Terence Trent D’Arby’s debut released

Introducing the Hardline According to… Terence Trent D’Arby

Released: July 13, 1987 Peak: 4 US, 13 RB, 19 UK, -- CN, 15 AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: R&B

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. If You All Get to Heaven [5:17] If You Let Me Stay [3:14] (3/14/87, 68 US, 19 RB, 7 UK, 36 AU) Wishing Well (D’Arby/Oliver) [3:30] (6/20/87, 1 US, 1 RB, 44 AC, 4 UK, 9 AU, gold single) I’ll Never Turn My Back on You (Father’s Words) [3:37] Dance Little Sister [3:55] (10/10/87, 30 US, 9 RB, 20 UK, 41 AU) Seven More Days [4:34] Let’s Go Forward [5:32] Rain [2:58] Sign Your Name [4:37] (1/9/88, 4 US, 2 RB, 13 AC, 2 UK, 3 AU) As Yet Untitled [5:33] Who’s Lovin’ You (Robinson) [4:24] Songs written by Terence Trent D’Arby unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 47:11

Rating: 4.155 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Terence Trent D’Arby burst out of the gates with what has been called “one of the best debuts ever.” AL The album debuted atop the UK album chart and sold a million copies within its first three days of release. WK Three singles from the album reached the top 10 in the UK. However, it wasn’t until Wishing Well, the album’s second single, that the album took off in the U.S. It peaked at #4 the same week that “Wishing Well” reached #1. In an all-time hype-worthy move, the “young, cocky black British singer” RB “claimed that this was the most important album since the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper.” RB Introducing the Hardline… certainly isn’t that essential, but it is still “a stunning, soulful approach to merging old influences and new realities.” AL “Although the production is quite modern, D’Arby shows his roots in the work of older artists, borrowing a page or two from Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, while James Brown appears to have had the strongest influence on d'Arby's stage presence.” RB D’Arby may not have have changed the world with this album, but it still had its influence. D’Arby, “who wrote virtually every note [and] played a multitude of instruments,” RB crafted an an “egomaniacal/lover stance” AL without which “it’s hard to fathom Maxwell, Tony Toni Tone, or any other neo-soul boys.” AL The BBC called the album “a soundtrack to the turning point when the ‘80s turned from austerity to prosperity. It’s…central to that decade…It remains one big, infectiously glorious record.” WK

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Terence Trent D’Arby RB Rob Bowman, All Music Guide AL Amy Linden, Amazon.com WK Wikipedia First posted 3/4/2008; last updated 8/24/2021.