...To paraphrase from 'Maxinquaye' (Tricky's mum was called Maxine Quaye) which is Tricky's first solo album after leaving Massive Attack. It's chill out music at it's most chilled, and is less experimental (Or downright freaky) than later albums and features the distinctive voice of Martine whatever-her-surname-is. ... Read review
A review by pennii on Maxinquaye - Tricky June 14th, 2001
Author's product rating:
Originality
Groundbreaking
Lyrics
Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks
Flawless
How does it rate alongside the competition
Outstanding
Value for Money
Advantages:
Just plain amazing
Disadvantages:
None whatsoever
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
...To paraphrase from 'Maxinquaye' (Tricky's mum was called Maxine Quaye) which is Tricky's first solo album after leaving Massive Attack. It's chill out music at it's most chilled, and is less experimental (Or downright freaky) than later albums and features the distinctive voice of Martine whatever-her-surname-is.
If you ask Tricky, it's not his finest hour and he'll say something very derogatory about it being like the Sneaker Pimps, but he sells himself short because it's a classic.
The track listing is as follows, and I'm no Catlain Moran so a brilliant description for every single song isn't happening, but I'll do me best to capture the magic.
1- 'Overcome' AKA 'Karmacoma'. The version here ambles along cleverly enough, but I prefer the Massive Attack version because it's fuller and more musical.
2- 'Ponderosa' begins with a gentle ice-cream van like sound that slides into subtle piano.
3- 'Black Steel', a cover of that by Public Enemy is more muted than the original, (Hip hop being more in yer face than trip hop) until Martine damn near blows a gasket towards the end. It's a trip hop/rock combo, she being an inspired choice to sing about being a black man not giving a damn about the government.
4- 'Hell is round the corner' is a beautiful, mellow affair with a clever choice of cords that gets you 'right there'. I'm all choked up...sniff
5- 'Pumpkin' Is light and breathy with Martine using her voice more traditionally on this track ie: singing sweetly, which makes it sound less unconventional than the rest of the album. "Mtv moves too fast, I refuse to understand".
6- 'Aftermath' is stark and spooky as tricky gently raps over Martine's singing, an occasional flute breaking up the reccurring bassline.
7- 'Abbaon fat tracks' It's trippy peacefullness defies it's lyrics of "With a quick speed I'll make your nose bleed".
8- 'Brand new you're retro' is a break from the mellow Compared to the rest, it's faster with both voices rapping quickly: "Bullet to the head... through the bars you'll see scars, results of my rage"
9- 'Suffocated love' Is the obligatory love song. Kind of. It's about one of those addictive relationships with great sex and high drama. "Is it love? No not love, she turns my sexual tricks" and "I think ahead of you, I think instead of you...she suffocates me"
10- 'You don't'
11- 'strugglin'
12- 'Feed me'
Tricky and Martine have now seperated because some 'Journalist' from 'The Face' said Tricky was holding her back. Tricky was once a sufferer of a food intolerance, which is why he was always completely off his head. If he eats sugar, he'll smack you, bread makes him paranoid and dairy makes him angry.
Inside the CD cover are a couple of pictures of Tricky in a wedding dress and Martine suited up (The one time Mr and Mrs of trip hop) which sums up the album brilliantly. Not as diverse as other Tricky albums, but quirky, stark and artistically wonderful.
Advantages: Amazing debut Disadvantages: Not music for everyone
From the opening rumblings of "Overcome" to the closing notes of "Feed Me", Tricky's debut album is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the '90s. A mix of trip-hop beats, samplings, rasping vocals by Tricky and delicate singing by Martina, the combination results in the production of 12 superb tracks.
It proves to be a highly diverse album - "Black Steel" is a cover of a Public Enemy number, and is in much the same vein as the energy charged "Brand ... ...slow numbers "Pumpkin" and "Suffocated Love" and the rumbling beats of "Ponderosa" and "Aftermath". "Hell Is Round the Corner" paints a bleak and gloomy picture of life and the tones of its lyrics are eminent throughout other tracks on the album;
On "Suffocated Love" : 'Now I could just kill a man'
"You Don't" : 'I fight evil with evil'
"Abbaon Fat Tracks": 'I f*** you in the ass, just for a laugh;
with the quick speed, I'll make your nose bleed'
...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Full of excellent songs Disadvantages: None
Tricky's Maxinquaye is one of those all time great albums! The mix of hip hop with complete mellow chillout music is blended together with absolute precision. You never tire of the songs here, and each time you listen to it you love it.
