their original release. Review: Impeccable on Every Level… - I’d been viewing this box-set as something of a vinyl holy grail for a couple of years, and during that time it’s yo-yo’ed in price from about $130 to $180. I finally grabbed it on a momentary reduction. But I should have gone for it a long time ago… regardless of the cost. I have reviewed A LOT of amazing, iconic vinyl re-masters/re-issues over the years (click on my icon above and take a look), but THIS ONE is something special. First off, the packing was stellar. I read a lot of reviews on how this box-set got banged up in shipping… desertcart must’ve taken note, because mine arrived flawless. Some have also complained that the LP’s themselves are in scratchy paper sleeves… big deal. If you’re a true vinylphile you’ll replace most inner-sleeves with MoFi Masters anyway. This review is going to weave in and out between the music (and the era in which it was created) and this particular (stellar) re-issue Box Set… I didn’t have the privilege of having the “Diamond Life” LP when it came out in ‘84, but I did (and still DO) have an original picture-sleeve (pre-Epic) Portrait label stereo 45 single of “Smooth Operator”, which still sounds SHOCKINGLY GOOD from a sonic standpoint (I’m finding that a lot of my 1980’s 45’s sound unbelievably brilliant - and these are $1.85 singles mostly bought at Houston’s Sound Warehouse back in the day). But I digress… I did have “Promise”, “Stronger Than Pride” and “Love Deluxe” on cassette (it WAS the dominant/prominent format of that time - CD’s were catching up fast though); I don’t believe I ever remember seeing an actual LP copy of any of these three releases at that time (vinyl was fading quickly by the early 90’s). I think “Stronger Than Pride” is my favorite, although it’s a tough call among this embarrassment of riches… But it WAS the first one I pulled out of the box set, Gruv Glided (more on that later*) and listened to. The luxurious, languid, near-hypnotic feel that casually (yet arrestingly) waifs its way up out of the grooves of this LP is something never to be forgotten… This entire album feels like a cohesive unit - it all just “fits” together - but along with that, this superior vinyl pressing serves the music in a way that I’ve heard few re-issues do - the heavy pressing is dead quiet (I mean DEAD QUIET). Listen to the silent spaces in “I Never Thought I’d See The Day” for a gutsy example of how quiet a high-quality vinyl record can sound, yet still retain an incredibly dynamic sound-range. This set, it’s quality and attention to detail is absolutely (and I’m saying it again) stellar… In the pictures in one of the other reviews, somebody’s actually got white nitrate gloves on when handing this collection - and I totally get it. So how would you categorize this band’s music (and the spell it casts)? It’s certainly a product of the Jazz idiom, yet it’s much more than that. Wikipedia describes it (variously) as Soul, Sophisti-Pop, Smooth Jazz and - most intriguingly - Quiet Storm. Would it be insulting to also call it “modern exotica”??? (one of the reviewers over in the single albums said don’t put this on unless you want to make babies - and I get that, too!) Of Artistic Note: Timmy Thomas’ 1972 “Why Can’t We Live Together” seems to be the band’s only cover… ever. But it was an inspired pick, and eloquently re-interpreted. In Summation: Great art is timeless, and this collection is a good example… Although “Diamond Life” sounds vaguely ‘80-ish (very vaguely), the rest of this set sounds absolutely timeless… you don’t know when it was recorded - it could have been 30 years ago or 30 days ago - you just can’t tell. And Finally: This is a golden time for vinyl… All of the record companies are reaching back into their archives and re-mastering & re-issuing classic albums with sound quality that could only have been dreamt about back in the day (although Sade’s original-issue Portrait & Epic LP’s sounded pretty ‘darn good for their time - good luck finding mint copies of those today). *A Word About GRUV GLIDE: By all means, use GruvGlide on your vinyl. This stuff is amazing - accept NO substitutes!! About $30, but it’ll last forever. desertcart doesn’t seem to have it, but it can be found on Musician’s Friend or Guitar Center’s site. Also, the ONZOW ZeroDust - Stylus Cleaner (another $30, but IT’LL last forever as well) is a perfect final touch (and ridiculously easy to use!) Review: Brilliant set - Fantastic heavy weight vinyl. Compared to the original pressings, well, they just feel like her voice... Smooth, silky, amazing. Short from seeing her in concert, this is your best opportunity to hear that voice!