Maxinquaye, I mean this is simply one of the best albums of the 90s. I always wished Prince would put out an album like this. Prince on "Strugglin'"

He just lost so much when he lost Martina.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Martina's solo album is awesome...check it out. Tricky does work on it. Why do so many fans bash Blowback so much....hell I like it. no album compares to Maxinquaye and Nearly God,imo though

AnckSuNamun said:

I have Martina's solo and love it to death. I however DESPISE blowback because I cannot stand any type of Jamaican rap I think there are 3 songs on it I can really dig, other than that I want to trample it underfoot.

But to the point, are you a fan of this costanza chick?

.
[Edited 3/30/06 17:45pm]

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

what about italian rapping? her vocals are a little too faint and weak, but she's not that bad. I don't think anyone's vocals are gonna match up with Tricky's like Martina's.....not even Bjork's. there are only a few songs from Vulnerable that I like. "Car Crash", "Moody" "Search, Search, Survive", "antimatter" "Stay" are the only standouts. I like Blowback better than Vulnerable, because I really like the Jamaican rap....especially on Evolution Revolution Love and Over Me. "ERL" is one of my favorite songs by Tricky....the combo of all of the genres of music are amazing,imo.

AnckSuNamun said:

I hate jamaican rap with everything that I am. Everytime I hear I rock therefore I am I nearly go into a damn fit. The regular rapper I can deal with, Jamaican ones HELL NO. I don't know why I hate it so much but I do. I do I do I do And this Costanza annoys me so bad. I think it's because of his comment and I was thinkin if Martina isn't his twin, this chick must be incredible and she is a borefest for his music Maybe I need to dig it out again because I haven't listened to it in so long because of her.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

is she the one who is so out of tune? (I gave all my Tricky CDs away except Maxinquay - so I don't even know which album I'm talking about here
)

charlottegelin said:

Well you can't be talkin bout Martina. She is on the most recent cd.

Maxinquaye

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

No, it's on one of the ones I gave away - either juxtapose or another one - it's a whole song where this girl is in a totally different key to the rest of the song - I couldn't listen to it, hurt my ears

charlottegelin said:

Did the song open like this:

I've been workin so hard
Just came home from my job
I looked down in my wallet
Goddamn it, I've been bought

That whole song musically and vocally is way out of whack and it's brilliant for it

check your orgnotes!

.
[Edited 3/30/06 19:13pm]

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

no, it's not that one - a more rappy one

charlottegelin said:

You have no idea how much I love the song I just shared with you. It is just so warped in every way, including finding out you're working your ass off for free

I find myself pretty much completely agreeing with you Supa.

With Tricky, I've come to realize that what I like about his work is 1/3 him, 1/3 his music and 1/3 Martina.

So when you take any of those elements away, I think his albums really suffer. Here's sorta what I mean...

When I first saw Tricky, it was with PJ Harvey in '95. I had no idea who he was, although I had heard the name. After the show I actually realized that he was mingling with the line outside asking if anyone had any weed to share. The funny think about that show was that I went to see Peej, but left just as much a fan of Tricky as her. It felt like a double bill. And the biggest reason was Martina. During the whole show I was right in the front row, on the right side of the stage, directly in front of her. I was absolutely spellbound. That NEVER happens to me with opening acts and I honestly felt like it was love at first sight. Her singing is just so naturally soulful, rich, nuanced and haunting. Effortless really. And she kept drinking and smoking just as much as Tricky through the whole show and didn't even seem to miss a beat. I went home and immediately bought "Maxinquaye" and made a musical friend for life.

Each album after that became increasingly harder to digest, but I gave each one a chance and actually love all of his first 4 on a similar level.

"Nearly God" sounded right at home next to "Maxinquaye", but had a much darker, stranger tone. Martina can still be found on 5 of the tracks, and the guests are just awesome on there. Knowing that many of the songs were just "demos" made it even more exciting. This came only a year after his debut, and it already felt like we were onto some Prince level genius after only 2 albums. At this point, I was buying everything Tricky I could get my hands on - EP's, singles, collabos, etc.

"Pre-Millennium Tension" was an agressive, confrontational album. He said at the time that it was his version of punk rock. I liken it in a way to Bjork's "Homogenic" from the following year. They both entered their 'blue period' beautifully and of all his albums other than "Maxinquaye", I feel that this one comes closest to capturing what Tricky is about. Sometimes I feel like it's my favorite. He was railing against being labelled "trip hop", and he definitely shed some detractors and some fans around this time. The live shows during this tour are the best of his career. The only track I'm not crazy about on there is "Ghetto Youth" because it's slow and repetitive, doesn't feature either Tricky or Martina and is somewhat of a momentum killer. When I'm feeling generous, I like to think of it as a much needed intermission.

