Reviews (page 4 of 8)
Some good stuff and some shite
I thought I'd like this more due to the trip hopness off it but I wasn't arsed to listen to it
Pretty forgettable, doesn't hold a candle to Massive Attack. Aftermath has one of the worst, most out of place samples I have ever heard in a song, so jarring every time it triggers
Nice vibes. Good for working.
i'll be real, none of this hit the spot, which is a bummer knowing tricky Would I listen again: no Deserves to be on this list: not every solo project succeeds 2.8
Too long. This doesn't pop to me the way Massive Attack or Portishead do. Black Steel is definitely cool though.
A beautiful lyricist with a great voice and super interesting beats. Not really my style, but something I may revisit when I'm feeling something different
Las primeras dos son curiosas Black Steel tiene buen ritmo Hell is Around the corner TA buena
Enjoyable, trippy, great beats and vibe. Will likely gain on listens.
Pretty decent!
Actually really enjoyed this, wasn’t really familiar with Tricky before. Massively helped by Martina’s voice, giving it a Morcheeba vibe.
2.5 fav: -overcome -hell is round the corner
Not a fan of the whispery vocals but I like the diversity of styles incorporated here
Enjoyed. Was a bit distracted.
This album is a 4.5 for me, but I'm rounding up. It is a groundbreaking "trip-hop" album, but it is also just so original in so many ways and feels fresh even to this day, if you take it as one of Tricky's prime albums. It has danger but is also alluring and while it is maybe slightly too long, it is consistently great.
this was a nice surprise! has tastes of that 90s alt but is much cooler than most of it. i think it shined most with the slower stuff and just let us sit with the instrumentals while the vocals could glide slightly underneath. low 4
This album was really interesting. The throughline was trippy dubby hip hop instrumentals with lots of cool samples, and I really enjoyed that. There was a lot of spoken word and great vocals from Martina Topley-Bird, which I learned after listening were mostly improvised. I enjoyed "Aftermath" and "Overcome" the most. "Brand New You're Retro" made me jump a little, it was a quick tone change. Some of the songs were a little weird. The album was almost a little unsettling. I enjoyed it, but not every song. 6/10
Wholly unexpected gem.
Half listened to this and probably warrants a relisten
This is a great album.
One of the better electronic albums on the list. I love his gritty voice
If I had to think of single word to describe this album, it's gloomy. The mood is set from track 1. It's comfortable in the same way that laying half on a couch while you're high on smack is comfortable.
Definitely a different sound to this album. Not a sound that I enjoy. Weird whispering and never really goes anywhere. 3.5/10 (1.75/5)
A struggle to get through. Just not for me
Boring
Did not like it at all. A lot of noise and not worth the time.
Greggs’ Portishead
Re-review 2 months later. I keep coming back to this album. I’m upgrading it to a 4. Still demanding justice for Portishead though…. 2007 Interview excerpt from Mark Saunders who produced this record: "Tricky entered the studio with 'a great idea for a loop', incorporating samples from Isaac Hayes' 'Ike's Rap II'. We did the whole track ('Hell Is Around The Corner') and Tricky then did his usual thing, calling the manager and telling her, 'This is fantastic! You've got to come and listen to the next single!' At that time we were working at my own Loveshack studio, and the manager was just up the road, so she came in and she stood in the doorway as he played it to her, and I saw her jaw drop. She said, 'Tricky, I can't believe you did that.' Tricky went, 'What? What are you talking about?' I could see he was starting to smirk, he knew what she was talking about. She said, 'You know Portishead have used this,' and he said, 'No, I had no idea!' He was laughing, and it turned out that she'd given him a cassette of some rough mixes off the Portishead album.”
some grooves but really repetitive and her voice can get annoying
wiwed ans beotiH
I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I would never put Trip Hop on over, say, Reggae, but I wouldn't be mad if someone put this on.
Really unique trip-hop album
I’ll start with the positive, I really liked Black Steel, absolutely banging song. Unfortunately this was one of only two songs I enjoyed on this album. Overall I found it mostly boring apart from Ponderosa which I absolutely hated.
Had some cool stuff in it
Listening to Maxinquaye feels like coming down in slow motion - smoke still in the curtains, but the windows are open now. It’s brooding, textured, and strangely intimate. Tricky builds a world out of tension and echo, though some moments wander a bit too deep into the fog. Martina’s voice is the steady hand I kinda needed. Haunting and refined, but maybe better suited for twilight than daylight.
i can see myself coming back to this one for sure. its so vibey and overall a great listen the instrumentals - amazing, the vocals and various music styles blend together beautifully :-)
Def will come back, fianlly something in my taste
Love this album. Such essential 1990's trip hop. Sounds like crime and drugs in grimy London undergrounds. Overcome and Black Steel are up there with the best of Massive Attack. Yeah, the vocals can be a bit shit. And yeah, like most trip hop albums, you get a few scene-defining bangers and a lot of boring sleepybeats. Okay, this is actually a lot more boring than I remember. But blokes on smack don't want any clangy clattering instrumentals or sudden tempo changes. Maybe you had to be there. On the rainy streets of London, or spun out in an opium den, or up drawing anime characters by lava lamp at 1am on a school night. That's where I go, anyway.
This was a hard listen for me. I wanted to like it and some parts I did but most of it felt cheesey.
I hate this. I don't even know what it is that makes me hate this but my head hurts and i can't wait for it to be over. I might give up at Aftermath in honor of the worst album I've heard in this project
I can’t hear these lyrics. Maybe her voice is pretty? No clue what she’s saying. These beats are sooooo repetitive. I feel like I’m on a pause screen in a video game. I don’t think I’m on the right kind of drugs for this?
This album is a total slog. I couldn’t finish it but I feel like I put enough time in to give it a rating. I think I get the whole trip hop/jazzy thing it’s going for but good lord is it boring.
No me gustó.
Never heard of this, though perhaps I should have. It's...fine? I don't know, it has a time and a place and I can assure you that sitting in my home office looking at spreadsheets is not a conducive listening environment for this kind of thing. Trip hop usually sits in the background, and I don't think this album is any different, but it sometimes pushes its way to the front. Unfortunately, I don't feel like it's a very good Album - each song is nice, but probably something I want to download off KaZ0aA and listen to piecemeal while playing counterstrike at 1 AM in 2001. Also Unfortunately, the standout track is Hell is Round the Corner, which really is just a Portishead track. Don't hate it but it didn't click with me. Probably a landmark album for a mediocre genre, but I turned on the music in the car this morning so I could play the beach boys for my kids and this started autoplaying. When I switched over to Mr. Wilson, I thought I heard some similarities with Pet Sounds. Who knows, maybe I'm a dumbass, but could be something there.
This did not speak to me.
I kinda like a trip hop song here and there. But a whole album of it underwhelms me. 3*
It was fine with just her. 2.5.
