Review of Sade: Lovers Live

Introduction

Helen Folsade Adu is (with Kate Bush) one of the least prolific artists on the music scene. Aside from a flurry releases in the late Eighties, she only release one album in the Nineties (Love Deluxe) and another in 2000 (Lovers Rock). This scarcity of material has done nothing to affect her popularity, and may actually have added to her air of elegant mystery. Sure, she isn`t topping the charts but she is massive in the US, selling out a recent tour. This DVD features 22 of her best songs filmed at two dates from that tour.

This is actually the second live Sade DVD. The previous disk documented an early Nineties concert. So, how does Lovers Live compare?

Video

An Anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer is the order of the day here and very nice it is too. The concert was beautifully lit and Sophie Muller captures this to perfection. Sade is normally the centre of attention (and quite right too) but we get good coverage of the band, who are polished if given to occasional showboating.

Colours are rich and detail is good. Video quality only drops when showing the audience. At these points the video becomes dark and grainy - possibly a combination of intent and necessity.

It is worth noting that the video quality on the extras is also good.

Audio

"DTS is a trademark of Digital Theatre Systems Inc".

This, along with the DTS logo, appears in small print on the back of the cover, and it is an accurate statement of fact. However, don`t assume that the disk features a DTS track because it doesn`t. I`ll assume that this is a stupid mistake rather than intent to mislead.

So, having ruled DTS out, we have a choice of PCM Stereo and DD 5.1. There`s actually little to choose between them. The 5.1 track has a little extra ambience with crowd applause and occasional rearward panning of effects like thunder and helicopter noises (usually during song intros). However, neither soundtrack has much to recommend it. Both are somewhat dull and muffled with most of the action occurring centre-stage.

Disappointing but not unlistenable.

Features

A fairly generous set of extras are on offer here. First we have the video for "King of Sorrow" with Sade playing the part of a single mother. This looks and sounds good (actually, it sounds better than the main feature).

Next up is a pair of short backstage sequences - one with Sade and one with the band. Both of these are fairly inessential but are good value for fans featuring some different track mixes as a soundtrack.

The best extra by far is the 10 minute "Message to Sade". This captures the reactions of the audience after the show. These range from admiration of Sade`s talents to admiration of her, erm, other qualities. Overall, the fans were presented in an affectionate light and run the gamut from enthusiastic girls, through a would-be Romeo (and his inconvenient kid sister), to an eighty year old fan. This latter is the most touching piece. She was bought a ticket by her family (who think she is mad to be going out to a Sade concert at her age) and is obviously having a ball. You go, girl.

Wrapping things up is a tasteful set of B&W stills.

Overall, a nice set of extras. However, I need to take a moment to comment on the menu system, which must be the most annoying I have come across yet. It looks fabulous with glitterballs and beautifully fading text. But it is unbearably SLOOOW. It takes 20 seconds from pressing the menu button until you can actually do anything (other than watch the pretty menu fade into view) and another 12 seconds before you could choose a song. This gets frustrating very quickly.

Conclusion

In one sense, there is no reason for complaint about this disk. At 2 hours, the running time is generous and the performance is very good. Sade is in fine voice and looks fabulous. The band (who have been with her constantly since she started out) are professional and talented. All the expected songs are present and correct (fans who are disappointed by the absence of "Nothing Can Come Between Us" from the track list will hear it integrated into "Somebody Already Broke My Heart") and are all faithfully performed. Sade has even taken the effort to update "Paradise" with a more funky sound and some choppy guitar.

However, there`s something missing. The sound is certainly a disappointment. But it`s more than that, and I can`t quite put my finger on it. I think it is a result of Sade`s obvious discomfort in a live environment especially the massive stadiums here. In the previous DVD she was still ill at ease but the venue was smaller and I think she handled it better.

This is a must-have for Sade fans. However, if you feel that there is only room for one Sade live DVD in your collection I would recommend the earlier Sade Live. It has better sound and a more enjoyable performance. It is, however, lacking songs from Lovers Rock (and any extras).