Juxtapose

Like many of Tricky's albums, the songs on this album are results of collaborations with various artists, so it was no surprise that this has a more "street" feel to it, as opposed to Pre-Millennium Tension, which was surreal and dirty. Despite this, I think the album still bears Tricky's indelible stamp: His menace and growls still permeate the album and are used to great effect on songs like "For Real" and "Wash My Soul." Fans of PMT will enjoy songs like "Call Me" and "Scrappy Love" which have a more visceral and gutteral feel than the other songs. "Bom Bom Diggy" foreshadows the type of riffing that would appear on his next album "Blowback." It's got a great groove and rapping courtesy of Muggs, but it's more restrained than say "Girls" (from Blowback).

Overall, I'd say this is a great "rock" record in that Tricky succeeds in taking the styles of Muggs/Grease and blending them with his own mutant approach to music-making. That's what it is: a mutation. Fans of Maxinquaye and PMT may not enjoy Juxtapose, as it's not entirely innovative or groundbreaking, but it does offer good variations of the mutant rock that Tricky helped invent.

Having previously been unsuccessful, in his attempts to break into the Lucrative american market, teamed up with "Cypress Hill's"..."D.j. Muggs" (with the help of rapper "DMX's" producer "Grease"), to create a "Hip-hop" themed version of his Distinctive style of Brooding Electronica he's so famous for. Right off the bat...the down right Breathtaking "For Real" (a Scathing look at wannabe gangsters how watch "Too many gangster films", & people obsessed with "Record deals")...Tricky growlingly snarls "How Do you expect to become a Crime Family???...Your Profile's too Big!!!". This track stands out for being easily as good (if not better than any individual track Tricky has produced), and yet that isn't the whole of this consistently bleak album as "Contradictive" sees Tricky move into altogether more accessible songs with a male Vocal supplanting this kind of track that is usually reserved for his female vocalists, and against all the odds, ends up being some of Tricky's most distinguished work. But regardless of the praise heaped by me on this album, those new to Tricky (or only possessing one album) should probably steer clear...because as with "Angels with Dirty Faces" this is a tough, Difficult and initially unrewarding listen. But those that have most of Tricky's catalogue of Albums, will be entering into this with their eyes open, and expect the dramatic shifts from Downtempo, Trip-hop, Rap, Alternative Rock....and for these people, it'll take a while....but the brilliance of this album will unearth under (admittedly a fair few) listens.

Despite its relatively short length, this is top drawer Tricky, along with everything else pre MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. MAXINQUAYE must still be considered his best, but I reach for this album just as much. Tricky IS tricky, the way he manipulates beats and borrows lyrics and makes them his own. He's got some thumpin' help on board for this album, too.

"For Real" and "Contradictive" are different approaches for Tricky; a different kind of mellow with acoustic guitar and piano touches. Elsewhere, Tricky rocks as hard as anything from ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES and gets bugged-out trippy on the haunting "Wash My Soul" and "Scrappy Love." "I Like the Girls" contains an X-rated hyperspeed rap that is so wigged-out. Tricky, at this point at least, is still the master jester of head-trip music.