I loved Tricky's post-Massive Attack debut, "Maxinquaye", but found that his next couple of albums (Nearly God, Pre-Millennium Tension and Angels With Dirty Faces) not nearly as good. Each one had the odd good track, but was mostly average, retreading the same ground but less effectively. However, Juxtapose finds Tricky in a slightly more melodic (cheerful?) and interesting mood, and it's as close to mainstream as he's likely to get. It's a refreshing breath after the claustrophobic raving of PMT and AWDF, and certain tracks, particularly "For Real", "Scrappy Love" and "Bom Bom Diggy" are among his best. His collaborations with Mad Dog and others fill out the sound better than the "Nearly God" experiment, although the highly pornographic "I Like the Girls" is perhaps too shocking for even the most broad-minded listener. If you've never heard Tricky before, then Maxinquaye is still unmissable, but Juxtapose rolls in a comfortable second best.
