| Product: |
Blowback - Tricky |
| Date: |
09/02/02 (327 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: a lot of good songs, almost back to his old style, incredible guests
Disadvantages: some bland and bad songs
For me, Tricky defines a very memorable period in time. If you’ll let me take you back to 1995 and remember if you will the release of the Island Records classic Maxinquaxe. I say timeless because I still listen to the album today and it doesn’t seem so dated.
Tricky sprung from Bristol, and more specifically, Massive Attack's Blue Lines album, which is fairly apparent if you listen to the lyrics of this and his initial release, but nonetheless I loved it! Trip-hop was defined and I was wholeheartedly swept up in it.
In 1996 he followed it up with the release of Pre-Millennium Tension and suddenly I wasn’t so sure anymore. It had some notable tracks, Christiansands and Makes me Wanna Die in particular, but I didn’t love the album. By 1998’s Angels With Dirty Faces, he had lost me. The sounds were too dark, too weird and didn’t represent any of the reasons why I loved the music in the first place.
Now jump back to 2002 and amazon.co.uk recommended Blowback to me. Naturally I was a little apprehensive. As far as I was concerned, I had outgrown Tricky, or maybe he had outgrown what I liked. Either way I didn’t think it would be for me but I’m not one to prejudge and I’ll try just about anything once so I headed for the detail page.
Four things made me decide to buy the CD:
Firstly, the reviews told me just what I wanted to hear. Reviewing for Amazon, Chris Campion told me Blowback was ‘Tricky's most accessible and focused album for years’, then the customer reviews compared the album to the glory of Maxinquaxe.
Secondly the artist collaborations read like a who’s who of music! The track listing wooed me with most of the Red Hot Chili peppers, Ed Kowalczyk from Live, Cyndi Lauper, Alanis Morissette and a cover version of Nirvana’s Something In The Way.
Thirdly I noticed the track Evolution Revolution Love sitting happily in sec
ond position. The title looked so familiar and then I remember downloading it from Audiogalaxy.com several months earlier. It’s a great song!
I was excited by now then the final nail was driven when I noticed the price of the CD. Only £7.99! This is maybe because the album was released in June 2001. Who knows, who cares! Needless to say, it was dropped into my basket and was winging it’s way to my stereo before you could say Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio gogogoch (well, amazon’s payment process isn’t all that fast)!
Within a few days Blowback was sitting on my desk at work. I noticed Tricky has changed record label and was now releasing on Anti. The CD comes is a glossy cardboard gatefold pack featuring a Black and white photograph of Tricky, somewhat predictably receiving a blowback (possibly from Stephanie McKay, but I can’t be too sure).
Open the pack up and the whole experience is displayed in a series of fascinating frame by frame photographs by Anton Corbijn. Corbijn has worked in film, photography and design for the likes of Depeche Mode, U2, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili peppers, Joni Mitchell, Joy Division, Mercury Rev and Metallica to name but a few. It’s almost worth buying just for the packaging! By this time, even my workmates were excited about it, so we had to put it on!
~ Track 1 ~ Excess ~
Featuring Stephanie McKay on vocals with additional vocals provided by Alanis Morissette.
The track starts in that old familiar Tricky way, with building anticipation broken by his distinctive vocals. Incidentally I wouldn’t have recognized the vocals as Alanis Morisette but I’m not really a fan of hers anyway. The track is quite strong and dark with a tribal bassline and a sprinkling of piano, guitars, wailing and trademark Tricky indistinguishable noises. It provides the listener with the message ‘Keep living’ and is an excellent opener to
the album.
~ Track 2 ~ Evolution Revolution Love ~
Featuring Ed Kowalczyk and Hawkman on vocals
This fusion of reggae, rock and trip-hop begins with a beautiful Balearic-style acoustic guitar. You would have probably heard this one on the radio or music based TV at the time of its release. Hawkman is Tricky's new prodigy and has a very distinctive deep raga/reggae voice, which adds a great depth and atmosphere to the track. You’ll be humming the catchy lyrics: Now that I understand this right, let me take it to the mic, this revolution has just begun.
~ Track 3 ~ Over Me ~
Featuring Ambersunshower and Hawkman on vocals
This track raises the tempo of the album but retains the atmosphere with and almost Fun Loving Criminals style intro. Hawkman’s vocals showcase his talent much more thoroughly on this track and are perfectly completed by the soft melodic tones of Ambersunshower. Apparently Ambersunshower is her real first name, probably given to compensate for her much less ordinary surname – Smith!
~ Track 4 ~ Girls ~
Featuring Anthony Kiedis on vocals and John Frusciante on lead guitar
Predictably, with the collaborators being from the RHCP, this track wouldn’t go amiss on Californication. It has a much more hyped up, funky rock feel than the previous songs but it doesn’t seem out of place here as it has that unmistakable Trick touch. It isn’t one of my favourites but it’s a very good tune.
