Neither Fish nor Flesh
Studio album by
Terence Trent D'Arby
Released23 October 1989 [1]
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
AllMusic[2]
New Musical Express8/10[3]
Record Mirror[4]
Rolling Stone[5]
The Vancouver Sun[6]
The Village VoiceA−[7]

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.[8]

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'".[7] Andrew Martin, reviewer of British music newspaper Music Week, chose it as "Album of the Week" and called it "as a complete work, a masterpiece". He concludes: "D'Arby's wit, verve and self-professed genius remains intact."[9] 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."[5] 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".[2]

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".[10]

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, all arrangements, guitars (1, 2, 6, 7, 8), percussion (2-6, 8, 9, 10, 12), various sound effects (2, 3, 7, 9), keyboards (3, 4, 7, 8, 9), organ (3, 9), sitar (3), cymbals (3), timpani (3), scratching (3), acoustic piano (4, 7, 9), drums (4, 6-9, 11), vibraphone (4), handclaps (5), clavinet (6, 8, 10), tambourine (8, 10, 11), Fender Rhodes (9, 11), marimba (9), kazoo (10)
  • Michael Timothy – scoring, Hammond B3 organ (4, 8, 11), bass (4), Fender Rhodes (5), acoustic piano (8, 9, 11), recorder (9)

with:

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

Production

  • Terence Trent D'Arby – producer, mixing
  • Tim Martin – recording, mixing
  • Richard O'Donovan – recording assistant, mix assistant
  • John Donnelly – mechanical manifestations
  • Ian Cooper – mastering at The Town House (London, UK)
  • Michael Nash Associates – design
  • Alistair Thain – photography

Charts

Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 40
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 28
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 32
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 26
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 42
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] 16
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 47
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 20
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 12
US Billboard 200[20] 61
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[21] 75

Sales and certifications

Certifications for Neither Fish nor Flesh
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[22] Gold 50,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[23] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "BPI certifications".
  2. 1 2 AllMusic review
  3. ↑ Morton, Roger (21 October 1989). "Long Play: Rubber Sole. Terence Trent D'Arby — Neither Fish nor Flesh (CBS)". New Musical Express. London: IPC Limited. p. 39. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved 28 May 2023 – via Flickr.
  4. ↑ Nalasa, Malu (31 October 1989). "Review: Terence Trent D'Arby — Neither Fish nor Flesh" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 18. ISSN 0144-5804. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021 – via American Radio History.
  5. 1 2 "Neither Fish nor Flesh : Terence Trent D'Arby : Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 30 November 2007. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  6. ↑ Mackie, John (17 February 1990). "D'Arby's ego runs amok". The Vancouver Sun.
  7. 1 2 "Robert Christgau: Consumer Guide Dec. 26, 1989". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  8. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (25 November 2002). "Sananda Maitreya (Terence Trent D'Arby)". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  9. ↑ Martin, Andrew (21 October 1989). "Review: Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish nor Flesh" (PDF). Music Week. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 24. ISSN 0265-1548. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022 – via World Radio History.
  10. ↑ "Albums Commentary". www.sanandamaitreya.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
  11. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Charts.nz – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish Nor Flesh". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Terence Trent D'Arby Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Terence Trent D'Arby Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish nor Flesh". Music Canada. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  23. ↑ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 926. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  24. ↑ "British album certifications – Terence Trent D'Arby – Neither Fish nor Flesh". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
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