Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby

Wow did TTD'A get the wrong idea about how good this was, which was pretty much pretty (good), like not that much above decent. One likes the voice and vocal style, and thinks "Wishing Well" is perfectly fine, better than a lot of other throwaway hits that became songs of the season, and unaccountable that it ever did in the first place. And weird he changed his name, but this music is not intriguing enough to figure out why.

I listened to this yesterday and already remember nothing about it. It was just a little too consistent throughout I think so nothing stuck out. If i remember correctly, wishing well was fun. I think if i could have just paid closer attention to the lyrics the whole time it could have been a good experience but it didn’t draw me in.

This album was kinda like candy, it tasted good but lacked pretty much all nutrients. It also started really sweet but then quickly lost its flavor. So while I greatly enjoyed it, it didn’t provide much meaningful substance and lost much of its appeal a few tracks in. I think it’s mostly the lyrics to blame for that as often the instrumentation and his voice were amazing, creative, and extremely varied. Actually I take that back, sometimes the instrumentation was a bit lackluster. Overall fine album though.

Who is this targeted towards? It's not bad per say, but it's definitely not good. Sounds like something that is on an easy listening station or in the background at your dentist's office. I don't understand the appeal of music like this. It's just innocuous and inoffensive noise. It could be on in the background while there's chaos all around and it wouldn't elevate the stress of the situation. Maybe that's the point? I also get the feeling that the lead singer is one of those that wears weird ass shit and acts all hard on stage while playing the most vanilla garbage (side note, I googled him. Yep, his outfits are ridiculous and totally not matched to how bland this music is). Kind of like a soft Lenny Kravitz (who is basically the same thing with a mildly harder edge). I don't get it. 1/5, but in the most polite way possible because being angry about music this soft seems profane.

На своєму дебютному альбомі Terence Trent D'Arby дуже вдало зміг змішати ретро елементи класичного соулу та більш сучасне, на той час, звучання, що частково нагадує Майкла Джексона. Звісно, до Джексона Terence не доріс, але все тим не менш, альбом все ж вартий уваги у розрізі R&B релізів свого часу. Як на мене, найбільш цікавою його рисою є те, що альбом ніби як одночасно і "свіжий і ностальгічний". При чому "свіжим" він відчувається навіть в наш час, а деякі його мелодії і досі здатні дивують своєю харизматичністю, взяти хоча б ту саму Wishing Well. А якщо говорити про більш "класичну" та енергійну соул/фанк складову - то у ній Terence ніби як "риба у воді" та із легкістю "грається з вокальним діапазоном". Насправді, більше особливо про нього і нема шо казати - вельми гарний R&B свого часу, який 100%-во зможе подарувати гарний настрій.

OK I don't get it. Like there isn't that much to actually get but I don't. I just hear some like movie credits songs and some singer songwriter stuff. And that'd it. I guess I just don't understand this one it should at least be decent to me but I didn't even gel that much. Idk mannnnn

Wow, this was wonderful. It's kinda making me want to go back and re-listen to INXS.

Way more fun than the album cover discloses!

Suprisingly good. He has a good voice and heard at least 4 of these tracks before. Great range in his voice. A bit background if i am honest cannot get massivley excited but pleasant enough

A couple fun r&b hits

Bit of a snoozer this one. Couple of decent tracks which i gather were the singles, but the production is a bit bland and his voice wasn't stirring much emotion out of me. Doubt i'll return.

Production is solid but this doesn’t click for me

3.5

I am partial to a bit of 80s cheese

seemed good enough but not my style Will I listen to again: 10%

it's alright, not impressed so far

This was fun for me. A trip back to the first couple years of college. I remember thinking he was going to be a much bigger deal than he ended up being.

Didn't mind the listen and also didn't mind the tracks that popped up after.

Meh...just a load of meh. 1.5/5

21 year old me listened to this album in cassette tape form over and over again. No denying that the vocals are amazing. I’m enjoying a quick trip down memory lane, but 58 year old me is finding it easy to leave this back in the 80’s.

I was not aware of this one prior to the list but i enjoyed it!

Not really my cup of tea. Too watery.

Horrible person horrible music horrible singing

While I am generally trying to separate art from artist in my album listening journey, everything about this guy from the album title to the name change screams huge ego and attention seeker. That even comes across in the overly performative music, which is decent at best, much less than “the most important album since Sgt Pepper” as Terence (Sananda?) had put it. The college dropout and army deserter has since blamed media execs for his failure of a career. Boasting your way to top of the charts puts a sour taste in my mouth and I think he deserves way less credit than he gave himself, which is evident given his work has never become relevant since. Now truly separating the artist, the album itself is fine. Dated, unimpressive, self-indulgent, but boring mostly. And who the hell wants to listen to a cover of a nursery rhyme?

First listen I really enjoyed this, second time round a bit less so. Still some good tracks to be had though.

fun listen, probably won’t go back but enjoyed

Somewhere between Prince and a soul singer… not bad at all.

Not really my jam

Plasticky overproduced 80s soul. Sounds like a one hit wonder artist. Maybe with a more organic arrangement it would have sounded better. That said the second half is slightly better.

Forgot how great this is

This would not have been a quick album to make. Heavy Heavy Heavy production and has not aged well. TTD'A is clearly a talented man, but this is too polished and slick for my punky tastes.

Who’s loving you is the one. The rest is averagely vibey

agood 4 songs on here, great cover at the end.

I liked Wishing Well I think. Also is he the guy from adventures in babysitting

Pretty meh except wishing well

La canción mas conocida es Sign your name y Dance little sister

Pretty cool

Will be listening again. We really enjoyed this one. A cool feeling to it - we recognised a few songs unexpectedly. Some quality 80a fair (and we don't mind the slight overproduction classic of the era)

A full length pop version of the children’s song “Rain Rain Go Away” had me wondering if there were only 1001 albums ever recorded for this to make the list.

I have heard some of these songs on the radio, but didn't really care for them then, and definitely didn't care about them now.

Now I know who Bruno Mars ripped off. Doesnt make it sound any less dated, though. 2/5

6/10 This is one of those “I get that it is good but not for me” albums. Lots of variation showcasing an obvious vocal and production talent, but still somehow a little boring to me. I knew way more of this than I expected to. Best: If You Let Me Stay

A competent R&B/Soul/Pop record. Love the '80s production. In later years I could have dealt with less of his identity crisis bs and his narcissism. Despite what you think Terence, you are not as imaginative or skilled as Prince or Michael Jackson, but you are ann above average 80s soul artist and that is good enough. I definitely enjoy him more than D'Angelo tracks from the 90s and 2000s. A good mood record, but only the singles "Wishing Well" and "Sign Your Name" live in my library. And yes, they were there before this algorithm recommended this album. Like other reviewers I had wished that he had leaned into a little more funk and dance with some of his tracks to increase the variety.

10/10 Holy moly i aint never heard of this jit before but oh my this album is a certified masterpiece fr fr

Artificial sweetener.

3 hit singles and I vaguely recognise the rest because my sister bought this and played it loads. I never liked it!

“GET OUTTA YOUR ROCKING CHAIR GRANDMA!!! is a quote and a half. Really Caught me off guard haha. Overall this was pretty enjoyable. Wishing Well was great.

