Stronger Than Pride

Stronger Than Pride is the third studio album by English band Sade, released by Epic Records in the United Kingdom on 3 May 1988 and in the United States on 10 May 1988. In September 2018, Pitchfork placed the album at number 37 on its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". The album spawned five singles.

Critical reception
Robert Christgau of The Village Voice stated, "I'm glad this self-made aristocrat has a human side, but I prefer her image: now that she's singing billets-doux, she's even further from rewarding the concentration she warrants than she used to be. Touching your beloved with a few true cliches is hard enough. For an audience you have to come up with something that doesn't fade into the background like the new age jazz she went pop with."

Kristine McKenna of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The nine songs on Stronger Than Pride add up to one long plea of desire, and as the album makes its way up the charts—as it surely will—armies of love-struck men will no doubt dream of losing themselves in Sade's quiet storm of passion."

AllMusic's Ron Wynn commented that "Sade demonstrated some intensity and fire on her third release. Whether that was just an attempt to change the pace a bit or a genuine new direction, she had more animation in her delivery on such songs as 'Haunt Me,' 'Give It Up,' and the hit 'Paradise.' Not that she was suddenly singing in a soulful or bluesy manner; rather, Sade's dry and introspective tone now had a little more edge, and the lyrics were ironic as well as reflective. This was her third consecutive multi-platinum album, and it matched the two-million-plus sales level of her debut."

Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Stronger Than Pride.

Sade

 * Stuart Matthewman – guitars, saxophone
 * Sade Adu – vocals
 * Andrew Hale – keyboards
 * Paul S. Denman – bass
 * Sade – arrangements

Additional personnel

 * Leroy Osbourne – vocals
 * Martin Ditcham – drums, percussion
 * James McMillan – trumpet
 * Jake Jacas – trombone
 * Gordon Hunte – guitar (tracks 2, 8)
 * Nick Ingman – string arrangements (tracks 4, 9)
 * Gavyn Wright – solo violin (track 4)

Technical

 * Sade – production
 * Mike Pela – engineering, co-production
 * Ben Rogan – engineering, co-production
 * Melanie West – engineering assistance
 * Vince McCartney – engineering assistance
 * Franck Segarra – engineering assistance
 * Olivier de Bosson – engineering assistance
 * Alain Lubrano – engineering assistance
 * Jean-Christophe Vareille – engineering assistance
 * Herb Powers Jr. – mastering at Frankford/Wayne Mastering Labs (New York City)

Artwork

 * Levon Parian – cover photograph
 * Toshi Yajima – inner photograph
 * Graham Smith – design