man... WHAT HAPPENED to this cat?

this guy was so brilliant. he had such a deep, complex voice, and his songwriting was unique and inspired.

i know he changed his name and still makes music, but to be honest, it's very hard for me to listen to anything he recorded after he changed his name.

still... what a voice. what a talent. I think the comparisons to P are overblown, by the way, but he was his parallel for a brief little period.

He lives in Italy and releases music under his name Sananda Maitreya. Check Amazon for his recent album downloads. It's more of a rock edge. I had the pleasure of seeing him 4 times live, just incredible. I got to meet him(2003), wife and band through a friend and cat was cool as F.

[Edited 8/2/16 17:11pm]

JoeBala said:

He lives in Italy and releases music under his name Sananda Maitreya. Check Amazon for his recent album downloads. It's more of a rock edge. I had the pleasure of seeing him 4 times live, just incredible. I got to meet him(2003), wife and band through a friend and cat was cool as F.

[Edited 8/2/16 17:11pm]

yeah I saw him around the Vibrator tour. still one of my favorite shows... a lot of the Samantha stuff isn't doing it for me unfortunately. just lacks the edge and the grit his best material has

scratch said:

JoeBala said:

He lives in Italy and releases music under his name Sananda Maitreya. Check Amazon for his recent album downloads. It's more of a rock edge. I had the pleasure of seeing him 4 times live, just incredible. I got to meet him(2003), wife and band through a friend and cat was cool as F.

[Edited 8/2/16 17:11pm]

yeah I saw him around the Vibrator tour. still one of my favorite shows... a lot of the Samantha stuff isn't doing it for me unfortunately. just lacks the edge and the grit his best material has

Yeah, but he's still got the voice. He just released a new one last year, so you might like it.

JoeBala said:

scratch said:

yeah I saw him around the Vibrator tour. still one of my favorite shows... a lot of the Samantha stuff isn't doing it for me unfortunately. just lacks the edge and the grit his best material has

Yeah, but he's still got the voice. He just released a new one last year, so you might like it.

ha oops just noticed that!! typed it out on my phone... stupid autocorrect!! SANANDA not SAMANTHA. lol!

yeah, true, he does still have that gruff beautiful voice. i'll check out his new release... not expecting a great deal though.

For me, to not like a Sananda album is the same as to not like a Prince album--a simple case that you just don't like the different stuff that an artist is doing today. I do still enjoy the quality of his vintage output and especially appreciate what he's doing today and hearing his perspective in the now.

>

His rock-edge among many tunes and live-sound production doesn't appeal to all, but thank goodness he has found a devoted group of admirers to support what he does.

>

I haven't the pleasure of attending his live act, but have checked out his shows that are posted online. He does not shred like a master, but he has a good time with his band--rhythm duo The Nudge Nudge. They are loose enough to support his noodling yet manage to keep things tight!

>

I can see where an admirer of his Vibrator album might be put off by his late tri-album collection of Angels & Vampires, The Sphinx, and Return to Zooathalon, but the man is covering the sonic territory that he wised to do while horn-locked in disagreement with his old company label and I can dig it.

Sananda is somebody who could have become a superstar if he did Introducing the Hardline 2.0 and towed the company line. But props to him for bringing out NFNF and doing his own thing. Retrospectively Neither Fish... has some great songs on it, like It Feels So Good To Love Someone Like You, To Know Someone Deeply, I'll Be Alright etc. He also covered topics which at the time were kinda taboo like Billy Don't Fall where it's about HIV/Aids. It's one of those records which years from now critics will say is like a cult classic. "Wildcard!" is one of my favorite Sananda albums of recent times and it's almost a modern Introducing... because it's more R&B/Soul influenced. A song like "Sweetness" should have been a mega hit. "What shall I do" would have been a great song on a movie soundtrack with a bittersweet love type theme. I think being a big fan of Sananda's since the beginning and watching his career trajectory has been very interesting. That he's making music he wants to make is something which is inspiring. He's one of my favorite vocalists as he has a almost Sam Cooke tinge to his voice and I remember on his forum asking him which vocalists inspired his style and he said Sam, Mahalia Jackson and a few others which I forget from memory. But Sananda is somebody I'd like to see have a career resurgence and folks to realise how talented an artist he is. I think whilst he never reached the heights of the Hardline era again, I would assume he's much happier doing his own thing and the fact that folks still enjoy his music to this day. Because there's the other side of the coin where if he did stick to what CBS wanted him to do he could have become a footnote in music history and a one or two hit wonder. But that he's career is still going is a testament to his talent and that by becoming independent he has paved a new path which I believe many more artists should where its more about the music and the evolution of an artists sound rather than the financial rewards.

