Lovers Rock by Sade

Lovers Rock, Sade's fifth album, came out on Epic on 13 November 2000, a full eight years after Love Deluxe, and it takes its name from the romantic strain of reggae that Sade Adu grew up listening to. Adu, bassist Paul Denman, guitarist and saxophonist Stuart Matthewman and keyboardist Andrew Hale shelved most of the jazz that defined their earlier records in favor of soul, R&B, soft rock, folk, dub and reggae, all stripped back to the bone.

The production is sparse and patient, just enough to frame that smoky voice, and the concept runs through love's comforts and its wounds, with a few political shadows falling across the songs. "By Your Side" and "King of Sorrow" were the singles, and the album reached number three in America, went triple platinum there and won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2002.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.