Bland 80s nothingness. Last track was pretty good though.

Cool!

I am preemptively annoyed by this album. OK, fine, the artist changed their name. I still sort of think it should be under the name used when they released the album(*), but ok. But Spotify also changed the name of the album to Introducing the Hardline According to Sananda Maitreya with a release date of 1987. WTF, you don't get to retroactively change the name of the album, that is very much not the name of the album that was released in 1987. This is the mood I'm in going in to listening to this album. It's fine, I'm just in no mood to listen to it today. Sorry Sananda. (*) ok, so discussion item. Elliot Page transitioned during the run of Umbrella Academy. Cool, good for him. But if you go back and watch (watch, not read about or something - they re-edited the video) the earlier season, the credits lists Elliot Page. But that wasn't Elliot Page. I know this is just one of the wonderful things about humans that don't need to fit into my programmer brain, but it seems strange. Kind of want to buy our local librarian a beer and ask questions about a personal right to identity and a societal right to accurate data. Or a slightly abstracted form of that which doesn't involve gender identity, which is in itself not really the point.

Hmm, I don’t really know this artist by either name. Tried to give it a chance but I skipped through this one pretty quickly, I guess it’s not my favorite.

I skipped around a lot. Even Wishing Well, which I remembered wasn't all that great. Light pop R&B, nothing special to me.

Better than I expected but not great.

never heard it before ... and I liked most of it.

Origineel, niet helemaal mijn ding, maar wel echt iets anders.

Like Michael Jackson but less iconic. Still pretty good, it just isn’t my favorite genre.

Ok 80s album.

Fine but not really my type of music.

I thought I had never heard of this guy- but I actually knew a few of these songs (Wishing Well being the big one). 80s synth soul, not earth shattering but not horrible either

I really enjoyed the last 4 songs. So much that it brought this album up from a 2 to a 3.

Excellent album

It's an ok album.

Didn’t bother to listen. Didn’t like it 40 years ago, no desire to listen now.

(1) Lord, I hate 1980s pop production styles. The sound of these drums makes me want to smash a pair of Oakley sunglasses. (2) I discovered as I was searching for this recording that the artist eventually went back to his birth name. I feel like that is a positive sign about our progress as a species.

I remember what a big impact this album had when it came out, and while it wasn't really to my taste, it's hard to deny that it's a well-produced and entertaining album with a surprising number of singles, especially for a debut album. I remember thinking at the time that there wasn't a lot of range to the tracks on this album, and nothing has really changed re-listening to this album as part of the collection. (I was also amused to watch the *very* 80s video for "Wishing well", complete with him doing some weird combination of Michael Jackson and James Brown moves, a surprisingly small guy playing a surprisingly large sax, and a taller backup singer who looks suspiciously like Will Ferrell (playing a backup singer). It's also impressive that the live video of "Dance little sister" from The Roxy in 1987 has all of these elements too--he has good live energy, but also a weirdly limited range of styles and moves.) I never really wondered what happened to him after this album, but the Wikipedia entry on him seems to reinforce that this album was probably his career's highlight, despite producing plenty of music afterwards, as both Terence Trent D'Arby and then post-1995 as Sananda Maitreya. However, it also sounds like his confidence and self-esteem never flagged in the years afterwards.

nice 80s vibe--feels like it's two stars/one slot with him against Fine Young Cannibals.

Some real nostalgia on this album, I had no clue some of these songs from my childhood were all the same person. Some solid grooves and soulful tracks on this album, but it's definitely dated (production sounds exactly what you'd expect from something that dropped in the late 80s).

That was pretty enjoyable, especially the late 80s rnb vibes. I get the criticism that it tends to treat itself too seriously - as if, instead of being content with making a great pop album, Terence tries to make it like a big piece of art, which it really isn't. And yeah, the acapella song is a perfect embodiment of this, annoying as hell.

Didn't expect to like it but didn't expect to hate it this much. Doesn't even have his one good song, "Wishing Well."

Loved it and saved to my collection!

Sounds like typical 80's radio to me. You can sing with passion but there's not much point of you don't actually take any risks

Meh. It's an 80's pop album. This guy was a one-hit wonder, and I don't know why he's on the list. There wasn't anything special about the album. His straining to hit higher registers got annoying.

- It is a disservice to Maitreya to say that he is the "We already have Michael Jackson at home" of singers. But the similarities in vocals kept bumping me. Maitreya is more raw and that can be exciting. - Some of these are very dated ("Rain"), but others still stand out in a good way, most notably "If You Let Me Stay" and "Let's Go Forward." - Some interesting lyrics. "As Yet Untitled is particularly beautiful.

Terrence Trent D’Arby once said ‘ One thing about Italians is you can't let them in your head. They're inquisitive. The English and Germans are a dog tribe; the Italians are cats. They're very helpful, but it's in their own rhythm, their own way, and it can drive you crazy’. Which is mad cos Houmous & Chutneys 17th studio album was called Italian Pussy. Everyone thought it was about Len’s love affair with Nancy Dell’Olio but in fact it was because we saw Italians as very cool cats! 3.7

Great voice - arrangements sort of remind me of Hall & Oates - pretty cool laid back sound. Works for me...

3/5

Too poppy for me, but a couple of classic tunes

Two or three catchy tunes. Not much more.

Ich wusste nicht das der "Sign Your Name" gemacht hat, so ein geiler Song :D "Wishing Well" auch super, aber der Rest hat mir nicht so zugesagt :( Als Gesamtwertung für das Album daher dennoch nur 3 Sterne, auch wenn die beiden bereits genannten Songs echte Banger sind.

Fands okay, fühlte mich verführt. War überrascht, als man das eine Lied kannte.

listened to again it's not the worst but i don't think it's great

Tries very hard to be Prince. It's a noble ambition but there is only one Prince. As Yet Untitled is a good song but the rest is just filler and the singles don't hit.

I really wanted to like it, but I didn't.

Gospel album produced like an 80s pop album. Undeniable vocal talent, very indicative of 80s pop music.

Pretty decent album. Some great tunes from my youth.

The last two tracks on this album, “As Yet Untitled” and “Who’s Loving You,” are 🔥🔥🔥 vocals performances.

Favorite Track: Who's Loving You

you gotta love that 80s pop production where all the instrumentation sounds like it was recorded in an aluminum shack

Wow what a masterpiece this was

Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D’Arby (if that is his real name) Uninspiring. Was hard not to skip tracks. I understand he had some singles off this but it’s all just boring 2

supposedly sounded better before, now the voice sounds like it's being squeezed out. It's still bearable, but one listen is enough.

Couple of bangers. Rest easy listen

Its Ok doesnt bother me. Good songs and productionwise it works. Not my type of music but I can hear its a good album overall

3/10 This shit used to put me to sleep at night when I listened to the local R&B station. This and Don't rock the boat baby. I bored myself writing this and am now done. 1-28-2025

stopped listening 4 songs in, not my thing

One hit, too much 80s schlock.

Was not familiar with the artist or the album. After listening, I realized I did not miss much after all these years. Unmemorable.

I’m loving Who’s Loving You.

This just didn't do it for me. Didn't really find the songs too memorable, but his voice is incredible.