Well this was quite the pleasant surprise. Personal enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 5/5
This was pretty chill for a friday morning. I enjoyed it, but the version I have to listen to is the deluxe edition, and I wont be continuing past the original tracks. For the most part this was pretty good background music.
This album had a really cool vibe. Chill, after hours type trip hoppy feel. Mostly female vocals, but some cool integration with male rapping voice. When I learned that Tricky was part of Massive Attack, I wasn't really surprised because of such a similar vibe. Although, I have to admit I have preferred the two MA albums on this project better than this one. Still very solid.
This hip hop joint from Great Britain is well composed, moody, deliberate, sensual, smooth and almost uniformly slow. With lust-protest-drug lyrics that are highly introspective, delivered mainly by the sultry lead vocals of Martina Topley-Bird, this record is not your run-of-the-mill rap. It’s highly eclectic, drawing from jazz, blues, prog rock, funk, reggae, you name it. These tracks have a huge variety of sounds, including delicate scratch that actually makes sense. Tricky has clearly done his audio homework.
02.10.25 #8 Favourite Tracks: Ponderosa Rate: 7/10 i liked the vibe of the album.
HOLY SHIT i loved this one. Dark asf. I love to imagine early death grips listening to it. Jv shit. FIVE!
Trippy Euro hip-hopish rock? A genre I do not have a lot of experience with. I enjoyed the album, but nothing really jumped out at me. Good for background music. I liked the more ambient grooves in Pumpkin, Overcome and Abbaon Fat Tracks (fuuny tune).
Muy bien. Pensé que su hip hop, rap, rock álbum no me iba a gustar, pero en cuanto comienza a cantar la vocalista no hay marcha atrás. Muy buena unión entre la producción de hip hop y la voz generalmente dulce de lsa solista.
This is someone’s thing, but it’s not mine.
Sexy and groovy
Decent 3
Not a fan
A rather nice slice of Bristolian trip hop.
Surprisingly never listened to Tricky's solo stuff but really enjoyed it. Was a nice bit of Bristolian trip-hop to start the day.
Not really my cup of tea but not bad. I recognised Hell Is Around The Corner but upon googling it seems I actually recognise it from Glory Box by Portishead, which used the same sample.
Favorite Track: Hell Is Round The Corner (but only for the sample)
Bit meh
Adorei
Well produced, experimental and all that... Must admit I was not really paying attention, the album just sort of faded out in the background...
Not really my thing, guess this guy might be why I didn't like Massive Attack's first album very much either. "Black Steel" and "Brand New You're Retro" were probably the ones I enjoyed the most
First song was cool!
call it Tricky how idk if i like it or not
We have massive attack at home Fav song: Overcome
The icy and breathy British trip hop club vibe never hit me just right, but I was impressed with the complex textures and general weirdness of these songs. A few stood out--Overcome, Aftermath--and over all, solid.
At times, I was totally on board with the trip hop complexity. At others it bogged down for me.
Discovered the duality of sampling Isaac Hayes' Ike's Rap II through this album. Prefer Portishead's version.
Full disclosure, about half the songs weren’t available on Apple Music. From what I heard this is a bit too over the place for my liking. 2/5
Noise
God damn
It's the 90s and I'm in a smoky room with a sexy lady
Perfect album 10/10 no notes
Quiet unclear vocals made this okay for background music but not a focal point.
I definitely liked some of this.
Mood music max.
Decent but not too engaging
Not my style
We were listening to this with some people staying with us for a few days and one of them kept asking, “which album is this now?” and we just kept saying, it’s still the same one. Maybe I should relisten to get a better sense but I think this one was just too varied and weird for me.
This is a cool one. I like pairing of the sultry, ethereal vocals with rap. Very musically interesting and diverse album. All the songs are pretty vibey and chill. 6.5/10. There are a couple songs that I decidedly didn't really like, but others that I enjoyed. Least favorite: Ponderosa. Favorite: Hell is Around The Corner
I enjoyed this album. Would love to learn about it.
This was a dark and cool album. Nothing was super upbeat
This album took a turn at song 4, like complete vibe switch in my opinion. I didn't mind the first song, but the beat got annoying after a bit, was not a fan of song 2 or 3. Surprisingly, Hell is Round the Corner came in with some groovy jazzy backing, I was surprised with the sudden male vocals, really liked the slow rapping. Favorite on the album for sure. Rest of the album kept switching around the vibe song to song, but I didn't bump against much of it compared to songs 1-3. Overall was fun to listen through as it had a very unique sound. Only listened to side 1, will have to give side 2 a go at some point. 7/10
Pretty decent, some good stuff but not the most memorable thing ever
I've known this album for a long time, and like a lot about it, but don't think it hits the highs of his trip hop contemporaries like Massive Attack and Portishead. Some great songs though and inventive production - it sounds very unique.
3.75 stars rounded up. Best place to start and best overall Tricky album. Great Side A, though the LP steadily loses steam after “Brand New You’re Retro.”
pretty exceptional. had some alternative tracks that hit the mark. Some if it sounded like early Bjork. Not bad
J'ai bien aimé la vibe, y'a quelques moments irritants et ça traine un peu vers la fin, mais ça reste bien dans l'ensemble. - Cyril, ça fait un ptit bout que je t'ai répondu, ma réponse se trouve sur Maverick A Strike!
Kunne blitt to stjerner, men trekk for å kopiere/sample Portishead hit’en, skifte tekst og kalle det egen musikk. Latskap og tyveri.
This is new to me but I do listen to a bit of Massive Attack, Tricky was a former member. So it’s an enjoyable listen overall, I like Trip Hop but it’s kind of background music for me. If I’m listening intently, I get bored after a few songs. Solid but once again, questioning why I needed to hear THIS before I died instead of just hearing MAs Blue Lines or Mezzanine
When We Funk, We’ll Hear Beats 1001 Albums Generator 116 (09/11/2025) I have never heard of Tricky before and I wish I could have kept it that way. Maxinquaye was one of my least favorite albums so far. Trip hop in general is not something that I’m crazy about, but this is probably the worst trip hop album I’ve heard. Overcome and the Public Enemy cover, Black Steel, are both okay, but they are about as good as it gets. There are two 7 minute songs on this album for some reason. The vocals and lyrics are pretty consistently bad, with the worst being Abbaon Fat Tracks. Pretty much nothing redeeming here besides the two tracks I mentioned and parts of Brand New You’re Retro. 1/5. Favs: Overcome Black Steel Brand New You’re Retro Least Fav: Strugglin’
Ok album. Best song is heavy sampled
Great album. Kind of blends into the background after a while. Definitely sounds like it came from the 90s but it holds up real well. 3.75 stars.
Trip-hop never did much for me, but it was nice to dive into this. I'm not sure what it says that my favorite track is his cover of Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos." The Smashing Pumpkins-sampling "Pumpkin" is fun, but the songs kind of recede into the background.
Kinda lukewarm on this one. I know it’s revolutionary for its time and broke a lot of ground, but just sounds dated.
