He's one of my favorite artists. I think he's got one of the greatest strings up top-notch albums. Almost everything he released from Maxinquaye through the Mission Accomplished EP I think is pure genius. He kinda lost me with Blowback but I'm sure he'll bounce back. His live shows are absolutely riveting. He's got a killer band and his former singer Martina has the most gorgeous voice. He's got that mad scientist thing going on, like our beloved Prince and he's often stated that Prince is his main influence. He's even worked with Wendy, Lisa and Susan Rogers. And he's got that male/female, black/white struggle going on in his music. His music isn't for everybody, but for those who love it, testify!!!

Tricky is the shit. I'd love to have his career.

Testifying!!

I love him too! Blowback didn't impress me either. There was some good shit on there but nowhere near the genius of Maxinquaye, Angels with dirty faces or Nearly God.

It's too bad that Prince has never and probably will never work with the man. A Prince/Tricky combo would be unreal.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I know! Tricky's said for years that he'd love to work with him. But Prince acts like he doesn't know who he is. I heard him say once, "Pre-Millennium Tension is just another way of saying 1999."

He freaks me out.

Moonbeam said:

He's got nothing on that ghoul in your avatar.

I like that track he did with the Chili Peppers on the "Blowback" album. I think it was called "Girls".

Cool little story about Tricky:

My friend and I waited after one of his shows and we ended up talking to him for about a half hour. He's nothing like you'd expect. Possibly the friendliest famous person I've ever met. Anyway, we got talking about Prince at some point and he was saying how he loved "Don't Play Me" and that someone had given it to him. I asked if he had the rest of "Crystal Ball" and he said that he didn't yet. So my friend and I gave him a copy. He was thrilled and put it into his discman right away to listen to on the drive over to his hotel.

Tron is right ~ on all accounts. The man has a warmth and quiet glow ~ aura ~ that just amazes when talking to him in person. Has a beautiful smile too. His music puts me in another realm but you can feel him sitting right there next to you on the trip. Not like anyone else. Wish I could have heard him live with Martina but the shows I did see were mesmerizing.

TRON said:

are you serious tron? thats some cool shit right there...

anyways im a new tricky fan i guess...ive known of him since i was in high school but just now getting into that whole tricky/90's british trip hop thing...i think hes great a few things hit and miss but overall cool/.

Christopher said:

Cool Chris. What stuff do you have by him so far? What's your favorite? How did you become aware of him?

I first found out about him because he opened for PJ Harvey, who I was just getting into at the time. His opening set blew me away so much that I ran out and bought the album the next day. And I became twice the fan that I was of PJ. It was just so profoundly new and good.

I've met him on 3 other occasions.

The first, I didn't know who he was.

The second, we got in a fight.

The third, we almost smoked a joint but his driver told him they had to leave the venue.

TRON said:

lol you almost fought him seriously?!

well i remember before mtv destroyed the show "120mins" i seen his christian sands video and bought pre milliennum tension back 96/97 but collected dust really ..untill last yr ..

i just barely got the ruff guide to tricky cause they didnt have any other tricky cds when i went last time.. my favs so far are...

poems
she makes me wanna die
christiansands
forreal
pumpkin
tricky kid
sex drive
scrappy love
overcome

and a few others when i w

I've totally rediscovered Pre-Millennium Tension and it's turning into my favorite. It's just got such a great sound. I hope that he comes around soon to tour again. You've got to see him! If you're thinking about getting more of his stuff, I would recommend Maxinquaye next.

Oh and it wasn't almost a fist fight. He just bitched me out. I can't even remember what for anymore. I'll try hard to remember and get back to you.

I do remember talking about different US cities with him. He was saying how much he loved playing Detroit and Chicago but hated Boston. He was looking for a word to describe the vibe there and I told him I thought it was "uppity". He was like, "yeah, that's totally it!" After that though, was when things went sour.
[This message was edited Mon Mar 3 20:06:41 PST 2003 by TRON]

NWF said:

Yeah.. well it wasn't the chili peppers, it was only Anthony and John (Singer and guitar player).. I LOVE the song!! .. I'm not to crazy about "Tricky" .. he's alright I suppose, I'm sure I could get into him/his music ..

TRON said:

yeah Maxinquaye but i cant find it in stores for some reason i dunno i prolly need to go to a new&used store
...eheh he bitched you out ? he looks like the type to be to high to bitch anyone out ...