This guy can really sing. There's some Michael Jackson, some Stevie Wonder, some gospel, and also some Neville Brothers-esque weirdness. The 80s of it all is not really to my taste, but it's funky and soulful enough that I think it still works. Imagine if this guy had come around 10 years earlier, or perhaps 10 years later.

With every song I was more shocked I had never heard of this.

what a title.

Voice of an angel. Music that’s only ok. 3/5

It aight

I enjoyed most of this album. Some of the songs are a bit too much "crying" for my taste, but not bad overall.

Wishing well is elevated by the quirky woodwind breaks, but otherwise this is pretty unremarkable 80s pop R&B. Not great, not bad.

Terence Trent D'arby, or rather Sananda Maitreya, wrote some of the most classic soul tracks of the 80s. This is a great album with those classic tracks. My favourite, as is most, "Sign Your Name". Enjoyable, despite being a little predictable.

2-3 - Interesting….

I can see why some people really like this album. Sadly I’m not one of those people. A few good songs.

Not that I was wondering what happened to D’Arby…he changed his name and I must’ve missed the memo. Not that I was looking for it. The guy has got the talent and I liked “Wishing Well” back when.

Först tänkte jag några sekunder in. Fan. Lite 80-rals aktigt. Men det tonade ner och sen tänkte jag inte på det alls. Det är en jämnbra skiva. Han sjunger riktigt bra. Man kan definitivt sätta på den här och lyssna från början till slut.

Sign your name och Wishing well är ju klassiker och tycker denna höll ihop bra rakt igenom. Lider lite av 80-talsproduktionerna på ett par låtar, men ändå en bra skiva.

2.7 Progressively got worse as it went on. What started as a pretty good, MJ-esque visit got quickly tiring. I think my enjoyment also took a sharp nosedive halfway through when I read that he said this was the most important album since Sgt Peppers, and that his disappearence into obscurity in his later career was a result of 'bias'. What a bellend. The music is particularly bad, it's just not particularly good. The best song is not even his own, which shows the weakness of the song writing. And even then it's not a candle on the Jackson's version. Scrapes a 3*

It was shit then, and it’s still shit now. One star for consistency

Really good singing, but the songs are just good or decent.

My review vanished. I was underwhelmed.

I had real nostalgia for this album. But not as musically or vocally great as I remember.

I’m so torn by this record. It reminds me of my first term at Uni when all the cool kids loved TTD and played him non-stop including my room-mate. I was not a fan and never claimed to be cool! And he came across as a smug, arrogant tosspot. If you notice any theme in my reviews is that any one who displays these traits annoys me. So he rubs me up the wrong way. But I do know all the tunes and words and I didn’t hate them this time around.

Terence Trent D'Arby Sananda Maitreya may be many things, but modest doesn't seem to be one of them. Which is fine, except it mars his artistry in that he can't seem to stop himself from trying to hit his highest vocal note in every song, over and over, which gets super tiresome. I own a couple of his albums, including this one (I like "Vibrator" better), but it's telling that I only uploaded half the tunes to my Apple Music app, because I tire of listening to D'Arby stretch himself constantly in the name of emotion. Or something. So perhaps not a coincidence that the massive hit on the album, "Sign Your Name," features none of that bluster. Neither does "Wishing Well," which is my favorite on the album. Those two songs make me think D'Arby was very influenced by Prince's 1985 "Around The World In A Day" album, and if the rest of the material was on par with them, this would be a 5-star album. But I think D'Arby just couldn't get out of his own way, which means there are flashes of real brilliance amidst a whole lotta too much.

i couldn't get into this record back then, and i still didn't care for it today. absolutely nothing works for me, but the 80s production really keeps me at a distance.

Ooooh the nostalgia is strong on this one. Somehow I completely missed his name change. Kinda cool that both names are really beautiful and melodic...just like this album. The sounds really scream late 80s and I love that.

Wishing Well is a clear standout so I guess it was a great choice for single, otherwise many of these songs wear out their welcome. I don't dislike any of it really but it's just ok. Not really hearing what made him so hyped back in 87.

2.5

Couple good performances- great voice. Dated flat album.

It's OK. I remembered the critical hype when this album came out.. Never matched the public disinterest as a whole.. Me too... 6.3, ★★★

Sorry, but this does not do much for me. He sounds like a worse and more boring Prince. 2.5 stars

I've only ever heard "Wishing Well" and "Sign Your Name", and that's with good reason I suppose. The rest is pretty mid 80s R&B. 2.5 stars.

No hardline as such, this is album is squishier than the squishiest clean up on aisle 3. Perhaps more like The Flatline. Super rancid 80s hospital. radio squared with supermarket radio featuring soggy, boring grooves all played by a singer who seem like a bland smush between Prince, MJ and Stevie Wonder. I’m normally a big sucker for 80s pop and RnB but this was way too iffy and derivative.

Just found out that he no longer goes by Terence Trent D'arby and now goes by Sananda Maitreya. They even re-released this album with his new name, which is cool, but I had the original on CD. It's a good, not as great as he thought it was when it came out, but it's a good listen. Does it need to heard by everyone before they die? Not at all, but it's decent. Good tunes: Wishing Well Dance Little Sister Sign Your Name 3/5

Very, very 80s. The most plastic soul.

It's very rare that you get to see "one-album-wonders", especially on this list. I can smell the Prince production all over this. Even a lot of the vocalisations are similar to Prince's. I think our overexposure to 80's nostalgia these days is really what detracts from this album. It's not q bad album and I enjoyed it, but it just sounds like EVERY other piece of music from the 80's: Rhythm trumpets, that tinny reverb drum, deep bass, expressive vocals and heavy synths. Switch the vocalist and you may as well have a Prince song, or Depeche Mode, or Peter Gabriel, or any of the 9000 other artists from the 80's that sung over instrumentals exactly like this one. It's a shame because this bloke has a really good voice, he's just a product of the time, and once you get a few songs into the album you really do realise this production style is a one trick pony. It runs out of substance, and fast. If You Let Me Stay seems like the standout song from this record in terms of theme and tone. Apart from that, the song where he just sings a children's nursery line over some shitty 80's synth drum beat and ad-libs "PUT ON YOUR WETSUIT YEAH 🤘🤘", Jesus that was horrible. That being said, Who's Loving You was an incredible song and probably my favourite on the album. If I could give this a 3.5 I would, because it's not bad, but it just lacks flavour in a lot of the songs. Also recency bias makes me like this album more because the final track is such a colossal banger.

Introducing The Hardline According to Terrence Trent D'arby - Terrence Trent D'arby (1987) Certainly very verbose in terms of both its album and track titles, I feel like if I were to reference the full titles for some of this I would be stuck writing war and peace. I had some initial worries that I wasn't gonna have the best reaction to this album after the songs that followed the opening (Surprisingly, they are some of the most popular on the album, am I a contrarian or just retarded?). But no this album was mostly consistent with its quality output. I definitely had more of an inclination towards the funkier sides of the album. But even the more sombre tracks were awesome. A very nice surprise Highlights: If You All Get to Heaven, I'll Never Turn My Back on You, Dance Little Sister, Seven More Days, Sign Your Name

This fella is a pretty solid vocalist but unfortunately for him I am absolutely uninterested in his music. My rating: It's okay I guess.

