Stronger Than Pride
Studio album by
Sade
Released3 May 1988 (1988-05-03)
Recorded1987–1988
Studio
Genre
Length47:07
LabelEpic
ProducerSade
Sade chronology
Promise
(1985) 		Stronger Than Pride
(1988) 		Love Deluxe
(1992)
Singles from Stronger Than Pride
  1. "Love Is Stronger Than Pride"
    Released: March 1988
  2. "Paradise"
    Released: May 1988
  3. "Nothing Can Come Between Us"
    Released: August 1988
  4. "Turn My Back on You"
    Released: November 1988
  5. "Haunt Me"
    Released: February 1989

Stronger Than Pride is the third studio album by English band Sade, released by Epic Records in the United Kingdom on 3 May 1988 and in the United States on 10 May 1988.[1][2] In September 2018, Pitchfork placed the album at number 37 on its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s".[3] The album spawned five singles.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Los Angeles Times[5]
NME8/10[6]
Pitchfork8.2/10[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
The Village VoiceB−[11]

Robert Christgau of The Village Voice stated, "I'm glad this self-made aristocrat has a human side, but I prefer her image: now that she's singing billets-doux, she's even further from rewarding the concentration she warrants than she used to be. Touching your beloved with a few true cliches is hard enough. For an audience you have to come up with something that doesn't fade into the background like the new age jazz she went pop with."[11]

Kristine McKenna of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The nine songs on Stronger Than Pride add up to one long plea of desire, and as the album makes its way up the charts—as it surely will—armies of love-struck men will no doubt dream of losing themselves in Sade's quiet storm of passion."[5]

AllMusic's Ron Wynn commented that "Sade demonstrated some intensity and fire on her third release. Whether that was just an attempt to change the pace a bit or a genuine new direction, she had more animation in her delivery on such songs as 'Haunt Me,' 'Give It Up,' and the hit 'Paradise.' Not that she was suddenly singing in a soulful or bluesy manner; rather, Sade's dry and introspective tone now had a little more edge, and the lyrics were ironic as well as reflective. This was her third consecutive multi-platinum album, and it matched the two-million-plus sales level of her debut."[4]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Sade Adu, except "Siempre Hay Esperanza"

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Love Is Stronger Than Pride"
4:16
2."Paradise"
4:01
3."Nothing Can Come Between Us"
  • Adu
  • Matthewman
  • Hale
4:21
4."Haunt Me"
  • Adu
  • Matthewman
5:48
5."Turn My Back on You"
  • Adu
  • Hale
  • Matthewman
6:05
6."Keep Looking"
  • Adu
  • Hale
5:20
7."Clean Heart"
  • Adu
  • Matthewman
  • Hale
3:59
8."Give It Up"
  • Adu
  • Matthewman
  • Hale
3:49
9."I Never Thought I'd See the Day"
  • Adu
  • Leroy Osbourne
4:12
10."Siempre Hay Esperanza"
  • Matthewman
  • Adu
  • Osbourne
5:16
Total length:47:07

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Stronger Than Pride.[12]

Sade

Additional personnel

Technical

Artwork

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Stronger Than Pride
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[42] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[43] 2× Platinum 600,000*
Germany (BVMI)[44] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[45] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[46] Gold 7,500^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[47] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[48] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[51] 3× Platinum 3,500,000[50]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ "New Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 30 April 1988. p. 27. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  2. ^ Rosenbluth, Jean (7 May 1988). "Record Labels Turn Up the Heat in May with Bevy of Sizzling Album Releases" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 19. p. 5. ISSN 0006-2510 – via World Radio History.
  3. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  4. ^ a b Wynn, Ron. "Stronger Than Pride – Sade". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  5. ^ a b McKenna, Kristine (22 May 1988). "Sade's in the Perfect Groove for Romance, and Van Halen Pulls the Punch Lines". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  6. ^ Minkoff, Myrna (7 May 1988). "Sade: Stronger Than Pride". NME. London. p. 31.
  7. ^ Kearse, Stephen (9 October 2020). "Sade: Stronger Than Pride". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  8. ^ Heath, Chris (June 1988). "Shhhhh!". Q. No. 21. London.
  9. ^ Tannenbaum, Rob (11 August 1988). "Sade: Stronger Than Pride". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on 24 August 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  10. ^ Sarig, Roni (2004). "Sade". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 712–713. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  11. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (26 July 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  12. ^ Sade (1988). Stronger Than Pride (liner notes). Epic Records. 460497 2.
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 263. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Sade – Stronger Than Pride" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8592". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sade – Stronger Than Pride" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  17. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 22. 28 May 1988. p. 30. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  18. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  19. ^ "Les Albums (CD) de 1988 par InfoDisc". InfoDisc (in French). Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sade – Stronger Than Pride" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 24. 11 June 1988. p. 77. ISSN 0006-2510 – via World Radio History.
  22. ^ シャーデーのアルバム売り上げランキング [Sade album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  23. ^ "Charts.nz – Sade – Stronger Than Pride". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  24. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sade – Stronger Than Pride". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  25. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  26. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Sade – Stronger Than Pride". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  27. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sade – Stronger Than Pride". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  28. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  29. ^ "Sade Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  30. ^ "Sade Chart History (Top Contemporary Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  31. ^ "Sade Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  32. ^ "National Top 100 Albums 1988". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  33. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 1988". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  34. ^ "Top 100 Albums of '88" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 10. 24 December 1988. p. 13. ISSN 0033-7064 – via World Radio History.
  35. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – CD 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  36. ^ "1988 Year End Eurocharts – Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 51/52. 1 January 1989. p. 30. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  37. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1988" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  38. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1988". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  39. ^ "Top 100 Albums – Year-End Chart 1988" (PDF). Music Week Awards. Music Week. 4 March 1989. p. 8. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  40. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1988". Billboard. Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  41. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1988". Billboard. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  42. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Sade – Stronger Than Pride". Music Canada. 29 August 1988. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  43. ^ "French album certifications – Sade – Stronger Than Pride" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 20 April 1995. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  44. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sade; 'Stronger Than Pride')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
  45. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Sade – Stronger Than Pride" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 6 February 2019. Enter Stronger Than Pride in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  46. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Sade – Stronger Than Pride". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  47. ^ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 924. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  48. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Stronger Than Pride')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  49. ^ "British album certifications – Sade – Stronger Than Pride". British Phonographic Industry. 6 July 1988. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  50. ^ Britt, Bruce (31 December 2000). "For Sade, Absence Makes the Fans Grow Fonder". BMI. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  51. ^ "American album certifications – Sade – Stronger Than Pride". Recording Industry Association of America. 9 November 1994. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
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