Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby
Terence Trent D'Arby
1987
Album Summary
Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby is the debut studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby. It was released in July 1987 on Columbia Records, and debuted at number one in the UK, spending a total of nine weeks (non-consecutively) at the top of the UK Albums Chart. It hit number 1 in Australia and Switzerland. It was eventually certified 5× Platinum (for sales of 1.5 million copies). Worldwide, the album sold a million copies within the first three days of going on sale. The album was also a hit in the US, although its success was slower. It was released there in October 1987, eventually peaking at number four on May 7, 1988, – the same week that the single "Wishing Well" hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. It did peak higher on the Billboard R&B Albums chart at number one around the same time.Other singles from the album included "If You Let Me Stay", which was a top-ten hit in the UK, and "Sign Your Name", which reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two in the UK. A fourth single, "Dance, Little Sister", reached the UK top 20 as well. As was common for big-selling artists at that time, the singles were released in a plethora of limited editions in multiple formats. These were bolstered by a multitude of non-album studio and live tracks.
WikipediaTHIS IS THE BIGGEST, MOST IMPORTANT ALBUM SINCE SGT. PEPPER! I HAVE TALENT THAT HASN'T BEEN UNEARTHED SINCE MOZART! These were among the things Terence Trent D'Arby was openly proclaiming to the press upon this album's release. Then he backed off a little saying only, "I made the most brilliant debut album from any artist this decade.” After he faced a backlash for making such bold statements, he claimed he was joking. I don't think he was joking. He may not have made Sgt. Pepper, and he may not have been Mozart, but dude was immensely talented. And he wasn't really wrong about that last statement suggesting this was the best debut album of the decade. He reminds me of someone else who released an equally brilliant debut album around the same time: Nenah Cherry. Both D'Arby and Cherry should have been colossal stars. They both should have soared to the heights that say George Michael and Whitney Houston reached. But they both sort of fizzled out after their debuts (my theory is a lot of that stems from the fact that neither of them were really all that interested after their debuts). It's too bad, but at least we have the albums, which remain timeless and belong in the upper tier of this list. Somehow, Lenny Kravitz ended up having the career and fame that should have been Terence Trent D'Arby's. I'll take "Wishing Well" over "Fly Away" anytime. In fact, I'll take anything from this album over any Kravitz record. Lenny is no Terence. Lenny doesn't have anything that compares to "Dance Little Sister" or even "Seven More Days". D'Arby was just ahead of his time. I doubt his bold proclamations would have caused such an uproar had this album come out 20 years later (see: Kanye, among others). I "only" gave Nena Cherry's entry 4.5 stars, and immediately kicked myself for not giving it the 5 it deserved. I'm not making that same mistake again. Apparently, Terrence Trent D'Arby legally changed his name to Sananda Maitreya back in 2001, claiming TTD was dead. He's wrong. Terence still rules. And Wishing Well will outlive us all.
This album is real good. I think it's "Soul music" according to wiki (but I'm not in familiar territory here). Terence's voice is incredible and always turned up to 11; he's just constantly putting in energy and effort. The songs are varied and moving but sometimes have fun melodies like in "Wishing Well" and "Dance Little Sister". My favourite one is probably "Seven More Days", coz he really pushes his voice in that one. I like every song to be honest. Sometimes the repetition is a bit frustrating (like in "Let's Go Forward") but I think that's a trait that's pulled from gospel music so I'll accept that as a stylistic choice on his part. Besides, he has a beautiful five and a half minute acapella track ("As Yet Untitled") with zero repetition so I suppose he's really covered that basis of variety. And he ends the album on a really cathartic 6/8 song that makes me wanna slow dance ("Who's Loving You"), which I really dig. There's nothing that musically interesting about it, but it's an awesome ending and Terence's voice sort of explodes into each line.
It is rare for me to hate hi-nrg pop sound, and fortunately, this is not a member of that club. What is rare is for me to enjoy 80s soul music. This guy does not rival Prince or Michael Jackson, despite what his ego claims. Yet these dance tracks are funky and employ great use of synths and instruments, creating a distinctive 80s sound all throughout while at the same time holding an identity of its own. I did think the choice of the intro song was a weak choice, but almost all the songs were solid (I'm looking at you, "As Yet Untitled"), and it ended satisfactory. I may relisten to this if I'm looking for 80s soul that is not one of the big boys.