It's cool. Pioneered a whole new genre and such. Nice sounds, some pretty clever lyrics.
Sounds very much of its time these days, but it's still a grand album.
3.5 Freakyyyy Some nice songs, good cohearenc experimental hip-hop, elements From other genres 90s flair
Reminded me of Portishead somewhat. I dig it.
A couple moments where I thought, "that sounds cool". A lot of time where I was very bored.
easily one of the best albums of this stripe on the list; not for me but probably great if you're into this sort of thing
Interesting but not for me
3.3
Oh yeah I know ecstasy, I smoke it all the time
Massive Attack vibes
what a newfound gem! it runs silky smooth down my throat and i eagerly gulped it all up!
I’m out of my element when it comes to trip hop, especially British trip hop, but I'd heard of Tricky. I remember reading about him in Rolling Stone and SPIN magazine back in the day. I miss magazines. Anyway, after listening to Maxinquaye, I realized I’d heard a couple of songs off the album, though I’m sure I had no idea it was Tricky. Maybe I heard them in shows or as background music to ads. I didn’t hate the album, but maybe I didn’t get the album? It’s better than Roni Size, but again, a squawking crows choir is better than Roni Size. I can appreciate much of the album, but sometimes the songs do sound like the same thing over and over. However, as far as putting it on for background music, I think it works. It’s got a slow, chill groove, and you can really get some work done when it’s on in the background. But you can check that out for yourself. As for me, I’ve had enough.
and ghosts drift through my mind as i twist and turn in sleep
Maxinquaye is an album that i have rather weird feelings on. I do know that Tricky did work on the two Massive Attack albums in this project due to him being in that band when they released so it does make sense that a lot of these songs sound like Massive Attack songs. This album does feel incredibly inconsistent with it's quality as sometimes, the songs can be really good and other times, they can be really bad. At worst, the songs can be incredibly annoying due to trying to do too much with some pretty stupid lyrics too. Though at best, they can actually be some pretty good tracks with beats that don't get too repetitive even if they go on for a bit long. I still think i like both Massive Attack albums more than this one due to them just being way more consistent. Best Song: Black Steel Worst Song: Strugglin'
I liked it but became repetitive to me .
4.5/10
10/10
Hated it
I can never tell if I like trip hop or not. My busy brain can't really fully focus and relax to enjoy it. I feel like it would be more my thing with a little 'influence', but in reality I'd fall asleep on the sofa. It's got all the right elements, it's just me who can't piece them together. I did enjoy Black Steel and You Don't.
Portishead is a billion times better. Billie Eillish stole her style from this as well.
The Good: … The Bad: … The Ugly: … What the hell does Maxinquaye really mean? And why does the artist name himself Tricky? For belonging to a musical genre I really don’t give a crap about, I actually enjoyed the listen. Most likely will never listen to Tricky again, but then again, one never knows, right? Down the middle… 3*
Blind album and artist. Downbeat electro chill stuff I guess. Not typically my thing but better than expected.
This is fine.
The high water mark for the Trip-Hop genre. Very good album that's still somehow isn't too dated sounding, but at the same time bears responsibility for a shit ton of mediocre records that it inspired.
It's been ages since I've listened to this album, so I'm glad it came around in this collection as it's been too long and I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed most of the songs on this strangely unique album (then and now). It's always seemed a shame that Tricky didn't give top billing to Martina Topley-Bird, though, because her voice really makes this album shine, but I'm glad to read that she also collaborated with Tricky on at least some of his follow up albums (sadly not nearly as good as this one). My favorites are probably the opening track "Overcome" (a remake of Massive Attack's "Karmacoma"), "Black steel" (which I never realized until now was an amazing cover of Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos"), the very Portishead-like pair of tracks "Hell is around the corner" (which I think I'd vaguely ascribed to Portishead all this time) and "Aftermath", and also "Strugglin'" (sort of). I was surprised by how many of the tracks had videos associated with them, but aside from "Overcome" (which seems to consist mainly of film footage, but I'm not sure what movie) they're fairly nondescript. I also wonder if Massive Attack regretted not letting Tricky shine more with them after they heard this album? I certainly do.
Wow, I really enjoyed this laid back rap / vocals collaboration. The highlight was Black Steel which involved Public Enemy lyrics to great effect. Well done and I definitely will listen to this again. It's Tricky (to rock a rhyme, to rock...)!
definitely not in the right mental state to write about or fully absorb music rn lol but this is a great album so ill squeeze out a couple thoughts. this record rly makes me think about trip hop's roots in dub, the Ascended Consciousness and Sense Of Possibility that comes with fucking around with a recording to make sounds that cant exist otherwise, its rly creatively rich. Dark Sensuality is a pretty common vibe for this kind of music but this record feels like it goes extra hard on both the Dark and the Sensual, a series of thrillingly on-edge sexual encounters. a great soundtrack to replacing god with the flesh. or maybe insisting that the flesh Is god.
This was way too chill.
Really liked the album and triphop as a genre. It still sounds fresh today.
Very experimental beats, which are not really "common" in my ears. But the vibe and flow is something different, which makes it very interesting. It depends on your taste if you like this kind of mashup of different genres or not. But nothing for me....
fede nok beats, meget anstrengende stemmer
Ikke enig med det Tricky slander der er her i gruppen, synes det er en skøn plade med en cool og meget divers lyd!
I didn't like this nearly as much as the Massive Attack albums. I think he fit in well in the Massive Attack context, but from this album he seems like the weakest link.
Neat
Trippi Hoppi
Am pretty familiar with Tricky, as I remember listening to some of his stuff back in the early 2000's when he was collaborating with Ed Kowalczyk. I didn't like his stuff back then, and nothing has changed 20+ years later. I'm never quite sure if he's trying to do electronica, hip-hop, or rap...(i guess maybe it could be considered "trip-hop"). Either way, very few of his songs are appealing to me at all. By the time I got to the penultimate song (Strugglin'), I thought to myself "that song name is very apropos".
3/5
the album quickly establishes a gloomy, oppressive atmosphere to act as a foundation for this trip hop record. it's good, but it's no "mezzanine".
Nope
Tricky? Like the Daddy? Nope.. This is moody and cool. The pace is almost too laid back, so I caught myself tranced and vibing off a few times, but that might have been the lack of sleep the night prior. My insomnia ailment may have added to the atmosphere of the album. It’s sexy in tone, but not always gripping. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions: - Hell Is Round The Corner - Brand New You're Retro - Suffocated Love
Wanted to hear this one for a long time. First track, Super cool beat. Setting the tone for a dark one. The vocals are special too. Track 2 very weird production but beautiful in a way. Bjork-like vocal melody. 3 kind of a rock track. Love the rapping. 4. Feature a great sample. Trickys voice is heard loud for the first time. Great track. 5 beautiful vocals. What a strong song. Very effective. Love the percussion and beat. 6. A long and mellow one. Kind of bluesy. Back to business on 7 which is produced beautifully. Amazing sound. The combination between acoustic and electronic sound is so good. Some michael jackson sample on 8? A groovy one. Track 9 feature cool tricky hooks. 10 is more of a reggae tune. Liked it. 11 is kind of an ambient track, but it works great. Maybe just a bit too long. Feed me. The closer is one of the best tracks on it. An excellent experience with this one. It's very valid
Not on the same level as Massive Attack at their best, but far better than the badly overrated Portishead. I think I'd put this on par with Protection, both of which run out of steam before they run out of songs. But while it's good, it's great!
