Disco de Terence Trent D'Arby: “Terence Trent d'Arby's Wildcard! [The Jokers' Edition]”

Flashback 1987 Terence Trent D'arby (BTW he goes by the name Sananda Maitreya now) His C.D.'s Inroducing the Hardline...(Great funk music), Neither Fish, Nor Flesh (My 2nd favorite), Symphony or Damn (Great mixture of rock, soul and yes country), Vibrator (Great Rock/Soul C.D.) and now 8 years later...Wild Card- The Jokers Edition. Wow! No wonder it took him so long to release a C.D. This is pure perfection and his best work yet. A mixture of diverse music. So candid! 19 songs of pure soul music at it's Greatest! Outshines anything that is out there now. Truly a piece or ART! I've seen him perform live 4 times now, By the way i recently saw him at B.B. Kings (NYC) this summer 2003 and his voice is still incredible! Don't miss out on this C.D. release you won't be sorry! Check out his Official Website...

This is an amazing album.

Terence Trent D'arby or as he is now known Sananda Maitreya is a musical mastermind. Each song on this album has a depth and sound unlike any other performer. He mixes funk, rock, soul and spirituality in ways that not even Prince can match.

If your a fan of TTD this album is for you. If your not yet a fan, you will be after you listen to this music unfiltered my the middle man-record industry... Honestly this is his best album ever. Buy this album and you will not be dissapointed. Stand out tracks are the funky sexy "Designated Fool". The soul searching of "MY Dark Places", the beautiful "What Shall I Do" and the unforgetable "Sayin About YOu"...."I met TTD at his BB Kings Show In NYC and hung with him for about an hour...NOt only is he extremely humble and cool, but he is an amazing performer.....

Back in the late 80's I remember seeing Terence Trent D'Arby perform on MTV. He was and still is a great writer, performer, musician and artist. His first album "Introducing the Hardline, According to Terence Trent D'Arby" is still one of my favorites. You remember "Wishing Well" don't you? Ahhh, to reminisce.

After experiencing a lot of changes and hangups with the albums that followed, he relocated to Europe and recorded songs under the name of Sananda Maitreya. This was his best move because he found himself creatively. Being such a visionary, he crafts these songs like sculptures, making them so real in your minds that you can seemingly touch the words. He embodies what a music artist should be. Reminds me a lot of Prince, but with fewer albums and minus the hallucinatory fixation with himself.

"Wildcard!" is an album that wraps you up and comforts you in its flow, continuing to snuggle you even after the final song. I found myself connected to the songs "Girl", "Shalom" and "Some Birds Blue". Even so, if there ever was a perfect album, this is it. I find no fault with it, and I am greatly pleased with what Terence has created.

It is definitely an album you can listen to from start to finish, crying or laughing or dancing or cuddling. Doesn't matter, because if you like good music, you'll love it.

In today's plastic pop world, it's nice to hear music that is original, yet draws on many different influences. TTD is such an artist and unfortunately thanks to his uncategorizable sound, his music goes unnoticed. The public doesn't like being challenged or having to take the time to actually HEAR music. They are used to being visually assulted with artists who look great, but whose music is basically simple and substance-free. Terence is all about music. He isn't a commercial artist, but is honest, soulful and has a hell of a voice. He is kind of cross between Prince, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. Being a huge fan of all those three, I can't help but love TTD as I have since he first came into our public concience in 1987.

His latest album is a cross genre disc with many great songs. Best tracks: O Divina, My Dark Places, Shalom, Sweetness, and Testify. If you enjoy real music and like albums that are real ALBUMS and not just collections of same sounding songs, check this one out. Also, check out three of the best albums I've ever heard:

Introducing the Hardline...

All by TTD, of course

Alright, so it's been six years since TTD's last cd, and like all talented artists he has changed his name. Often compared to Prince, TTD has proven on each successive cd that he will not derail his career with self-indulgence like Prince has in the past 5 years. In fact, "Wildcard" continues to show growth and originality. TTD has always used rock, r&b, jazz and blended them into something of his own. "Wildcard" adds some drum and bass, funk, Parisian accordian, and whatever else was handy to come up with some amazing results. I had to listen to "Wildcard" many times to hear all the musical and lyrical nuances and to really enjoy this cd. Still, I will be critical as well as praiseworthy. I do have all five of TTD's cds and I can't admit that "Wildcard" is better than 1993's "Symphony Or Damn". I just can't do it. However, the strengths on "Wildcard" are as follows, in my opinion: "O Divina" with its Motown influences, "Designated Fool" with its electro-funk feel, "My Dark Places", which has the great lyric: "Since we're parking in each others places, won't you be with me in my dark places" (Classic D'arby line), "The Inner Scream" with its commentary that if you don't let your anger out it can become a disease, "Drivin' Me Crazy" with its catchy drum and bass rhythm, "Suga Free" (in the vein of Supermodel Sandwich) with it's humorous line "Sweet tooth is missing a cavity"--also this song has an unusual electro-funk-operatic quality, "Ev'rythang" is a good ballad, "Sweetness" is a moving hip hop/r&b flavored song, my favorite song is "Be Willing" with its positive message of finding happiness in life, "Goodbye Diane" with its unique rock and roll sound with unusual chorus, "...And They Will Never Know" with its stop and start rock and roll, "Sayin' About You" has that classic 70's r&b sound, "Shadows" with its Parisian accordian is an unusual twist near the end of the cd, and last but not least "Testify", the bonus track, is a solid closing statement about taking a stand on love. The songs I think could have been excised are the bizarre and pointless "SRR-636", the boring "Shalom" and "Love Can You Hear Me?" the repetitive "Reflecting" and "Benediction: Sugar Ray". It is these weaknesses, and the fact that TTD has already suprised us with "Symphony Or Damn" and "Vibrator", so the uniqueness of "Wildcard" comes as no suprise, that I am giving "Wildcard" four stars instead of five. Still, TTD is one of a few artists that can pull off a 19 track cd with little complaint from me. TTD fans will be satisfied with "Wildcard" but today's radio audience, the kiddies watching MTV, they won't get TTD, and that's a shame, because TTD has just as much musical legitimacy as Lenny Kravitz, Prince, Macy Gray, Alicia Keys, Aria Arie, R. Kelly, Brian McKnight, Wyclef Jean, Lauren Hill, etc. I believe TTD offers a wider range of sounds and often times more poetic words than many of those artists. Now, if TTD could just put out music more often than every four to six years!