thetimefan said:

Sananda is somebody who could have become a superstar if he did Introducing the Hardline 2.0 and towed the company line. But props to him for bringing out NFNF and doing his own thing. Retrospectively Neither Fish... has some great songs on it, like It Feels So Good To Love Someone Like You, To Know Someone Deeply, I'll Be Alright etc. He also covered topics which at the time were kinda taboo like Billy Don't Fall where it's about HIV/Aids. It's one of those records which years from now critics will say is like a cult classic. "Wildcard!" is one of my favorite Sananda albums of recent times and it's almost a modern Introducing... because it's more R&B/Soul influenced. A song like "Sweetness" should have been a mega hit. "What shall I do" would have been a great song on a movie soundtrack with a bittersweet love type theme. I think being a big fan of Sananda's since the beginning and watching his career trajectory has been very interesting. That he's making music he wants to make is something which is inspiring. He's one of my favorite vocalists as he has a almost Sam Cooke tinge to his voice and I remember on his forum asking him which vocalists inspired his style and he said Sam, Mahalia Jackson and a few others which I forget from memory. But Sananda is somebody I'd like to see have a career resurgence and folks to realise how talented an artist he is. I think whilst he never reached the heights of the Hardline era again, I would assume he's much happier doing his own thing and the fact that folks still enjoy his music to this day. Because there's the other side of the coin where if he did stick to what CBS wanted him to do he could have become a footnote in music history and a one or two hit wonder. But that he's career is still going is a testament to his talent and that by becoming independent he has paved a new path which I believe many more artists should where its more about the music and the evolution of an artists sound rather than the financial rewards.

yeah, he was attempting to do a Prince after Purple Rain with Around the World in a Day-- but Neither Fish Nor Flesh is even MORE out there than ATWIAD, and there's no big singles like Raspberry Beret or Pop Life. Listening back to Neither Fish Nor Flesh, though, is really brilliant. It's so bold, and it's got great songs. If he had saved it until his fourth or fifth album and released Symphony or Damn as his sophomore, perhaps his career wouldn't be where it is now.

It's really extraordinary listening back to NFNF that anyone EVER thought this was going to be an album with any marketability or commercial success. I guess I can answer my own question! He's still a brilliant artist though, I agree that Wildcard is a brilliant album, his last great album probably. I listened to most of Angels and Vampires. First off, why is he releasing such ridiculously long albums? I don't have time to listen to 40 tracks... even 20 tracks is too long for an album. There are a few great tracks, but overall it just feels a lot... lighter than most of the TTD stuff. It doesn't have that grit and HARD sound that so much of his early stuff has... and "O Jacaranda, I want to be your panda" wasn't quite as appealing to me as "O Divina."

is there any way to listen to his new album before buying it? i don't want to shell out for an album I'm not going to really enjoy, but I do want to support him if I can

Really liked this guy and his music. Just thought he went a bit weird with the whole Sananda stuff, why on earth would he change his name like that for no reason. I mean his musicup to 1995 was flawless and I probably dug him before I really dug Prince, but now too weird and too eratic, some his newer material (Oh Divina) is great, but a lot is unlistenable.

.

Amazed he had a wife and kids, because I thought this guy was gay. Holding on to you is truly Incredible I agree

Holding On To You is probably still my favourite song ever. I love all his albums up to Wildcard which is pretty underrated IMHO, but never felt his newer stuff much apart from a few songs - then again I must admit I didn't listen to most of it. His voice is amazing and he is a great songwriter too. It's a pity he is forgotten by so many, but I respect him for the road he has chosen.

scratch said:

JoeBala said:

He lives in Italy and releases music under his name Sananda Maitreya. Check Amazon for his recent album downloads. It's more of a rock edge. I had the pleasure of seeing him 4 times live, just incredible. I got to meet him(2003), wife and band through a friend and cat was cool as F.

[Edited 8/2/16 17:11pm]

yeah I saw him around the Vibrator tour. still one of my favorite shows... a lot of the Samantha stuff isn't doing it for me unfortunately. just lacks the edge and the grit his best material has

I had the chance to see him live several times and the Vibrator show was one of the very best shows I have seen in my life if not the best and I have seen a lot of great shows over the years.

