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Maxinquaye

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Untitled

Maxinquaye is the debut album of the English musician and actor Tricky, released in 1995. 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.

Maxinquaye, named after Tricky's late mother Maxine Quaye, received great critical acclaim upon release. The album was re-issued in the UK on 2 November 2009 by Universal Island with a second disc of remixes as a "Deluxe Edition".[1]

Album background

Tricky chose Mark Saunders as co-producer of the album due to his previous work with The Cure on the albums Wish and Mixed Up, and they recorded the album in the first half of 1994 at Tricky's home studio, with later work done at the Loveshack and Eastcote studios in Notting Hill, London.[2]

The sessions for the album were somewhat chaotic, and Saunders, who had the impression that he would serve as an engineer, frequently found himself serving as a DJ and programmer.[2][3] Tricky frequently instructed him on what to sample, regardless of different tempos and pitches, and asked him to piece the result together, something Saunders achieved by pitch-shifting the respective samples.[2][3]

Various contributors were occasionally called in to play instruments, such as guitarist James Stevenson, bassist Pete Briquette, the band FTV (on "Black Steel") and even Saunders contributed guitar, with the resulting improvisations treated as samples.[2] Adding to the free-form atmosphere of the sessions, Martina Topley-Bird's vocals were recorded in the first take without any planning beforehand.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
Robert Christgau(A+)[5]
Entertainment Weekly(A)[6]
OMM[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Slant Magazine[9]
  • Q (6/00, p. 75) - Ranked #36 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums"
  • Q (12/99, p. 84) - Included in Q's "90 Best Albums of the 1990s".
  • Q (2/96, p. 67) - Included in Q's 50 Best Albums of 1995.
  • Rolling Stone (13/5/99, p. 80) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's".
  • Rolling Stone (25/1/96, p. 41) - Ranked #3 in the 1996 Critics' Poll.
  • Spin (9/99, p. 125) - Ranked #14 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s."
  • Spin (12/95, p. 62) - Ranked #2 on Spin's list of the '20 Best Albums of '95'.
  • Melody Maker (23–30/12/95, pp. 66–67) - Tied for #1 on Melody Maker's list of 1995's 'Albums of the Year'.
  • Village Voice (20/2/96) - Ranked #2 in Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.
  • Mojo (p. 57)[which?] - Ranked #77 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics".
  • The New York Times (5/1/96, p. C16) - Included on Jon Pareles's list of the Top 10 Albums of '95.
  • NME (23–30/12/95, pp. 22–23) - Ranked #1 in NME's 'Top 50 Albums of the Year' for 1995.[10]

Track listing

No.TitleSampleLength
1."Overcome""Moonchild" (Shakespears Sister)4:30
2."Ponderosa""O Maa Tujhe Salaam" (Jagjit Singh)3:31
3."Black Steel""Rukkumani Rukkuman" (A. R. Rahman)5:40
4."Hell Is Round the Corner""Ike's Rap II" (Isaac Hayes)3:47
5."Pumpkin" (featuring Alison Goldfrapp)"Suffer" (The Smashing Pumpkins)4:31
6."Aftermath""That's the Way Love Is" (Marvin Gaye)7:39
7."Abbaon Fat Tracks" 4:27
8."Brand New You're Retro""Bad" (Michael Jackson)2:54
9."Suffocated Love""Look In My Eyes" (The Chantels)4:53
10."You Don't" 4:39
11."Strugglin'" 6:39
12."Feed Me" 4:04

Track notes

Singles

UK singles, with release dates and peak positions in the singles chart:

  • "Aftermath" (24 January 1994) – #69
  • "Ponderosa" (25 April 1994)
  • "Overcome" (16 January 1995) – #34
  • "Black Steel" (3 April 1995) – #28
  • The Hell E.P. ("Hell Is Round the Corner") (24 July 1995) – #12
  • "Pumpkin" (30 October 1995) – #26

Soundtrack appearances

Personnel

References

  1. ^ http://www.clashmusic.com/news/tricky-maxinquaye-re-issue-details
  2. ^ a b c d Buskin, Richard (June 2007). "CLASSIC TRACKS: Tricky 'Black Steel'". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  3. ^ a b Byers, Will (10 September 2008). "School of rock: The power of production". guardian.co.uk Music Blog. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  4. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Maxinquaye > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Tricky". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  6. ^ Browne, David (2 June 1995). "Maxinquaye: Music Review:Entertainment Weekly". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  7. ^ Savage, Jon (1 November 2009). "Tricky:Maxinquaye". The Observer. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  8. ^ Hunter, James (2 February 1998). "Maxinquaye: Tricky: Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  9. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (2 November 2002). "Tricky: Maxinquaye | Music Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  10. ^ http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1055600

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