C/D: Terence Trent D'arby - Symphony or Damn

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This might be the most fucked-up Prince homage ever recorded. And the most fucked up Sam Cooke, Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Walt Whitman, and Kalil fucking Gibran homage ever recorded too.

I finally picked this up (for 89 cents), after loving "She Kissed Me" for years. If you want overemotive robo-soul by a pompous cyborg who knows everything about how to write a great pop song, this has never been topped: "Penelope Please," "Delicate," "Turn The Page."

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 July 2005 21:00 (eighteen years ago) link

Classic. Head and shoulders above Introducing The Hardine. And yes, available everywhere practically for free.

Welcome to my monasteryo, bitches!

rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 14 July 2005 21:14 (eighteen years ago) link

I should start a thread entitled Greatest Albums Available For A Buck At Your Local Record Store.

hmm...

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 July 2005 21:21 (eighteen years ago) link

I was obsessed with this for a month or two back in, what, '94 or something? It's one of those albums where the songs that seem cheesy or throwaway the first spin or two become absolute stunners after a few more listens. E.g., "Castilian Blue," "Neon Messiah," "Baby Let Me Share My Love."

There is a je ne sais quoi de "Sexy MF" about the funky guitar fills in "Do You Love Me Like You Say?" but I couldn't tell you just now which came first, and they're both just cribbing from James Brown anyway. "Delicate" is a stunner.

I wish I could remember "Penelope Please" or "Turn The Page" right now. But this does give me something to look forward to for the drive home!

rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 14 July 2005 21:30 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm convinced now that if you want to become a Love God, you can't risk foolishness - you gotta be a fool, and a helluva singer. I mean, lyrics like "she was a paragon of soft scented chinois curls" has to rank among the great howlers of the last 40 yrs.

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 July 2005 21:34 (eighteen years ago) link

TOTAL CLASSIC. "Turn the Page" is unreal--nu-soul Axl c. Use Your Illusion overwordiness, totally sumptuous sounding. In '93, I thought it made up for there not being a new Prince album that year.

Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Thursday, 14 July 2005 21:36 (eighteen years ago) link

haha Alfred it's like you're Dan and I'm Ned or something.

Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Thursday, 14 July 2005 21:37 (eighteen years ago) link

haha. Ned would never blow his wad like you did with the uppercase encomium, Matos, but an album this fucktastic wants you to crawl into its monasteryo.

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 July 2005 21:40 (eighteen years ago) link

I wonde: why is this album in so many used bins? It got great reviews at the time, and it's still revered by a thriving cult.

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 July 2005 21:41 (eighteen years ago) link

rogermulderco's top theories

1. Sony execs knew they had a masterpeice on their hands, pressed 5 million copies on the first run.

2. TTD fans were early adopters of "downloading" "mp3" files from the "internet"

3. "Wishing Well" fans fled from "Neither Fish Nor Flesh," no amount of positive press could bring them back.

rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 14 July 2005 22:09 (eighteen years ago) link

the solo in she kissed me isnt that great. but the wordiness of TTD's lyrics are hilarious (esp on the vibrator album).

yeahyeahyeah (yeahyeahyeah), Thursday, 14 July 2005 22:12 (eighteen years ago) link

This is a fantastic album, not least for 'Let her down easy' which is about as beautiful a ballad as anyone's going to do.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Thursday, 14 July 2005 22:15 (eighteen years ago) link

In trying to figure out why I prefer Terence's narcissism to Lenny Kravitz, I think it's cuz he's got the Bryan Ferry disease: he'll do anything, anything to make her cum, while Lenny's making ugly guitar-solo grimaces in the living room mirror.

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 July 2005 22:21 (eighteen years ago) link

I could show you. In a word. If I wanted to...

rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 14 July 2005 22:26 (eighteen years ago) link

Could you?

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 July 2005 22:29 (eighteen years ago) link

A window on the world, such a lovely view...

rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 14 July 2005 22:41 (eighteen years ago) link

Oh, Roger, you're welcoming me into your monasteryo using the Avalon Sermon.

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 July 2005 22:44 (eighteen years ago) link

Your meme.

"he'll do anything, anything to make her cum"

rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 14 July 2005 22:48 (eighteen years ago) link

Yeah, but can you play guitar while shaking your chinois curls?

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 14 July 2005 23:04 (eighteen years ago) link

KLASSIQUE. TTD WUZ ROBBED. "Delicate" = Easily his greatest single. This album was prob'ly outsold by Carter USM, which goes to prove that people are cunts.

Taste the Blood of Scrovula (noodle vague), Friday, 15 July 2005 01:17 (eighteen years ago) link

"T.I.T.S."

Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 15 July 2005 01:31 (eighteen years ago) link

I think this was the second or third album I loaded onto my iPod.

Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 15 July 2005 01:32 (eighteen years ago) link

Hi!

If you like his music I might have NEWS for you :)
Do you know he has NEW SONGS out?

You can freely download & listen to it from his official site:

http://www.SanandaMaitreya.com
(he changed his name)

Look at the links there:
Angels & Vampires
WildCard
Songs!

