Critical reception
The song received positive reviews from music critics. Upon the release, Larry Flick from Billboard stated that it shows Sade and band "in fine form, sounding, as always, cool and sexy." He also said that her "famously smoky voice is the highlight of a spare arrangement, supported by percussive guitar and even a ghostly metal solo." [5] Amy Linden from Entertainment Weekly found that Sade, "the high priestess of understated cool, heats up on the fabulous "No Ordinary Love", which surges with emotion." [6] Dave Sholin of the Gavin Report felt that "her extraordinary songstyling is hotter than ever." [7] Another Gavin Report editor, John Martinucci, said, "At last, the sensual vocals of Sade return with a hypnotic beat underlined by an occasional, crunching guitar." [8]
Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian felt that the singer's "sleepy croon doesn't waver" as she's "purring a breathless poem" about her mister. [9] David Stubbs from Melody Maker viewed it as "another syrupy ladling". [10] Pan-European magazine Music & Media remarked that "the grande dame of sophisticated soul has updated her beats a little bit and added a more wiggly guitar sound." [11] A reviewer from Music Week called it "a stylish, sophisticated, subdued and superior song", adding, "It's also extremely subtle". [12] Jeff Silberman from The Network Forty complimented its "languid beat and the cool, cool melody" [13] A writer for People Magazine viewed the song as "a baby-making slow jam that comes on like musical Viagra." [14]
Retrospective response
In a 2017 retrospective review, Justin Chadwick from Albumism described the song as "insistent and intimate", adding that it's "evoking the desperation of trying to secure an elusive love". He also noted that the song begins with "one of the most devastating intros ever". [15] In 2012, Sophie Heawood of The Guardian commented, "The band reached their peak of opulent sound design on the aptly titled album Love Deluxe; its seven-minute epic of a lead single is as bleak as it is sensual, casting heartbreak as the greatest luxury of all." [16] In 2010, the Daily Vault's Mark Millan declared it as "intoxicating". He added that it "is Adu's lament of a one-sided love affair", noting that it "harbors a serious groove, but the underlying anger of love gone bad is represented with a subtle but powerful guitar riff that helps get the job done." [17]
Frank Guan of Vulture ranked "No Ordinary Love" number two in a ranking of all of Sade's songs, writing, "'There's nothing like you and I,' she sings; the emphasis falls on 'nothing' no less than on 'you' or 'I.' Sade songs, at their very best, ignore the distinction between songs about flawless love and love betrayed; the promise of the first and the inevitability of the other are contained in one another. The softly puncturing bass, the deep-sea synths, the chugging, almost accusatory guitar that kicks in during the pre-chorus – even among other perfect songs, this one stands out. It's the longest song on any of her albums; it's also one you wish would last forever, but can't, just like the love in the title." [18]
"No Ordinary Love" entered the top 10 in Greece and Italy, as well as on the Music & Media European Dance Radio Chart, where it peaked at number nine in November 1992. [19] Additionally, the song entered the top 20 in Finland, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, where it reached number 14 suring its second run on the UK Singles Chart on 5 June 1993, making it Sade's second-most successful single in the UK, after "Your Love Is King" in 1984. The single received a silver record in the UK, after 200 000 units were sold. "No Ordinary Love" was also a top-30 hit in Switzerland and on the Eurochart Hot 100, [20] a top-40 hit in Belgium and Sweden, and a top-50 hit in Germany. Outside Europe, it peaked at numbers 21 and 17 in Australia and New Zealand, respectively.
In the United States, the single charted on four different Billboard charts: number 28 on the Hot 100, number 14 on the Adult Contemporary chart, number 29 on the Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover chart and number nine on the Hot R&B Singles chart. "No Ordinary Love" also climbed to number 21 on the US Cash Box Top 100 and number 11 on the Cash Box Top R&B Singles chart.
Music video
A music video produced to promote the single, directed by English music video director Sophie Muller, [21] features Sade as a mermaid and a bride. At the beginning, Sade sits on the bottom of the ocean as a mermaid. Flashbacks reveal a young sailor, who has fallen into the water, meeting the mermaid in a kiss and embrace. Back in the present, the mermaid browses in an old weekly magazine and sews a white wedding dress. She swims up to shore in the finished dress with human legs, reaching land and throwing rice on herself like a newlywed bride. Obviously looking for the young man, she walks into a bar and drinks water with salt for survival. Devastated at not finding the sailor, she runs through the busy city streets, with a bottle of water, down to the quay. Again there are flashbacks of the mermaid with her sailor on the sea floor. As the video ends, she sits alone on the dock in her wedding dress looking down and waiting for her tail to reappear. [22]
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