Neither Fish nor Flesh

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Neither Fish nor Flesh
Neither Fish Nor Flesh.jpg
Studio album by
Terence Trent D'Arby
ReleasedOctober 1989
GenrePsychedelic pop, rock, R&B, funk
Length51:24
LabelColumbia
ProducerTerence Trent D'Arby
Terence Trent D'Arby chronology
Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby
(1987) 		Neither Fish nor Flesh
(1989) 		Symphony or Damn
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic3.5/5 stars[1]
Rolling Stone4/5 stars[2]
The Village VoiceA−[3]

Neither Fish nor Flesh (A Soundtrack of Love, Faith, Hope & Destruction) is the second album by American singer Terence Trent D'Arby, released in 1989 on Columbia Records. A follow-up to his debut Introducing the Hardline, the album was a commercial disappointment, spending only four weeks on the UK Albums Chart, and was largely dismissed by critics as self-indulgent and overreaching.[4]

Reception[]

In a review of Neither Fish nor Flesh for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau said despite D'Arby's pretensions and awful lyrics on some songs, the psychedelic pop record's music "proves D'Arby a master of the black spectrum from the trad R&B of 'I'll Be Alright' to the reconstructed Prince-funk of 'This Side of Love'".[3] Rolling Stone critic Mark Coleman said D'Arby's effort "fails to establish him as a visionary pop godhead. It does, however, demonstrate convincingly that he's far more than a mere legend in his own mind."[2] AllMusic's Tom Demalon retrospectively called it "a sprawling, overly ambitious work that incorporates Middle Eastern flavorings and even more of a gospel influence into his gritty mix of rock, R&B, and funk", although he felt D'Arby's "pretensions run a bit wild".[1]

On the album commentary on his website, D'Arby (now known as Sananda Maitreya) claimed that the album's lack of commercial impact was due to his record company's "wholesale rejection of it" as well as being hindered by German record producer Frank Farian who decided to release an album of D'Arby's performances with funk band The Touch (from 1984) in Germany just weeks before Neither Fish Nor Flesh was due for release. Maitreya states that Neither Fish Nor Flesh was "the project that literally killed 'TTD', and from whose molten ashes, began the life of Sananda".[5]

Track listing[]

All songs written and arranged by Terence Trent D'Arby.

  1. "Declaration: Neither Fish Nor Flesh" – 1:44
  2. "I Have Faith in These Desolate Times" – 4:14
  3. "It Feels So Good to Love Someone Like You" – 3:38
  4. "To Know Someone Deeply Is to Know Someone Softly" – 4:27
  5. "I'll Be Alright" – 5:57
  6. "Billy Don't Fall" – 4:21
  7. "This Side of Love" – 4:59
  8. "Attracted to You" – 4:01
  9. "Roly Poly" – 3:54
  10. "You Will Pay Tomorrow" – 4:54
  11. "I Don't Want to Bring Your Gods Down" – 6:19
  12. "...And I Need to Be with Someone Tonight" – 3:04

Personnel[]

  • Terence Trent D'Arby (aka the Incredible E.G. O'Reilly, aka Ecneret Tnert Ybra'D) – vocals, kazoo (track 10), Fender Rhodes piano (tracks 9 and 11), sitar (track 3), scratching (track 3), keyboards (tracks 3, 4, 7–9), clavinet (tracks 6, 8 and 10), timpani (track 3), guitar (tracks 1, 2, 6–8), drums (tracks 4, 6–9, 11), cymbal (track 3), percussion (tracks 2–6, 8–10 and 12), tambourine (tracks 8, 10 and 11), piano (tracks 4, 7 and 9), organ (tracks 3 and 9), vibraphone (track 4), handclaps (track 5), marimba (track 9), arrangements
  • Michael Timothy – bass guitar (track 4), piano (tracks 8, 9 and 11), Hammond organ (tracks 4, 8 and 11), Fender Rhodes (track 5), recorder (track 9), score

with:

  • Richard Addison - clarinet (track 9)
  • Bob Andrews - Hammond organ (track 5)
  • Jack Bayle - trombone (track 11)
  • Conor Brady - guitar (tracks 4, 6 and 11)
  • Bob Brimson - guitar (track 1)
  • Richie Buckley - tenor saxophone (track 8)
  • Roger Chase - viola (track 10)
  • Simon Clarke - alto saxophone (track 5)
  • Ben Cruft - violin (track 10)
  • John Curran - saxophone (track 11)
  • Helen Davies - koto water harp (track 2)
  • Antonio Drennan - guitar (track 1)
  • Geoff Dunn - drums (track 5 and 10)
  • David Emanuel - viola (tracks 7 and 9)
  • Carl Geraghty - saxophone (track 11)
  • Wilfred Gibson - violin (tracks 7 and 9)
  • Pete Glenister - guitar (tracks 7–10)
  • John Heley - cello (track 7)
  • David Maldwyn James - cello (track 3)
  • Michael Jeans - oboe (track 9)
  • Cass Lewis - bass guitar (tracks 5, 9 and 10)
  • Roddy Lorimer - trumpet (tracks 5 and 10)
  • Martin Loveday - cello (tracks 9 and 10)
  • Christian Marsac - guitar (track 5), saxophone (track 7)
  • Neil Martin - viola (tracks 3 and 11)
  • Stephen McDonnell - trumpet (track 11)
  • Tony Malloy - bass guitar (track 8)
  • Padraig O'Connor - viola (tracks 3 and 11)
  • Eoghan O'Neill - bass guitar (tracks 6, 7 and 11)
  • Dick Pearce - trumpet (track 9)
  • Percy Robinson - pedal steel guitar (track 3)
  • Tim Sanders - tenor saxophone (tracks 5 and 10)
  • Geoff Scantlebury - sparkle sticks (track 10)
  • Alan Smale - violin (tracks 3 and 11)
  • Katherine Smale - violin (tracks 3 and 11)
  • Paul Spong - trumpet (tracks 5 and 10)
  • Chris Wellington - viola (track 7)
  • David White - clarinet (track 9)
  • Pete Wingfield - piano (track 5)
  • Gavyn Wright - violin (tracks 7, 9 and 10)

Alan Smale and Katherine Smale appear as The Degani Ensemble, while Simon Clarke, Roddy Lorimer, Paul Spong and Tim Sanders appear as the Kick Horns.

Charts[]

Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 40
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7] 28
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 32
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] 26
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10] 42
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[11] 16
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 47
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 20
UK Albums (OCC)[14] 12
US Billboard 200[15] 61
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[16] 75

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b AllMusic review
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Neither Fish nor Flesh : Terence Trent D'Arby : Review : Rolling Stone". 30 November 2007. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Robert Christgau: Consumer Guide Dec. 26, 1989". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  4. ^ Petridis, Alexis (25 November 2002). "Sananda Maitreya (Terence Trent D'Arby)". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  5. ^ [1] Retrieved January 19, 2009
  6. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  7. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  9. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  10. ^ "Charts.nz – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  11. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  12. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  13. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  14. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  15. ^ "Terence Trent D'Arby Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  16. ^ "Terence Trent D'Arby Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2020.

External links[]

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