Symphony Or Damn

Terence Trent D'Arby | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Columbia
• ASIN: B000025MHW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #774,553 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

TERENCE TRENT DARBY Symphony Or Damn (1993 UK 16-track CD album includes She Kissed Me Do You Love Me Like You Say You Do Baby Let Me Share My Love Delicate Neon Messiah Wet Your Lips Turn the Page Let Her Down Easy and I Still Love Youpicture sleeve)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A SYMPHONY INDEED!, December 1, 2001

By 

A. Owen (Stevenage, Herts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Symphony Or Damn (Audio CD)

Terence Trent D'arby's Symphony or Damn is a musical tour de force. The albums 16 tracks run for 65 minutes and cover all styles from funk,rock,jazz,pop to beautifil ballads all sang with that distinctive signature voice.
TTD still has to convince the huge following who purchased his first album, Intoducing the Hardline, but with this record he more than matched it.
From the outlook you know this album is something special. It's initially in two parts. The first part, Confrontation, explores different musical boumderies for TTD with a harder edged feel than previous work, whilst the second part, Reconcilliation, is a slower based affair dominated by ballads reminiscent of Stevie Wonder's early seventies albums.
Clearly we are in different territory here from Hardline, guitars are used to great effect on She Kissed Me a rock-fest dominated by a standout chorus and a forceful vocal delivery.
Do You Love Me Like You Say? the first single explores new ground for TTD, funk, rock and jazz are combined to great effect for a track that runs like a musical opera changing styles frequently against a pulsating drum loop and percussion.
Delicate, another single is a lush ballad with great keyboard work and production. Des'ree makes an appearence to add depth to the beautiful vocals. Other guests appear throughout the album, the Tower Of Power horns appear on Neon Messiah a fast based rock-funk fusion.
Harvey Mason an excellent session drummer associated with many seventies artists including James Brown appears on Frankie and Johnny, a great little ballad used in the film of the same name.
One of the strongest tracks, Turn The Page borrows a very famous drum sample and is an ambitious epic, with TTD experimenting both musically and lyrically to great effect with astonishing results.
My favourite track on the album is Succumb To Me a rich phycadelic keyboard synth is the backgound to a emotionally charged vocal. This track never lets up and is a incredible power trip.
The album closes with three classic ballads. I still Love You features TTD at his most romatic, a great melody with beautiful lyrics, very similiar to his earlier classic Sign Your Name.
Seasons, an outstanding effective track really lets TTD's vocals impress the listener, with only a subtle backdrop of acoustic guitar, congos and atmospherics. The best track and final single taken from the album is Let Her Down Easy a classic piano led ballad with a wonderful vocal that pulls at the heart strings long after the album closes.
Released in 1993, this album was written, arranaged, and produced bt TTD and although recieved critical acclaim it didn't persuade the 8 million people who purchaesd the first album to diverge. Anyone who did by Hardline really should explore this album, they will not be disappointed.
TTD is a very underestimated as an artist and generally ignored by the record buying public, a shame because he is a wonderful talent and this album, his finest hour, really should be labelled a classic of the last decade. Recommended.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Terence Trent D'Arby, December 23, 2000

By 

H. Acuay (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Symphony Or Damn (Audio CD)

This is one of the best albums I've ever heard, but it took over a year for me to realize it. I originally thought Delicate was the only good song on the album, but when I bought a car with horrible radio reception I was forced to re-discover my CD collection. I think the first time you hear most of the songs on SoD you have to pay attention otherwise it can just sound noisy. I really like that TTD dips into different musical genres and creates a style that is his own. On SoD, it's a confident blend of rock and pop, with a bit of blues, but what makes this album truly beautiful is the soul in every track. My favorite songs are the ones that make the most of TTD's strong, articulate voice: Wet Your Lips, Turn the Page (what lyrics!), Frankie and Johnny, and Let Her Down Easy (gorgeous). As others have alluded to, there are no junky songs on here. Some are complex, some are super-simple (e.g. I Still Love You), some loud, some quiet, but all are solidly good. This is a must-have album. I do not know how I lived without it so long. I love Introducing the Hardline, too, but while that has a definite 80s feel, Symphony or Damn sounds rather ... timeless.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Little Known Gem., March 17, 2000

By 

Jason Stein (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Symphony Or Damn (Audio CD)

I like TTD because he evaded pop stardom and redundancy. He's an artist that you can call your own without seeing billions of adoring fans agree with you. I think TTD is one of the most talented musicians of our time. I compare him with Prince, but without the popularity. Of TTD's four cds, I believe his first and Symphony or Damn are his best. Symphony or Damn outshadows his debut because of it's audaciousness and boldness. It's original, diverse, and satisfying. 16 tracks, and not one is a throwaway. Few artists can boast that they made a 16 track album with no filler. Symphony or Damn contains great songs like "She Kissed Me", "Do You Love Me Like You Say You Do", "Baby Let Me Share My Love", "Delicate", "Neon Messiah", "Wet Your Lips", "Turn the Page", "Let Her Down Easy" and "I Still Love You." Because the grunge and rap movements were so big in 1993, this great cd fell through the cracks because it's not easily categorized and it doesn't contain grunge or rap. This, and TTD's debut cds are must haves for any rock collector.