After the barely listenable career low of 'Angels With Dirty Faces', Tricky changes direction with 'Juxtapose' creating an album that you can actually like.
The opener "For Real" sees the Bristol born artist observing life in the music industry, shrewdly noting:
'When the record company ... Read review
Advantages: More listenable than previous efforts Disadvantages: No tracks especially strong
After the barely listenable career low of 'Angels With Dirty Faces', Tricky changes direction with 'Juxtapose' creating an album that you can actually like.
The opener "For Real" sees the Bristol born artist observing life in the music industry, shrewdly noting:
'When the record company drops me, that's when I learn'.
"I Like The Girls" is a juvenile song with superb rapping from Mad Dog.
"Contradictive" ... ...as DJ Muggs creates an echoing chorus - the chill out track of the album.
Martina, who used to sing alongside Tricky, is not here, and this is highly noticeable. Whilst the substitutes do fill in adequately enough, the special magic is not there.
Although this is not a bad album, and certainly more accessible than some of his previous efforts, Tricky has a long way to go beore he reaches the masterpiece that was 'Maxinquaye'. ... more
After the barely listenable career low of 'Angels With Dirty Faces', Tricky changes direction with 'Juxtapose' creating an album that you can actually like. The opener "For Real" sees the Bristol born artist observing life in the music industry, shrewdly noting: 'When the record company drops me, that's when I learn'. "I Like The Girls" is a juvenile song with superb rapping from Mad Dog. "Contradictive" sees a simple guitar riff played against Tricky's croaking vocals as DJ Muggs creates an echoing chorus - the chill out track of the album. Martina, who used to sing alongside Tricky, is not here, and this is highly noticeable. Whilst the substitutes do fill in adequately enough, the special magic is not there.
Although this is not a bad album, and certainly more accessible than some of his previous efforts, Tricky has a long way to go beore he reaches the masterpiece that was 'Maxinquaye'. Here on 'Juxtapose' not only does he suffer from the absence of his long time collaborator, but the tracks are just average and there are few highlights. Only the most ardent fans should buy this.
Advantages: Not one bad song! Disadvantages: Only 35 minutes long
Almost definitely Tricky's greatest creation yet. Or at least on-par with Maxinquaye. After having fumbled with 'Angel's with Dirty Faces', Tricky returns to his former people-pleasing pop self. If you like chilled out, rocky stuff you will like this. The lyrics of 'For Real' give a glimpse of where the album has come from and where Tricky has been, and 'I Like the Girls' gives us the opportunity to test our listening skills out: trying to understand ... ...own and his rapping style is used to best-effect. Tricky is omnipresent with the breathy vocals as usual. The guitar sounds and riffs stand out really well throughout the album, as do the trip-hop beats. The album shows how good Tricky is. My only complaint is that 'Bombing Bastards' from the 'For Real' single doesn't appear on the album. Despite being a short album, this is definitely one that you can lsten to over and over. ...
pablo 12.06.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Juxtapose - Tricky/DJ Muggs/Grease
Product Information for "Juxtapose - Tricky/DJ Muggs/Grease" »
Product details
Title
Juxtapose
Performer
Tricky/DJ Muggs/Grease
Genre
Electronic
Sub Genre
Trip Hop / Big Beat
Release Date
16/08/1999
Recomended Retail Price
13.99 GBP
Original Release Year
1999
Label / Distributor
Durban Poison / Universal Music
Engineer
Troy Stanton
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
731454643221
Additional notes
Album Notes
Personnel: Tricky, DJ Muggs, Bob Khaleel, Mad Dog, Kioka (vocals); Reggie Stewart (guitar, keyboards, bass); Reggie House (guitar, bass); Adam 7, Inner Circle (guitar); Rich Keller (bass); Flo (drums). Producers: Dame Grease, Rich Keller, Tricky, DJ Muggs. "For Real," JUXTAPOSE's opening cut, might lead one to think that the eternally ominous Tricky had lightened up. Its lush, blissful blend of Seal-like R&B/pop and P.M. Dawn bliss-hop seems miles away from Tricky's usual apocalyptic visions. It's soon business as usual though, as urgently muttered rapping and snaky, angular electric guitar underline the foreboding element of "Boom Boom Diggy," and percolating breakbeats frame "She Said"'s moody keyboards and sinister-sounding vocals. Tricky is undoubtedly utilizing an expanded sonic palette here, as evidenced by the nylon-string guitar on "Contradictive" and "Wash My Soul," and the heavy metal power chords of "Hot Like A Sauna (Metal Mix)." His aesthetic is as penetrating and uncompromising as ever. With assistance from American hip-hop producers DJ Muggs and Grease, JUXTAPOSE is less intimidating than Tricky's previous efforts, but no less heartfelt or satisfying.
Album Reviews
Rolling Stone (9/2/99, p.110) - 3 stars (out of 5) - "...[brings] back some long-missed hooks and melodies to [Tricky's] bad-mood music....[his] least hip-hop, most-pop album to date....Muggs and Grease's light sets Tricky's shadow in welcome relief." Vibe (9/99, p.272) - "...his poppiest effort yet....proves why his music has really been hip hop all along....JUXTAPOSE still manages to confound expectations....he throws us a change-up: fresh beats, freestyle breaks, and a playful reluctance to be so damn heavy all the time." Spin (9/99, p.187) - 7 out of 10 - "...shows in sonic sonic choices unheard-of for this mansion haunter....Pretty groovy for what feels more like basement tapes than a proper LP..." Q (9/99, p.110) - 4 stars (out of 5) - "...JUXTAPOSE [proves] that this particular artistic fire remains stoked and that...he's gamely heading off into the territory of the individualist." Melody Maker (8/14/99, p.35) - 4 stars (out of 5) - "...this new album is the spliff-addled gutter-poet's finest moment to date. A shattered hip-hop dream. Bleakly comic, furiously romantic..." NME (8/14/99, p.32) - 7 out of 10 - "...the churning murk has been replaced by some semblance of clarity, structure and melody....He's the Mark E Smith of washed-out industrial trip-hop, spewing garbled but sporadically brilliant verbage....There's plenty to enjoy here." The Wire (8/99, p.58) - "...JUXTAPOSE tries to wipe the smirk off the faces of HipHop playaz who are laughing all the way to the bank....his willingness to confront HipHop's ugliness is laudable....As ever, the kernels of an amazing fusion and a singular vision are audible..." Alternative Press (9/99, p.120) - 3 out of 5 - "...all over the place....most of [JUXTAPOSE] sounds like intuitive variations on the sonic organism he created. Mojo (9/99, p.116) - "...[Tricky] bobs and weaves his way through his most unpredictable, fulfilling album since 1995's MAXINQUAYE....JUXTAPOSE restores [his] credentials as a unique alchemist..." Muzik (9/99, p.74) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...An entirely uncomfortable listen, for sure. All the same, precisely the record we've all been willing Tricky to make for years." Entertainment Weekly (8/20-27/99, p.129) - "...Slighter than usual, but by current rap standards, refreshing enough." - Rating: B
Titles on disc 1
1.
For Real
2.
Bom Bom Diggy - Tricky & DJ Muggs
3.
Contradictive - Tricky & DJ Muggs
4.
She Said
5.
I Like The Girls
6.
Hot Like A Sauna - Tricky & DJ Muggs
7.
Call Me - Tricky & DJ Muggs
8.
Wash My Soul - Tricky & DJ Muggs
9.
Hot Like A Sauna (metal mix) - Tricky & DJ Muggs
10.
Scrappy Love
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Listed on Ciao since
12/06/2000
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