Black Steel is one of my favourites, along with Hello is Round The Corner which are just excellent. The female vocals on some tracks with Tricky's vocals on others, and both together are a welcome diversion to keep ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Dark and Moody Disadvantages: Listen to by yourself
...Tricky's follow up to the highly acclaimed "Maxinquaye" sees a darker, moodier tricky moving more towards his hip-hop yearnings. The opening track is a fairly happy affair, Martina sings "I’m the one who hides his medicine, watch him stop breathing" and this sort of sets the tone. Other dark tracks include the ending "Piano" and "makes me wanna die" which is possibly one of the best chillout tunes ever written, and the ultimate love song for indie kids everywhere. Martina shines on many tracks especially "lyrics of fury" which will have you dancing for ages. Other notable tracks are "Tricky Kid" where Tricky talks about his pursuit by the media. He was called the messiah of music and was photographed for a magazine with a crown of thorns. "Ghetto youth", "sex drive", "bad things" and "My evil is strong" fill out the album continuing...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
...have been so richly rewarded by an investment. Black Grape have made the record that could've blown the Mondays' 'Pills'N'Thrills And Bellyaches' out of the water, the record that should've been Primal Scream's next rootsier step to glory after 'Screamadelica', a record drenched in so many different styles and influences that it puts the recent achievements of Blur and Oasis in sharp perspective. Only Tricky's 'Maxinquaye' rivals 'It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah!' for lyrical, musical and sonic invention this year. And we all know where he got his cue from..."
Que? But I guess you know what they're trying to say ... Black Grape were/are shit hot and Shaun Ryder is hot shit... eh?...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
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 Mad Dog. This song is where he comes into his 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...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Label / Distributor: 4th & Broadway / Universal Music
Pieces in Set: 1
Studio / Live: Studio
Stereo: Stereo
Format: Performer
EAN: 731452408921
Additional notes
Album Notes: Personnel: Tricky, Martine, Alison Goldfrapp, Ragga (vocals); FTV (guitar, drums); James Stevenson (guitar); Tony Wrafter (flute); Mark Saunders (keyboards); Pete Briquette (bass). Producers: Tricky, Mark Saunders, Howie B., Kevin Petrie. Tricky made a low-key entrance onto the music scene as a guest vocalist on Massive Attack's 1991 classic Blue Lines. There was little indication that he would resurface four years later with an album as powerfully unsettling as Maxinquaye. Accompanied by the sweet-voiced Martine, Tricky takes the listener on a tour of the dark corridors of his mind, dealing exclusively in paranoia and obsession. The striking rhythms of stand-out tracks 'Overcome', 'Hell Is Round The Corner' and 'Suffocated Love' merge seamlessly with a hard-rock reworking of Public Enemy's 'Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos' and the warped soul of 'Abbaon Fat Tracks' to create one of the 90s' most compellingly atmospheric records.
Album Reviews: Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.80) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's." Spin (9/99, p.125) - Ranked #14 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s." Q (12/99, p.84) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s." Rolling Stone (1/25/96, p.41) - Ranked #3 in the 1996 Critics' Poll. Spin (12/95, p.62) - Ranked #2 on Spin's list of the `20 Best Albums Of '95.' New York Times (1/5/96, p.C16) - Included on Jon Pareles' list of the Top 10 Albums of '95 - "...the first album-length masterpiece of trip-hop..." Village Voice (2/20/96) - Ranked #2 in Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll. Q (2/96, p.67) - Included in Q's 50 Best Albums of 1995. Melody Maker (12/23-30/95, pp.66-67) - Tied for #1 on Melody Maker's list of 1995's `Albums Of The Year' - "...sounded like the apex of an epoch. Taking cues from...Massive Attack and Portishead, and blending them with more sinister hues borrowed from John Barry's Bond themes..." NME (12/23-30/95, pp.22-23) - Ranked #1 in NME's `Top 50 Albums Of The Year' for 1995 - "...foggy hip-hop track without a compass, a record where you never quite know what's going to happen next or where it's going to take you..." Q (6/00, p.75) - Ranked #36 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" Rolling Stone (6/15/95, p.83) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Trip-hop is the current label being given this music, but it's no more than a cute, reasonably accurate headline. At any given time, certain pop records--more than books or movies or whatever--strike a chord...as the sound of the beyond cool. Right now, Tricky's MAXINQUAYE is it..." Spin (6/95, p.99) - 8 - Very Good - "...Imagine the cracked-out vibe of vintage Schoolly D generated by a black British outcast who loves Billie Holiday and PJ Harvey as much as he digs sluggish beats and singsong melodies....Their attitude is mean-spirited, but much of the aggression is directed inward..." Musician (6/95, p.76) - "...It's not just `bottom end,' though there's plenty of bass rumbling through these dub-wise grooves, but the music's depth of field--the way the vocals, samples and keyboard parts arrange themselves into layers of foreground and background..." Q (3/95, p.104) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Tricky proves himself to be more challenging and eclectic than his peers, leapfrogging from...thick tribal beats to...sub-metal thrash...amid the more typical ambient dub....a highly inventive and intoxicating collection." Entertainment Weekly (6/2/95, p.56) - "...R&B for the head, MAXINQUAYE is engrossing music collage art that bumps, grinds, and simmers....singer Martine's sly phrasing--is mind-bending..." - Rating: A Option (7-8/95, p.141) - "...street beats and turntable scratching with guitars, dub bass, industrial noise and other elements....cool subdued music....This is among the best albums of the year..."
Titles on disc 1
1.: Overcome
2.: Ponderosa
3.: Black Steel
4.: Hell Is Around The Corner
5.: Pumpkin
6.: Aftermath
7.: Abbaon Fat Track
8.: Brand New You're Retro
9.: Suffocated Love
10.: You Don't
11.: Strugglin'
12.: Feed Me
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Listed on Ciao since : 16/11/2000
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