Japanese edition of the R&B artist's (now known as Sananda Maitreya) long awaited fifth album, his first since 1995's 'TTD's Vibrator'. 19 tracks in all including the bonus track 'Testify'. 2001.
Japanese edition of the R&B artist's (now known as Sananda Maitreya) long awaited fifth album, his first since 1995's 'TTD's Vibrator'. 19 tracks in all including the bonus track 'Testify'. 2001.
"For all who think he played his best cards in the late 80's with his stunning debut-album "Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby", will be surprised by what card he held back! Yes, his Wildcard! And it must be said: this one earns his variable worth! Starting with the soft sung lines "Fundamentally sound, my karma's coming around, and I'm not worried", going over with power into the next, let you hear right from the start that he really has nothing to be worried about indeed! His voice is stronger then ever and reaches 5 octaves (!).
Not only his voice is flexible, so are his songs.
From the range of Pop: like "O Divina", "Ev'rythang" & "Sayin' about you", to the sound of the 70's like "Designated Fool" with heavy wah-wah's and electronics and "Drivin' me crazy", Rockin' with "SRR 636*", "...and they will never know" & "The Inner Scream" and then his R&B and Soul flavored ballads "Love can you hear me?" & "Sweetness" to a Jazzy "Shalom"."Shadows" could perfectly fit as the soundtrack for the next top-winning Oscar Movie!All the creative ranges in his voice, music and lyrics, makes this album his best ever! I leave the rest of the songs unspoken 'cause they speak very well for themselves and I wish you the enjoyment of the surprise-elements!
In the past he might have played some games of bluff-poker, with his Wildcard he absolutely overrules anyones Full House!"
GET WILD!
A. Owen | Stevenage, Herts | 12/01/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It has been some years since Terence Trent D'arby burst onto our TV screens and Hifi's in 1987, and even longer it seems since any mew material has surfaced from this talented artist.
Wild Card TTD's/Sananda's fifth album and official follow up to 1995's Vibrator, and the first to be released on his own label, was recorded in 1998, and after much deliberation finally gets the light of day on cd.
The album as expected, is as diverse musically as previous albums by the artist but also shows signs of experimentation in style and content.
Over the 19 tracks included here, TTD again shows his range, both vocally and musically, gracing the album with jazz,pop,funk and rock songs brought to stunning life with that voice.
Unlike Symphony Or Damn TTD's pinnacle third album, Wild card is dominated by songs using programmed drumbeats and stripped down production, which at times is masterful and at others plodding, meaning that whilst it doesn't quite match Symphonys' scope and vision it does contain some of his finest compositions.
O'Davina the opening track, is probably TTD's/Sananda's best opener to any of his albums, a jazzy, beautiful pop song with great horns and vocal harmonies. He has also remained faithful to the unfashionable banjo used so often in his past work.
Designated Fool is a welcome departure for TTD, with programmed beats ,wah wah guitars and keyboards.
Suga Free is also unfamiliar ground, but TTD makes this song his own with a great vocal and excellent harmonies, courtesy of one Mozart sample.
Ev'rythang and Drivin' me Crazy builds on a heavier, more dance orientated feel, keyboard synths and pulsating drum loops in full effect as TTD bellows out that voice. A collabaration with Glen Ballard on Shadows is less successful however, with the song never really working as a cohesive whole.
Whilst most of the album is donminated by mid tempo programmed tracks particularly the middle half, TTDs best work improves when he picks up the pace. Goodbye Diane, a funky hard edged workout succeeds in rock n roll and Sayin' About You is probably TTD's most commercial record on the album.
The last 2 tracks improve things further still.
Not originally included on the downloadable edition of WildCard these two tracks Benediction ; Sugar Ray and Testify bring this record to an upbeat, funky end.
Sugar Ray with its pulsating guitars , soft backdrop and great production captures TTD's great vocal range and stengths,
whilst Testify again mixes hard funk, vocal harmonies and wah wah guitars to great effect.
Wildcard sees a more mature artist shinning through. An artist in need to continue experimenting, changing styles and challenging himself. As a complete work it is diverse, frustrating and rewarding. It may lack a beautiful standout ballad so reminiscent of previous albums, it can get tedious
in the middle half , but it remains a great addition to TTD's body of work. Recommended."
