sade - stronger than pride [poll]

Write-in vote for “all of them”

I'm not voting for "Paradise," but "Give It Up," "Siempre...," or "Turn My Back on You" are calling.

my husband quotes "keep looking" all the time to me. this is "his" sade album more than mine. sade is a common love for us and one of several early "things" that came up where it was like, this relationship is going to work.

"haunt me" and "give it up" are very difficult to pass over but it has to be "love is stronger than pride" for me.

"i never thought i'd see the day" is still kind of an enigma for me... not sure what that one's about but it's powerful nonetheless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAQct-ItZoU

oh god "paradise" is the ultimate car windows down warm weather jam

make you feel cool as hell no matter what car you're driving

I'm youuurs

wrong to say that this is the alhbum where the sade rhythm section just really shows off? this feels like *the* stuart matthewman album to me

i think i'm voting for "nothing can come between us" ... i could listen to that groove for an infinite amount of time. i love how the propulsion of the song really mirrors its emotional state, but you still have this radiant layer of lushness enveloping everything. it feels like the most luxurious armor

but "haunt me" might just be the best song ever so idk

yeah this album is one of their grooviest for sure.

I'd argue the grooves are stronger than pride -- er, the songs. Not a criticism, but it's the one album of their classic run where I have to glance at the tracklist and sometimes forget how the tunes go.

the stopped crashes and congas on "give it up," that's the groove i could listen to forever on this one. insane bassline. and what is the metallic clinking sound throughout, someone dropping change into a cowbell or something? it's a brilliant touch. and sade herself with those lyrics, peak goddess. song seems slight on first exposure but it's just divine imo.

xp yeah alf i agree somewhat, some of the grooves stretch out but on the other hand i can't name a weak song here.

I worked in a mall record store during high school when this came out, and we could only play a handful of manager-approved CDs. The best ones were this, INXS's Kick, and oldies-heavy More Dirty Dancing.

I'd vote for the 12" of Paradise if it was here (it possibly was on the CD and cassette).

ha, yeah, I associate More Dirty Dancing and Stronger Than Pride with the early summer of '88. I saw videos for the singles on VH-1 and MTV constantly on my family's annual late June trip to Sanibel.

"Give It Up" was a personal revelation when I listened to Charlie Bones' Do!!You!!! Breakfast Show on NTS pre-COVID and he would often cane it in his radio show sets, so that's become my sentimental fave.

foundation album; impossible.

here's the mad professor remix of the title track, which was a b-side from their following album, and which i have definitely posted before. it's p good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcDUYWeFppM

i mean... look: blind pick any song from side one of the album and it's among their best. def agree re:stuart's increased faux arranger role. can hear the roots of some of his later inputs to maxwell. the swooniest of sighs. i don't think of things like 'desert island discs' but i have kept an old ipod this whole time with what i consider foundation music loaded on it. the complete catalogues of people like david axelrod, curtis mayfield, selected cannonball adderley+miles+bill evans, outkast, and of course sade.

so i mean... i may end up voting for the title track just... idk, because it's the first song so i've probably heard it the most? there's simply no discrepancies with any of this music and i would be grateful to hear any of these songs on infinite repeat until i die.

anyway.

also i'm tempted to post the hiphop song that samples the title track, but it's memorable for the wrong reasons, not appropriate whatsoever, and very disrespectful to this music.

cru - "everloving" (1997); chorus is literally 'my bitch my everloving bitch' over the stronger than pride bassline. oof. nice sample flip tho!

'nothing can come between us'

pretty easily for me. jordan is right.

about halfway through when they come through with the "its about faith, it's about trust, yeaah yeaaaaaaaah" harmonies with the little bass riff man thats a perfect moment in music right there.

This is so difficult.

Paradise is absolutely perfect, the bassline so fire, heard it a million times and would listen a million more.

I Never Thought I'd See The Day - I love these deeper ballads of hers.

I wouldn't be able to say anything bad about any of the other cchoices though.

It's not the best track on here but I do have a soft spot for Clean Heart, it should be cheesy like one of those poor little Johnny got a gun type songs but her vocal performance is so pure and beautiful it still manages to land imo.

lg you may have heard this? tim f posted it years ago - maybe you'd like it

i never thought i'd see the day (kiko navarro remix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohxu-vqC48U

there's an 11 minute kenny larkin remix of "give it up" too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxfnBhwc9xg

Love Is Stronger Than Pride because it breaks your heart in the sweetest way possible

Sitting here waiting for you
Would be like waiting for winter
It's gonna be cold, there may even be snow

there is so much packed in few words, and it's like it's shared almost reluctantly. love it so much <3

for me it's the feeling of getting over a break-up and becoming best friends with your ex in song form

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1W4Jn9nlUU

nice longer edit of paradise also

This (from Test Pressing's Paul Byrne) is one of my all time favourite edits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1W4Jn9nlUU

lol, snap!

it's the one album of their classic run where I have to glance at the tracklist and sometimes forget how the tunes go.

Agree. Had to call it up on Tidal and listen to remember it, and there's nothing bad on it but the songs do all kind of blend together, except for "Paradise" and "Nothing Can Come Between Us," which are battling for my vote. (The one exception to the sameness is a negative one. I don't really like "Love Is Stronger Than Pride"; it feels much more constructed, like an Art Of Noise track, than the rest of the album, which is clearly music played by humans.)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

i'm excited for these results lol

map i wanna shoutout your husband for having this as his sade album

haha i'll let him know :)

i do sometimes gravitate towards vibey type music but i've still been struggling w/ the notion that the songs here don't stick w/ people, especially in the second half. the interplay between her vocals and the woodwinds when she sings "finger on the trigger on the years to come" on "clean heart" is one of my fav parts of the album and "give it up" is a flat out incredible song imo, the way it feels meditative and propulsive at the same time

the first 4 songs are so strong that i do understand the notion that its a top heavy album but there's some gems in the second half

i still don't know what to vote for lol.

anyway this is a loose fit, but of interest to appreciators of this album: here's a then-current cover of "paradise" by karen smith in showcase dub-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Xwm85qRlg

I never realised that this was a Sade song! I won't pretend that it's as good as the original, but it's an interesting take on it anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOe6xJVFIXs

i always like hearing mayer do his thing. probably fresher than a lot of other sade remixes tbh.

bassline on ‘turn my back on you’ is one of the greatest of all time

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

ah fuck missed this, would’ve gone for “nothing can come between us”

map i wanna shoutout your husband for having this as his sade album

― slob wizard (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, February 25, 2025 4:34 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

he says "shout out back" lol

I know it’s kind of interlude-y but I think “give it up” is the most underrated by vote totals here … amazing song

I’m sad that “Haunt Me” didn’t get any votes. The way it sits there like a coiled dark thing nestled between its surrounding tracks really captures the effortless range the group had, and maybe a newfound enhanced awareness of it (though maybe this is an optical illusion - it’s not like the preceding albums feel like they lack this).

Weird winner. Not even in the top five for me.

Also glad Jordan mentioned Clean Heart, it's cheesy for sure and oh Johnny don't get shot trying to be a big man etc is a well worn cliche but it gets me every time because the music and her voice are so amazing.

I’m sad that “Haunt Me” didn’t get any votes.

yeah me too.

nice to see the love for "give it up".