Promise (Sade album)

Promise
Studio album by Sade
Released 16 November 1985(UK)
21 December 1985 (U.S.)
Recorded Power Plant Studios
(London, England)
Studio Miraval
(Le Val, Var, France)
Genre R&B, Smooth soul, Sophisti-pop
Length 54:10
Label Epic (UK)
Portrait (U.S.)
Producer Sade Adu, Robin Millar, Ben Rogan, Mike Pela
Sade chronology
Diamond Life
(1984)		 Promise
(1985)		 Stronger Than Pride
(1988)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic link
Robert Christgau B[1]
Rolling Stone (not rated) link
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Promise is the second studio album by English group Sade. It was released in the United Kingdom on 16 November 1985 by Epic Records and in the United States on 21 December 1985 by Portrait Records.

The major hits from this album were "The Sweetest Taboo" and "Never as Good as the First Time", which reached number five and number 20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Also, "Is It a Crime" was released as a single. While not as initially successful as their debut album, Diamond Life, Promise became the band's first album to top the albums chart in both the United Kingdom and the United States, helped by an appearance at Live Aid and a cameo in the film Absolute Beginners.

The title Promise comes from a letter from Sade Adu's father where he refers to the "promise of hope" to recover from cancer.

Contents

Track listing

CD and cassette
  1. "Is It a Crime" (Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale) – 6:20
  2. "The Sweetest Taboo" (Adu, Martin Ditcham) – 4:37
  3. "War of the Hearts" (Adu, Matthewman) – 6:47
  4. "You're Not the Man" (Adu, Matthewman) – 5:10
  5. "Jezebel" (Adu, Matthewman) – 5:30
  6. "Mr Wrong" (Adu, Matthewman, Hale, Paul S. Denman) – 2:52
  7. "Punch Drunk" (Hale) – 5:25
  8. "Never as Good as the First Time" (Adu, Matthewman) – 5:00
  9. "Fear" (Adu, Matthewman) – 4:10
  10. "Tar Baby" (Adu, Matthewman) – 3:59
  11. "Maureen" (Adu, Hale, Denman) – 4:20
LP
  1. "Is It a Crime" – 6:20
  2. "The Sweetest Taboo" – 4:37
  3. "War of the Hearts" – 6:47
  4. "Jezebel" – 5:30
  5. "Mr Wrong" – 2:52
  6. "Never as Good as the First Time" – 5:00
  7. "Fear" – 4:10
  8. "Tar Baby" – 3:59
  9. "Maureen" – 4:20

Personnel

Additional personnel

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1985/1986) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[2] 6
German Albums Chart[3] 2
Norwegian Albums Chart[2] 6
Swedish Albums Chart[2] 4
Swiss Albums Chart[2] 1
UK Albums Chart[4] 1
U.S. Billboard 200[5] 1
U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[5] 1
U.S. Top Jazz Albums[5] 4

Certifications

Country Certification
Canada 2× platinum[6]
Finland Platinum[7]
France Platinum[8]
Germany Platinum[9]
United Kingdom 2× platinum[10]
United States 4× platinum[11]

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by
The Love Songs by George Benson		 UK Albums Chart number-one album
16 November 1985 – 23 November 1985		 Succeeded by
The Greatest Hits of 1985 by various artists
Preceded by
Let's Talk About Love by Modern Talking		 Swiss Albums Chart number-one album
1 December 1985 – 15 December 1985		 Succeeded by
Casanova by Rondò Veneziano
Preceded by
The Broadway Album by Barbra Streisand		 U.S. Billboard 200 number-one album
15 February 1986 – 22 February 1986		 Succeeded by
Welcome to the Real World by Mr. Mister

References

  1. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Sade". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=Sade. 
  2. ^ a b c d "Sade – Promise". Hung Medien. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sade&titel=Promise&cat=a. Retrieved 27 May 2008. 
  3. ^ "Top 100 Longplay". Media Control. charts.de. 2 December 1985. http://www.charts.de/charts.asp?cat=a&country=de&year=1985&date=19851202&x=9&y=16. Retrieved 15 March 2010. 
  4. ^ "Chart Stats – Sade – Promise". The Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=10092. Retrieved 10 October 2008. 
  5. ^ a b c "Promise – Sade – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/promise-r17250/charts-awards/billboard-album. Retrieved 27 May 2008. 
  6. ^ "CRIA: Search Certification Database". Canadian Recording Industry Association. 27 June 1986. http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
  7. ^ "IFPI Finland – Sade" (in Finnish). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. http://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/artistit/sade. Retrieved 7 February 2009. 
  8. ^ "Certifications Albums Platine – année 1995" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 20 April 1995. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/monopage.xml?id=259165&year=1995&type=12. Retrieved 8 February 2009. 
  9. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sade; 'Promise')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Promise&strInterpret=Sade&strTtArt=alle&strAwards=checked. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
  10. ^ "BPI Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. 17 January 1986. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/Search.aspx. Retrieved 17 September 2009. 
  11. ^ "RIAA – Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. 23 July 1997. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&title=Promise&artist=Sade&format=ALBUM&perPage=25. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
Sade
Sade Adu · Stuart Matthewman · Paul Spencer Denman · Andrew Hale · Paul Anthony Cook
Studio albums
Other albums
Singles
"Your Love Is King" · "When Am I Going to Make a Living" · "Hang on to Your Love" · "Smooth Operator" · "The Sweetest Taboo" · " Never as Good as the First Time" · "Is It a Crime" · "Love Is Stronger Than Pride" · "Paradise" · "Nothing Can Come Between Us" · "Turn My Back on You" · "No Ordinary Love" · "Feel No Pain" · "Kiss of Life" · "Cherish the Day" · "Pearls" · "By Your Side" · "King of Sorrow" · "Lovers Rock" · "Somebody Already Broke My Heart" (Live) · "Soldier of Love" · "Babyfather" · "The Moon and the Sky" · "Still in Love with You"
Concert tours
1984 Tour (1984) · Promise Tour (1985-86) · Sade in Concert (1988-89) · Love Deluxe World Tour (1993) · Lovers Rock Tour (2001) · Sade Live (2011)
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