Stronger Than Pride

Last updated

Stronger Than Pride
Sade - Stronger Than Pride.png
Studio album by
Released3 May 1988 (1988-05-03)
Recorded1987–1988
Studio
Genre
Length47:07
Label Epic
Producer Sade
Sade chronology
Promise
(1985)
Stronger Than Pride
(1988)
Love Deluxe
(1992)
Singles from Stronger Than Pride
  1. "Love Is Stronger Than Pride"
    Released: March 1988
  2. "Paradise"
    Released: May 1988
  3. "Nothing Can Come Between Us"
    Released: August 1988
  4. "Turn My Back on You"
    Released: November 1988
  5. "Haunt Me"
    Released: February 1989

Stronger Than Pride is the third studio album by English band Sade, released by Epic Records in the United Kingdom on 3 May 1988 and in the United States on 10 May 1988. [1] [2] Stronger Than Pride was the band's first album to be self-produced. [3] The album spawned five singles and was a commercial success, achieving top-10 chart peaks in several countries worldwide.

Contents

Development

Around the time Stronger Than Pride was released, Sade Adu commented on its production: "I wanted it to be more basic and less embellished, with the quiet songs quieter and the harder songs harder." Speaking to The New York Times, she added, "I wanted a sound that was empty and hollow so that you would have the voice just coming at you." [4]

Songwriting sessions for the album happened in Spain and London, and then recording sessions took place in France and the Bahamas over the course of a year. Stuart Matthewman, the band's guitarist and saxophonist, said Stronger Than Pride was the first time Sade composed songs piecemeal and not as a collective. Sade self-produced the album following collaborator Robin Millar going blind amidst the recording of the band's previous album Promise (1985). [3]

Composition

Pitchfork writer Stephen Kearse noted "while Sade doesn't reinvent itself on Stronger Than Pride, it does unwind." Rolling Stone 's Rob Tannenbaum described the album's music as a mixture of "brisk urban tracks" and "acoustic material inspired by Brazilian bossa nova". Track one, "Love Is Stronger Than Pride", features keys, percussion, and flutes. The drumless "Haunt Me", track four, has been described as "lush" and "amorphous". "Keep Looking" and "Give It Up", tracks six and eight, are groove-driven songs. [3] [5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
NME 8/10 [8]
Number One Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Pitchfork 8.2/10 [3]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Smash Hits 7/10 [12]
The Village Voice B− [13]

Los Angeles Times critic Kristine McKenna wrote, "The nine songs on Stronger Than Pride add up to one long plea of desire, and as the album makes its way up the charts—as it surely will—armies of love-struck men will no doubt dream of losing themselves in Sade's quiet storm of passion." [7] Robert Christgau penned a mixed review in The Village Voice , saying, "I'm glad this self-made aristocrat has a human side, but I prefer her image: now that she's singing billets-doux, she's even further from rewarding the concentration she warrants than she used to be. Touching your beloved with a few true cliches is hard enough. For an audience you have to come up with something that doesn't fade into the background like the new age jazz she went pop with." [13]

In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Ron Wynn commented that "Sade demonstrated some intensity and fire on her third release. Whether that was just an attempt to change the pace a bit or a genuine new direction, she had more animation in her delivery on such songs as 'Haunt Me,' 'Give It Up,' and the hit 'Paradise.' Not that she was suddenly singing in a soulful or bluesy manner; rather, Sade's dry and introspective tone now had a little more edge, and the lyrics were ironic as well as reflective." [6]

In 2018, Pitchfork placed Stronger Than Pride at number 37 on its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". [14]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Sade Adu, except "Siempre Hay Esperanza".

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Love Is Stronger Than Pride"
4:16
2."Paradise"
4:01
3."Nothing Can Come Between Us"
  • Adu
  • Matthewman
  • Hale
4:21
4."Haunt Me"
  • Adu
  • Matthewman
5:48
5."Turn My Back on You"
  • Adu
  • Hale
  • Matthewman
6:05
6."Keep Looking"
  • Adu
  • Hale
5:20
7."Clean Heart"
  • Adu
  • Matthewman
  • Hale
3:59
8."Give It Up"
  • Adu
  • Matthewman
  • Hale
3:49
9."I Never Thought I'd See the Day"
  • Adu
  • Leroy Osbourne
4:12
10."Siempre Hay Esperanza"
  • Matthewman
  • Adu
  • Osbourne
5:16
Total length:47:07

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Stronger Than Pride. [15]

Sade

Additional personnel

Technical

Artwork

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Stronger Than Pride
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [46] Platinum100,000^
France (SNEP) [47] 2× Platinum600,000*
Germany (BVMI) [48] Gold250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI) [49] Platinum100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [50] Gold7,500^
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [51] Platinum100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [52] Platinum50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [53] Platinum300,000^
United States (RIAA) [54] 3× Platinum3,500,000 [55]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

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  2. Rosenbluth, Jean (7 May 1988). "Record Labels Turn Up the Heat in May with Bevy of Sizzling Album Releases" (PDF). Billboard . Vol. 100, no. 19. p. 5. ISSN   0006-2510 via World Radio History.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Kearse, Stephen (9 October 2020). "Sade: Stronger Than Pride". Pitchfork . Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  4. Holden, Stephen (25 May 1988). "The Pop Life". The New York Times . Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  5. 1 2 Tannenbaum, Rob (11 August 1988). "Sade: Stronger Than Pride". Rolling Stone . New York. Archived from the original on 24 August 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  6. 1 2 Wynn, Ron. "Stronger Than Pride – Sade". AllMusic . Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  7. 1 2 McKenna, Kristine (22 May 1988). "Sade's in the Perfect Groove for Romance, and Van Halen Pulls the Punch Lines". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  8. Minkoff, Myrna (7 May 1988). "Sade: Stronger Than Pride". NME . London. p. 31.
  9. Hunt, Kim (28 May 1988). "Sade: Stronger Than Pride". Number One . No. 258. London. p. 41.
  10. Heath, Chris (June 1988). "Shhhhh!". Q . No. 21. London.
  11. Sarig, Roni (2004). "Sade". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp.  712–713. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8 . Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  12. Shaw, William (18–31 May 1988). "Sade: Stronger Than Pride". Smash Hits . Vol. 10, no. 10. Peterborough. p. 69.
  13. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (26 July 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . New York. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  14. "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork . 10 September 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  15. Sade (1988). Stronger Than Pride (liner notes). Epic Records. 460497 2.
  16. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 263. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
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