He uses Weedshare to spread them: this makes it possible you can download the songs for FREE to have 3 listens, if you like the song(s) you can buy them and make money yourself on them as well and share them even when you dind't buy them.

Check out http://www.weedshare.com he's also topping their all time Top 100.

Enjoy!

Musical greetings,
Lily
his webmistress

Lily, Saturday, 16 July 2005 17:43 (eighteen years ago) link

PS Weedshare gives you $5 FOR FREE as well to buy your first songs :)

Lily, Saturday, 16 July 2005 17:47 (eighteen years ago) link

ten months pass...
BABY LET ME SHARE MY LOVE

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Friday, 19 May 2006 19:30 (seventeen years ago) link

haha Alfred it's like you're Dan and I'm Ned or something.

!

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 19 May 2006 19:32 (seventeen years ago) link

let me share, baby

Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Friday, 19 May 2006 19:33 (seventeen years ago) link

xpost

Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Friday, 19 May 2006 19:33 (seventeen years ago) link

Or not.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 19 May 2006 19:41 (seventeen years ago) link

It took Ned almost a year to realize we want to share our love.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Friday, 19 May 2006 20:40 (seventeen years ago) link

I should note than when you originally posted I was happily relaxing in Italy.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 19 May 2006 20:41 (seventeen years ago) link

one year passes...

Bump, just because.

Dimension 5ive, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:55 (sixteen years ago) link

BABY LET ME SHARE MY LOVE

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:58 (sixteen years ago) link

i remember being confused by the title when this came out. and being reminded of it now, i still am.

Charlie Howard, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 17:07 (sixteen years ago) link

this thread alerted me to the surprising information that people outside of D'Arby's immediate family bought this record

J0hn D., Tuesday, 21 August 2007 18:21 (sixteen years ago) link

...most of whom returned it immediately after purchase.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 18:31 (sixteen years ago) link

Enough good stuff (and a little great stuff) to push this one comfortably into the "Classic" column - and I wasn't overfond of his two previous ones. It goes on too long, but that's a foregone conclusion. "Penelope Please" is glorious.

Also: His first halfway-decent album title (still pretty bad tho.)

Myonga Vön Bontee, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 19:27 (sixteen years ago) link

"Let Her Down Easy" is one of the most generous soul ballads I've ever heard; he redeems a totally icky concept.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 19:29 (sixteen years ago) link

liked it alot; but gave up after Vibrator…

Veronica Moser, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 20:07 (sixteen years ago) link

J0hn D. is being kind of uncharacteristically snotty here! What the heck, did we stumble into some kind of heretofore undiscovered grudge and/or feud?

Dimension 5ive, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 20:20 (sixteen years ago) link

This is a great and sorely underrated (?) record.

BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 21:28 (sixteen years ago) link

one of only about 10 albums in the 90's to get five stars out of a possible five stars in its original Q magazine review.

pisces, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 21:30 (sixteen years ago) link

they sure backed a winner with that review

Charlie Howard, Wednesday, 22 August 2007 06:07 (sixteen years ago) link

two years pass...

this thread alerted me to the surprising information that people outside of D'Arby's immediate family bought this record

― J0hn D., Tuesday, August 21, 2007

lol. Didn't like the record, you say?

Daniel, Esq., Sunday, 30 August 2009 16:35 (fourteen years ago) link

did you buy it?

post-contrarian meta-challop 2009 (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 30 August 2009 18:27 (fourteen years ago) link

real talk from youtube:

abualbelawi (1 day ago) Show Hide
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its like a tea with mint in the afternoon after a hard day

strongohulkingtonsghost, Sunday, 30 August 2009 18:48 (fourteen years ago) link

I need to listen to this right now, don't I?

if I don't see more dissent, I'm going to have to check myself in (Matos W.K.), Sunday, 30 August 2009 19:02 (fourteen years ago) link

did you buy it?

First reaction: You mean me? Yeah, years ago, on cassette, I think. Now I'm fixing to download it from eMusic.

Second reaction: That comment reminded me of an old Prince song, where a guy named Bob George is berating his girlfriend for her having an affair with Prince's manager ("Nice coat, huh. / Did you buy it? / Yeah, right. / You seeing that rich motherf----r again." And so on.). Greatest song ever, maybe.

Daniel, Esq., Sunday, 30 August 2009 19:06 (fourteen years ago) link

some days i think i may still be in love with the lady from the wishing well video.

strongohulkingtonsghost, Sunday, 30 August 2009 19:14 (fourteen years ago) link

i mean, uh, carry on.

strongohulkingtonsghost, Sunday, 30 August 2009 19:22 (fourteen years ago) link

You mean the chick that appears right at the beginning of the video?

Daniel, Esq., Sunday, 30 August 2009 19:26 (fourteen years ago) link

I mean "young woman"! Apologies.

Daniel, Esq., Sunday, 30 August 2009 19:27 (fourteen years ago) link

leather jacket, short hair, otherwise late-80s fashion sense.

strongohulkingtonsghost, Sunday, 30 August 2009 19:29 (fourteen years ago) link

Yeah yeah. She's 'saright.

