Vulnerable [Enhanced]

Some have said that Tricky is becoming dated; I think that he is just becoming more accessible.

Queues, breaks, intros, whatever one wishes to call them, are predictable (One can accurately predict when an instrument will come into the song). There is nothing to surprise the listener or keep him or her interested in the album. The beats are simply O.K., if not generic. There is little to engage the mind or the feet when listening to "Vunerable." Tricky fails to deliver anything new.....for example, the track "Anti-Matter."

One cannot even zone out to it or have it as ambient sound while hanging out with friends. "Vunerable", as a project, is neither relaxing, nor stimulating, nor morose, nor edgy. It was just annoying.

I was really hoping for more when I bought this album, especially after reading the reviews by die-hard Tricky fans.

The remake of The Cure's "The Lovecats" fails to live up to the praise of Amazon's critic. There's no new angle, vibrance or inspiration. It tries too hard to be erotic and ends up being a track that makes one laugh out loud. If you still don't have an accurate picture of this song.... do you remember the two brothers who bopped their heads to one side to Haddaway's "What is Love?" on Saturday Night Live? "The Love Cats" would be their torch-song. It's not good or quirky-good, it's just there.

Do not spend your money on something that will just end up as a $1 buy-back at CD Warehouse. If you really, really, really want this album, I suggest buying it used.

You may want to check out Goldfrapp or Depeche Mode instead (you won't ever want to give away to coworkers as an emptihearted peace offering).

Actually, VULNERABLE is a rather different direction for Tricky, less ambitious and perhaps a bit more playful. It can be played front to back without anything too jarring to interrupt the flow. Some songs are pretty intense, but they're all very groove-friendly. It's too modern sounding to be 80's music, although it has 80's touches including plenty of straight-up, unadulterated keyboards.

Tricky's new chanteuse-of-the-month, Costanza, initially sounds like an almost conventional sex kitten, but her breath-y delivery and strangely annunciated words lend her voice character and, yes, she sounds sexy. In fact, the album is very sexy overall like most of Tricky's best music.

"Hollow" and "Car Crash" in particular are extremely sensual. The 80's songs covered here (XTC's "Dear God" and The Cure's "Love Cats") are very good as Tricky does his own thing with them. Both are subdued versions of the original that blend right into the groove of the album.

The last track for me stands above the rest - it's as good as classic Tricky. It's dominated by a rhythmic electric guitar riff and more intense guitars appear towards the end.

As I already pointed out, Tricky has made better records, but VULNERABLE is very agreeable and there's not a bad track in the bunch. For that, it deserves 5 stars.

An aside: For those who long for more "old school" Tricky at his best, I would strongly recommend the Baby Namboos' ANCOATS 2 ZAMBIA (much more than VULNERABLE in fact). For me, it's essential "trip-hop." This album has its own sound including groovy stand-up bass, smooth raps and a chanteuse with a gorgeous, slightly raspy voice. Tricky himself makes some killer contributions to it.