~ Track 5 ~ You Don't Wanna ~
Featuring Ambersunshower on vocals
Track 5 drops the tempo and the mood with Ambersunshower showing a different, deeper, stronger and darker side to her vocal talents. You’ll cringe at her almost off tone message of ‘I found out how to be perfect for you my dear’. It almost has an 80s, and it wouldn’t go amiss on an Air or Daft Punk album.
~ Track 6 ~ Wonder Woman ~
Fea
turing John Frusciante on vocals and guitar and Flea on bass
I swear this track was made for me. Flea, also from the RHCP, is my hero, my inspiration to learn bass and probably the best bass player in the world. Wonder Woman was my favourite TV show as a child, in fact I went through a phase of believing I was Wonder Woman and frequently making myself ill with all that spinning, but I guess that’s beside the point! Regardless of my bias it’s an amazing track. My brother loved it and he had no idea it was a theme tune cover. If you buy this album for one song only, this is it. Flea's trademark spiralling bassline and John’s guitar interpretation of the melody will have you tingling with joy!
~ Track 7 ~ Your Name ~
Featuring Ambersunshower on vocals
This track drops you back into that laid back mood with its vocals reminiscent of a playground pat-a-cake song. It’s really beautiful and the contrast between Ambersunshower’s delicate voice and Tricky’s deep growls are unbelievably complimentary. I think it would have been better as the final track as it seems to be a closing song to me, leaving you in a happy bubble of love.
~ Track 8 ~ Diss Never (Dig Up We History) ~
Featuring Hawkman on vocals
Track 8 is very bass heavy with a ragga beat perfectly complimenting Hawkman’s now familiar voice. He also sings the chorus melody on this song which is nice to hear him holding a tune rather that his monotone delivery of the verses. This also provides quite a contrast between the verse and chorus, which almost makes it two songs without being disjointed. Very clever!
~ Track 9 ~ Bury The Evidence ~
Featuring Hawkman on vocals
This song starts with a haunting spoken lyric spoken over dramatic strings and leads naturally into the rest of the layers of the song. This does give it a film soundtrack sound, somewhat reminiscent of Barrington Phurlong on the
Shopping soundtrack. I’m not particularly keen on this one, as it seems to represent Tricky’s strange phase from previous albums. He repeats, It’s like a movie, it doesn’t move me’ in an almost maniacal way which is a little disturbing and the guitar are a little heavy for my tastes.
~ Track 10 ~ Something In The Way ~
Featuring Hawkman on vocals
The masochistic side of me really wanted to hear this track. My rational side pointed out that I always, without fail, hate interpretations of tracks by bands I love. I mean look at what those All Saints girls did to Under the Bridge! Unfortunately the logical playing order of the CD made the decision for me, and guess what, rational was right again. I hate this version! It has been praised all over the reviews but it doesn’t cut it with me. In all subsequent listenings I have skipped it!
~ Track 11 ~ Five Days ~
Featuring Cyndi Lauper on vocals
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, True Colours and that’s it. That’s all I associate with Ms Lauper so imagine my surprise when I hear her singing properly! Not whining, not squeaking and nothing like the sound I remember her to produce. She’s brilliant and she really makes something good from this otherwise quite bland track.
~ Track 12 ~ Give It To Em ~
Featuring Hawkman on vocals
As the album draws to a close, the listener is treated to one final offering from the vocal talents of Hawkman. The track starts with an answering machine message with a voice that sounds particularly similar to that used on BT’s Movement In Still Life album. The backing music is particularly Tricky with intermittent grating guitars and countless other levels. However, the track is fairly non-descript and not particularly memorable. By this point I’m beginning to wish I’d turned it off after Track 9 as I’m a little disappointed with everything since then.
>~ Track 13 ~ A Song For Yukiko ~
Featuring John Suzuki and Yukiko Takahashi on vocals
Suddenly the bad feeling is all turned around. This track is incredible and equally as worthy as a closing track as Your Name. The piano melody and Japanese spoken lyrics from Takahashi create a perfect ambience and somehow make you want to listen to the track again. It’s deep, it’s haunting and it’s very Tricky!
~ Conclusion ~
This album isn’t quite up to Maxiquaye’s standard. Some of the tracks are incredible, some I hated and I went through a range of emotions in between but overall it is a good album and at only £7.99 from amazon.co.uk it’s well worth it!
~ More Information ~
http://www.anti.com/artist.php?id=86596 - Tricky’s new record label with a selection of information about the artist.
http://www.moon-palace.de/tricky/blowback.html - An excellent site packed full of information on this album is particular – clearly made by a fanatical fan!
Summary:
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