I get the sense much of this is directly addressed to black people--"dance little sister", "get up off that rockin' chair grandma", "pray for me", "don't give up your birthright"--a feeling reinforced by the way hooks emerge from D'Arby's heartfelt well-wishing. Not as pop device but as a way of unifying people through repetition focussing mental and spiritual faculties. [Something here about the oral tradition]. Just as the drums traverse the spectrum from filler match to main event, his voice traverses the spectrum from rough to honeyed so that, in a way, it feels like he's not only speaking to his audience but for them--in *their* voices. There are a few overstretches and misfires, but his spiritual generosity is catching, so I'll go high.
This was not for me..I wish it had stayed in the 80s where it came from.
I didn't really care for him when Wishing Well was all over the airwaves, and I don't care for him much now. He's got a soulful voice that got ruined by '80s production. Most of what I heard here sounds like what would later go on to be the Dave Matthews Band. Do with that what you will.
Giving it a 9 for now, but I didn't really get to focus on it properly because I was playing with excel. Will revisit.
This one, damn, van mijn sokken geblazen. Putting it on the Vynil buying list.
Ok...so...Im shook. I have two songs, of course they were all over radio but I never listened to the album. This is surprisingly good. I mean really good.
p584, 1987. 5 stars. 2022-01-25 1980s electro soul. Great voice, catchy hooks, great songs. Production a bit dated - cheesy synths - but still excellent and still sounds great today. I'd forgotten what a great album this is.
Brilliant - what a voice! At least 7 world-class songs on this album. Shame he went nuts after it.
I love this album, there isn’t a bad track on it and it flows from track to track. It’s been many years since I last listened to it, it’s now on my repeat playlist 5/5
Rating: 9/10 Best songs: If you all get to heaven, If you let me stay, Dance little sister, Seven more days, Rain, Sign tour name, Who’s loving you
The rest of the album is much better that the top 40 hit "Wishing Well:
look if you can't get laid when you put on "Sign My Name" on the stereo then man you just can't get laid.
Music is treasure because it evokes memories both remembered and forgotten. 1987 was a magical year for me and this album evokes that magic. Love it.
One of the weirdest things in pop music history. One of the best singers of the last 35-40 years makes, out of the blue, a smash hit debut album second half 80s (8M copies sold): this album which contains several great songs, including two absolute classics, and is nearly perfect in terms of production and flow.. .. then has some moderate European success a couple of albums later down the line (with songs just as strong as his debut modulo "Wishing Well" & "Sign Your Name").. ...and then changes his name, and just disappears to Italy, where he regular goes on tour, while all the time releasing 75-min to 3-hour albums, most of which could have easily been cut down to 3*-4* albums of 35-40 minutes. It is a bit of a mystery why in 1995 the Vibrator tour (with a great band with amongst others, Kevin Wyatt) did not put him back on the map - just listen to the impressive live version of "Let Her Down Easy" recorded in London '95 on Youtube. ..or not? -> check a 2017 Guardian interview or Nick Duerden's Exist Stage Left...
Both classics (Sign Your Name) and songs that cannot be listened (As Yet Untitled)
Dance little Sister, sign tour name, Wising well , if you letr me stay
I really liked this album! It was so funky and dancy, quite different than a lot of the other stuff we have listened to so far
Chłop ma flow jak GEORGE MICHAEL a wokalizy jak PRINCE kurwa sztosiwo ale szybko mnie męczy
Eigenlijk 4.5 sterren. Heel fijn album. If you all get to heaven is ook sterke opener, maar As Yet Untitled is de echte uitschieter hier.
Some really nice songs, but I doubt I will remember it in the future. Worse 4.
Very cool album. After reading the AM description, I can definitely see how Neo-soul followed this. Bring on D’Angelo, baby!
This was a fun poppy kinda album, it probably had some deep and dark brooding message that went right over my head but I enjoyed the sound to my ears
I recognized Wishing Well and Sign Your Name, but not the artist. It's a time capsule of the late 80s.
I should listen to more 80's music that didn't become super popular hit singles, although the singles on here were also really good.
Pretty cool album that blends R&B and rock in a prince-kinda way. Some pretty fun lyricism combined with funky beats and layered vocal arrangements. A fun time, would definitely listen to again- not a single bad song on the album.
Thought this might be pretty good. Sgt pepper it ain’t but still enjoyable!
Dance Little Sister is a brilliant song guaranteed to make me dance. His other hits are good too and the rest of the album was mellow. He has a lovely, soulful voice. 4*
Big Michael Jackson energy. I enjoyed the heck out of this. Some great hooks, and romantic grooves.