JoeBala said:

He lives in Italy and releases music under his name Sananda Maitreya. Check Amazon for his recent album downloads. It's more of a rock edge. I had the pleasure of seeing him 4 times live, just incredible. I got to meet him(2003), wife and band through a friend and cat was cool as F.

[Edited 8/2/16 17:11pm]

He lives in Spain.

2freaky4church1 said:

He lives in Spain.

Not true, he lives in Italy

Serious said:

NorthC said:

Serious said:

Not true, he lives in Italy

Which you could've known, 2freaky, if you had read the thread. (Hey, that rhymes.) Or maybe Americans don't see the difference?

scratch said:

thetimefan said:

Sananda is somebody who could have become a superstar if he did Introducing the Hardline 2.0 and towed the company line. But props to him for bringing out NFNF and doing his own thing. Retrospectively Neither Fish... has some great songs on it, like It Feels So Good To Love Someone Like You, To Know Someone Deeply, I'll Be Alright etc. He also covered topics which at the time were kinda taboo like Billy Don't Fall where it's about HIV/Aids. It's one of those records which years from now critics will say is like a cult classic. "Wildcard!" is one of my favorite Sananda albums of recent times and it's almost a modern Introducing... because it's more R&B/Soul influenced. A song like "Sweetness" should have been a mega hit. "What shall I do" would have been a great song on a movie soundtrack with a bittersweet love type theme. I think being a big fan of Sananda's since the beginning and watching his career trajectory has been very interesting. That he's making music he wants to make is something which is inspiring. He's one of my favorite vocalists as he has a almost Sam Cooke tinge to his voice and I remember on his forum asking him which vocalists inspired his style and he said Sam, Mahalia Jackson and a few others which I forget from memory. But Sananda is somebody I'd like to see have a career resurgence and folks to realise how talented an artist he is. I think whilst he never reached the heights of the Hardline era again, I would assume he's much happier doing his own thing and the fact that folks still enjoy his music to this day. Because there's the other side of the coin where if he did stick to what CBS wanted him to do he could have become a footnote in music history and a one or two hit wonder. But that he's career is still going is a testament to his talent and that by becoming independent he has paved a new path which I believe many more artists should where its more about the music and the evolution of an artists sound rather than the financial rewards.

yeah, he was attempting to do a Prince after Purple Rain with Around the World in a Day-- but Neither Fish Nor Flesh is even MORE out there than ATWIAD, and there's no big singles like Raspberry Beret or Pop Life. Listening back to Neither Fish Nor Flesh, though, is really brilliant. It's so bold, and it's got great songs. If he had saved it until his fourth or fifth album and released Symphony or Damn as his sophomore, perhaps his career wouldn't be where it is now.

It's really extraordinary listening back to NFNF that anyone EVER thought this was going to be an album with any marketability or commercial success. I guess I can answer my own question! He's still a brilliant artist though, I agree that Wildcard is a brilliant album, his last great album probably. I listened to most of Angels and Vampires. First off, why is he releasing such ridiculously long albums? I don't have time to listen to 40 tracks... even 20 tracks is too long for an album. There are a few great tracks, but overall it just feels a lot... lighter than most of the TTD stuff. It doesn't have that grit and HARD sound that so much of his early stuff has... and "O Jacaranda, I want to be your panda" wasn't quite as appealing to me as "O Divina."

is there any way to listen to his new album before buying it? i don't want to shell out for an album I'm not going to really enjoy, but I do want to support him if I can

You gotta go online like you do here! Check out Youtube where you can listen for days to his recordings and live shows, or to his site sanandamaitreya.com.

NorthC said:

I'll always have a soft spot for him, because Hardline was the first LP I ever bought. But I guess what went wrong was that after his debut album was such a success, he thought he could do anything , but Neither Fish Nor Flesh bombed and he never really recovered from that. Ever since then he seems to have been a little insecure about himself and his position in the music bizz. Symphony or Damn was better. I saw him live in 1993 and he kept thanking the audience for coming out. You could tell that he wasn't sure how he would be recieved and was genuinely happy .that we were still there. And he gave a good show. So if he's happier as an independent artist, that's fine and I like Zugebrian Timelords. I love that weird, Dylanesque imagery such as "Djengiz Khan with his high heels on" or "a polar bear with snowphobia." Still, I keep wondering how fantastic he would sound if he could record in a state-of-the-art studio and put his records out on vinyl. [Edited 8/3/16 7:18am]

Is there an audiophile/studio-tech person here who can cover the description of Sananda's studio production? I actually like the way that he is recording his material today, but as a non-techie I can't put my finger on what it is. I'm sure that Sananda would disagree with your idea here, NorthC, although he'd be too polite to say so! He does go into details of his studio process in different interviews. Fact is that he's been recording his music with a favored ear to way that it sounds. It is his self-coined "Post-Millenium Rock" expression. I call it a more live-miked sound; less engineering to remove ambient noise. Vinyl albums might be a nice thing to have, though!

