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No Ordinary Love

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"No Ordinary Love"
Single by Sade
from the album Love Deluxe
B-side"Paradise" (remix)
Released28 September 1992 (1992-09-28)[1]
Recorded1992
StudioThe Hit Factory, New York City
Length7:20
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Sade
Sade singles chronology
"Haunt Me"
(1989) 		"No Ordinary Love"
(1992) 		"Feel No Pain"
(1992)
Music video
"No Ordinary Love" on YouTube

"No Ordinary Love" is a 1992 song by English band Sade, released as the lead single and opening track from their fourth studio album, Love Deluxe (1992). It was a success in Europe and New Zealand, reaching number four in Italy, number 17 in New Zealand, number 19 in Finland and the Netherlands, number 20 in France and number 26 in the UK. In January 1993, the song peaked at number 15 in Canada and number 28 in the US. When re-released in June 1993, "No Ordinary Love" reached a new peak of number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and number 21 in Australia. In the accompanying music video, Sade Adu plays a mermaid who wants to be a bride.

American magazine Rolling Stone included "No Ordinary Love" in their list of "500 Best Songs of All Time" in 2021.[2]

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. Justin Chadwick from Albumism described it as "insistent and intimate", adding that it is "evoking the desperation of trying to secure an elusive love". He noted that the song begins with "one of the most devastating intros ever".[3] Larry Flick from Billboard stated that it shows Sade and band "in fine form, sounding, as always, cool and sexy." He also said that her "famously smoky voice is the highlight of a spare arrangement, supported by percussive guitar and even a ghostly metal solo."[4] The Daily Vault's Mark Millan deemed it "intoxicating". He added that it "is Adu's lament of a one-sided love affair", noting that it "harbors a serious groove, but the underlying anger of love gone bad is represented with a subtle but powerful guitar riff that helps get the job done."[5] Amy Linden from Entertainment Weekly wrote that Sade, "the high priestess of understated cool, heats up on the fabulous "No Ordinary Love", which surges with emotion."[6]

Dave Sholin of the Gavin Report stated that "her extraordinary songstyling is hotter than ever."[7] Another editor, John Martinucci said, "At last, the sensual vocals of Sade return with a hypnotic beat underlined by an occasional, crunching guitar."[8] Sophie Heawood of The Guardian commented, "The band reached their peak of opulent sound design on the aptly titled album Love Deluxe; its seven-minute epic of a lead single is as bleak as it is sensual, casting heartbreak as the greatest luxury of all."[9] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote that "the grande dame of sophisticated soul has updated her beats a little bit and added a more wiggly guitar sound."[10] A reviewer from Music Week called it "a stylish, sophisticated, subdued and superior song." The reviewer also added, "It's also extremely subtle".[11] Jeff Silberman from The Network Forty noted its "languid beat and the cool, cool melody"[12] A writer for People Magazine viewed the song as "a baby-making slow jam that comes on like musical Viagra."[13] Frank Guan of Vulture added, "'There's nothing like you and I,' she sings; the emphasis falls on 'nothing' no less than on 'you' or 'I.' Sade songs, at their very best, ignore the distinction between songs about flawless love and love betrayed; the promise of the first and the inevitability of the other are contained in one another. The softly puncturing bass, the deep-sea synths, the chugging, almost accusatory guitar that kicks in during the pre-chorus – even among other perfect songs, this one stands out. It's the longest song on any of her albums; it's also one you wish would last forever, but can't, just like the love in the title."[14]

Awards

Sade won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1994.

Impact and legacy

In 2012, Complex placed "No Ordinary Love" at number 43 in their ranking of "The Best 90s R&B Songs".[15] In 2017, Spin ranked the song at number 15 on their list of "The 30 Best '90s R&B Songs".[16]

In 2021, Rolling Stone included "No Ordinary Love" in their list of "500 Best Songs of All Time".[17]

Music video

A music video produced to promote the single, directed by English music video director Sophie Muller,[18] features Sade as a mermaid and a bride.

