"Never As Good As the First Time" by Sade

Song#:  2669
Date:  03/29/1986
Debut:  71
Peak:  20
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Sophisti-Pop, R&B, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  Sade's second album, Promise, reached the #1 spot thanks in part to its first single "The Sweetest Taboo," which made it to #5. Like the band's debut, this album would also eventually sell over four million copies. For a follow-up single, this track was selected. The tune would make it into the Top 10's of both the R&B (#8) and AC (#6) charts while just hitting the Top 20 mark at Pop. Just four days before this song debuted on the Pop chart, Sade won the Grammy for Best New Artist. At the next Grammys, the band would earn a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group for their Promise album.

ReduxReview:  Sade continued her streak of smooth, sleek, and sexy singles with this groovy track. While it may not be as catchy as "The Sweetest Taboo" or "Smooth Operator," it's still a quality jam that gives off a mysterious and exotic vibe. I always feel oddly classy when I listed to Sade. It seems like I should be at some fascinating, sophisticated place like a lounging room in a mansion or at a chic hotel bar all dressed up and carrying around a martini. In other words, Sade's music never fails to transport me someplace interesting.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Band leader and namesake Sade Adu wasn't one for collaborating with other artists. She and her band did their thing and that was it. As rap music grew over the years, several rap artists began incorporating samples of Sade's music in their tracks. Some have even requested to collaborate with Sade, either her writing beats to their songs or her singing on their tracks. Yet she always refused. Her reason for refusal basically boiled down to one thing - a lack of self-confidence. In a Billboard article she mentioned she was afraid to work with other artists because they might find out there is really nothing there. She compared it to being behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz. She nearly asked for Jay-Z to add a rap to her 2010 hit "Soldier of Love" (#6 R&B/#52 Pop), but then chickened out - a decision she said she later regretted. But then the following year she got up enough courage to work with Jay-Z. Their collaboration was on a remix of the song "The Moon and the Sun," which had been a single from Sade's Soldier of Love album (#54 R&B). The new remix would be placed on Sade's 2011 The Ultimate Collection hits package. The remix would be produced by Noah "40" Shebib and would featured a rap by Jay-Z. The collaboration seemed to work out well and perhaps it might open up the possibilities for further collaborative efforts from Sade. 

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