Feels like such a waste of time to even put effort into this. Trying to type this album name made me take up smoking again 4/10 Fav tracks - If you all get to Heaven

An album that knows the vocals are the most important instrument here. Some of the songs here are a bit repetitive at times and the extreme performance of the vocals coupled with the at times goofy production can pull me out of the experience. But the songs here that I enjoyed, I enjoyed quite a bit even if I can't see myself coming back to them super often unless I feel VERY much in the mood for some 80s sound. Also this guy said that this is the most important album since Sgt Peppers lmao. Highlights: I'll Never Turn My Back On You, Dance Little Sister, Who's Loving You

I could have gone without hearing this.

Wait, what is this album?! Sananda Maitreya created beautiful and engaging music in his debut album. The lyrics stood out; as nearly the only songwriter on his debut album, Maitreya revealed an ability to be emotionally raw. Even for well known singer/songwriters, to be that vulnerable on their debut is rare. His cover of a Smokey song reveals that Maitreya can go toe to toe with the Motown legend! Like, that long ass note that Maitreya held at the end?! But maybe more than that, "As Yet Untitled" displays his vocal prowess. The nerve to include a song of only his vocals is impressive, and the song is so beautiful in its simplicity. Both songs serve well as examples of his vocal talents. Maitreya's voice and stylings may be best for tender, soulful songs, but I rather enjoyed when he explored further. "Dance Little Sister" contains a faster beat and is quite fun! "Wishing Well" has this cute whistling that's so endearing. And the whole album is so smooth! I'm a big Prince fan, and I've heard several artists on this project that sounded too similar to Prince while lacking their own original sound. Maitreya doesn't do that! Yes, his funk is reminiscent of Prince because how can you make funk music in the eighties without evoking Prince? But there's a tenderness that even Prince didn't bring to his music. Maitreya dabbled more in the soul genre, which differentiates the two artists further. To wrap up this review, I can't find a bad song here. I cannot wait to listen to this album again, and even explore more of Maitreya's music. In truth, I'm surprised Maitreya isn't well known at all, and I'm disappointed I slept on him for too long.

I had literally never heard of Terence Trent D'Arby (now Sananda Maitreya). But this album reflects an interesting case of someone who I feel like could have been more famous but just didn't break through, for whatever reason. He often sounds like a mix of some of the top acts of the 80s; I hear the likes of George Michael, Michael Jackson, and Prince in this music and voice. There's a lot of soul, a bit of funk, and some good old fashioned 80s pop charisma on display here. Not only does Terence/Sananda play in the genres that all of these greats were known for, but he does so while holding his own. Terence/Sananda also wrote most of the lyrics for this album, which are also well done for a debut act. He ALSO participated in the stellar production for this album. While he did continue making music, it's interesting to wonder what he might have accomplished and created, had he taken off in the same way and gotten the same resources that some of his aforementioned peers did. But in any case, this was a nice treat to discover today.

P good

6/10 - some of the songs sounded like 80s and the others were kind of boring. The second to last song was playing while I was doing some longer sprints and it was not the right time.

Just didn’t really do anything for me

It’s a superb record

Some very unexpected high points, but some very expected mid 80s neo soul pish

Fairly cringy. 80s - world - R&B. Like a cringe vortex

Modern/80s soul by great vocalist but only 2 or 3 great tunes

So I can recall Terence Trent D'Arby exploding into the charts with this album and its accompanying single, Wishing Well, and I can remember his voice. However several decades further on, and I think I'd qualify my enthusiasm by noting that the music hasn't perhaps lasted as well, and he does tend to over do the vocal gymnatics. But what happened to him after this album? I played this album three times this morning, and at times it felt like I was listening to Heaven 17. Then I looked at the Wikipedia page and saw that Martyn Ware produced nine tracks (and Glenn Gregory provided backing vocals for one of those. So there you go. In rating this album, I note that this isn't really the sort of music I'd really want to play, but I think it's a polished debut. Perhaps a little too polished.

Terence Trent d'A was big when I was in secondary school and I found him OK, no more. I recall reading an interview where he seemed quite full of himself, proclaiming he was the new Michael Jackson and Prince combined I think. He said it was something to do with his name. He must have changed his mind then because he now goes by a different name. Anyway, what do I feel about the music? Not much. It's OK but a bit "meh". Some songs have nice arrangements and his high pitched gritty voice is good. It has soul and funk in it but it's mostly just quite commercial sounding pop. It also feels a bit dated and I can't see why I'd listen to this again. Could have been a 3 on a very good day but I'll go for a 2.

Prince comparisons Deserved as they wail and write Poppy, rock ballads

not really my vibe, can understand how other people enjoy it

He seems to have a great voice but this was just really not for me.

This album was alright I guess. He obviously has a great voice but the style of music just isn't for me.

Sananda Terence Trent D'Arby Maitreya So he changed his name over 20 years ago and has release 9 albums since and this is the first I've heard about it. I was singing Sign Your Name when I first saw this album come up, not even knowing that the track was on this album. The track is definitely a highlight. Seven More Days was another standout track.

Wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did tbh. The production might be very of its time/dated, but he really makes it work! Not quite a 5 for me, but I'd go 4.5... Fave tracks - "Sign Your Name" is the only one I recognized and it is indeed a hell of a track. "If You All Get To Heaven" is a great opener. "Seven More Days" stood out, and "As Yet Untitled" was positively spine tingling.

This kinda sounds like 90s Prince but more boring.

3- meh

It was as expected. Few good songs, the rest not bad.

Soul

It's just not my cuppa tea. I quite liked some of it but on the whole not for me.

It's now called "Introducing The Hardline According To Sananda Maitreya". I owned this one back in the day, hard to believe it was so long ago. He hit the scene and everyone thought he would go on to be a huge star, that never happened. Cool voice (Sam Cooke-y at times), good vibe & look for the time, and some solid songs to back it all up. He was the guy you wanted to say you were a fan of since Day One. The instant standout tracks were "Wishing Well", "Dance Little Sister", "If You Let Me Stay" & "Sign Your Name". "Who's Loving You" wasn't a hit in the 80's but would have been a 60's hit for sure, Sam Cooke should ask for royalties! The videos were overplayed on MTV and he sold a ton of records that year. Solid songs throughout, good songwriting, easy for young and old to get into, cohesive & kind of cutting edge for the time. He was just a little different than the cookie cutter popstars & hairmetalers, blending R&B/Motown sound with singer/songwriter vibe. I think he and Tracy Chapman opened up minds and made mellow music, that wasn't overtly poppy, cool again. Influential in that sense. He skyrocketed to the top and plummeted just as quickly. Great debut album, it sold 1M copies in its first week. Solid album, some staying power, huge impact at the time, influential since no one was immune to hearing the hits or seeing the videos at the time of it's release.

A lovely little reminder of the genius in the 80s.

Not an album I will probably relisten but it is good stuff.

I think Michael Jackson just ripped this dude off. Fave: As Yet Untitled

I didn't really think the hype was justified.