Next came the notoriously difficult "Angels with Dirty Faces". I had a really hard time with this album at first. It fell under my 'Curse of '98'. Every alternative act I loved that released an album that year, I resisted at first. PJ Harvey's "Is This Desire?", Tori Amos' "From the Choirgirl Hotel", Smashing Pumkins' "Adore" and definitely "Angels" - were nearly inpenetrable to my ears. But with a little patience and time, I completely fell for each and every one. My musical pallet just hadn't expanded as quickly as the artists I loved, but once it did I was in for a huge treat. It's usually the work that challenges us that helps us grow the most. "Angels with Dirty Faces" still frightens me to this day. I don't know why. His music has always been sinister and edgy, but this album is downright scary in places. But I love that. It's the ultimate bad trip album. And shortly after its release, Tricky's battle with a bad reaction to his asthma medication became highly publicized. This was the reason he gave for the polarizing effect of "Angels". This was the last album to feature Martina.

After that, things got a little wonky. But not obviously or immediately at first. I loved "Juxtapose". Still do. I love the "Mission Accomplished" EP that followed. And here's where my 1/3's recipe comes into play. Martina was missing from the mix. But on every album before, he shared duties about equally with her, sometimes giving her the most mic time. On "Juxtapose", more of Tricky's vocals are featured than ever before. There had always been a very androgynous, boundary blurring element to his music. But with him dominating nearly every track, it lost some of that. I didn't mind right away. I thought of this as his "male album". The music was in sharp contrast to "Angels" - it was clearly defined, warm, inviting and in places, very sexy. I think it gets a bad rap, but in my opinion, it's the last great album he made.

His work of this decade suffers for me cuz of the 1/3 rule. Some of the music on "Blowback" was decent. But not only is it missing Martina, it's missing Tricky. His presence feels absent from a good portion of the songs. It's overrun with special guests and Hawkman (Supa's jamaican rapping nemesis). He was absolutely brilliant at choosing collaborations in the past. But this didn't come across as the kaleidoscopic mindfuck of "Nearly God". By choosing the Chili Peppers and Alanis Morrissette, it read more like the desparation of "Rave". My favorite song from the whole thing "A Song For Yukiko" featured only a simple beat, some piano tinkling and a Japanese woman's speaking voice. These are the kinds of songs I fear Tricky will never come up with again.

And don't even get me started on "Vulnerable". Again, he feels somewhat MIA. Constanza gets top billing. The music for the most part is too clear-headed and uninspired. Where is the genre-hopping? Where is the attitude? Where is the absolute confidence? His music of the 90's, although electronic, had a very organic life of its own. The last few albums sound very pro-tools-ey and clinical. I can't even imagine what his live shows are like now since he hasn't toured here since '99. During his heyday, Tricky had that increasingly elusive musical quality that Prince had - the straddling of black and white, male and female, rock and soul, funk and blues, electronic and organic. The press was tripping on his every move and you never knew what he was gonna throw at you next. It was thrilling. Very rarely do we get to see a genius born. And I think that's why I get so frustrated. Tricky is one of my musical heroes and I know what he's capable of. But I also know that he's done a lot of drugs, had a lot of problems and burned a lot of bridges. Ultimately, it's not his job to make sure I'm pleased with his work. Some people might be. At this point, I'd like to see him happy and excited about whatever creative endeavors he's exploring. If it sounds like I'm being a little hard on him, maybe I am. More than anything, I'm thrilled to have discovered his music and seen him live 5 times. He fills a musical puzzle piece in me that no one else has, and I'm grateful to him for showing me that side of myself.
[Edited 3/31/06 13:45pm]

:FAINT: :FAINT: :FAINT:

:::::awakening:::::

That was from how much blood I lost from my brain from the spiritual hardon I got reading this shit!

I'm definitely gonna add more "cents" on what you said. I LOVE these kinds of discussions.

I don't think there's anything wrong with her voice. In fact, she isn't even that different from Martina soundwise.

Novabreaker said:

Perhaps. But the magic just isn't there.

I don't think there's anything wrong with her voice. In fact, she isn't even that different from Martina soundwise.

GangstaFam said:

Well that I can sort of agree on. Even if he hasn't come up with another record since "Vulnerable", it will probably remain as the last Tricky album I will buy as a retail copy.

"Car Crash" I liked very much though. And The Cure cover as well, but on the whole it seems somewhat uninspired compared to his earlier efforts.

"How false your previous statement is"? Golly. Why don't you start a religious group or something.

Novabreaker said:

What makes you think I haven't? I get worshipped on a regular basis

I cannot stand this Costanza chick man