By shelz.
How difficult is it for an artist to constantly be compared to the person he was 15 years ago? It’s as difficult for them as it is for anyone else. 40 year old women with an extra helping of tummy don’t enjoy being presented with pictures of themselves at 25 when they were svelte and all their lady lumps were firm. Middle aged men don’t particularly like hearing that they have traded in their youthful sexual prowess for an expensive sports car, but musicians are expected to evolve without stepping too far from the sound that brought them fame.
Tricky is a perfect example of an artist being held to an old standard. His 1990’s fans embrace Maxinequaye with a Wrestlemanian death grip that requires surgery to repair and nothing he has made since has come close to producing that same euphoria.
Mixed Race isn’t a bad album. There are peaks and valleys in the brief 30 minute release. He spans genres and sprinkles in moments of dark beauty between snooze worthy sequences. There are calm meanderings through the realm of the uncanny and eerie, but little drama. A milquetoast feel that permeates many of the songs undermines the idea that he was totally committed to this project. However, the songs that work are riveting.
The Delta swamp inspired flow of “Every Day” just needs a good foot stomp to evoke Mississippi’s spirit and a ghostly co-sign from Robert Johnson. The smattering of blues elements is random and some are buried but it’s a great interpretation of the sound as Franky Riley, Tricky’s fav vocalist du jour, goes on about transcending, well, everything. “Early Bird” is an interesting take on jazz with some smooth percussion, a snaky bassline and a vibrating sax sample. Charlie Parker? I don’t know, but how grand would it be if it was. “Hakim” is a textured, haunting Middle-Eastern piece. The strings are sublime; the guitar is as gritty and harsh as the lyrics which sound like they’re in Arabic. The only bit of true drama on the album is found on “Ghetto Stars.” The thump is aggressive, almost like a late night knock from Red Dog. The strings swirl anxiously through the bass while the horns slide in and out to add even more gravity. However, the lazy vocals are a bad match for all of the energy. After that, the rest of Mixed Race sounds like filler.
The distorted guitar intro for “Come To Me” promises something that never comes to pass. “Murder Weapon” is a bad gathering of borrowed ideas. It’s an Echo Minott cover with a surprising sample from the “Peter Gunn Theme” added. The intro is a music box version of “I Did It My Way,” which comes off as ironic. “Kingston Logic” is nothing more than the hook of Busta Rhymes’ “Touch It” extended into a whole song minus the dope ass bassline. There are a couple of club songs at the tail end of the album that don’t require mention, especially since Tricky says he doesn’t give a shit about clubs.
Mixed Race is a mixed bag of efforts. Some are great, some not so much. It’s not Maxinequaye but it does have some positive attributes. You just have to forge to find them.
Tricky – “Murder Weapon”
Tricky – “Hakim”
2.75 out of 5
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