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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
Adrian Thaws (aka Tricky), one of the key components of Massive Attack around the time of their important Blue Lines album, seemed to find more space to explore his fears, loves and neuroses as a solo artist on this, his debut release, which is also something of a classic itself. Whilst the Massive Attack sound is a standard one of dub basses, Tricky gains greater contrast with his smoky vocals by utilising a disjointed, handmade mix of sounds, from hard noise ("Black Steel") to marimba-like plonks ("Ponderosa") and slow-beat joints ("Brand New You're Retro"). Here, alongside vocalist and one-time partner Martina Topley Bird, Tricky is able to maintain a sense of perspective lost in later works--the recording sounds positive and instructive, as if they were happy just to make a good album. Named after his mother, Maxin, who committed suicide when Thaws was six, there is just the right level of paranoia in the claustrophobia of his rhymes, creating a musical document that sounds homespun and satisfying. --Charlie Porter
Product Description
CD 4th And Broadway, BRCD 610 524 089-2, 1995 12 Track
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By as
Format:Audio CD
Don't get me wrong : "Maxinquaye" is a real jewel but this special edition misses the goal.Instead of adding the B-sides (of the EP "hell 's around the corner" for example) , or some catchy live tracks (the still unissued tracks like "saturday night", or early versions of "together now" (appearing later on nearly god's album), "bombing bastards" or "Kill a jew", or whatever remastered recordings the numerous concerts that Tricky and Martina gave at the time), what did they fill the 2nd CD with? completely worthless mixes and re mixes and (so they say) a capella manipulated versions which are nearly unlistenable.
Tricky live was (and still is) an experience (top notch musicians, energetic versions with real drumming of all the "Maxinquaye" tracks). Any live version would have been welcome, especially the one of "feed me" for example which gives another dimension to the track. again a missed opportunity....... stay away.
Tricky live was (and still is) an experience (top notch musicians, energetic versions with real drumming of all the "Maxinquaye" tracks). Any live version would have been welcome, especially the one of "feed me" for example which gives another dimension to the track. again a missed opportunity....... stay away.
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The thing that really sets this album apart from anything else produced in the last 10 years (including Tricky's other albums) is the lyrics. Like reading Shakespeare or listening to the ramblings of a drunk it takes a while to make sense of the words and realise just how much wisdom there is lying beneath:
"You feed me lies, distortion - the English disaster"
"I was raised in this place, now concrete is my religion"
"We're hungry, beware of our appetite"
I could try writing paragraph after paragraph about the different meanings I take from these lyrics and why I think they show us how ugly and scary an institution modern British culture can be, but I could never get the point across the way Tricky does. You know when you hear a tune and it's so good that you're convinced you've heard it before? Well that's how I feel about the words on this album - they sound like they were just waiting for someone to say them.
It's not just the lyrics either - the music creates the paranoid mood the lyrics evoke and the lyrics describe the dark lonely places the music takes you to, making it almost impossible to seperate the two. The beats are disjointed and messy - but never just for the sake of it. The chopped up ideas and phrases and the layering of different vocal parts on every song takes you to the twisted place the narrator is living in.
"You feed me lies, distortion - the English disaster"
"I was raised in this place, now concrete is my religion"
"We're hungry, beware of our appetite"
I could try writing paragraph after paragraph about the different meanings I take from these lyrics and why I think they show us how ugly and scary an institution modern British culture can be, but I could never get the point across the way Tricky does. You know when you hear a tune and it's so good that you're convinced you've heard it before? Well that's how I feel about the words on this album - they sound like they were just waiting for someone to say them.
It's not just the lyrics either - the music creates the paranoid mood the lyrics evoke and the lyrics describe the dark lonely places the music takes you to, making it almost impossible to seperate the two. The beats are disjointed and messy - but never just for the sake of it. The chopped up ideas and phrases and the layering of different vocal parts on every song takes you to the twisted place the narrator is living in.
8 years down the line and this album still sounds ahead of the game - phrases like trip-hop and chilled-out are deceptive (even insulting), save them for baby food music like morcheeba. I rank this album up there with all the classics - astral weeks, the stone roses, dylan, marley. I just hope time proves me right!
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
I really like this album. I'd first heard Tricky on the Massive Attack/ Protection CD and from hearing that, felt it was worth taking a chance on his solo album - what a lucky guess.. Seriously, if you want something dark and metallic, kind of fresh out of the furnace sounding, balanced with well thought-out lyrics and haunting vocals this will work for you. It has (for me anyways) a good balance of emotional tones in the different pieces, without resorting to repetition, although this does crop up in a very interesting way for those who already own Massive Attack's Protection album. The two albums, side by side, seem like two interpretations of a singlular theme; the cut-and-pasting of voices and lyrics between the two albums opens another perspective from which to appreciate tricky's work on this album. End result: on it's own feet 'tis a memorable album, side by side with Massive Attack's Protection it offers a deeper and intriguing statement. But then you might just like it for the beats..
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
yes an old classic that i,d been wanting to listen 2
Value for money in good condition, and i ve been wanting to listen 2 it for years.. came on time
Published 1 month ago by sarah the slayer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Totally fantastic.....a must have album from the mid ninties!
I have wanted this album since i first heard it in '95.... can't believe it's taken me til 2013 to finally buy it!?! ...i'm glad i did finally buy it - it's a beauty! ... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Tomsk
5.0 out of 5 stars
No comparison
Simply put this was the greatest british album of the 90s,
To step out of Massive Attacks shadow and deliver this album was astonishing.
To step out of Massive Attacks shadow and deliver this album was astonishing.
Published 3 months ago by stoveboy78
5.0 out of 5 stars
brilliant absolutely
I usually listen to jazz, english and irish folk, robert johnson, derek bailey, debussy and van der graaf generator but to paraphrase the words of another great bristolian... Read more
Published 15 months ago by M GREGG
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoying this
Have been more aware of Tricky cos of Martina Topley Baird, but through Last.FM his songs kept being added to my list of choons and am glad they did. Good perchase.
Published 23 months ago by Newcastle 73
5.0 out of 5 stars
really top notch stuff
I dont know how this slipped under my radar in 1995 - probably due to the deluge of Oasis articles around at the time. Even the 'extra' CD is more than just padding
Published on 3 Dec 2009 by Nick Hindley
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favourite, and first, album by Tricky
Yeah, this is good. I don't think there's a weak track on this album. As always, Tricky sounds almost asleep when he's actually part of the track - often you get other folk... Read more
Published on 11 May 2007 by D. Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maxinquaye
Every generation has music that defines their era and in the mid-nineties it was the output of Massive Attack, Tricky and Portishead that has the greatest resonance. Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2007 by Demob Happy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still moves me
I bought this album in March 95, and it still holds. Keep coming back to it, every now and then. Just have to hear "Overcome" or "Pumpkin" in another context, and I think: yes,... Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2007 by mettest
1.0 out of 5 stars
Just Buy Massive Attack Instead
I cant say i was completely surprised by the overall rating of 4 + half stars awarded to this album, it being considered 'a classic' and all. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2006 by Mr. B. W. Alexander
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