Germanegro said:

scratch said:

yeah, he was attempting to do a Prince after Purple Rain with Around the World in a Day-- but Neither Fish Nor Flesh is even MORE out there than ATWIAD, and there's no big singles like Raspberry Beret or Pop Life. Listening back to Neither Fish Nor Flesh, though, is really brilliant. It's so bold, and it's got great songs. If he had saved it until his fourth or fifth album and released Symphony or Damn as his sophomore, perhaps his career wouldn't be where it is now.

It's really extraordinary listening back to NFNF that anyone EVER thought this was going to be an album with any marketability or commercial success. I guess I can answer my own question! He's still a brilliant artist though, I agree that Wildcard is a brilliant album, his last great album probably. I listened to most of Angels and Vampires. First off, why is he releasing such ridiculously long albums? I don't have time to listen to 40 tracks... even 20 tracks is too long for an album. There are a few great tracks, but overall it just feels a lot... lighter than most of the TTD stuff. It doesn't have that grit and HARD sound that so much of his early stuff has... and "O Jacaranda, I want to be your panda" wasn't quite as appealing to me as "O Divina."

is there any way to listen to his new album before buying it? i don't want to shell out for an album I'm not going to really enjoy, but I do want to support him if I can

You gotta go online like you do here! Check out Youtube where you can listen for days to his recordings and live shows, or to his site sanandamaitreya.com.

yeah I went on the site but I can only find previews for the new album there and on YouTube. oh well. might just bite the bullet anyway.

Hm, yeah, I really don't know how he's recording today. I know for a long time he was using his home studio in Hollywood to record, like Symphony or Damn-- he called it his "monasteryo." Not sure where he records now.

Yea, it was certainly a curve ball he threw after "Hardline". I still wonder in retrospect whether Sananda wanted to self satobage his own career because he didn't want to be put in a box and labelled as just a R&B/Soul artist. If like I said he put out "Hardline" 2.0 he would be stuck in that musical realm. But doing something from the norm was a huge musical step, a misstep to some degree sure but I personally think NFNF is one of his best albums in his whole discography. I disagree a little that there was no hit songs on it "To Know Someone Deeply" had hit potential, as did "I'll Be Alright" which is very 60s soul-esque, more Stax-esque than Motown-esque. It kinda predates what the group Solo did a decade later and is almost proto neo-soul, going back to real instrumentation when the trend in the 80s was more computer/electronic sounds.If he had recorded "Right Thing, Wrong Way" back then I definitely that that would have been a huge hit following on from "Hardline" and he could have been excused a little if he had more avant-garde pieces on his album. But really its not like he did like a experimental album like George Harrison's "Electronic Sound" for example. NFNF is rooted within a soul/R&B realm its that majority of the songs aren't as easy accessible as the ones on his first LP, or second if you count the album he did with "Touch".

Yea, "Wildcard" is probably my second favorite Sananda album or joint favorite with "Hardline". "NFNF" is second, "Vibrator" & "Symphony or Damn" are tied. I think I'll have to make an ultimate Sananda album out of his newer works like the best songs or personal favorites from Angels & Vampires, Nigor Mortis et al. As there is some hit and miss songs on his latter work but I still like it all. Sananda's a very interesting artist thats real creative, although I'd like to hear a Gospelly soul type covers album where he sings Sam Cooke songs, or Stax ones like "Hold On I'm Coming". Put out that album with mainstream promotion and I think you've got a hit. Also some of his latter work sounds rather raw and unmastered so I'd like to hear those re-master and more polished because an artist the calibre of Sananda deserves higher quality 24bit mastering of his music. I think he's somebody in latter years whom will be respected and admired for not just following an easy route of being a generic R&B artist but somebody who's explored other musical genres yet has also paid homage to his inspirations like covering two Beatles tracks on one of his more recent albums.