Daniel, Esq., Sunday, 30 August 2009 19:34 (fourteen years ago) link

Apparently, you're not the only one who feels that way about 'that girl.'.

Daniel, Esq., Sunday, 30 August 2009 20:14 (fourteen years ago) link

just ordered this on account of y'all. damn.

what kinda life is that? (Ioannis), Sunday, 30 August 2009 20:22 (fourteen years ago) link

Hope you didn't overpay. You can get it for, like, a dollar in most used record stores!

Daniel, Esq., Sunday, 30 August 2009 20:25 (fourteen years ago) link

nah, it was dirt cheap.

what kinda life is that? (Ioannis), Sunday, 30 August 2009 20:31 (fourteen years ago) link

I say again: BABY LET ME SHARE MY LOVE

post-contrarian meta-challop 2009 (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 30 August 2009 20:59 (fourteen years ago) link

classic.

titchy (titchyschneiderMk2), Monday, 31 August 2009 08:56 (fourteen years ago) link

eleven months pass...

God, "Let Her Down Easy."

Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 22 August 2010 02:59 (thirteen years ago) link

everyone i knew aged 13 LOVED 'Hardline' i mean LOVED that thing. crossed over to everyone. i always meant to check Symphony... hm.

piscesx, Sunday, 22 August 2010 05:18 (thirteen years ago) link

xpost -- Had nobody mentioned that one on the thread before?

I just remembered I saw him in concert for this album, appearing at the first KROQ summer concert festival from 1993.

Ned Raggett, Sunday, 22 August 2010 05:20 (thirteen years ago) link

two months pass...

BABY LET ME SHARE MY LOVE

(yow!)

Ioannis, Sunday, 24 October 2010 17:01 (thirteen years ago) link

dig the Steven Tyler-esque vocalisms on "She Kissed Me."

(^^^aero-bait.)

Ioannis, Sunday, 24 October 2010 17:03 (thirteen years ago) link

just remembered I saw him in concert for this album, appearing at the first KROQ summer concert festival from 1993

review??

raging hetero lifechill (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 24 October 2010 17:12 (thirteen years ago) link

Let Her Down Easy is amazing. I wonder, if he'd have released this album after the debut maybe he'd have been as big as he looked like he was going to be.

piscesx, Sunday, 24 October 2010 17:15 (thirteen years ago) link

hahah--at the Dylan channeling Otis Redding (or the Four Tops' "Bernadette," maybe?) wordplay/organ surges on "Turn the Page!"

Ioannis, Sunday, 24 October 2010 17:18 (thirteen years ago) link

seven months pass...

SHE KISSED ME
and PUT IT THERE

The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 22 June 2011 03:01 (twelve years ago) link

this might fall into the ever shrinking category entitled "great forgotten neglected at the time albums that have yet to be reassessed by younger critics or hip bands."

strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Wednesday, 22 June 2011 03:06 (twelve years ago) link

there aren't many left you know!

strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Wednesday, 22 June 2011 03:06 (twelve years ago) link

this might fall into the ever shrinking category entitled "great forgotten neglected at the time albums that have yet to be reassessed by younger critics or hip bands."

We should do a thread on this, though there needs to be some rules so it doesn't just become "my favourite album that I don't see talked about." Perhaps include an argument for why it deserves rehabilitation.

Tim F, Wednesday, 22 June 2011 03:09 (twelve years ago) link

i think it has to be albums by failed or fizzled pop stars, or at least people working in a pop idiom, so it doesn't turn into "this noise cassette from 1985 by a friend of boyd rice that shoulda set the world on fire."

strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Wednesday, 22 June 2011 03:13 (twelve years ago) link

of course that gets tricky too because the first one that popped into my mind when you showed up tim was ultramarine who arent quite pop in the same way ttd was trying to be pop.

strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Wednesday, 22 June 2011 03:14 (twelve years ago) link

I could mention any number of Rosanne Cash and Maze & Beverly records. But, yeah, it's a shrinking category.

The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 22 June 2011 03:19 (twelve years ago) link

haha the radio played a double-shot of beverly/maze today and i did think "here is one r&b sound that will not likely be revived any time soon."

strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Wednesday, 22 June 2011 03:21 (twelve years ago) link

one year passes...

this might fall into the ever shrinking category entitled "great forgotten neglected at the time albums that have yet to be reassessed by younger critics or hip bands."

― strongo hulkington's ghost dad, Tuesday, June 21, 2011

a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 4 July 2012 01:12 (eleven years ago) link

five years pass...

She kissed me and
she put it...
there

morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 25 April 2018 00:47 (five years ago) link

one year passes...

Your yearly reminder that this album is incredible.

recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 20 June 2019 13:10 (four years ago) link

His voice on "I Still Love You"... how??

geoffreyess, Thursday, 20 June 2019 14:59 (four years ago) link

and on "Let Her Down Easy"

recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 20 June 2019 16:23 (four years ago) link


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