Sade – Lovers Rock, Vinyl LP

London band Sade's fifth studio album released 2000. The album was titled after a style of reggae music known as lovers rock, noted for its romantic sound and content, which frontwoman Sade Adu listened to in her youth. Its 11 tracks share an understated energy, trading Sade’s signature luxuriance for a sparser, knottier sound, landing beautifully between the pastiched, jazzy pop of fellow ’80s UK breakouts like the Style Council and Everything But The Girl and the growing neo-soul bloc giving an edge to R&B in the late ’90s. Across Lovers Rock, Adu’s vocals, thick and low as always, recede into a breezy landscape of acoustic guitar, reggae bass, and simple percussion. “It’s less about the surface and more about the roots,” she said at the time.

Track list:

1. By Your Side
2. Flow
3. King Of Sorrow
4. Somebody Already Broke My Heart
5. All About Our Love
6. Slave Song
7. The Sweetest Gift
8. Every Word
9. Immigran
10. Lovers Rock
11. It's Only Love That Gets You Through