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	Soul, R&B, jazz
Length	54:15
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 the 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.

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) – 4:36
3. "War of the Hearts" (Adu, Matthewman) – 6:47
4. "You're Not the Man" (Adu, Matthewman) – 5:09
5. "Jezebel" (Adu, Matthewman) – 5:27
6. "Mr Wrong" (Adu, Matthewman, Hale, Paul S. Denman) – 2:49
7. "Punch Drunk" (Hale) – 5:21
8. "Never as Good as the First Time" (Adu, Matthewman) – 4:59
9. "Fear" (Adu, Matthewman) – 4:09
10. "Tar Baby" (Adu, Matthewman) – 3:57
11. "Maureen" (Adu, Hale, Denman) – 4:20

LP

1. "Is It a Crime" – 6:18
2. "The Sweetest Taboo" – 4:35
3. "War of the Hearts" – 6:47
4. "Jezebel" – 5:30
5. "Mr Wrong" – 2:50
6. "Never as Good as the First Time" – 5:01
7. "Fear" – 4:05
8. "Tar Baby" – 3:58
9. "Maureen" – 4:22

Personnel

• Sade Adu – vocals, producer, arranger
• Andrew Hale – keyboards
• Stuart Matthewman – guitar, saxophone
• Paul S. Denman – bass
• Terry Bailey – trumpet
• Lee Barrett – management
• Pete Beachill – trombone
• Carlos Bonnell – guitar
• Pete Brown – assistant engineer
• Tom Coyne – remastering
• Martin Ditcham – percussion
• Simon Driscoll – assistant engineer
• Dave Early – drums, percussion
• Nick Ingman – arranger
• Jake Jacas – vocals
• Phil Legg – assistant engineer
• Robin Millar – producer
• Mike Pela – producer, engineer, mixing, production engineer, strings
• Ben Rogan – producer
• Graham Smith – design
• Toshi Yajima – photography

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. ^ "German certifications – 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.