I only have some basic intermediary knowledge of sound production & sound engineering, but to me it sounds like his newer work needs better mastering. I guess he records it direct to DAT and doesn't use any real filters or compression techniques. A few of his songs from memory sound kinda raw and that they could do with being remastered, I imagine it's an all in house production meaning he records at home or in a smaller scale studio and the technological limitations of the equipment mean the recordings sound different to what we are used to hearing from mainstream artists. I wouldn't be surprised if Sananda produces all his own work but I think if he worked with somebody like Bruce Swedien he'd get a much better sound quality on his recordings and if the other master recordings are in fact so and not just WAV files or whatever, which seems unlikely but could possibly be so, he should bring in a professional engineer and remaster them because I think with a better mastered record it brings out the dynamics and such and a great song sounds even better if the sound is of a higher level too.

He was a Ferarri that went in for a tune up.........and came out a 4 cyl Honda Civic.

I'd prefer he move to Spain.

2freaky4church1 said:

I'd prefer he move to Spain.

Well, I'd prefer that he move back to the U.S.A. and perform at a few club dates every now and then. But it sounds like he is really comfortable in wife's hometown of Milano.

Germanegro said:

Is there an audiophile/studio-tech person here who can cover the description of Sananda's studio production?

Thetimefan said:

I only have some basic intermediary knowledge of sound production & sound engineering, but to me it sounds like his newer work needs better mastering. I guess he records it direct to DAT and doesn't use any real filters or compression techniques. A few of his songs from memory sound kinda raw and that they could do with being remastered, I imagine it's an all in house production meaning he records at home or in a smaller scale studio and the technological limitations of the equipment mean the recordings sound different to what we are used to hearing from mainstream artists. I wouldn't be surprised if Sananda produces all his own work but I think if he worked with somebody like Bruce Swedien he'd get a much better sound quality on his recordings and if the other master recordings are in fact so and not just WAV files or whatever, which seems unlikely but could possibly be so, he should bring in a professional engineer and remaster them because I think with a better mastered record it brings out the dynamics and such and a great song sounds even better if the sound is of a higher level too.

Thanks, Thetimefan, for chiming in on the subject. We'll see how things go with the new Prometheus and Pandora project. He says this is a continuation of his last 3 albums so his recording style may not change at this point. If he ever gets a bigger band backup to broaden the sound, or wish to add some effects to his voice, perhaps some more engineering detail beyond what his current people of choice have to offer (Emo Alborghetti and Matteo Sandri) would be fine.

^^^Perhaps you could say that he has scaled-down his sound to tailor to his budget. I think that is okay. It doesn't look like he is in a hurry--or have any interest whatsoever, actually--to involve himself with a major-label production. He's probably shy from all the trauma he'd absorbed from that band of businessmen in his past. You could probably call the raw form of Post-Millennium Rock that you hear from him today as his sound of freedom! Prince as an independent managed to sculpt his own sound from his own studio as well, and incorporate work from other pro studios for hire. Folks would complain about how his albums would sound, also: too slick on one; too plastic on another; too much compression on the next, or whatever complaint. There was and is always somebody who could not be pleased--and Prince probably had more cash on hand than Sananda to allow him more freedom to experiment with different engineers as he saw fit! I dunno--the beauty in the sound is in the ear of the listener, perhaps. For some reason, Sanada's choices don't sound bad to my ears. I like more variety in my music and I feel that polish, or brand of polish is not always so important to me!

Germanegro said:

^^^Perhaps you could say that he has scaled-down his sound to tailor to his budget. I think that is okay. It doesn't look like he is in a hurry--or have any interest whatsoever, actually--to involve himself with a major-label production. He's probably shy from all the trauma he'd absorbed from that band of businessmen in his past. You could probably call the raw form of Post-Millennium Rock that you hear from him today as his sound of freedom! Prince as an independent managed to sculpt his own sound from his own studio as well, and incorporate work from other pro studios for hire. Folks would complain about how his albums would sound, also: too slick on one; too plastic on another; too much compression on the next, or whatever complaint. There was and is always somebody who could not be pleased--and Prince probably had more cash on hand than Sananda to allow him more freedom to experiment with different engineers as he saw fit! I dunno--the beauty in the sound is in the ear of the listener, perhaps. For some reason, Sanada's choices don't sound bad to my ears. I like more variety in my music and I feel that polish, or brand of polish is not always so important to me!

Well said... Totally agree.