I remember the first time hearing Massive Attack and feeling like I had just discovered a new genre. They were dark and sophisticated, and felt right out of the underground. I feel like electronic / pop music of today owes a ton to the early pioneers in this genre a.k.a Trip Hop.. that being said I know "Tricky" was just one part of early Massive Attack and I feel like this particular album has something missing. It's almost like they figured out a certain recording / production style, got excited about it, and teased that formula into a whole album. This shines a bit of light into a genre, time and place of music production I don't know too much about and for that I am grateful, but this particular album is a niche or an offshoot of an offshoot and I don't think is quite worthy of consideration for total cultural impact like some of the others on this list.
I’m sure there is a super specific genre name for this brand of downtempo, atmospheric electronic beats / hip hop. I don’t know what it is, but I do actually really dig this, so I should probably figure it out.
Didn't really love this album, was a bit depressing/out of my genre taste. Was a bit gritty and felt a little rough. Enjoyed Black Steel and Hell is Around the Corner, and maaaybe Strugglin', but overall not my favorite. Would give it around a 4/10 for enjoyment.
Atmospheric and grimy. Some of the sounds felt right off a N64. Not really for me.
I’ve been eating this stuff up. Is it the best trip hop I’ve ever heard? Maybe not, but it is right down my alley and I love it. I’m discovering I’m a huge fan of the genre through this album journey. Great album I’ve had on loop. Super edgy, sexy, dark, and chill.
Listened already lol
Getting major Helena Bonham-Carter in Sweeney Todd vibes from the vocals. The music is very dark, creative, and atmospheric. 4.0/5.0: Great
not as interesting as other albums from this genre but not bad
Pretty trippy album. Black Steel stood out, mostly bc of a more rock beat. An ok listen, but just background noise for the most part.... (update around track 9) Ok, by the end of this I almost had to turn it off. 1/5
enjoyable
Totally fine
Overcome - Slightly underproduced(?) Wasn't a fan Pondrosa - Similar issue Black Steel -Good vocals, liked it Hell is Round the Corner - Also liked it Pumpkin - Interlude like track. Not a fan AFtermath - Ok, slightly long but a vibe Abbaon Fat tracks - Meh Brand New Youre retro - 90 hip influence vibe, ok
Enjoyed the vibe, some parts not aged well but overall an interesting listen.
Weird music mix combined with barely audible vocals for much of the album didn’t impress me.
hmm it was ok
Not my thing, but far from awful.
It's so corny icl but the beats are catchy and I did like some of the songs. Also I swear have heard the "you don't wanna even try" line from "don't try" before.
Not for me. Reason I've never heard of her before
This album is terrific. It’s better than I remember. I used to think Pre-Millennium Tension was Tricky’s best but I forgot just how good this one is. I do think it tails off a bit at the end, but the first 2/3 of the album is as good as you’re going to get in the Trip Hop genre. 4.5 stars, this is a banger.
I gave this a few listens in the 90's when I was into trip-hop and lo-fi electronic music. I'm not sure this has the firepower to be in the Top 1001, it didn't really break new ground and sounds like a lot of other stuff from the mid 90's. Martina Topley-Bird's voice is his savior but I always found his songs, and some of the Massive Attack tracks he was on, went on for a minute or two too long. Steady listen count with a few tracks that are impressive like "Overcome" (17M), "Black Steel" (12M), "Aftermath" and the one hit(?) he had with "Hell Is Around The Corner" (46M). All the other tracks are over 1M so it's still getting played. Best song I forgot about, "Feed Me". "Ponderosa" was hard to listen to, I had to FF at the midway point. "Black Steel" wasn't much better for me. "Brand New You're Retro" was a monotonous nightmare! Overall this is a 2 star album, nothing really stands out, it's kinda boring, nothing is worthy of a second listen and most of it sounds like the song before it and after it. In all honesty, I was ready for it to be over by song #3.
Actually just noise not a single good song
This style of music was prevalent in the 1990's. It's not an album I've ever heard before, and I enjoyed it. It did start to feel a bit monotonous towards the end.
I really enjoy the layering and sampling going on here. Moody and silky and perfect for doing ur laundry to. But not when anyone else is home
Fav: Hell Is Round The Corner Least Fav: You Don’t We all know it’s a fantastic album, but my hot take is that the sample in Glory Box by Portishead is better used in this album
Da bini sehr happy han ich a dem gmüetliche chill sunntig mit dem Album ahgfange! Maxinquayale Ohreschmauss! Tricky, oder wohl eher die chli schwöster vo Portishead und zuefällig grad no verwandt mit massive attack? Gar kei Tricky question für mich, ganz klar 5 brüederlichi küss ufd Stirn
Das isch mir recht tricky gfalle zum beweerte. Au biz z lang her. Aber mal 3 puntitooos
sehr gueti hintergrundmusig gsi zum de monday blues nach de ferie chli z'lindere – für es längers review hani aber leider doch grad kei kapazität
Cha’demais
I've never actively listened to anything like this before and really enjoyed it despite the unfamiliarity. Will probably listen again although I'm not particularly sure its my thing. Really liked all the sounds going on the background, well composed imo but what tf do I know..
Not really my style, but a pleasant listen nonetheless
9/10 - love me some industrial electronica
80/100. Tricky’s approach is less about rapping in the traditional sense and more about presence. He mutters, whispers, often letting Martina Topley-Bird’s haunting vocals take the lead. Her performances add contrast and clarity to his raw, fragmented delivery, giving the record both tension and intimacy. Lyrically, it’s cryptic but compelling, touching on identity, trauma, love, and paranoia. You’re not always sure what Tricky’s trying to say, but you can feel it.
weird and kind of boring, honestly.
Sorta nice, sorta redundant. Not sure if I finished it. I have no idea how I feel about it.
Really dig it, want to hear more trip hop
Between “ Glory Box” and “Hell is Round the Corner”, I think that “Ike’s Rap” may have been heard more in 1995 than it was in 1971. I liked this quote from Wikipedia: “Tricky had no concept of pitch and no regard for notational conventions or time signatures, nor any previous experience with sampling.” LOL, same. And, did this guy really just have some producer basically make his whole album for him just by saying “oi do a track wit dese two samples bruv” and then coming back to laconically rap over the result? If so, you almost have to respect that level of laziness. I was pleased to find that this album is fairly similar to Massive Attack. I was worried there would be a lot of British rapping (shudder) but I found that it was generally quiet enough that I wasn’t too bothered by it, except when it became absurdly and cringingly sexual. I don’t mean to come off as a Gen-Z style prude, but I don’t really need to hear “I fuck you in the ass, just for a laff” in my pop music. Lyrical content aside, I liked Martina Topley-Bird‘s vocals much more than Tricky’s rapping. Overall, I think this is a pretty good trip-hop album, and I like trip-hop, so I thought this was okay. However, I would put Blue Lines or Mezzanine on before I would this album. I don’t know if that’s l because I know them better, or because they are better, but either way it’s what I’d do. But if you like those albums you’ll probably like this. Or not. I don’t know you.