At the beginning, Sade sits on the bottom of the ocean as a mermaid. Flashbacks reveal a young sailor, who has fallen into the water, meeting the mermaid in a kiss and embrace. Back in the present, the mermaid browses in an old weekly magazine and sews a white wedding dress. She swims up to shore in the finished dress with human legs, reaching land and throwing rice on herself like a newlywed bride. Obviously looking for the young man, she walks into a bar and drinks water with salt for survival. Devastated at not finding the sailor, she runs through the busy city streets, with a bottle of water, down to the quay. Again there are flashbacks of the mermaid with her sailor on the sea floor. As the video ends, she sits alone on the dock in her wedding dress looking down and waiting for her tail to reappear.[19]

Track listings

Charts

Media

Cover versions

References

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 26 September 1992. p. 25. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  2. ^ "500 Best Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  3. ^ Chadwick, Justin (24 October 2017). "Sade's 'Love Deluxe' Turns 25: Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  4. ^ Flick, Larry (31 October 1992). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 95. ISSN 0006-2510.
  5. ^ Millan, Mark (30 December 2010). "Sade - Love Deluxe". The Daily Vault. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  6. ^ Linden, Amy (13 November 1992). "Love Deluxe". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  7. ^ Sholin, Dave (6 November 1992). "Gavin Picks: Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. No. 1930. p. 48 – via World Radio History.
  8. ^ Martinucci, John (9 October 1992). "Urban: New Releases" (PDF). Gavin Report. p. 14.
  9. ^ Heawood, Sophie (13 March 2012). "Why Sade is bigger in the US than Adele". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  10. ^ "New Releases" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 41. 10 October 1992. p. 8. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  11. ^ "Mainstream: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 19 September 1992. p. 7. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  12. ^ Silberman, Jeff (6 November 1992). "Top 40: Music Meeting" (PDF). The Network Forty. No. 137. p. 24 – via World Radio History.
  13. ^ "Picks and Pans Review: The Ultimate Love Mix". People. 15 February 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  14. ^ Guan, Frank (26 October 2017). "All 73 Sade Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best". Vulture. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  15. ^ "The Best 90s R&B Songs". Complex. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  16. ^ Johnston, Maura; Reeves, Mosi (8 August 2017). "The 30 Best '90s R&B Songs". Spin. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  17. ^ "500 Best Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  18. ^ "No Ordinary Love (1992) by Sade". IMVDb. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  19. ^ "Sade - No Ordinary Love (Official Music Video)". YouTube. 12 December 2009. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  20. ^ "Sade – No Ordinary Love". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  21. ^ "Sade – No Ordinary Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  22. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1839." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  23. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1729." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  24. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 48. 28 November 1992. p. 27. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  25. ^ "Adult Contemporary Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. 7 November 1992. p. 48. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  26. ^ "European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. 7 November 1992. p. 48. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  27. ^ 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.
  28. ^ "Sade – No Ordinary Love" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  29. ^ "Sade – No Ordinary Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  30. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 44. 31 October 1992. p. 22. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  31. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 49. 5 December 1992. p. 18. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  32. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 46, 1992" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  33. ^ "Sade – No Ordinary Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  34. ^ "Sade – No Ordinary Love". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  35. ^ "Sade – No Ordinary Love". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  36. ^ "Sade – No Ordinary Love". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  37. ^ "Sade: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  38. ^ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 5 June 1993. p. 20. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  39. ^ "Sade Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  40. ^ "Sade Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  41. ^ "Sade Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  42. ^ "Sade Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  43. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending February 6, 1993". Cash Box. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  44. ^ "The Cash Box Top R&B Singles – Week ending February 6, 1993". Cash Box. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  45. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 1993". Billboard. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  46. ^ "EMI Philippines – Urbandub". EMI Music Philippines. Retrieved 11 January 2008.
  47. ^ "When I Fall in Love overview". AllMusic.
  48. ^ "Chris Botti dating Katie Couric". SmoothVibes.com.
  49. ^ "No Ordinary Love (Walden Vs Havana Brown) – Single". iTunes Store. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
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