3.5 stars but I'll round up. Not something I would listen to regularly but I generally like it.
More 80s weird pop. Terence Trent D'Arby's voice is melodic and calm and passionate all at once and he carries these funky tunes with his performance. Dance Little Sister has hints of a much better Michael Jackson performance. Good - Wishing Well, Dance Little Sister, Sign your Name, Rain
J'ai eu la chance de tomber sur la version "Alben für die Ewigkeit" de l'album du jour, ce qui m'a permis de profiter d'une performance exceptionnelle. En effet, en plus des enregistrements originaux de Sananda Maitreya (ou Terence Trent D'Arbanville, c'est au choix), des adlibs issus des plus grandes personnalités de la musique allemande ont été rajoutés à chaque pré-refrain. Ici, c'est RIN qui vient nous gratifier de son "oh junge" legendaire. Là, c'est Sido qui vient répéter sans interruption "der beste Rapper ich bin". Nous avons même la chance d'assister à un salut nazi parfaitement efectué de la part de Xavier Naidoo en fin d'album. Une version collector à mettre entre toutes les mains.
Je tenais d'abord à préciser que cette critique sera probablement impactée par le fait que je me sois brûlé une partie de mon index gauche hier en mettant une bûche dans mon poêle à bois. J'ai beaucoup & mais alors beaucoup _-_ beaucoup aimé %%% cet album $$. Terence Trent D'Arby semble être né () d'un mariage entre Michael Jackson et Stevie Wonder "#/# à cette différence près qu'il possède un timbre immensément plus flûté. @@
Great hybrid fusion of pop, soul, rock, and funk! While he's no The Beatles or Mozart, this man always keeps the audience on their feet.
Ah - ah. Why do this to me? Didn't know until recently that Martyn Ware produced this album
Funky, soulful 80's pop. I actually like this guy better than Stevie Wonder - he's less saccharine. 4.5 stars.
6/27/2022 - ALBUM #151 Today's Album: "Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby" by Terence Trent D'Arby - This is a really great late 80s R&B pop album that demonstrates the talent of Terence D'Arby. The sound of this record is very reminiscent of sounds I've heard before from artists like Prince and Michael Jackson, but this time it feels like there is much more soul involved, with a lot of the more commercial and synthetic sounds that Jackson is known for being replaced with more creative auxiliary percussion. I particularly like how on some tracks, the guitar is used as more of a percussive instrument, only being placed in the back of the mix to serve some rhythmic purpose. The flow of this album is also something to compliment, with a really solid crop of tracks to start things off before transitioning into some of the slower or more experimental cuts, and then finally ending off with the extremely artful As Yet Untitled and the great closer, Who's Loving You. D'Arby maintains such a cohesive sound to this album, while still offering a lot of different kinds of tracks. If You All Get to Heaven is a heavier song, commanding the listener to pray for D'Arby's entry into heaven. If You Let Me Stay and Wishing Well are certified R&B bangers, Dance Little Sister is an energetic dance track, and As Yet Untitled is this slow spoken word poetry piece with harmonizing vocal lines splitting up the quiet verses. There are moments where the album does trail off and get a bit boring and I specifically think the track Rain sort of jumps the shark with the instrumental and gets a little too goofy, but the fantastic moments of this record demonstrate that this is not simply someone messing around. Overall, this is one of the most unique and fresh R&B albums I have heard and there are a ton of fun bangers in the track list to keep me coming back to it. Give this one a listen if you like Prince or MJ and want a new R&B pop influence. Highlights: If You All Get to Heaven, If You Let Me Stay, Wishing Well, I'll Never Turn My Back on You, Dance Little Sister, Sign Your Name, As Yet Untitled, Who's Loving You Score: 8/10 Some funky, soulful, and earthy R&B bangers
Elska þessa plötu. Nokkrir bangerar og afskaplega falleg lög þess á milli. 35 ár og 1 vika síðan hún kom út og hefur elst afskaplega vel.
Brilliant. When this came out, everyone thought Terence Trent D'Arby was the next big thing...then... what happened? This album is brilliant. But, TTD turned out to be a one-album wonder... like so many before him and since... 4.5/5
This is a case of an album, that has a very well-known song ('Sign Your Name'), but you had no idea who the vocalist or the band is. And I have to say, that's a real shame, because Terence Trent D'Arby, or Sananda Maitreya as he is known now, is a really talented and entertaining singer. The album started on a very high note with a great 'If You All Got To Heaven'. Funky and with some rock influence, masquerading as a soul song.The rest of the album is leaning more into a mix of funk and soul. And although it is not my favourite combination, I really enjoyed listening to the album. Very solid record, I'm happy that I found out about this album.