-this was maybe a little uneventful / generic by the standards of most soul music, but it was still nice to listen to. idk who this guy is, apparently he has a different name now? his voice is really beautiful though, and I like the wide variety of sound and genre used throughout -Favorites are Dance Little Sister, Rain, and Who’s Loving You

Sounds like Michael Jackson or Prince at times. OK overall. 3/5

good, soft pop with a bit of funk in it, would like to have heard him really go for it with his voice as liked the sound of it

2.18

It’s a bold mix of pop, funk, and soul. The confidence in the delivery recalls early Michael Jackson, but with more edge. The beats are tight, but the melodies don’t always land. It feels like a spark that’s still finding its fire. A good listen, though it doesn’t demand a replay.

there’s something about 80s soul music that hits hard for me and idk why

Couple good songs, boring stuff otherwise.

I'm usually not one for 80s music, but R&B always has a special place in my ears. This is a really great record that I hadn't heard of before. The vocal harmonies are really pleasant and soulful. The music isn't too cheesy 80s and actually fits very nicely with the vocals. This is a nice, balanced album that has much replay value. Solid.

Easy listening soul album. Mostly forgettable but overall an easy listen

A little torn on this album. I do think there is some really good stuff here and I really can see Terence Trent D'Arby has some talent. However I think the time period actually holds it back for me a bit. I found myself wishing and wondering what this artist would have done in later time periods. I kept thinking it was a real shame we never got to see him grow and evolve. It's also possible every album after would have been worse, it's truly impossible to say. The biggest thing I got out of this was "potential". Just rating on this album alone however, it's a like for me, but not approaching a love.

yes

Great voice but the songs and production just don’t hit the mark for me

A very good album, aside from the synth- and electronic percussion-laden atmosphere. Nearly every 1-star review on here cites "80s production" as being the main factor that overshadows anything good about Introducing The Hardline..., but that's not a great way to judge every form of music. Other than the production (which admittedly is pretty bad), the music is honestly great; I can't really see any sound justification for anything less than, say, 3 stars. There are some solid horns, bass, and of course the vocals (lead and backing), which are excellent. I don't tend to pay much attention to lyrics, but from what I picked up, the poetry here is a little subpar. Lots of fairly bland lyricism without much clever wordplay or variation of topic. There's no depth. Take the first verse of the biggest hit on here, Sign Your Name: "Fortunately you have got Someone who relies on you We started out as friends But the thought of you just caves me in The symptoms are so deep It is much too late to turn away We started out as friends" Pretty unremarkable, no? The same is true for the album's remainder. I'm surprised Sign Your Name is (apparently) the most popular track, because it isn't exactly a sonic standout. 3/5 Key tracks: If You Let Me Stay, Dance Little Sister, Who's Loving You

A high concept, immaculately produced album that covers all manner of musical bases and yet, for the most part, possesses real commercial appeal. Maitreya has a hell of a voice - it moves from reverent hush to rough-hewn soul skyscraping with ease. A song like 'Who's Loving You' could have come out in 1957, but if the template is somewhat familiar, Maitreya's clearly having fun with it thirty years on. 'Sign Your Name' sounds a little like 'Girl From Ipanema', no?

99% of the time I feel like I know what I’m going to get before I cue up the first track on an album, but the joy of doing a project is for those 1% that you get surprised by. This was not what I expected but was very very good.

Super 80’er lyd, som trækker ned. Sangene er ellers helt fine, og han synger rigtig godt, lidt Michael Jackson agtigt

Med på at hans stemme er imponerende men sys ikke rent faktisk det lyder godt -- kedelig produktion, og ikke rigtig nogen bangers

His sound really encapsulates the 80s. I don't think this is super easy listening.

J'ai 17 ans. et je suis en plein dans ma période the The, Nick Cave, le genre de musique qui te confirme que le monde est une vaste blague tragique. Sur les ondes, c'est le règne de la pop synthétique, des coupes de cheveux improbables et des productions boursouflées. Michael Jackson est le roi, Prince est le prophète et Madonna est la reine. Le triumvirat semble intouchable. Et puis, un type débarque de nulle part ou plutôt de New York, via Londres. Il est beau, il a une voix d'ange éraillée par le R&B le plus pur et il danse comme un dieu. Son nom ressemble à celui d'un lord anglais décadent : Terence Trent D'Arby. Et ce type, il n'arrive pas avec un simple album sous le bras, il arrive avec une proclamation, un manifeste dont le titre à lui seul est une déclaration de guerre : Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby. "Voilà la ligne dure selon moi, démerdez-vous avec ça". Mais ce n'est rien à côté de ce qui va suivre car le mec, dans la presse, se lâche complètement. Il ne se contente pas de dire que son album est bon, il affirme, sans trembler du menton, que c'est le meilleur premier album depuis "Sgt. Pepper's". Il se déclare "génie", il se compare aux plus grands, il ne se présente pas comme un prétendant au trône de la pop, il s'assoit directement dessus et demande qu'on lui apporte sa couronne. Et malgré toute l'arrogance, il faut bien le reconnaître, ce disque est une putain de bombe. Dès les premières notes de "If You Let Me Stay", on comprend qu'on n'a pas affaire à un rigolo. La production est monstrueuse, un mélange parfait de la chaleur des enregistrements Stax et de la précision clinique des années 80. Et puis il y a cette voix, cette VOIX. Un mélange incroyable de Sam Cooke pour la douceur, d'Otis Redding pour la fêlure, de James Brown pour l'énergie et de Prince pour l'androgynie. Le type peut tout faire : hurler, murmurer, passer d'un falsetto angélique à un grognement rauque en une fraction de seconde. L'album est une collection de tubes absolument imparables. "Wishing Well" est un morceau de funk-pop d'une efficacité diabolique, avec un refrain qui s'incruste dans le cerveau pour ne plus jamais en sortir. C'est le genre de titre qui a dû faire transpirer Michael Jackson lui-même. "Sign Your Name", la ballade, est d'une sensualité folle, un slow moite et élégant qui a dû lancer plus d'une histoire d'amour (et de maladies vénériennes). Mais l'album ne se résume pas à ses singles. C'est un véritable voyage dans la musique noire américaine, revisitée par un seul homme. Il y a du rock ("Seven More Days"), du gospel, du blues... Le tout est écrit, composé, arrangé et produit avec une maîtrise qui force le respect. On peut détester le personnage, mais on ne peut qu'admirer l'artiste. À 25 ans, le mec livre un album d'une maturité confondante. Alors, pourquoi cette note de 3 sur 5 ? Pourquoi un disque que l'on qualifie de chef-d'oeuvre ne mérite-t-il pas la note maximale ? À cause de la suite. L'histoire de Terence Trent D'Arby est une tragédie grecque de l'industrie musicale. Son arrogance était telle, sa "grande gueule" si démesurée, qu'il s'est lui-même scié la branche sur laquelle il était assis. La presse, qu'il avait provoquée, l'attendait au tournant. Le public, qui avait adoré ce premier album, attendait la suite avec impatience. Et TTD, au lieu de capitaliser sur ce succès, a fait ce que font les génies arrogants : il a fait un disque complexe, abscons, prétentieux et invendable "Neither Fish Nor Flesh". Le couperet est tombé. Rideau. Sa carrière ne s'en est jamais remise. Et c'est là toute la complexité de ce disque, il est brillant, mais il est orphelin. C'est le premier chapitre d'un livre qui n'aura jamais de suite. C'est la promesse d'un règne qui n'a duré qu'un seul album. Quand on l'écoute aujourd'hui, on ne peut s'empêcher de ressentir une pointe de tristesse, un immense gâchis. Le talent est là, palpable, éclatant, mais on sait qu'il va s'éteindre, consumé par l'ego de son créateur. C'est pour ça qu'il ne peut pas être un 5/5. Un 5/5, c'est un disque qui ouvre des portes, qui lance une carrière, qui devient une fondation. "Introducing the Hardline…" est une comète magnifique qui a illuminé le ciel de 1987 avant de s'écraser dans l'indifférence. C'est un excellent album de soul, l'un des meilleurs des années 80, sans aucun doute. C'est une leçon de musique, de talent, et aussi, une amère leçon sur la façon de ne pas gérer une carrière. Un chef-d'oeuvre solitaire et sans descendance. Et c'est précisément ce qui le rend si fascinant. Et si frustrant.

nah bro, disney ass shit

You know what this is still a pretty good pop-soul album. TTD delivers 4 monster singles familiar from bar one to anyone who listened to daytime radio one. His singing is great and even the 80s production isn’t too annoying.

