I did Sade a disservice last time I listened to them by not taking the time to sit down and appreciate their music. But in the meantime, and while listening to this album, I think I’ve started to understand why - Sade sounds amazing, but I have some subliminal BS going on that’s made it hard to connect with their music without repeated listens.

There are several factors at play here that have tainted my initial impression of this album and smooth soul as a genre. First, for some reason this style of music (and in some ways, the saxophone itself) has been turned into a parody by popular media. Smooth soul/jazz has turned into a joke for many, and I’ve fallen prey to that almost subliminally, which is a complete shame. Second, this is the kind of music that requires you to slow down and pay attention, two skills that the e-generations have started to lose, if not lost outright. You have to kind of let go and let the music carry you forward, and I’ve got issues letting anyone take control, coming from the generation who has never felt what control over the future even feels like.

These songs are beautiful, the bass lines are intoxicating, and the vocals are beyond relaxing. This album, and the broader genres it dabbles in, are going to be the subject of further study for me. The main reason is to unlock an entire spectrum of music that my mind has reflexively much blocked off in the past, simply because a few stupid sitcoms and movies and who knows what else turned the saxophone into a joke. I hate that I still get the eye roll reflex when a smooth soul or smooth jazz song comes on. It’s totally irrational and it’s not related to the music at all.

I wonder how many other genres, musical styles, artists I’ve been dismissing because of stupid genre biases that I can’t even remember forming. That’s a rabbit hole of epic proportions.

Jams

“No Ordinary Love”
“Like A Tattoo”

From the roundup Jamwise #39 - Best of 1992, Pt. 1.