Tricky - Blowback (2001) 2CD Edition

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Tricky - Blowback (2001) 2CD Edition

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Blowback is the sixth album by Tricky, released in 2001. Like Nearly God, Blowback contains several collaborations, but the album's sound is much brighter and more relaxed by comparison. Tricky himself said that he wanted to get airplay with this album, while most of his earlier albums were made to stay off the radio. Guest performers on Blowback include Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Josh Klinghoffer, and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cyndi Lauper, Alanis Morissette, Ed Kowalczyk and less known artists such as Hawkman, Stephanie McKay and Ambersunshower, with whom he already worked in 1996 for the charity compilation Childline. Limited edition reissue of 2001 album includes bonus CD featuring seven rare & unissued Tricky songs.

I have no idea whether this will prove the smash Maxinquaye wasn't–well, actually I do, but I promise to keep it quiet if you do. For sure he's presented his new label with his first song album since then. Where once were textures you could write a poem about now are textures you can hang a tune on. And forget P.J. Harvey for clout, this one's got the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Alanis Morissette and, uh, Live and Cyndi Lauper–all of whom sound fabulous. Yes, he's still very down in the mouth. With him, that's a matter of principle. But his defiance is more coherent, his mysticism more visionary. And if it's not gauche of me to mention it, he rocks and does a Nirvana song, not necessarily at the same time.

Review by Robert Christgau

First, the bad news. There are no new tricks on BlowBack, the star-studded 2001 comeback by Tricky, the pioneering trip-hopper that wandered his way into the wilderness. He wandered so far that nobody really cared anymore if he had anything to say – particularly because he wound up saying the same thing, slightly differently, over and over again. He doesn't escape from this problem here, yet he's found a map – and that map is craft. He knew this before, since the best moments of Angels With Dirty Faces and Juxtapose were when he knew how to spin his signatures just right, so they jelled into something brilliant. He has the same gift here, and he extends it throughout the record, so this is the first record that really plays smoothly from start to finish since Pre-Millennium Tension. That, of course, isn't the same thing as being as good, since he has ceased to innovate, and he has a couple of annoying flaws, including his tendency to create one mood and sustain it without developing it, plus his love of dancehall toasting. The thing is, for all of his genius, Tricky doesn't really have the greatest taste in the world. Yes, he's worked with Björk and PJ Harvey, but he's also brought Bush into the studio, and here Live's Ed Kowalczyk, three members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Cyndi Lauper all contribute sonic coloring. The genius of Tricky is, he knows how to pull out the best in such unlikely collaborators, making it sound like a natural extension of his work. Then again, it could just be that John Frusciante and Flea know "Brand New You're Retro" so well, it's easy to turn it out again on "Wonder Woman." So, it's a mixed bag, but it plays sharper than his albums of late. Yes, there are some astonishing slips – the backing track of "Something in the Way" sounds great, but Hawkman, the ragga bane of this album, castrates it of its power – but, at this point, that's a given with Tricky. Once you get past that, once you stop expecting genius – or at least something that matches Maxinquaye (or even Tension) – it's much easier to enjoy BlowBack.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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Tricky - Blowback (2001) 2CD Edition

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Tricky - Blowback (2001) 2CD Edition

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