I enjoyed this album. Clean late-80s soul, reminded me of Stevie Wonder at times.
I always have a fable for essential 80s, and this hits a nice note, but never breaks through to be truly extravagant. I could listen to it all day on loop though.
Oooo, very soulful. Love the 80s sounds (drums especially). Huey Lewis meets Marvin Gaye.
I thought this was a really good one. Though I have to say my favourite song was probably the first one, and the others on the album weren't quite as good to me, but overall this was still a great album with some 80s pop. Favourite: If You All Get to Heaven
I enjoyed this much more than I expected to. The music incorporated elements of soul, funk, R&B, as well as some more latin flavored genres to create something that had a great groove that held throughout while exploring more unusual rhythms and melodies. I was only familiar with 'Wishing Well,' but I found the rest of the album to be just as memorable.
I LOVE Michael Jackson. I LOVE Stevie Wonder. I DON’T MIND Prince. I’m not that bothered about 80s power-pop-soul. This album has some decent tracks on it but it’s not anywhere near as good as it thinks it is.
Если бы на этом альбоме не было инструментов, он бы всё равно мне очень понравился. Теренс Трент Д'Арби обладает настолько потрясающим голосом, что он мог бы вытащить один альбом целиком на чистом вокале. Меня очень порадовало что фокус здесь не только на его голосе, но и на замечательном инструментале, который привносит немного души в каждый трек. Также стоит отметить очень чёткий и точнейший продакшн, который радовал мои уши на протяжении всего альбома - каждый инструмент слышно чётко, никакой музыкальной каши. В общем и целом прекрасный альбом. (7.5 - 8)
80s but good. Huge choruses that work due to pure power. A maximalist sound that fits with the artists character, and a general cohesion that makes the record work in an albun format, rather than feeling like a singles collection. A great record.
If You All Get to Heaven- 8.4 If You Let Me Stay- 7.8 Wishing Well- 7 I'll Never Turn My Back on You- 8.6 Dance Little Sister- 8.5 Seven More Days- 7.6 Let's Go Forward- 7.8 Rain- 8 Sign Your Name- 7.6 As Yet Untitled- 7.3 Who's Loving You- 7.8
Unbelievable as it seems, I've never listened to this record. The hits from this are amazing, the vocal only track is great too!
The man formerly known as Terence Trent D'Arby is a very interesting guy; a man with a vision that firmly supported a boatload of talent that was best exemplified with this album. Introducing the Hardline According to... is a tantalizing hodgepodge of late 80s musical excess and a musical future that only he could see lain ahead and what would later inform his successive work. No wonder he went ahead and did what he felt was for the benefit of not only the industry (who coolly thought otherwise) but for himself in the long-run. Favorites: If You All Get to Heaven, If You Let Me Stay, Wishing Well, Dance Little Sister, Let's Go Forward, As Yet Untitled.
Finally, some good fucking r&b. This thing is soulful and catchy, but it’s also weird as hell at times, in a bold and clever way. I like the weird synth instruments. They really help push this album from ordinary to extraordinary.
i liked it! "seven more days", "let's go forward", & "sign your name" are nice.
Täysin uusi tuttavuus itselleni. Näköjään Suomessakin tätä levyä on myyty kultalevyn arvoisesti eli ilmeisesti jotain aukkoja on omassa sivistyksessäni. Kovasti on haettu vaikutteita Princestä ja muista kasaritykittelijöistä. Tykkäsin laulajan äänestä ja levyn äänimaailmasta, jossa on sopivasti kaikenlaista kikkailua ja pimputtelua. En tiedä palaanko levyn pariin enää koskaan, mutta tässä hetkessä jäi varsin positiivinen mielikuva. Kovasti keikkui kolmosen ja nelosen välillä mutta tällä kertaa näin.
This is his first album. It went platinum in like three days in the UK. Reminds me a lot of Michael Jackson. Really good album!
A weird album. The artist clearly has talent and there are some great funky rhythms going on here, but it's mixed with completely bizarre songs like his interpretation of the "rain, rain, go away" children's song. The album's worth a listen for the curious, but somebody looking for something to enjoy listening to can skip straight to the singles.