Last year, I joined Popdose‘s Jeff Giles and Robert Cass for a column called “‘Face Time,” in which we discussed essential (and some non-essential) cuts in the catalog of Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, one of the most prolific singer/songwriters of the ’80s and ’90s. ‘Face and his partner Antonio “L.A.” Reid were one of the big 3 production teams that ruled pop and R&B during that era. There was also Teddy Riley and his New Jack Swing camp, and perhaps most notably, Minneapolis’s James “Jimmy Jam” Harris III and Terry Lewis. The former members of Prince offshoot band The Time turned out to be legends in their own right, composing and producing hits for a who’s-who of the music industry and proving to be as (if not more) influential than their purple-clad benefactor.
So in 2014, Jeff, Robert and I (along two new team members, fellow Popdose editor/Popblerd podcast co-host Michael Parr, along with badass co-conspirator Dr. Z) are back to talk all things Flyte Tyme.
Terence Trent D’Arby “Right Thing, Wrong Way” (from the Beverly Hills Cop III Soundtrack, 1993)
Written & Produced by TTD, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
Michael Parr: Definitely a bit of a departure for Messrs. Jam and Lewis, no? I don’t usually think Stax when I think the duo, but this definitely channels some Otis Redding mojo.
Dr. Z: I actually wasn’t even aware that they were behind the deck on this one. For TTD’s part, it’s curious that this is much more in the vein of Neither Fish nor Flesh than Symphony or Damn (the album that D’Arby released that year.)
All that said, it is a departure for Jam and Lewis when you consider the other projects they were working on at the time (most notably janet.). But like some of the ballad work we’ve covered already, it’s a welcome departure that takes the boys outside of their best-known modes of operation and allows them to flex their muscles a bit.
Robert Cass: Between 2004 and ’06, I think, NBC would show reruns of Saturday Night Live from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s in the wee hours of Sunday morning. There was no apparent logic to the selection of episodes, but at least the warts-and-all curation confirmed for me that the 1985-’86 season, featuring single-season alumni like Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, Joan Cusack, Damon Wayans, and Randy Quaid, really was as bad as I remembered.
Anyway, one of the reruns that was shown was from February 13, 1988, with Justine Bateman as the host and Terence Trent D’Arby as the musical guest. I’d forgotten how good “Wishing Well” is — and I can’t believe I don’t have it anywhere in my collection — but his second number, a cover of “Under My Thumb” with a few lines from “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” thrown in after a false ending, was dy-no-mite. Easily one of the best live performances I’ve seen in the nearly 40 years of that show, and D’Arby proved to be quite a showman, incorporating leaps, splits, a somersault that ended in a split, and even some microphone-stand gymnastics into his choreography. If James Brown ever saw that performance I hope he said, “Not bad!”
MJ: I’d imagine James said something like “I want some PCP!!”
(editor’s note: video of this performance has proven impossible to come by on the internet.)
TTD was a kick-ass live performer in his day. Not sure if anyone has seen his Grammy performance from 1988. Killer, killer stuff:
Z: For the record, there was a 2-disc compilation put out a few years ago (I think just called Greatest Hits) that included TTD’s singles, b-sides, and live cuts. Whether you have no TTD albums or all of them, it’s a worthwhile purchase (and it includes “Right Thing, Wrong Way!”).
On the live tip, there’s a solid 1987 concert on DVD from German TV that’s worth a look.
RC: “Right Thing, Wrong Way” could’ve used an editor. I’d say it’s twice the length it needs to be.
When John Lennon said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus, a lot of people weren’t happy. And when Terence Trent D’Arby said his debut album was better than Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, a lot of people weren’t happy about that either. He eventually said he was kidding, right?
MJ: I’d probably rather listen to TTD’s first album than Sgt. Pepper’s.
I can’t possibly be the only one. There’s no song as embarrassing as “When I’m Sixty-Four” on Introducing the Hardline, is there?
Z: Hardline isn’t flawless, but you’ve got a point.
Pepper is one of those albums that in discussion, I agree with your sentiment. But when I’m actually listening to it, my assessment is higher. That said, I still agree that there are better Beatles albums. Personally, I think that might just be because I played Pepper to death as a kid. And in general, psychedelia doesn’t age well.
RC: Keep in mind that the late 1980s was the peak of boomer nostalgia. In the context of the time, there was no greater heresy one could speak than to sully
Sgt. Pepper. If an artist made the same claim today, it would be just as absurd, but wouldn’t spark the same derision from readers, I don’t think.
In related news, Beverly Hills Cop IV is apparently slated for a 2016 release. Because *that’s* what film-going audiences have been demanding.
MJ: Is Eddie in it?
RC: Beverly Hills Cop IV has been in the works for at least six years now, with Brett Ratner committed to directing back in ’08, but he ended up doing Tower Heist with Murphy in 2011 instead. Didn’t Murphy mention in his promotional interviews for Tower Heist that a new Beverly Hills Cop TV series would follow the adventures of Axel Foley Jr., with Murphy making occasional appearances as Foley Sr.? CBS passed on the pilot, though, I think.
MJ: TTD’s got a new album out, which I’m trying really hard to digest. It’s a frickin’ mess, though.But there’s a song called “Tequila Mockingbird!” WIN.
Z: I honestly lost track when he started doing everything digitally post-Wildcard (the latter of which is pretty solid, by the way).Most of those recent albums are on Spotify, so I’ll rectify that. However, I’m not encouraged that they’re all at least 20 tracks in length.
MP: Is it supposed to be a double album, or is there just a lack of an editorial voice?
MJ: I am going to go with Option B.