Neither Fish Nor Flesh
Jason Stein | San Diego, CA United States | 01/17/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"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!"
This Wildcard's an Ace of Hearts
nton | 03/23/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am not a music critic (but I play one online). Shame on all the so-called critics who ignored this great album because it was not released by a major record label.
I am a loyal fan of Terence Trent D'Arby (TTD) aka
Sananda Maitreya. The Wild Card opens with TTD's trademark intro/trailer that essentially sums up what the album is all about.
"...Fundamentally sound my karma's coming round, fundamentally blue
except when I'm with you my soul's excited", he sings in
a mellow voice accompanied by what sounds like a
banjo (to my untrained non- music critic's ears)
before launching into "O Divina", a paean to women and
to all those positive stereotypically feminine
traits "...Perhaps you've seen her or been her or are
her." The somewhat jazzy big band sound of this first
cut is a fitting opening for a collection of love
songs that celebrate femininity in all its incarnations.Throughout the album TTD's singing is mature and
self-assured; not flashy and full of inappropriate vocal
pyrotechnics without true feeling a la Aguilera et al. He
hits the high notes only when required and uses the
full range of his voice to great effect including his
falsetto, which is probably passé in this age of
rediscovered machismo. This is soul singing at its finest. He
is not afraid to bare his feelings
with a vulnerability that harkens back to the golden
age of soul music. Otis Redding, the original "Mr.
Pitiful" would be proud.
All of the familiar TTD themes
are here - spirituality, lost love, loneliness, hope
redemption, positivity. Happily, there is no profanity or
dissing of women and no references to "booty" or
"thongs". This is thinking man's soul music that you can
use to nourish friends who are fond of junk food
but occasionally need and appreciate home cooking.
This is music that will stay with you long after the
song has ended, full of poetry and wonder and
surprisingly lacking in rancour or any hint of bitterness (which would be understandable given that an artist with his talent can't get a major label record deal).
He invites us in to his "Dark Places", a recurring
theme for TTD, to assist in "slaying my dragons by
trying to love them" but he doesn't wallow there.
Instead there is a candle burning, redemption at the end.
Which suggests that by confronting our demons we can
overcome them. And if all else fails just "Go on an let
your scream out". And he does on the "Inner Scream"- a
soul scream like Aretha's "Amazing Grace" or Al Green's
"Belle " that is ultimately healing and redemptive
The aptly titled Sweetness opens with a breathtaking chills down the spine intro, "s-iiii-n-g your magic spell into my ear..." And
sing he does.. This is one of those
songs that remind us of the power of music to inspire
and to heal. "I find a shelter in your wings" and "if
it were not for your sweetness, I would not know who
I am " Be Willing continues the uplifting
spirituality theme. The way he emphasizes "RE" in
"fearlessness is a fountain that RE decorates the dark" and the
little flourishes throughout this song are reminiscent
of Aretha's sometimes quirky but always effective phrasing.
One of the stronger songs that showcase
the beauty and strength of his voice and poetry is Shadows. Like
Stevie Wonder on Songs in the Key of Life, promising
love "until the day that Mother Nature says her work
is through" in Shadows TTD promises in a more
eloquent fashion to stick around until " your shadows
disappear". Comparisons to Stevie however highlight one
aspect of TTD that is missing from this album - there is
none of Stevie's Living for the City anger. TTD invites us
in to his dark places but we never really get to see
them.
As promised in the intro the album showcases a mature confident artist expressing his soul's excitement at the never-ending wonder that is life. This is a wonderful album!"
The Best Male Vocalist You Will Ever Hear!
musiqfiend | Southfield, MI United States | 04/11/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This Man has a voice that is truly a gift from God. He has so much control over his instrument, it is scary. I love this CD more and more every time I hear it. It has fast become one of my favorite albums of all time. Why this man is not as popular as he was with his debut is beyond me. Do yourself a favor and pick up this as well as all of TTD's music. If tracks like My Dark Places, Sweetness, and Ev'rything don't move you, you can not be moved."