but what singles/albums do you think capture the "best of Tricky" for the uninitiated?

he's actually got a pretty ok singles collection out there on a single disc.

it's a good start.


his album "Maxinquaye" is an absolute classic of it's era. the follow up,
"Pre Millennium Tension" is pretty cool too.

the side project "Nearly God" has some sublime songs on it (including the
full version of "Poems" which is on the singles collection as an edit).

all albums after that have moment of brilliance but lack cohesiveness or
magic much in the way people feel that albums like NPS can't really live
up to albums like Parade or The Black Album.

if you enjoy the female vocals on the first two albums and some of the
songs on Nearly God, you might want to check out her solo album from a
few years ago. her name is Martina Topley Bird and the album "Quixotic"

IstenSzek said:

A review by one of the most respected Tricky lovers on Org.

And spot on.

i've always been intrigued by this british "character" of sorts. i've read reviews and have wanted to give him a shot. i posted a while ago that i bought Collected by Massive Attack (same thing, intrigued fueled by critical hype) and was severely underwhelmed. people (from Britain) pretty much said i "had to be there". if that was Tricky's "spoken word" rap voice on some of those track, then i'm not missing anything. (my standard for an innovative rap lyricist is WAY up there, i'm old school) but what singles/albums do you think capture the "best of Tricky" for the uninitiated?

Maxinequaye, Angels with Dirty Faces, others?

datdude said:

Start with "A Ruff Guide to Tricky", a singles compilation. If you don't like it go no further.

Tricky isn't really a rapper, and he shouldn't be categorised as such. His music is a fusion of dub, ragga, rock, pop, trip hop and hip hop.

Tricky's best albums are:

Maxinquaye
Juxtapose
Pre-Millenium Tension
Angels With Dirty Faces

Juxtapose is arguably the most accessible. Co-produced with Dame Grease and DJ Muggs. For Real is the standout - takes a swipe at gangsta rappers.

The albums got progressively darker and almost deliberately obtuse after Maxinquaye, when he found himself uncomfortable with his celebrity status. The darkest is Angels with Dirty Faces, which the idiot critics almiost universally loathed when it came out. It's a masterpiece in the vein of Lou Reed's Berlin and Neil Young's Tonight's The Night, music to drive your car/career over a cliff to.

His last two albums - Juxtapose and Vulnerable - were a lot lighter and much weaker. He's due to release an album later this year or early next year.

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.

Blow Back

I don't think approaching him for his lyrical rapping style would serve you best. approach him as a musician. Maxinquaye is perfection

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I had Maxinquaye and while I didn't get that into it I thought it was pretty good. I'd agree that he's not exactly a rapper but a musician who sort of speaks/raps. A good example of creative sampling, too.

I think that he's got a different style that won't appeal to everyone, but will really grab some.

datdude said:

You have to admit that's a Tricky question

Nice thread. I hope there will be more informative threads like this in the org.

NDRU said:

Approaching him as a rapper is not the right approach. Like Ganstafam said, he needs to be taken in each part of his strength to make up the whole, part lyric/part vocal/part music. together you have genius. Maxinquaye is one of those landmark albums, imo. That album totally changed the way I looked at music and stretched the landscape of my musical life

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

seems his strength and weakness (if that's fair) is that he doesn't conform to any set standard of music.

I found his music a little frustratig at times because it didn't do exactly what I wanted it to do, but at the same time it's a refreshing counterpoint to every other musician who seem to be doing the same thing as one another.

I could compare him to Bjork or Prince in that respect, and I wouldn't be the first

Tricky is really underrated. It was a shock when I saw him on an old episode of Girlfriends! That was a trip. It would be interesting if P and Tricky did some tracks together.Tricky might scare P,at this point in time,though. And on another note:I'd love to hear P and BT collaborate and BT and Tricky.

rockwilder said:

who the heck is BT? the only thing i could think of was Black Thought

datdude said:

You have to admit that's a Tricky question

I missed the party!

Tricky is really underrated. It was a shock when I saw him on an old episode of Girlfriends! That was a trip. It would be interesting if P and Tricky did some tracks together.Tricky might scare P,at this point in time,though. And on another note:I'd love to hear P and BT collaborate and BT and Tricky.

GangstaFam said:

well, due to supa's re-post of your essay you contributed considerably



love what you wrote about his stuff