I always thought Terence Trent D’Arby (or Sananda Maitreya as he is known now) was an absolute poseur and Prince wannabe. I expected to hate this But I was wrong This is absolutely fantastic. He has a terrific voice and the songs are amazing Rain is the only dud on an album of killers A most surprising 5 ⭐️ album

These people from the East Midlands swear a lot

I feel really bad for this but I thought this guy was Lenny Kravitz and I was gonna go on a rant about how are you gonna go my way wasn’t on here. I mean they’re both singers with dreadlocks who are from a similar time and both from New York. Their musics completely different so I feel horrible about it but still. Have I accidentally become a racist??? Oh shit! I find this guys name change a bit weird as well, I don’t know if it was a marketing decision or something but all it did was confuse me. Now on to the album… very 80’s. Except the a Capella track which is so boring 3/5

I liked it at the start but quickly turned pretty stale. Nice sounding voice and music but just nothing that particularly made it stand out to me. Rating: 2.5

This is 80s trash

# Album Name: # Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby # Artist: # Terence Trent D'Arby # Rating: 3/5 # Comments: I dont recognise the name but did recognise a few songs. The album has a very 80s RnB vibe to it. Some great bass and guitar work. Great singer too. He has a excellent voice. A few good tracks on this but overall it doesnt hit the mark for me. Im still glad ive came away with a few for my playlist. # Top Tunes: Let me stay / Wishing well / Sign your name # Would I listen to it again? Only the three tunes.

Distilled 80s pop sound that has clear links in the 90s r&b scene

A little over-produced, but of it's time. Great voice and a few good tracks.

Now That’s What I Call music that would be blaring over the speakers while you’re overstimulated in a Dillards dressing room “GET UP OUT OF THAT ROCKING CHAIR GRANDMA … or rather … would you care to dance grandmother?” this is the first artist i haven’t known so that was exciting

I have no idea why, but on the first listen I really liked this album. It might have been because I woke up in a real good mood and listened to it… I saved 4 songs immediately from it. Skipped through the rest of it. Reminds me of someone that tried to do Michael Jackson’s vibe, but couldn’t quite replicate it. 3 stars. I loved 50% of this album, and the rest was just filler baloney. I listened to 4 songs on this album multiple times today, and enjoyed my time with them. Besides that it, the songs were repetitive and kinda cringey. I listened to those four songs a couple times today. They were good. The rest were terrible. In the order of my favorite Wishing well Dance little sister Sign my name If you let me stay Okay nvm. The four songs were enough for me. 4 stars.

Day298 - i was surprised how good this one was. he definitely had a prince , stevie wonder thing going but i guess he couldn’t follow this up

Good vocals I guess, but super 80s in the worst possible ways? 2.2 stars

Great singer and 2 really good songs but I would never revisit

some classic 80's schlock on this one!

Didn’t love it. Too nondescript.

Introducing the Hairline Torn between 2 and 3. Obviously impressive vocals. Nice production. Very 80s R&B

Some solid late-80s RnB-pop, not unlike the sounds of superstars like Prince and Michael Jackson - though it hasn't aged quite as well as the music from those artists. I liked certain songs, like 'Wishing Well', and especially 'I'll Never Turn My Back On You', with its sentimental messaging, and Sananda is a great vocalist in this lane, but my biggest gripe remains - this album is just too derivative and all over the place. 'Dance Little Sister' tries to go in a Wonder-esque funk direction - which I didn't particularly enjoy, given how clean and one-not it all felt. 'Seven More Days' was pretty interesting - like a few other songs here, it's religiously themed and gospel-inspired but, mainly, I found the inclusion of a steel-pedal guitar in this song made the whole thing stand out. The instrumentation here is nothing to cry home about either, though I appreciated the acapella song 'As Yet Untitled', showcasing Sananda's vocal chops in this echoey, sparse, environment - though maybe it didn't need to be 5 minutes. None of this music is bad or anything (I think the closing 'Who's Loving You' is as perfect as RnB can get), it's just that if someone were to ask me "What makes Sananda Maitreya's music special in terms of '80s RnB" I wouldn't know how to answer - at least not after this first listen. If anything, It just made me want to listen to Prince.

This is perfectly fine, if tepid and poppy, soul(ish) music, but really somebody should have told these cats the '80s were going to end one day and so lay off some of the cheesy studio effects. Dude had a voice, but still hard to avoid the one-hit-wonder stigma, huh?

For as much as this guy said he made the best album ever recorded, I have to say that I am a little disappointed. That might not be the right word, underwhelmed might be better. First, this album just screams 80s pop and to me that alone disqualifies it from being called the best album ever. I get the comparisons to Prince but there really is no comparison there, this guy will never be Prince. I listened to this whole album and don't think I added any of the songs to my liked songs on Spotify. I didn't dislike any of it really, just nothing stood out. I would be interested to hear more from him, but I suspect he kind of got stuck making the same record over and over. It's fine, middle of the road for the genre. 2.25/5

Classic 80s production. Wannabe prince/stevie wonder vibes. Pretty solid fun songs but it's lacking some character

Ich kannte nur "Sign your Name" und war mehr der Hithörer in den 80iger. Jetzt habe ich dieses Album mehrmals angehört und finde, es ist ein großes Album. Beginnt fetzig cool und hört a Capella auf. Das sagt schon alles. Mega

I generally love 80s pop music, and I was aware of his one hit wonder status as someone shunned for thinking so highly of himself and his excellent voice, so I was prepared to really enjoy this album. I did not. It's a one hit wonder for a reason, and jealousy wasn't it.

Terence Trent D'Arby (or Sananda Maitreya, as he's now known) was clearly influenced by just about every big 80s act. In this album, I can hear Prince, Michael Jackson, 80s Bowie, Genesis, Michael Jackson, and more. The cynical part of me hears this as a record label executive's attempt to capitalize on the popularity of others. I can certainly see talent agents courting him for that reason. Having said that, it has its charm, despite falling well short of the greats. This album obviously hasn't stood the test of time very well, although it's certainly not the cheesiest 80s album out there. There's a handful of decent songs here, including 'Rain', 'Wishing Well', and 'Seven More Days'. The rest is fairly forgettable and not that interesting. The album has been considered as a soundtrack to 80s prosperity, although I don't know that the image of a Wall Street banker dancing to it makes it any cooler.

