789. Tricky - Maxinquaye (1995)

Track Listing

1. Overcome
2. Ponderosa
3. Black Steel
4. Hell Is Around The Corner
5. Pumpkin
6. Aftermath
7. Abbaon Fat Tracks
8. Brand New You're Retro
9. Suffocated Love
10. You Don't
11. Strugglin'
12. Feed Me

Review

Falling somewhere between Massive Attack, Nightmares on Wax and Public Enemy, this is a great album and undoubtedly the best Tricky album ever. There are some brilliant re-arrangements of songs we've heard before, Karmacoma from Protection by Massive Attack becomes Overcome, which is an even better track.

More surprising than anything is just how effective the cover of Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos by Public Enemy really is when transported to a trip-hop setting. Not something that you would imagine as working but it really does.

Tricky then delves into the dirtier recesses of the mind with some unforgettable lyrics in Abbaon Fat Tricks. Again the contribution by the ubiquitous Alison Goldfrapp is great here coming closer to her work in Felt Mountain much later on that her collaborations with Orbital for example. Great trip-hop album, which has comparatively dated very little.

Track Highlights

1. Black Steel
2. Ponderosa
3. Pumpkin
4. Abbaon Fat Tracks

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Expanding on the sonic template of fellow Bristolians Massive Attack, and featuring then-girlfriend Martina Topley-Bird on vocals, Maxinquaye is a dark, mysterious album featuring a combination of hip-hop, soul, dub, rock and electronica. The album is named after Tricky's late mother Maxine Quaye, who is allegedly reggae/soul singer Finley Quaye's half-sister.

Black Steel: