Sade dives headfirst into the dark realm for 'Soldier of Love' video

If love is a battlefield, consider the video for "Soldier of Love" a glimpse inside the dark and stormy headquarters of Sade's ground troops in the war for love. The 50-year-old British-Nigerian is playing for keeps and she's determined to claim victory no matter what it takes. Be it horse wrangling, ballroom dancing or karate, Sade demonstrates surprising grace, energy and sensuality. Particularly in the scene where she dons a silver, body-hugging jumpsuit and commandingly swings the lasso over the head while her flowing mane romantically blows in the wind. Hey, young kittens, this ol' pussycat's still got it.

Watch the video for Sade's "Soldier of Love" video below.

Judging by this video, it might not be presumptuous to say that Sade is a fan of grocery store romance novels. The whole video, with its melodramatic clouds of passion and wild, unbridled stallions, screams of dime novel artwork. The only thing it's missing is Fabio. But that doesn't detract from the beautiful atmosphere Sade has put together in this video. It's a thoroughly engaging video that smartly plays largely to Sade's strengths, while infusing a bit of youth and energy in the form of the dancing soldiers. Speaking of youth, while Sade is an older lady herself, the video is full of only young, athletic men. The message is clear: Cougars run this wild, wild west.

The only complaint is that the video drags on a bit toward the end. Some tighter editing would've reduced much of the redundancy of the last minute or so of the video. Especially since it's mainly the soldiers performing while Sade stands still, silently observing.

With "Soldier of Love," Sade is reminding us that she is not only a stunning vocal artist, but also a gifted visual story teller. While she's no Grace Jones, Sade's imagery has always been immaculately calculated and consistent, evoking smoldering sensuality with generous servings of class. With her lyrics Sade stokes fire in the heart, with her voice she warms the soul and with her visuals she takes you to another world. Enlist in Sade's army while you can.