It was very old sounding, mid

I remember saving up to buy this cassette, cause there was so much buzz at the time. Was so disappointed when I finally got to hear it. Was hoping to find something this time around. Disappointed again. 2/5

I remember the massive hype about this at the time of release, and instinctively avoided it. Listening now.... I was right. Hype over content. It's an OK album, but nothing special.

At first I had to get used to the production, but eventually the brilliance of this guy sunk in and I realized this may be one of the better albums of 1987.

if you all get to heaven- hold up. goddamn. 7 or 8 if you all let me stay- 6 or 7. i like the bass wishing well- 5 or 6 ill never turn my back on you- 6 or 7 dance little sister- 7 seven more days- 5 lets go forward- 5 or 6 rain- 7 or 8 sign your name- 6 as yet untitled- 4. im sorry i got bored as fuck whos loving you- 7 ill go with a 4, why not. good job

Let's say a prayer that we get some more interesting albums than this on the list. I can see why this was hot upon release, but I don't think anyone's talked about this album in 20+ years. Production is as plastic as it gets, and the hooks just aren't strong enough to keep me invested. Bit of a snoozer, but makes sense why it was chart topping in 87.

Introducing The Hard Truth According To Blake Matson Becker: This Shit Sucks, Terence.

Kirkland brand Motown?

47 minutes and 8 seconds of my life, wasted.

Enjoyable! I had a colleague in my car en route to a site visit ... she's maybe 10 years older than me ... and my music app kept trying to start playing this album even though I kept pausing it, so I eventually explained to her the 1001 project and she was like "oh let it play, i liked this way back when!" 3.5

Instrumentation 5 stars vocals 1

I really liked this!!! He knows his style and executes it well. The first track was especially good.

i enjoyed a lot of the instrumentation in this but was otherwise kinda just like: well that sure is 80s music that sounds like other 80s music. 2.5

Glad I found this! A solid album ended with a really fun version of Who's Lovin' You. Something seemed odd with the sound mixing at times, not sure if that's intentional, original, or an artifact of the various processing/versions, but it was a little annoying.

Ok I didn’t know what to expect but whatever I was thinking has been exceeded! This album is everything I love about r&b/soul, it’s a genre that lends itself to creativity and can be easily blended with other genres. That was on display here and so much more.

Opening track If You All Get to Heaven was a great start. It has a unique sound and a catchy refrain. I have fond memories of Wishing Well when I was a kid. It’s still a great earworm. Sign Your Name remains a total bop. Who’s Loving You has a great retro sound. The rest of the songs were ok but not stand outs for me. D’Arby has a powerful voice and is very talented. 3 for me - he has a great voice and there are some great songs but I probably wouldn’t listen again, it didn’t vibe with me.

Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby - Terence Trent D'Arby (1987) Não Não obrigado. Melhores músicas: Piores musicas: 2/5

Pretty good fun, sadly not as memorable as I was hoping though. Would listen again but not in a hurry.

Enjoyed this a lot. Very Prince, but I admire the album's cohesiveness. Those first 30 seconds or so are a nice way to start.

As I've said for a few albums already: contemporary R&B is a genre I am useless on. I don't particularly enjoy it, but mainly I just don't know enough about it to sort the wheat from the chaff. This record sound pretty good. Some nice funk-rock elements. Strong singing and instrumentation. Balance between soft ballads and upbeat tracks. The wilder funk-soul sections even remind me of Prince in a few parts. However, this album doesn't really do much for me. The use of synth across numerous tracks sounds super-dated - like many 1980s albums, I'd guess they were using the synth pre-sets that sounded futuristic at the time, but now sound cheesy. Definitely not a bad album, but it's not standing out as a special record to me. 3*

A promising first half that led into a repetitive and unoriginal second. I really enjoyed listening to the first three or four songs. I was excited to see what came next, but after the halfway point, it became clear that nothing else new was on the way. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, having never heard of the artist. It was good. 4/5

Love this album. Brings back such good memories.

This is so 80s I can’t.

fínn söngvari og lög inn á milli. en þetta er ekki minn pissbolli.

Just nothing on here was interesting. Overall bland

Some enjoyable tracks here but the project is predicated on being an one-man anthem and there is not enough soul here to counteract the impersonal production.

great voice, nice melodies

Never realised TTD is now called Sananda Maitreya. This is not the sort of music I would listen to, but acknowledge that it is a well written pop/soul album and stands out from similar music at the time 4/5

6/10

There was was some cool stuff about n here. Maybe a little dated at times.

Miche-alt Jackson

Yo era un chaval y este disco en una cinta pirata del rastro estuvo sonando todo ese verano en casa y en el coche. Fue un bombazo en la radio y en los programas de TV con video clips. Después de aquello la estrella de TTD desapareció y yo tampoco he vuelto a escucharlo. Buenos recuerdos y buena música. Me quedo con If yo let me say, Wishing well, Dance little sister y Sign your name. Curioso que el disco en Spotify está con su nombre actual "Sananda Maitreya".

Nice voice, cheesy music

Can't stand this bland commercial type of R&B. The guy is clearly talented, but I really don't see how he found himself on this list.

I have a hard time with contemporary R&B and pop soul straight out of an 80s production. Too cheesy and gentle for me, sorry.

I did not have much expectation for this album. I assumed since it was born of the 80s it would be some amalgamation of music of the time and wouldn't resemble what I consider R&B at all. But after listening to this, it does feel like it was (at the time) a very modern take on R&B but still rooted in the classic sound from Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. It certainly seems like it has it's foot in neo-soul too. I didn't love this, but it was a good record for sure.

Clearly made by talented artists, D'Arby has great energy, but it sounds too much like the 80s

This was my first proper listen of him. I've heard "Wishing Well" before. Great song. But aside from that, almost everything I knew was reviews of Seal comparing the two of them. And now having listened - I kind of don't get the comparison at all. They have completely different voices and styles. But that being said, WOW does this album work. Almost every song is a full on display of heart and soul and downright genius. The man can not just sing, but he sings with so much agility and soul. I was in awe. Which makes it ironic that the only song that just utterly did not work for me was the penultimate track "As Yet Untitled" where it's basically him acapella figuring it out as he goes. It's kind of impressive, and if you were watching it happen in the moment you'd have to admit it was going to become a great song, but as it is it's a weird half baked overly long totally self indulgent track that mars an otherwise lusciously strong album.

Very 80's. Great singer, not bad music. Wouldn't listen again, but worth listening to once.

Pretty catchy, fun.

Neat stuff!

Not bad

He certainly had his 15 minutes of fame in the 80's with this album. Wasn't a fan at the time and honestly still not. It's just heavily borrowed 60's R&B with dated 80's production.

What am I missing? Because this sounds like a thousand other records. Everything here has been done before and better. Much is dated sounding 80’s R&B. And stop it with the Prince comparisons.

Fine. Just became background noise at a point

Nothing here for me. Didn't like or connect with the music, and didn't find much here that hasn't been done by others, better.

I didn't really dig this. The rest of my listening group liked it more than I did. I found it kind of insufferable actually - I was just bored and tuning out immediately and a few times cringing.... not my thing.

This is why I like this list. I have never heard of this artist and I'm blessed with this banger of an album. Fantastic all around. Seven More Days is probably my favorite, but everything here is enjoyable.

