Symphony or Damn

Symphony or Damn
Studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby
Released May 11, 1993
Genre Rock,[1] soul,[1][2] pop,[2] dance,[1] college rock[2]
Label Columbia
Producer Terence Trent D'Arby
Terence Trent D'Arby chronology
Neither Fish Nor Flesh
(1989)		 Symphony or Damn
(1993)		 Vibrator
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Entertainment WeeklyA[2]
The Hour(favorable)[1]

Terence Trent D'Arby's Symphony or Damn* (*Exploring the Tension Inside the Sweetness) is the third studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby, released in 1993 through Columbia Records. This album marked something of a comeback after the disappointing performance of his previous album Neither Fish Nor Flesh, and was generally well received by many critics, with Q Magazine rating it five stars upon its release.

Composition

The album is heavier in sound to D'Arby's smash hit debut album, which was essentially a mix of pop, soul and gospel. However Symphony or Damn contains several guitar oriented songs, such as "Do You Love Me Like You Say?", "Castillian Blue", "Are You Happy?" and the out-and-out rocker "She Kissed Me". The latter is an up-tempo hard rock song, that features the line "she likes rap and metal really loud", alluding to the subject's love of rock and heavy metal music. However, "Castillian Blue" and "Are You Happy?" have a blues guitar sound, with the former sounding dark and brooding and the latter featuring a far more upbeat pop/soul/blues sound. The drum sound throughout most of the album is also of a heavy nature.

"Penelope Please" namechecks The Pretenders frontwoman singer/guitarist Chrissie Hynde in the chorus: "You will still be home in time, to watch Top of the Pops, featuring Chrissie Hynde".

Commercial success and single releases

The album peaked at #4 on the UK Albums Chart and was boosted by four Top 20 UK singles, "Do You Love Me Like You Say?", "Delicate", featuring Des'ree (both tracks peaked at #14 in the UK Singles Chart), "She Kissed Me" (UK #16) and "Let Her Down Easy" (UK #18).

Two more tracks were released from the album but they were not as successful as the aforementioned tracks. "Turn the Page" failed to chart, while "Neon Messiah" was released as an EP in Japan only. This included a number of B-sides and is a widely sought-after collector's item.

Track listing

  1. "Welcome to My Monasteryo" – 0:31
  2. "She Kissed Me" – 3:39
  3. "Do You Love Me Like You Say?" – 5:30
  4. "Baby, Let Me Share My Love" – 3:56
  5. "Delicate" (featuring Des'ree) – 4:16
  6. "Neon Messiah" – 3:55
  7. "Penelope Please" – 3:07
  8. "Wet Your Lips" – 4:15
  9. "Turn the Page" – 6:07
  10. "Castilian Blue" – 5:15
  11. "Tension Inside The Sweetness/Frankie & Johnny" – 3:29
  12. "Are You Happy?" – 3:54
  13. "Succumb to Me" – 5:14
  14. "I Still Love You" – 2:15
  15. "Seasons" – 5:37
  16. "Let Her Down Easy" – 4:06

Personnel

Charts

Chart Position
Australian Albums Chart[4] 8
UK Albums Chart[5] 4
US Billboard 200[6] 119

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Album Reviews: Pop Albums". The Hour. 4 June 1993. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Sinclair, Tom (14 May 1993). "Symphony or Damn". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  3. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Terence Trent D'Arby – Terence Trent d'Arby's Symphony or Damn". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "australian-charts.com > Terence Trent D'Arby". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  5. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/24007/terence-trent-darby/
  6. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/374816/terence-trent-darby/chart?f=305
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