Got it on a.Sunday. Perfect.choice for a chilled day.
Some classic triphop songs, some not so classic.
Wasn't my cup of tea
I’m a fan of the darker more brooding numbers. Love the Public Enemy cover. This starts strong but falls away a bit towards the end with some blander tracks. 3.5
I was obsessed with this when it came out. I can acknowledge now that it drags a bit in the second half. But those opening six tracks are still fantastic. To go further out check out the two utterly blasted tracks from The Hell ep featuring the RZA, Frukwan and Poetic then all of The Gravediggaz.
Gets increasingly tedious as it goes… Goldfrapp the only enjoyable moment for me
Pairs nicely with Samosas.
ok
I like this a lot, and generally I'm a fan of the genre, but this isn't quite at the level of Portishead's Dummy or Massive Attack's best. Still, I like the claustrophobic nature of it.
This album was everywhere in the mid-90s… and somehow I heard it today for pretty much the first time. Maybe I just wasn't ready for it then, or maybe I was turned off by how much everyone was talking about it. But they weren't wrong. Glad I had a reason to finally give it a shot. I've been missing out.
Alright.
Never heard of Tricky. Some of the songs are interesting and it's not a bad album. Best Songs Black Steel Aftermath Brand New You're Retro
hit or miss. Thought I'd like it more. Some good songs though. Listened to about 7 months late at chateau d'eau. Female vocalist stole the show
realmente me flipo un rock indie muy bueno
Incredible. Nothing in this was something I expected from a rap album, it was all over the place tonally, but Tricky was cooking like crazy with this one. Black Steel, Hell Is Around The Corner, and Aftermath are all amazing. Honestly there isn't a bad song on this album. Also, Abbaon Fat Tracks has hilarious lyrics.
Иногда интересная, иногда музыка для секса
not for me. the singing here felt off beat a lot of the time and disjointed. the rapping felt like it was from a 5th grader. it seems this album is held in high regard but I'm not seeing the vision. a lot of times it sounded like how my anxiety dreams feel. sorry!
First 3 songs gave me a headache, the beat and the vocals mixed like oil and water. The rest of the songs are funky but not the good way, just really really weird. Its like I was in a very bad fever dream. Favourite Song: Hell is Round The Corner
⭐️Overcome
Didn't care for it
Feels like this was recorded specifically for 21st century rappers to sample. Really cool though, enjoyed a lot more than I thought.
Would have been ok if it wasn't too long. Exceeds the limit of how much 90s Trip Hop one can handle.
After a re-listen I’ve bumped this to a 3. Enjoyed it and it had some solid tracks with an interesting sound.
Stilprägend, rätselhaft.
I judged the album by the cover and I was wrong. This was way more mellow than I was expecting and I really enjoyed it.
I have a very old downloaded trip hop top 40 playlist (heavy on Morcheeba, Thievery Corporation, Massive Attack, Portishead) that I thought might have had Tricky on it, but it doesn’t. This is pretty decent, but not worthy enough to make the top 40 playlist.
1. overcome - 1.5 2. ponderoza - 1.5 3. zteel - 1.5 4. hell - 2 5. pumpkin - 2 6. math - 1.5 7. fat - 2 8. retro - 0 9. love - 0 10. you - 1 11. ztruggling - 1.5 12. feed - 0
Dope
First impression pre listen: So my last foray into the "Massive Attack" world ended up in a bit of a disappointing place, as what I thought would be a really hypnotic and trippy experience ended up being quite boring. (Blue Lines) I remember not really thinking much of Tricky's contributions to that project. That he'd have an entire solo album on this list was frankly a bit unexpected. But it's on here, and if it is I'm gonna give it an honest shot. I'll be honest and say that I'm not expecting much. I'm hoping to be completely wrong. Gonna try to be as fair and constructive as possible. Individual track notes: Overcome There's a certain dreaminess to the beat which is really quite cool. The vocals are a bit unintelligeable. I like the wooden flute-like sound. Feels like one of those tracks where you're just supposed to appreciate the vibe it gives off. I really enjoy the low-key soft vocals. The repetition is honestly quite stimulating at times. Solid start. Good. 4/5 Ponderosa Obnoxious percussive elements. Kinda dislike the moaning. The experimentation leaves it sounding quite disjointed and messy. Some of the background effects feel very random. The vocals are pretty interesting, but some of her inflections take a bit getting used to. Dislike. 2/5 Black Steel Interesting storytelling, solid lyrics. Don't love the percussion. The more rock oriented angle has a kick to it. However it kinda leaves the track sounding a bit too open. The rambly vocal melody is pretty cool. Appreciate the energy. Decent. 3.5/5 Hell Is Round The Corner Same sample as "Glory Box" by Portishead. Boring rapping. It's breathy and monotone. Decent female vocals. Average. 2.5/5 Pumpkin Pleasant. Unintelligeable vocals, might as well be singing backwards. Meandering and slow. The speak-sung parts are really tacky, sounds like a creaky door. Occasionally sounds like one of those self guided meditation videos. I don't get it. Terrible. 1/5 Aftermath Flat. Another vibe song. It's arranged quite competently, but it's incredibly uninteresting to me. The constantly looping instrumental becomes quite overbearing, and while the flute and the vocals add some variety to the mix it all falls into this same category of utter blandness. I don't know when I'd listen to this. Dislike. 2/5 Abbaoun Fat Tracks There's a hint of psychedelia here which is quite cool I guess. Don't love the lyrics at all. Too unsubtle. Feels like some of it is there for pure shock value. Honestly a bit cringe. Strongly dislike. 1.5/5 Brand New You're Retro Abrasive and loud. Overly distorted, fails at sounding industrial or crunchy. Just ends up being annoying. Terrible effects. Sounds like an alarm in the background. Also sounds like a rubber toy for a dog or something. Absurd. Almost unlistenable. 1/5 Suffocated Love What am I listening to. I hate his voice here. Busy and dissonant background effects. Creepy sexuality. Also manages to be boring as hell. Terrible. 1/5 You Don't Not offensive to the ears at least. Decent vocals, fairly interesting percussion. Does get quite repetetive and has some annoying elements but it also has some parts that are pretty hypnotic. Average. 2.5/5 Strugglin' It's that type of experimental track where I can appreciate that they're doing something unique and different, but to me it just sounds like a incomprehensible selection of disjointed ideas that fail to make me feel anything. Feels like someone'a pretentious art project. I don't get it. Strongly dislike. 1.5/5 Feed Me Cool instrumental. Really like how the interplay between the chimes and the vocals. I like how melodic it is. Satisfying ending. Decent. 3.5/5 Final Review: While I generally appreciate experimental music this was definitely not for me. I can tolerate slow. Hell I even like slow. I can even appreciate some ambient music, but somehow this almost bored me to tears. Don't get me wrong, there are some tracks here that intrigued me with their hypnotic arrangments and low key vocals. However for the most part it was either long stretches of repetitive meandering, or nigh unlistenable, pretentious cringefests that ended up being a struggle to get through. I'm not adverse to some sexual themes in my music, but here it felt mostly hamfisted, and even at times creepy. Tricky's strange, creaky voice makes it impossible for me to take him seriously. There are tracks here I genuinely don't understand the purpose of. Where they're too abrasive and busy to relax to, but too boring and undynamic to concentrate on. I'll at least give credit to the production as it sounds competent and purposeful, even though I find some of the ideas here baffling. I struggled getting through this thing. However I do think there is some artistic merit here, as most of my arguments come down to "I don't get it". The few standout tracks are genuinely a good time, and even some of the more mid-range tracks have moments of genuine colour and beauty. I also appreciate how different it is from other albums on here, where its experimental nature ends up sort of setting it apart, even if I ended up disliking a majority of its contents. Maybe it could grow on me should I ever decide to return to it. 2/5
The downtempo songs are too sleepy, and the uptempo songs are just a bit unpleasant for me. Didn't connect with this one.
