Vulnerable (+DVD) - Tricky

Advantages: Cool CD cover, Hours of effortless Depression, Tricky's Voice
Disadvantages: Can Reverse Effects of Prozac, Takes a Couple of Listens to Really Get Into, Can't Use the CD as Legal Tender in Korea

...A classic in the alternative scene, Pre-Millenium Tension is departed enough from his Massive Attack days to make it original, but different enough from Nearly God to make it accessible. Anyway, enough with the foreplay....let's get it on: Tricky starts off a lot of his albums with an energised track, and PMT is no exception. Vent is a beautifully atmospheric track. The chorus-of-sorts "Can't Hardly Breathe" is accompanied by a looped drum and synth track that is so suffocating and energetic that the introduction of a thrashy guitar towards the end is actually a pleasant breath of air. Its imagery isn't incredibly subtle, but all the more powerful for it. Christiansands sounds is a moody, Maxinquaye-esque track, with Tricky's typical take on love and relationships seeping through in the lyrics. "Always...what does that mean... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Mellow; Different from his previous stuff; Less dark
Disadvantages: None, in my opinion.

......does it again. I have loved Tricky's voice since Karmacoma. The boy just sounds like the most chilled man on the planet. For "Blowback" he has gone a bit further down the commercial road but, rest assured, the quality of the music doesn't suffer. Blowback is quite bass-heavy as you would expect but that's definitely not a bad thing. I was initially hooked by the Wonder-Woman-theme-sampling insanity of #1 Da Woman (did you see what he did there?) but soon realised that the rest of the CD is even better than that admittedly kitsch offering. "Song For Yukiko" is a classic. The Japanese touches and haunting piano are different from anything else on the CD and leave you with a feeling of complete contentment. Blowback boasts collaborations with Anthony Keidis, Flea, Alanis Morrisette and squeaky-voiced fraggle, Cyndi Lauper, and... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: One of the greatest posthmous releases of all time
Disadvantages: a little too stringy

...of the amazing musical subtlety and sophistication of What's Going On. And improvisational structures served as the backdrop for Marvin to create funk groove after funk groove throughout his '70s oeuvre. But his dream to make it as a jazz artist laid beyond his grasp. Finally in 1978, ripped to emotional shards by two divorces, ailing from a maddening cocaine intake, and with a wealth of acquired knowledge under his belt, he recorded seven jazz standards, which he would form into an album called Vulnerable. Released in 1997, it is a concept album of tortuous romantic estrangement where Marvin lays out all of his romantic torments and calls on his higher angels to help absolve him of his misery, aided by his own noble self revelation, free of ego or selfishness. And the result is one of Marvin's finest musical moments, a movable feast of amazing vocal... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful