Terence Trent D'Arby

It's easy to lob bombs at Terence Trent D'Arby. His pompous androgynous android funk clearly tears a page from Prince's playbook, he claimed that his debut was the best album since Sgt. Pepper's and his subsequent releases were underwhelming studies in studious pretentiousness. But for a few months in 1987 -- following the overwhelming one-two punch of "Sign Your Name" and "Wishing Well" -- D'Arby was the hottest name in R&B, and deservedly so. The spidery drum machine soul of "Wishing Well" remains addictive, and "Sign Your Name" sounds like Polynesian Goth played by runny-nosed romantics.

He can sing sweet or gritty, write sweet, gritty, or pretentious. His rhythms and arrangements show a sense of roots and a sense of style. He's got black consciousness and pop ambition. Which sums up why everybody wants this record to achieve what it promises. Summing up what it does achieve is the best cut, a Smokey Robinson song--which you'll think is his own until you check the fine print. (Grade - B+)