Another album I wasn’t expecting much from… I like Wishing Well and that’s all I knew. Turns out this album kicked ass and I loved it. What a fun era for music and he sounds great

I was disappointed as a kid when I bought this album after hearing the single Wishing Well on the radio, thinking all the songs were that sugar coated. But listening now, there’s more depth to it.

He has a nice voice. Their is talent on display here. It's just not a style of music I'm into.

A lot of this cheeks. Dance Little Sister is great.

Idc

I do like the late 80s/early 90s R&B vibe.

Like a lot of albums here- this isn’t my thing. Not sad I listened to it -but not likely to ever do so again.

Arrived with one of the cockiest promotional campaigns in music history when he declared it "the most important album since Sgt. Pepper’s". Did I miss something?

I read people’s reviews and felt interested in revisiting this album. I’m certain I was not focused on this in 1987. Probably more on rap and what not. Found album very locked in the 80’s and just not particularly catchy or engaging. I don’t see why it’s on this list honestly.

This gets an extra star because mom and dad had this cd when i was young.

I’ve definitely heard of Terence Trent D’Arby before, but before listening to this album I’m not sure if I’d have known what I actually know him from. The name existed in my head, but I didn’t know if he was a singer, actor, artist, or anything else. However, this has changed now that I’ve listened to this album. There were parts here where the vocals together with the happy funk reminded me of Prince. The softer acoustic parts reminded me of Tracy Chapman. Honestly, it’s hard to find much I didn’t enjoy here.

Viel Funk und Soul, eine große Stißße, und Hits, die um die Welt gingen.

Bland. I skipped through this album trying to find one, ONE, song that I liked. Nothing. Its the soundtrack playing over the closing credits of many an 80s movie. Why is this album listed here? Why is it relevant?

Remember this being a lot better in 1987

Más allá de la producción de los 80, que algunos aquí no parecen poder superar, aquí hay un gran disco debut y de Soul. Sign Your Name es un clásico y no tenía idea de quién era ni nada de eso, así que 5 puntos para este proyecto que sigue sorprendiendo. En cualquier caso, no es la única canción recomendable, ya que para eso están joyas como Who's Loving You y Wishing Well.

This is okay music. Good voice, good groove. Basically a late '80s amalgam of Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, but not as good or innovative, which is why it's just okay. "Wishing Well" is catchy, though. Update: Just started listening again, and it's catchier the second time around. Hmm. Maybe this is worth revisiting. 3.5 stars.

Male Sade (which is a good thing.) The whole album has a smooth vibe, liked it, will check out more (3.4*s)

I don't know what genre of music this, I don't know this guy's original name or his new name, I don't know why his career didn't take off, and I don't know if I recognized some songs or not. One thing I do know: this album is dripping in terrible 80's production effects. There's something really catchy here but it's just so stuck in time. It's a shame because based on this debut, he had really high potential to make it big. Instead, no one's ever heard of him. I don't know what happened in 1987, but I liked a few songs here and overall it's pretty good.

So Terence Trent D'Arby died in the early 2000s and was reborn Sananda Maitreya. Could tell by the album this guy is a bit "meta world peace." Vaguely recognized a few tracks even with "Wishing Well" and "Sign Your Name" bests. Rename "As Yet Untitled" to "Skip Me" and you have a decent album...2.8.

Wasn't sure what to expect going into this. Wasn't aware of the name change so needed to confirm I had the correct album. It's a decent listen that I would say is a little more upbeat and rock version of Stevie Wonder which I appreciate. None of the individual songs standout but the overall album is a good background album that I was pleased to be introduced to. Nothing special but better than a lot of the unknowns on the list so far. 2.77 stars

Decent. Great voice. Wishing Well is a great song, and I’m sure I’ve heard it in movies or tv shows. Although at times this album sounds very dated and very ‘80s (and not always in a charming way).

First off, someone needs to update the list because he changed his name to Sananda Maitreya. But yeah, pretty good though I’m not sure I’d go out of my way to listen again. I’ve always enjoyed Wishing Well, and the rest is good also. Just to me not great.

I had mixed feelings about this. I didn’t think the song writing was very strong, and his vocals weren’t great. But, overall, this was fine and I didn’t dislike it enough to give it a 2.

Sananda Maitreya, or Terence Trent D'Arby as he was formally know, has put together a captivating album. His tenor voice is powerful and complex, and is supported by instrumentatiom with funk/soul influence. The songs are pleasant and easy to listen too- a lot of catchy "poppier" songs. Overall- an enjoyable album

4-

Sooooo 80's. just horrible production.

Didn’t like. Some nice songs but nothing particularly special

Sounds extremely dated, but there is some decent songwriting here.

Is this a great album? Sure, maybe. Does it have the ability to transport me IMMEDIATELY to the summer of 1988 like a friggin' Harry Potter portkey? Definitely.

The opening track, If You All Get to Heaven, hooked me immediately. I love the sound. I should definitely get that song at least. The rest of the album never reaches that high, but it's still good. It's a blend of funk and soul, with some blues influence in there.

So 80s. So so 80s

3.5, enjoyed this one

Wishing Well and various inferior songs that are moderately catchy.

Somewhere between Sade, Michael Jackson and Prince, we find this little gem. This album is soulful, atmospheric and with a sleek production that'll make anyone in LA blush. The only reason why I am not instantly in love with this thing, is because it is not quite what I feel like today. But I give this 4.5 stars and keep it in my back pocket for a sunny day BBQ. Note: If you ever want to hear how cool a really stupid easy guitar part can sound, the intro to I'll never turn my back on you is it.

It's got those songs! Sure, Wishing Well and Sign Your Name were big when Top 40 was big, but it's so bad today. This guy isn't even Terence Trent D'Arby anymore, he's changed his name, probably in hopes to distance himself from his 80's music.

Well that’s a super familiar album cover. But not a super familiar album. Why do I know this picture? Is it just from looking through the 1001? It's a great photo. Conveys a lot very simply. And it’s the best part of the album. The rest is easily forgettable Michael Jackson and Prince knock-offs. That, combined with the cover and the fact that the album is attributed to Sananda Maitreya got me quite curious. Which wound up leading me to this article from The Guardian from 2017 - https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/oct/05/why-terence-trent-darby-became-sananda-maitreya-it-was-that-or-death. I can’t do justice to Terence Trent D’Arby (or Sananda Maitreya). You’ll just have to read it for yourself.

The ultimate two hit wonder plus hubris. TTD comes up often in our house.

The guy has some pipes but the songs weren’t that good imo. Just not my favorite type of music

all songs sounded the same. actual trash album that should be so far away from this list it should have a different zip code

En handfull fina låtar.

Maybe it's not that bad but I can't stand it. Was very hard to finish.

My review was initially going to be "Michael Jackson for the people who can't forgive MJ for having once been black." I later realized that this guy is also black and that the album didn't sound like Michael Jackson at all past the first half. Still didn't like it, but that would've been a colossally incorrect review had I not came to my senses

I seen this and thought who tf is Terence Trent D’arby. And then I was asking myself the same question when Sananda Maitreya came up. This dude can sing and it’s really good music. Will be on rotation for a while

Funky and sweet

Not for me