My long sabbatical from writing music reviews seems to be over, and now I can return to my habit of turning people on to old and new music that they probably have never heard of, but should hear of anyway. One of the artists that I championed earlier on was none other than Terence Trent D'Arby, or as he insists to be called now, Sananda Maitreya. This means "light of God", and in D'Arby's music we find bits of heavenly bliss that separate the often extreme corniness of the lyrics with the mundane and pure. No artist in my mind is more deserving of a wider hearing based off of one truly exceptional album, but D'Arby is the rare exception. In fine and spectacular voice, he delivers what should have been the follow-up to 'Introducing the Hardline..." and makes a case for his album being greater than the Beatles's 'Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band'.
Recorded largely alone in Milan, Italy, the place where he relocated after his religious conversion, the record is a trademark blend of pop, jazz, rock, and soul influences that due justice to the claim that D'Arby is one of the fathers of the neo-soul movement. It has the wide-ranging eclecticism of "Symphony or Damn' and 'Vibrator' while being much better sung and executed, a potential hit had it been released on a major label. D'Arby's poses on the sleeve and inside the little booklet show that he is one of the sexiest black rock stars of all-time, certainly better-looking than Hendrix or Prince. And his aphoristic liner notes are genuinely moving and well-written, as are the lyrics to the 19 songs contained within the package.
With all of this in mind, the aural journey begins like this:
1.O Divina opens as a gentle voice-and-banjo duet with D'Arby singing the lines "fundamentally sound/my karma's coming round/and I'm not worried" before an immediately warm and effervescent wash of jazzy pianos and strings signify that the dark mood has changed. He begins to employ a gymnastic tenor voice that hits several high notes without strain and that bounces along with the music. The percussion is very lush and tangible, and the sweetness of his voice merely caresses the background while not seeming at all overpowered in it. Instantly catchy and accessible, O Divina was meant to be played at top volume on a rainy day so that it could extinguish the clouds in expectation of the sun.
2.Designated Fool finds Terence finally employing a more modern r&b sound that is immediately approachable, and like the former track, radio worthy. "She's a teacher/of unbelievable skill/I once loved her/and I pay the bill" he sings lasciviously over some slinky percussion and, to borrow a term from more recent hip-hop, booty-popping bass. The sexual metaphor of a teacher in a skimpy dress has been used by a lot of people, but somehow in Terence's song it sounds so new, and oh so dirty..., when you first hear it.
3.My Dark Places is an inspired song with plenty of rousing vocal turns from D'Arby. who starts out singing it as sort of a declaration before the music sets in and it becomes at once anthemic. Musically it sounds a bit like Stevie Wonder or Sly Stone, with some warm, organic-sounding keyboards that are filtered out by programmed/live drums and an irresistible syncopated bass hook. All of which D'Arby played himself and then dubbed onto the vocal track. "Slaying my dragons to learn how to love them" go the particularly oddball lyrics. His references to rainbows are down right embarassing.
4.The Inner Scream begins with the sound of static fading before an industrial-style groove takes over, D'Arby's voice purposely mixed down low as real and programmed percussion set up this wall of industrialized noise. It's a bit reminiscent of NIN, although much more accessible. The key to this track is the loud/soft dynamic of alternative rock. D'Arby mixes his voice up an cotave higher in the song's climax and then begins wailing his head off as the percussion sort of caves-in on itself. A skittery, bare bassline is what keeps this from verging on unlistenable, though again, it makes up a knockout batch of opening songs to boot.
5.SRS*366 is an electronica-meets-funk workout that reminds you sort of of 'Symphony or Damn'. I can tell you that the drums are processed, the guitar and bass build up organically before getting their fair does of electronics, and the vocals are like those of a fiery preacher on his pulpit. To call this track outstanding would be risking total redundancy.
6.Drivin Me Crazy builds off of a Dallas Austin-produced keyboard vamp and D'Arby's measured, very expressive vocal deliver. The groove is barely there, as it's just that vamp supported by minimalist bass and drum machines, yet it's so infectious that it needs no other instrument to declare it's greatness, not even a guitar. "You're drivin' me crazy/because you won't be my baby" goes the almost sixties girl-group style hook, with D'Arby given free reign to scale the octaves, coming off like his old self reincarnated.
7.Suga Free pairs a baroque violin with various studio effects, drum machine beats, and a hip-hop influenced chorus, with personality and excellent lyrics to boot. "My baby's gone suga free/my sweet tooth has lost another cavity, yo" sings a definitively dirty D'Arby over the baroque violin and studio beats. The former helps to build suspence each time he reaches the chorus, while the verses are satureated in pure lust over the latter's dazzling array of pro tools machinery. Way to go D'Arby.
