8/10 SADE  – BRING ME HOME LIVE 2011 (SONY)
This is a rougher version of the artist we know – still sultry, but with jagged edges, and an electric guitar to add a heavier, darker edge that is incredibly evocative and powerful.

The applause and cheers of the audience, plus  the sound of sirens and helicopter wings, is the dramatic     introduction to this album, and as Sade appears and the crowd erupts, it’s hard not to get chills.

The album retains that frisson of excitement that one imagines the audience felt at the concert.

This is the singer at her most hardcore and without the pretty frills.

That’s not to say there aren’t softer, gentler moments, but even these resonate with the darker energy and power of an artist who has truly come into her own and is simply a joy to listen to.     –  LH