Tricky Maxinquaye CD

Tricky made a low-key entrance onto the music scene as a guest vocalist on Massive Attack's 1991 classic Blue Lines. There was little indication that he would resurface four years later with an album as powerfully unsettling as Maxinquaye. Accompanied by the sweet-voiced Martine, Tricky takes the listener on a tour of the dark corridors of his mind, dealing exclusively in paranoia and obsession. The striking rhythms of stand-out tracks 'Overcome', 'Hell Is Round The Corner' and 'Suffocated Love' merge seamlessly with a hard-rock reworking of Public Enemy's 'Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos' and the warped soul of 'Abbaon Fat Tracks' to create one of the 90s' most compellingly atmospheric records.

Composers: Hank Shocklee; Howie B; Carlton Ridenhour; E. Sadler; Tricky.

Personnel: Tricky (vocals); Ragga, Martine, Allison Goldfrapp (vocals); James Stevenson (guitar, bass guitar); FTV (guitar, drums); Tony Wrafter (flute); Mark Saunders (keyboards); Pete Briquette (bass guitar).

Recording information: New York, NY (1994-1995).

Personnel: Tricky, Martine, Alison Goldfrapp, Ragga (vocals); FTV (guitar, drums); James Stevenson (guitar); Tony Wrafter (flute); Mark Saunders (keyboards); Pete Briquette (bass).

Producers: Tricky, Mark Saunders, Howie B., Kevin Petrie.

Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.80) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (1/25/96, p.41) - Ranked #3 in the 1996 Critics' Poll.
Rolling Stone (6/15/95, p.83) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Trip-hop is the current label being given this music, but it's no more than a cute, reasonably accurate headline. At any given time, certain pop records--more than books or movies or whatever--strike a chord...as the sound of the beyond cool. Right now, Tricky's MAXINQUAYE is it..."
Spin (9/99, p.125) - Ranked #14 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s."
Spin (12/95, p.62) - Ranked #2 on Spin's list of the `20 Best Albums Of '95.'
Spin (6/95, p.99) - 8 - Very Good - "...Imagine the cracked-out vibe of vintage Schoolly D generated by a black British outcast who loves Billie Holiday and PJ Harvey as much as he digs sluggish beats and singsong melodies....Their attitude is mean-spirited, but much of the aggression is directed inward..."
Entertainment Weekly (6/2/95, p.56) - "...R&B for the head, MAXINQUAYE is engrossing music collage art that bumps, grinds, and simmers....singer Martine's sly phrasing--is mind-bending..." - Rating: A
Q (12/99, p.84) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s."
Q (2/96, p.67) - Included in Q's 50 Best Albums of 1995.
Q (6/00, p.75) - Ranked #36 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums"
Q (3/95, p.104) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Tricky proves himself to be more challenging and eclectic than his peers, leapfrogging from...thick tribal beats to...sub-metal thrash...amid the more typical ambient dub....a highly inventive and intoxicating collection."
Option (7-8/95, p.141) - "...street beats and turntable scratching with guitars, dub bass, industrial noise and other elements....cool subdued music....This is among the best albums of the year..."
Melody Maker (12/23-30/95, pp.66-67) - Tied for #1 on Melody Maker's list of 1995's `Albums Of The Year' - "...sounded like the apex of an epoch. Taking cues from...Massive Attack and Portishead, and blending them with more sinister hues borrowed from John Barry's Bond themes..."
Musician (6/95, p.76) - "...It's not just `bottom end,' though there's plenty of bass rumbling through these dub-wise grooves, but the music's depth of field--the way the vocals, samples and keyboard parts arrange themselves into layers of foreground and background..."
Village Voice (2/20/96) - Ranked #2 in Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.
Mojo (Publisher) (p.57) - Ranked #77in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "[I]t sounds like a greatest hits."
New York Times (Publisher) (1/5/96, p.C16) - Included on Jon Pareles' list of the Top 10 Albums of '95 - "...the first album-length masterpiece of trip-hop..."
NME (Magazine) (12/23-30/95, pp.22-23) - Ranked #1 in NME's `Top 50 Albums Of The Year' for 1995 - "...foggy hip-hop track without a compass, a record where you never quite know what's going to happen next or where it's going to take you..."