8.What Shall I Do is a moving five-and-a-half-minute piece of folk-rock balladry that finds Terence ably playing the acoustic guitar over what has to be a session band backing him. He forces himself just a tad bit on the word "do" in the hook to the chorus, but his lyrics shine through, revealing a genuine sense of heartche that must stand amongst the most aching love songs of all time. "What shall I do/if I can't have you here with me/could you tell me, what shall I do" goes the chorus before it breaks down into my favorite couplet of all, "the only thing that time will change, is whether/I can retrieve, my heart when you leave". OK, so TTD can be a cornball at times, I know. Stop hating his skills.
9.Testify is one of the few tracks that will not distinguish itself because of how tired one can become of the neo-soul sound after it has been played forever. The vocals and lyrics hold up to repeated plays, but the music lets it down because it's just too organic, too full of overblown fluff-balladry to qualify as even a recommended track. So that's why I won't recommend it!
10.Shalom takes the jazz-soul-rock of 'Vibrator's "Undeniably" and expands it into a seamless hybrid of African American music. D'Arby scat-sings, croons, and eases his way gently through the backstreets, hoping the title girl will stop to him and say hello. A wonderful jazz band adds warm horn and tangible percussion to what is undoubtedly a smooth-soul style outing for D'Arby. And at under four minutes, it corrects the overly-long tendencies of his last album, sounding ready for commercial consumption.
11.Girl is one of my personal favorites. It has this swelling chorus of nothing more than Terence singing the word "girl" in a heady, very cerebral type of way that gets caught in your head. The music is similar, with the bass dominating over any sort of percussion or guitar. It all works because there is no strain to prove anything anymore to him, and he sings so smoothly that you could almost certainly cut through the music with a butterknife.
12.Everythang is not a personal favorite of mine. It replicates the soft/loud dynamic of "The Inner Scream" in it's climaz while sounding like enjoyable, although not escpecially exciting, r&b/electronica music.
13.Be Willing is a fast-paced, inspirational-filled r&b track with not much of a musical foundation, driven moreso by the voice than any other instrument. I guess that after a strong opening salvo of the songs, D'Arby begins to trail off briefly for the sake of nobody but himself. He does return with some pretty good songs afterward though.
14.Some Birds Blue is like an update of "Billy Don't Fall" from 'Neither Fish Nor Flesh' that is mired in a mellow, bass-heavy groove with some smooth singing by D'Arby and some rather relevant lyrical commentary on the state of a child in the world today. I would listen to it purely for that, but not for any entertainment value whatsoever.
15.Sweetness is fairly nondescript in a I've-heard-it-all-before type of way. D'Arby sounds like Sam Cooke might have sounded had he ever lived to grow old. The music is not eye-popping or extraordinary, but is wonderfully listenable.
16.Goodbye Diane is one of the greatest rock songs of all time, no BS! Opening with a guitar amp being turned down, it then explodes out of the speakers with as much authority as a Hendrix song. D'Arby has only grown better as a vocalist, singing at his most raspy and naked over some angular guitar playing, smooth-sounding bass and driving live percussion. "Once upon a time I said/some pretty f*cked up things/if ignorance is this vile/then knowledge has made me wasteful" goes the opening line, which will immediately grab your attention as soon as you hear it. D'Arby develops a creamy, sort of lush rock that is endlessly playable and also stylish.
17.And They Will Never Know is a playful pop/rock song that only ups the ante on the previous track, sounding very good with a full band handling most of the instruments, enabling the singer to focus on just that: singing. This song sounds like a young power-pop group had just put it together, not a 39 year old man.
18.Sayin About You addresses the rumors of D'Arby's mental insanity in a way I think most, even serious TTD heads, would not have expected. He employs an androgynous tenor voice and sings the lines alternately in a masculine and feminine way, while his bass and guitar work ooze out of the speakers with the type of r&b-rock sound that Lenny Kravitz has yet to discover. This is up there with "Do You Love Me Like You Say?" as a signature D'Arby piece.
19.Shadows unfolds with a mellotron-like opening soundscape before immersing itself in an array of studio effects, programmed drums, and a nice vocal to put the icing on the cake. After 19 songs, my hands are tired and I may need to take another sabbatical. The listener may need to digest the album in halves, as I did over the course of one day. Or if you prefer mixtapes, please place this song onto it immediately.
TTD's 19-track opus will only confirm his greatness to some, while leaving others as baffled as before.
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Listening
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