smoky, murky, woozy, claustrophobic and intense
Fine enough, there were some interesting sounds on this for sure. The entire thing didn't really grab my attention though. 57 minutes is kind of long and there are no real hooks or other moments that stick with you. I can't recall ever hearing Tricky himself on this either. A big kind of nothing album to me.
Great stuff. Happy to see they have an extensive catalogue.
The beats on this are fire. This very much reminds me of Portisheads Dummy but instead of ethereal pop vocals it's more rap. I could see this go up to a 5 with more listens.
The first time I ever heard Tricky was his track "Overcome" when it was included on the film soundtrack for STRANGE DAYS. Fantastic cyberpunk film by the way. And my other experience was his PRE-MILLENNIAL TENSION album with the fantastic "Christiansands" on it, but I had never gotten around to hearing the rest of MAXINQUAYE until today. I know, a 30 year procrastination, I'm not proud of it. After my first listen I was struck by how many bands this album influenced over the rest of the 1990s, particularly Damon Albarn's Gorillaz. This album was a very fresh sound for 1995. Other than Massive Attack, the other group he collaborated with, no one quite recreated this sound, with equal parts jazz, hip hop, electronica, psychedelic, and dance; all at a slower tempo that is the backbone of trip hop. It is quite a nice adventure that flows nicely, something that happened very rarely in the 1990s. I personally do not consider this a rap album at all. Too jazzy and classy to be labeled with that albatross label. Also the instrumentation is interesting enough that you can safely check out of the lyrics and still enjoy the album. I anticipated that on some tracks, or even most of the tracks, that the vocals and lyrical performances would be given by Tricky himself but I was pleasantly surprised when the album was fronted primarily by female vocalists. Martina Topley-Bird's vocals, found on most of the tracks, are often buried in the mix or barely bobbing throughs the waves at the top of the mix. This technique works well on the track "Overcome" and less well on tracks like "Ponderosa". She did a fine job of striking the right balance of choosing her moments of whether to sing or rap the lyrical performance. I understood she has solo work out there, so I'll be checking that out later (hopefully not 30 years later, ha ha). I already had "Overcome" in the collection from that STRANGE DAYS soundtrack, but I ended up adding most of the rest of this record.
Background music
Another English artist I had never heard of. It’s interesting to me that Tricky is a rapper, but he paired up with a female singer, Martina Topley-Bird, to release his debut record (and a couple of others). This proved to be a very wise choice, as what resulted was a super intriguing album with a variety of different layers to it. I loved many of these tracks, including the instrumentals and Topley-Bird’s voice over the top on numerous songs. Right from the jump, Overcome is a great starter. It has a seductive, almost sneaky feel and it was an instant add to my library (joining Live and Better Than Ezra as the third “Overcome” in my playlist). The next two were totally different from Overcome and each other. Ponderosa has a basic but pounding rhythmic feel. Black Steel is driving rock based. Both were excellent in their own right. Hell is Round the Corner steals from Glory Box by Portishead (took my daughter to help me place it) and has a great groove to it as a result. Pumpkin felt like something off of a moody 90s alternative record. 5 songs in, all totally different styles, but all really cool songs. Amazing start. After this, the album wanes a touch for me. Aftermath is a bit of a sleepy track and is 3 minutes too long, but it’s the front part of the track that should be cut, as the random distorted guitar and flute (?) was cool. Having the two leads layered on top of each other in Abbaon Fat Tracks was great and it had an excellent groove, I just didn’t like some of the lyrics. Brand New Your Retro was similar for me in that I thought the song was interesting except for some of the lyrics. Suffocated Love was cool, gave me a bit of a PM Dawn type of feel for some reason. You Don’t had a reggae base, yet another style on this album. Good tune as well. The last three, You Don’t, Strugglin’, and Feed Me were all decent but somewhat unremarkable. What makes this record such a fascinating listen is the variety of styles. At times rap, at times sultry R&B (a la Silk), and on occasion one on top of the other. Other times it has electronic and harder rock alternative elements which borders on a Nine Inch Nails type of feel. Still others it is experimental in its sound and construction. On this effort to get through all 1,001 albums, there have been times when I was excited to dive into an artist or album I was familiar with but I hadn’t yet fully explored. In other cases, there were brand new artists which I’d never heard of, but they mostly have been underwhelming. This is the first time that an unfamiliar artist got me excited while I went through the record. It was a very cool experience. Still, some of the songs on here aren’t great, keeping me from making it a 5.
The sounds in this album are nothing special for me. It’s have a pretty monotone sound throughout each song. However, the lyrics in a lot of those songs are pretty insane. So much so that I had to remove a star because it was hard to listen to.
listened at work, nice trip-hop background listen, loved the ambience and the female vocals
Album starts blistering early tracks monumental but it weakens as it progresses, inconsistent, good but not brilliant.
Wow. I loved this. After a year of my brother priming me on trip hop, Maxinquaye caught me in the ideal moment to lean in and enjoy every song. This is an ALBUM, complete in its vision and construction. The lyrics complement the music perfectly. From the trance-like tones of Overcome, to the barebones bass of Hell is Round the Corner, to the vibey goodness of Aftermath, I savored it all – and I’ll be coming back on the reg.
