The String Quartet Tribute to Sade

Vitamin String Quartet

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The String Quartet Tribute to Sade Review

by Thom Jurek

As these String Quartet Tributes go, and they are an extremely mixed -- mostly bad -- lot, this volume dedicated to the music of jazzy, songwriting pop chanteuse Sade is a bit of a diamond in the rough. For starters, Sade's music is on the mellow side, and is normally sparse in its arrangement. Its tempos are languid, and its atmospherics are sultry and silky. The String Quartet Tribute to Sade's versions take great liberties with the arrangements and therefore reinterpret the music, rather than providing merely an "elevator music" read of them. In keeping with the Vitamin label's dictates, the artist's greatest hits are chosen for interpretation, such as "Sweetest Taboo," "Jezebel," "Smooth Operator," "Your Love Is King," "King of Sorrow," and the like. There is one original composition, entitled "Dreamer's Path," which is supposed to be in the spirit of the artist's own output, but falls short in t terms of both imagination and nuance; thankfully it's the final track on the disc. This is a mood piece to be sure, but at least it's that rather than merely a novelty.

Track Listing

Title/Composer Performer Time Stream
1
Sweetest Taboo
Sade Adu / Martin Ditcham
Vitamin String Quartet 03:43 SpotifyAmazon
2
Smooth Operator
Sade Adu / Raymond St. John
Vitamin String Quartet 04:00 SpotifyAmazon
3
Jezebel
H.F. Adu / Sade Adu / Stuart Matthewman / Wayne Shanklin
Vitamin String Quartet 04:22 SpotifyAmazon
4
Your Love Is King
Sade Adu / Stuart Matthewman
Vitamin String Quartet 03:30 SpotifyAmazon
5
Why Can't We Live Together?
Timmy Thomas
Vitamin String Quartet 05:22 SpotifyAmazon
6
No Ordinary Love
H.F. Adu / Sade Adu / Stuart Matthewman
Vitamin String Quartet 05:09 SpotifyAmazon
7
King of Sorrow
H.F. Adu / Paul S. Denman / Andrew Hale / Stuart Matthewman
Vitamin String Quartet 03:34 SpotifyAmazon
8
Cherish the Day
Sade Adu / Andrew Hale / Stuart Matthewman
Vitamin String Quartet 03:52 SpotifyAmazon
9
Pearls
H.F. Adu / Sade Adu / Andrew Hale
Vitamin String Quartet 05:00 SpotifyAmazon
10
Dreamer's Path
Vitamin String Quartet 03:57 SpotifyAmazon
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The String Quartet Tribute to Sade

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