Pros Great production, interesting concepts, some good songs...
Cons Some uninspired and pretentious songs...
The Bottom Line Tricky makes his solo debut with this often lauded album. Unfortunately, I don't like it as much as I wanted to.
Full Review
Often cited as one of the most gifted artists and producers of contemporary electronica and trip-hop, native Englishman Tricky (nee Adrian Thaws) has in the course of eight solo years made a massive impression on the world of music on the whole. Of course, had it not been for his career and formation of Massive Attack, Tricky’s solo career may have never been possible.
Without question, Tricky’s work with Massive Attack was sheer brilliance. I adored everything about the 1991 album Blue Lines and quite a bit about the 1994 release Protection. And by most accounts, his solo career was off to a rousing start with his 1995 debut Maxinquaye. The heavily lauded album was above all other thinks dark and angst-ridden. Blending elements of underground rap with an aggressive brand of electronica, the album proves a challenging experience.
While I am forced to admit to the creative merits of the album, my feelings about the disc differ from those of the usual critics. While I think Maxinquaye is deserving of much of the praise, I also believe it to be rather overrated and not nearly the innovative outing it is purported to be. And considering it is heralded as the best release of Tricky’s solo career, it is doubtful as to whether or not I will ever find it necessary to explore his music aside from this solo release as his work with the incredible Massive Attack…but of course my mind could be changed.
Maxinquaye does smack of genius on occasion as in the cases of songs like Overcome, Brand New If You’re Retro, and Black Steel but at the same time it feel incredibly pretentious not to mention forced. I understand that the album is meant above all other things to be creative and not necessarily widely appealing but if an album like this isolates probable fans like myself (an admitted fan of many kinds of trip-hop and electronica) it doesn’t accomplish the intended goal. I am disenchanted with the whole thing, and this likely sours my overall view of the disc.
With all that nastiness out of the way, I must turn to the truest and fullest examples of unique Tricky-style masterpieces—but as hard as I try I cannot for any reason fully endorse this artist. And it hurts like hell because I really intended to enjoy the album, and have waiting for well over a year to review it hoping that a miracle would occur and it would happen to eventually rub me the right way. But I can point to a few songs that regardless of the overall modest appeal of the album are worthwhile offerings.
Difficult to deny is the appeal of the haunting, mystifying album opener Overcome. Understated and cool, the song proves to possess to detached emotion that is common amongst the best songs of electronica and trip-hop alike. Tricky wasn’t trying to hard here as evidenced by the rich, flowing, lovingly produced song. And when paired with the lovely, dark, whimsical vocals provided by Martine I can’t help but be impressed.
But my opinion of the album soon takes a dive. Ponderosa is extremely troubling with hollow, tinny production and a chaotic arrangement. It could be worse, I suppose but when songs like this pepper Maxinquaye I find myself increasingly displeased with the disc on the whole. But fortunately, Tricky does pick up the pace with Black Steel, a twisted and strange cover of Public Enemy’s song Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos. And while I cannot properly compare the two songs, I can comment on the fact that this version is fascinating. I can’t help but admire the confidence that Tricky’s music exudes. Black Steel is one half a rock track and one half an electronica track. The combination is lovely, and makes for a truly excellent crossover effort that should appeal to a variety of music fans.
A few other songs make some bit of impact. For example, I adore the low and crackly production of Hell is Around the Corner. It is the perfect example of the perfect combination of hip hop and trippy production. Also notable is Aftermath with a slowly building melody and musical idea. Once again Martine’s voice is impeccable, and pushes the otherwise good song into the area of greatness. Finally, Brand New You’re Retro should definitely find a home in the hearts of all music fans. The song itself is a creative opus, but when listeners consider the origin of the samples the true appeal of the track will come in more clearly. And I believe that much of Tricky’s appeal is rooted in his ability to disguise often popular and also often unknown songs as samples in his music.
Speaking of samples, Tricky uses a number of other songs as inspiration and in samples across his solo debut. Shakespeare’s Sister’s Moonchild is sampled on Overcome (a song that was later sampled for the divine Fiona Apple song Sleep To Dream), Pumpkin samples The Smashing Pumpkins’ song Suffer, and Isaac Hayes’ Ike Rap II on Hell is Around the Corner to name a few.
But as I said pretty pointedly above, not everything about Maxinquaye is peaches and cream although on the whole many of the good things cancel out the band things. The songs that are of no particular interest are You Don’t, Strugglin’,, Feed Me, and Abbaon Fat Track. None of them are really bad, but it seems that toward the middle and end of the disc Tricky loses momentum. Abboan Fat Track is the first indication. It wanders around pretty aimlessly, occasionally featuring Martine coming up for air with a line or two. I don’t hate the song, it just doesn’t do anything for me.
And the final three songs also suffer the same fate. You Don’t takes a bit too long to get going for my tastes, and when it does I’m just left bored. I appreciate that Martine “fights evil with evil” but the song itself could have been omitted from this disc. Strugglin’ is once again too slow to start, and not just that—it lasts much too long for my liking. Beginning with the cocking of a shotgun, the song winds up and down with a complex and confusing bunch of intricate samples. The rhythm and melody are also difficult to follow and troubling to listen to. I appreciate complex and intelligent music, but with Strugglin’ I’m left with the feeling that Tricky was trying too hard to be profound. Feed Me on the other hand just doesn’t offer up the variety that would have been necessary to make this album a completely perfect outing.
Tricky tries so hard to break new musical ground that his music in all just all ends up sounding a bit too similar. Of course, Tricky’s music is also much better than the majority of the rest of the 1995’s music—but it just doesn’t stand the test of time. I do fully believe that his work with Bjork is a far better representation of his talent. Also more representative is his work with Massive Attack. Tricky is an exceptionally talented fellow, just more on the back end of things. He’s a gifted producer with a gifted ear. But it seems that he’s better off having material brought to him than making his own.
But with all of that said, Maxinquaye is still a better than average album that most definitely will touch many other people in the years to come. It just didn’t do a heck of a lot for me. Unfortunately—like I said, I thought I’d like it.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Overcome
02. Ponderosa
03. Black Steel
04. Hell Is Around the Corner
05. Pumpkin
06. Aftermath
07. Abbaon Fat Track
08. Brand New You're Retro
09. Suffocated Love
10. You Don't
11. Strugglin'
12. Feed Me
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