It’s giving Bjork mixed with Cibo Matto, a fun combo. Fun 90s vibes
Ugh. Terrible. Dark, broody and coma inducing. Cover art is terrible too. 1001 album worthy: no - 96/176
This is not my favorite genre, but I liked this more than I expected. Solid background music with sometimes dark and sometimes dirty lyrics. Solid 3 stars.
Eh, another Tower bargain bin selection. Wasn't really hip hop, wasn't trippy, wasn't dance. Just kinda shitty. I don't get the appeal.
Music to zone out to Will I listen to again: 0%
Another band I’d not heard of. I liked the album. Not my taste though.
3/5
# Playlist Track - Overcome # Notes - It starts well, with a trip-hop vibe that is really cool. Really enjoyed the instrumentals in the beginning. - On "Hell is Round the Corner", the "Glory Box" sample is cool, but it almost feels like a reimagined version. - On "Brand New You're Retro", the Michael Jackson one is better executed. - The tail end of the album is pretty poor, and the recurring whirring on "Strugglin'" is just awful. - Interesting listen, worth taking the time, but I won't be coming back often.
3.5
Cover 7 First half is good. My mind wandered during the second half. Would help with a second or third listen but for now, it's OK
Relatively groovy but not a huge hit for me.
I can see why people really liked this, but I found it unmemorable
на любителя.
A weird vibe. Kinda boring and creepy.
Of the albums we were left with over the break, Maxinquaye is the one I kept coming back to, stuck as I was in its molasses-thick production. Unlike other sample-based music that we've listened to thus far, which often sounds brittle, with its layers of audio sliding across each other like graphite, this is dense and unstratified. I rarely know where I am in it: it's over my head or I'm upside-down. It is only the familiar – but unexpected – references – to Japan, to Smashing Pumpkins – that suggest I might find my way through. Most obvious, of course, is the shared sample between Hell Is Round the Corner and Portishead's Glorybox. It is hard to listen to Tricky's track and not compare it with the work by his fellow Bristolians. In Glory Box, Beth Gibbons is the star. The sampled arcana may be murky, but she sits atop it all, clear as a bell, as clear as Aretha Franklin - “Give me a reason to be a woman.” On Maxinquaye, Martina Topley-Bird – whose voice is beautiful and whose cheeky vernacular makes her as charming as Neneh Cherry – is never given so distinct a topline. She too is subsumed in the viscous vinyl crackle. Of course, Hell Is Round the Corner is predominantly a vehicle for Tricky rapping, which, for me, always feels more limited than melody. No matter how rhythmic – and Tricky is distractingly laconic – it is one-note, never interacting with the music in the way that melody can. It has nowhere to go but the straight line. I go back to Mark Fisher's writing on the album. Portishead, he points out, is hip-hop with the Blackness toned down – that is, no rapping. He compares Tricky to the Britpop exploding at the time, a scene that built itself on models of Britishness that dominated in the 60s and early 70s, a White Britishness, where Black influence was imported on seven inches not part of the living culture. Tricky represents a more accurate image of British pop in the mid-90s: mixed-race; mixed vocals (rapper and chanteuse); mixed sex (male singing from a female perspective and vice-versa). His work acknowledges the music that happened in the UK since the seventies – art pop, later Bowie, two-tone. And his posturing is distinct and relatable, unlike his rapping American contemporaries: gender-bending rather than misogyny; working class veretie, rather than gangster posturing and consumer greed. But, god, was mid-90s Britain ever gloomy. Of course, Fisher's description of Britpop is reductive. Or that moment didn't last long. If anything, Maxinquaye sounds like Vanishing Point by Primal Scream: cloudy, dreary. Black Steel could even be on XTRMNTR. That's certainly the UK and, for what its worth, I find Tricky more relatable than his conservative American counterparts, but, now that I've returned and returned to it, I don't think I need to return to it again. Grim. 2 I find this album gloomy and energy-sapping. I like Martina Topley-Bird’s voice a lot but I struggled to care about much that she used it for here. Martina does a quare lot of lifting, considering hers isn’t the name in the marquee and that adds another slightly depressing dimension to proceedings. Tricky’s own vocal contributions are irritating, lacking any life musically or dramatically. If there are vivid moments of melody, beats, arresting samples or even lyrics (Black Steel) - they are used to build nothing; they simply “groove” for a few seedy minutes. I have put groove in inverted commas there because presumably no one would attempt to dance to this stuff; that is not its raison d'être. Nor would (or at least should) anyone put this on as background ambience to a social gathering unless they meant to discomfort their guests. To my mind this could surely serve only as DVD menu music and kudos to Tricky for anticipating the form before the technology was even rolled out. But here’s a film I wouldn’t watch. 1.5/5
Ponderosa Hell is Around the Corner Black Steel
Unnecessary addition to the list.
I wish we were listening to The Beach Boys today instead of whatever this is. Technically impressive but who cares? I felt nothing.
Just meh. Some songs were cool some I don’t know if they could even be considered songs. I didn’t hate it, just kinda faded into the background
3. A few songs caught my attention, but wouldn’t seek this out. ———————————— My non-musician scoring system. 5 - Love it. Would play anytime, buy, see live… 4 - Good music. 3 - Average playlist. Depends on time and setting. 2 - I can’t listen to whole songs. 1 - No.
An okay album, I liked Overcome and Hell Is Around The Corner the most.
Weirdly enjoyed the trip hop vibes - no specific standout tracks, the only memorable one was the portishead heavy one.
Unusually, for such a foggy, paranoid, stoned-sounding album, the first six tracks (half the album) were all singles in the UK. None of them were exactly smash hits, but this was definitely Tricky's heyday. The reason I mention this is that it makes the album feel imbalanced, definitely a bit front-loaded, but it's still a good listen. The lyrics occasionally make me feel a bit queasy though.
Never gave it a chance in the 90s. Now that I have, I have to say, it's pretty interesting. I fear I've moved on though from this style. Time will tell.
01) Overcome - 8,5 02) Ponderosa - 8,5 03) Black Steel - 8,5 04) Hell Is Round the Corner - 9,5 05) Pumpkin - 8,5 06) Aftermath - 8,5 07) Abbaon Fat Track - 8,0 08) Brand New You're Retro - 8,5 09) Suffocated Love - 8,5 10) You Don't - 8,5 11) Strugglin' - 7,0 12) Feed Me - 7,5 TOTAL: 8,33 (83/100) Current ranking: 130/567
This is the sort of music that played over uncomfortable sex scenes in movies from the early 2000s.
Not a big fan, very repetitive and a lot of weird and awkward noises.
Sonic bomb for the mind and soul
Repetitive and occasionally raunchy. Yet another baffling example of an album that makes one thing, “how did this make the list?”
I really like Triphop, but this album didn't feel particularly groundbreaking for me. It's very moody, experimental and weird at times, which is good and works, but there aren't many moments that truly standout for me. The best songs for me where "Hell Is Around The Corner", which is pretty good but it's also difficult not to compare it to "Glory Box" by Portishead, which uses the same sample (and is arguably better). The other song I found really interesting was "Strugglin'". In terms of performances, the production as I said gets pretty weird and interesting. The vocal performance by Tricky are good, but Marlina Topley-Bird is the absolute highlight, her voice and delivery are flawless and fit the Triphop vibe perfectly.
