Will Hermes of Rolling Stone stated, "Few singers have the consistency of vision to produce a career retrospective that doubles as a seamless 'let's make out on the carpet' mixtape. From 1985's jazzy 'Smooth Operator' to tracks from last year's excellent Soldier of Love, it's all state-of-the-art slow-jams all the time, driven by Sade Adu's touch-me-now contralto."[3] Lloyd Bradley of BBC Music commented, "The best thing about this set is it'll allow anybody who didn't quite get the band first time around to catch up."[7] In a mixed review, Jeff Winbush of All About Jazz wrote, "No such luck. As things stand, a more accurate title would be The Adequate Collection because there's little ultimate about this bare bones piece of product."[1]
Commercial performance
The Ultimate Collection debuted at number eight on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 15,184 copies, becoming Sade's seventh top-10 album in the United Kingdom.[8] In the United States, the album entered the Billboard 200 at number seven with 38,000 copies sold in its first week, earning the band their ninth consecutive top-10 album on the chart.[9] As of August 2011, the set had sold 127,000 copies in the United States.[10]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Release history
Release dates and formats for The Ultimate Collection
^The Ultimate Collection (box set liner notes). Sade. RCA Records. 2011. 88697899392.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^The Ultimate Collection (liner notes). Sade. RCA Records. 2011. 88697899382.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 20.Týden 2011 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 5 December 2019.