Pre-Millennium Tension collected much dust since i had first gotten it i dont think i was ready for that yet back then...but it dig it all now...

He kind of lost me with "Angels" already. I didn't even
mind the music getting so impenetrable, but I just missed
Martina's singing. Has she returned since??

So which one of his post-angels releases would be the best
one for me to pick up right now?

My fav tricky songs are

Christiansands
Poems
Piano
Makes Me Wanna Die
Black Coffee
A Song For Yukiko
Crazy Claws

And, fcuz the entire "Maxinquaye" album which is sheer
brilliance.

IstenSzek said:

Do you have the Mission Accomplished EP and Blowback? Cuz some of the songs you named are on those. I would recommend 'Juxtapose'. It has lots of first-rate songs and it's really fresh.

Martina's actually on a lot of 'Angels'. I can think of several songs like 'Singing the Blues', 'Angels With Dirty Faces', 'Analyze Me', and many of the b-sides. She didn't leave his creative circle until the Angels tour. I was sad to see her go but realized it was necessary for his growth. I hope he bounces back after Blowback though. That was the stinker for me.

Christopher said:

TRON said:

Tricky is nearly God. I've met him too, on several occasions and he is indeed very nice, very approachable and very down to earth.

TRON said:

No, "Angels With Dirty Faces" was the last complete album
I bought.

I've downloaded some of those other trax that I named.

I guess I don't recall Martina's contributions on "Angels"
as well because it's been a while since I listened to it.

Made myself a compilation album of my fav trax and kind of
forgot about the albums for a while. But I'll be sure to
dust them off again now and add a few new ones. Gonna check
out Juxtapose as soon as I'm near a record store again.

IstenSzek said:

Cool. I hope you like it. Let me know if you're interested in a list of b-sides and rarities for download.

bratchildsfriend said:

It was really awesome giving him that kaleidoscope too wasn't it? Not quite a crystal flute, but very cool nonetheless. I'm glad we got to see one of his shows together. I haven't seen him now since '98!

Our gifts were to them were truly inspired weren't they? The colours of the kaleidoscope were similar to the cover in your post.

bratchildsfriend said:

For sure. But that was hilarious when Bjork thought that the green box the flute came in was the gift. She was like "Thank you very much." And I was like, "no, you have to open it first." "Oh, it's a ship!!!"

That's when I knew she liked it.

I felt like Wendy flying to Never Land ~ what an honor to be with two "idealistic idealists" at the same time!!! Remember the Gazpaucho and Brie??? And Bjork riding around in the back of that limo with the windows down drinking champagne? Or were we dreaming? (maybe hallucinating from sleep derpivation)

Maxinquaye is still his best work. Blowback was pretty much terrible as an album but had a couple of ok songs...Pre-Millenium and Nearly God were very good, too...Angels w/ Dirty Faces was paranoid pot-smoking hell except for a few tracks.

mrdespues said:

This is mostly true. Except I love Angels and you didn't mention how great Juxtapose is either.

Hey Tron,
Tricky is the shit. when his first album came out a good friend of mine tried to turn me and my other half on to him. I listened to it and i just didn't get it. I think i wasn't quite ready for it. Then in 99 i was listening to this same friends copy of "angels" and i started to get it. I went back and got all of his albums. Downloaded all the b-sides, outtakes, production work, alternate mixes and live stuff i could find. It was like discovering a new musical universe. I also got into the whole trip-hop scene. Massive attack. Portishead, Bjork (not trip-hop but definately a trip). Tricky is the last muscial genius i have encountered. Blowback is rather weak in comparison to the rest of his catalog. Too pop to me. He seemed to tone himself down to be more accessble to the masses, but u shouldn't tone down greatness. Hopefully he will realize that he will never be a massively popular artist but his genius will be there for future artists.

P.S. what does anyone think of his version of "when doves cry". It's unreleased i believe.

I agree. Tricky should not be working with people like Alanis and Live. They're not worthy of his talents. 'Blowback' was definitely the wrong move. I listened to it once, was turned off and have never played it again. I would love for him to put out a live album. Some of those non-album live songs are so amazing. Too bad he neutered "Bury the Evidence" cuz it's such a great song live. I hear he's putting a new album out soon.