Brilliant
Was ok…recognised that song
Hell is round the corner is great. Not as good as Massive Attack tho.
Absolutely top-tier.
I was excited to hear an artist I’ve never heard of before but this was definitely not for me
Excelente música, pero sin el contexto adecuado, es un artista al que puedes amar u odiar.
The first half is good, but then it drags on and on until the end comes as a relief. Three stars seems fair.
Beetje duistere muziek. Sommige nummers, zoals "Hell Is Round The Corner", hebben wel iets.
Not really sure what that was. Electronica??
I did not find anything new or interesting in this album. There are better albums in this genre.
Tricky always felt like an afterthought in the Bristol hip-hop 'trifecta' as I was a huge Portishead fan and a big Massive Attack fan. That's not to say he wasn't equally great or influential; I did buy Maxinquaye, I just didn't listen to it nearly as much as Dummy, Blue Lines, Portishead or Mezzanine. It's a great album and I was delighted to have it on rotation for the past week. Both for the nostalgia and the unbiased, pure enjoyment of it.
Not for me
Good but not for me
my jaw is on the floor. what the h-e-double hockey sticks. this is amazing. so groovy so nice, great for background music.
Trip hop perfection with rock touches, taking you on a musical journey
Dark. Brooding. Sinewy. Haunting. Claustrophobic. Edgy. Erotic. Utterly brilliant! This is simply fantastic and a staple in my rotation.
Not too far from horrible
murky, experimental and atmospheric trip hop rock. according to wikipedia, the likes of david bowie was a fan of tricky, and i can see why; it's experimental music that's treated like an art form. it has very earthy sounds, like the beats are directly coming from the soil in the ground. i can't help but admire a lot of the sometimes abstract techniques at play here, this album is unlike anything i've heard before. some tracks are a bit odd, but for the most part i had great pleasure listening to each track. a fever dream of an album.
Okay
I have never heard of this artist or album. From the album art and track titles, I expect some kind of grunge or metal, maybe something like an off-brand Smashing Pumpkins. Oh no, it's some kind of breathy trip-hop. Ugh. Also reading other reviews I twigged that I had heard of Tricky before, as part of Massive Attack on Blue Lines, which I also didn't like, and that I had heard Black Steel before. I liked another reviewer who said: "The question is: Is trip-hop chilled or actually just boring?" Quite so. Nothing happens in any of these tracks. Sounds like it would be perfect to listen to in a sweaty basement club in the mid-90s while high, but for me this is one for the dustbin, and one for the "never listen again" pile also. Two stars, and that's a generous two stars.
Don't quite know what to make of this Electronic British Hip-Hop album because it isn't really Hip-Hop. Music to chill to.
Trip hop was a momentary scene but produced some great music. This lilts along like a lullaby.
I used to be really into Tricky, because of Massive Attack and my massive trip hop phase at some point. I wonder what the dude does these days. Oh I see, he released a song called "Where are you Lately", it does slap in its usual brooding, darkly sensual way.
4 stars for chilling out
Electronic noise has gotten far since The Beatles.
Freakiest trip hop album I ever heard.
Outside of the single, this seems like a mostly uninteresting, uninspired piece of forgotten 90s media that I don't think I've heard anyone mention even once. I will do my best to uphold this time-honored tradition; just like Robert Dimery upholds his tradition of including albums on this list that contain exactly one memorable song.
Maxinquaye is a solid trip-hop album with some clever production touches that might color your mood, but don't expect it to change your life.
Tavallaan pidän, ainakin a-puolesta, kun koko albumin jumittavuus ei ole vielä aivan ilmennyt. Kaipaisin enemmän rohkeutta, kovempia ja vieläkin raskaampia ääniä vaihteluksi. Miespuhuja saisi minusta olla hiljaa. Naislaulajalla on hyvä ääni, björkmäinen korkeus sopii ja on aikansa sävy. Heikko 3.
Levy jää jumiin omiin pohdintoihinsa - toki omalla tavallaan ja välillä jopa energisesti - mutta paikoin skipattavasti.
Some albums just make you want to do a little opium and fuck, and this is maybe foremost among them.
Much like how in my mind there's a canon of 90s shoegaze, there's a canon of 90s trip hop, and for better or worse Maxinquaye is in it. To be totally honest, Maxinquaye is the album that makes me wish there was a better descriptor than 'trip hop' for these albums: the rap connection, even if present, is pretty vague. It's always felt more about a breakbeat, samples, and noir vibes than anything else. And the vibe on this one is unlike any of its peers: to me, Tricky's breakthrough has a more uptempo energy that Portishead and Massive Attack's albums from this time simply didn't, even when they coincidentally used the same samples. Much of that owes to Martina Topley-Bird's vocals, which manages to convey deep emotions while easily riding a different groove than her contemporaries did. I don't even think I'd say Maxinquaye is my favorite album from this era, but whenever I listen to it, I'm always a little floored.
Not for me.
It's not really good.
It's okay and I can picture that there are people who enjoy this kind of music very much, but it's not for me. I mean, I didn't hate it.
A pretty cool vibe from this one. It’s interesting and different from anything I’ve heard before. Would make a good movie soundtrack i feel like (if it hasn’t already been included in movies idk)
Strange music.
Layered, dark, dense and dreamy trip-hop. Sometimes it drops from chilled to boring.
My buddy Freddy recommended me this one and boy was he not wrong.
First solo album. British hip hop, urban, groove vibes. Main vocals by Martina Topley Bird. Sounds a bit like Lilly Allen before Lilly Allen. Some good lyrics like in the track Black Steel. It's okay, solid enough album but just not my thing. Decent production.
I really liked this. Kind of spacey. 4
Decent listen.
Artiste inconnu. Les morceaux sont terriblement répétitifs, sauf certains qui sont un peu plus intéressants car plus variés (Black Steel [+1]). Mais il y en a trop peu ... Quel ennui ! =>2/5
OK. Not really my kind of music - but not bad. Pretty decent background music. I'd say 2.5, I will round down.
Pretty cool.
ehhhh
Some interesting stuff but overall not too into it.
not really electronica but i don't know what else you'd call it
bizarre but interesting
Really liked this, some great tracks. Timeless.
With music as minimal as this (lots of static one- and two-chord jams), then the melody is going to need to carry the day, but on *Maxinquaye* there's not much to be found. Vocalist Marina Topley-Bird's hook-free vocals leave very little lasting impression. Tricky himself often talk-raps in the background, lending creepy counterpoint. Unlike his idols Public Enemy, Tricky's use of samples is hardly transformative. Instead, he repeats loops in an attempt to conjure up some sense of atmosphere but it doesn't lead anywhere interesting.