 Sade, Lovers
Rock (Epic 2000) - Sade Adu returns to the recording studio
after an eight-year absence. Lovers Rock has landed in the top ten with a set of late night ballads that
emphasize intimacy and sensitivity.
Now age 41, Sade (born in Nigeria, but raised in England), rocketed up
the chart in the eighties with such hit singles as "Your Love is King" and "Smooth
Operator." With a voice that mixes beauty, sensuality, and elegance, Sade achieved icon status alongside
Annie Lennox.
 The musicians on
Lovers Rock include Sade on vocals, Andrew Hale on keyboards
and programming, Stuart Matthewman on guitars and woodwinds, and Paul S. Denman on bass.
There's not an uptempo tune in the lot, just gentle ballads that recall the embers of a love affair. (Sade
married a Spanish film maker in 1989, they parted company some years ago, and she now lives in London.) Tracks
like "Every Word" and "Somebody Already Broke My Heart" set the tone for the album - full of
keyboards and studio shine.
Sade plays her cards close to her chest, too close for
my taste: I'd like more of the dance floor material. Lovers Rock is a well-made album, but wake me up
when it's over.
 The Beautiful South, Painting it Red (Ark
21 Records) - British pop rockers, The Beautiful South, return with Painting it Red, their seventh
studio album. Part northern show band, part Stax soul revue, The Beautiful South are established stars in the UK;
their greatest hits album, Carry On Up the Charts (1995) went triple-platinum and debuted at number one.
 The
Beautiful South is headed by songwriting partners Paul Heaton
(vocals) and Dave Rotheray (guitars). The band is rounded out by Dave Hemmingway
on vocals, Sean Welch on bass, David Stead on drums, and Jacqueline Abbott
on vocals. (Abbott replaced the former vocalist Biana Corrigan, who appeared on the masterful, 0898.)
 Painting
it Red was issued overseas as a double-disk set, and was pared down to one (very long) album for stateside
release. With songs like "'Til You Can't Tuck it In" and "Hot on the Heels of Heartbreak,"
The Beautiful South mix a deceptively easygoing style with
sometimes biting lyrics. And I particularly enjoy the voice of Jacqueline Abbott on such glowingly subdued tracks
as "Masculine Eclipse."
 The
Beautiful South focus on the issues of everyday life:
aging, sexual politics, and loneliness. Explains Heaton, "If anything, Painting it Red is our back-to-basics
album. There's not much brass, no strings, and no gospel choirs . . . There were so many tracks that we concentrated
on getting the takes right rather than looking for other ways to embellish them."
As the press materials explain, "No one has sex to The Beautiful
South, nor do they cruise, top down, around city streets with The Beautiful South pumping out the speakers.
Instead, they paint and decorate, drive to the shops, and prepare dinner to The Beautiful
South."
Not a bad way to go. Adults will enjoy Painting it Red.
 Paddy Casey, Amen (so be it) (Columbia
Records 2000) - 24-year-old Paddy Casey, a busker from the streets of Dublin, has soared to chart success in
his native Ireland with Amen (so be it). Will Paddy reach the same heights in the states
with his moody, acoustic debut? Probably not.
Paddy Casey has spent a dozen years writing and performing and it shows
in his songs, which have an earnest feel. There are elements of Amen (so be it) that
I really like, especially the atmospheric opening track, "Fear." While you'll find elements of Mike Scott
from the Waterboys, the more apt comparison is folk rocker Ron
Sexsmith, who knocked around the hard streets of Canada for years before landing a major label record deal.
 Paddy's success in Ireland has surprised even him.
He explains that, "The album was just demos, basically, so there were only a couple of tracks recorded with
an album in mind. There was no real plan. I just had little vibes in my head."
Those "little vibes" are apparent on tracks like "Would U" and "Everybody Wants."
And while Paddy is a big star in Ireland, the songs
have a decidedly down-beat feel. Says Paddy, "I was so nervous walking down the street with my face on all
those posters. I haven't been in Dublin for awhile and every time I come back, people have heard me songs and seen
me video and now there is posters."
 Paddy
also recognizes the somber influences of Amen (so be it). Says the artist, "It's
a mishmash of all the different stuff I like, with acoustic guitar, of course. Wait until you hear the band. I
think people are gonna run a mile!"
The Irish troubadour has a sound that is entrancing to the Emerald Isle. Parts shine through (especially "Fear"),
but overall, the album is too down.
- Randy Krbechek © 2001
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