Neither Fish nor Flesh

Reception

In a review of Neither Fish nor Flesh for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau said despite D'Arby's pretentions 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'". 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." AllMusic's Tom Demalon 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".

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 being hindered by German record producer Frank Farian who decided to release an album of his 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".

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