THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 4, 1995 TAG: 9508030151
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MARK MOBLEY, MUSIC CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Tricky, ``Maxinquaye'' (Island) -- A few more records this good and Bristol will be as famous as Liverpool. From the English town that spawned Massive Attack and Portishead comes Tricky, a songwriter and rapper with exquisite production skills. On his debut album, the former Massive Attack member joins with a singer named Martina for music that is thicker, catchier and more in-your-face than that of his former group.
This draggy, druggy disc turns from slow, intensely funky tracks like ``Overcome'' to a startlingly hard Public Enemy cover. Chuck D is replaced by a light-voiced English woman, rock guitars meet Indian drums in a nod to Bhangra dance music, and ``Black Steel'' is transformed. The surprises continue with a gorgeous ballad called ``Pumpkin,'' featuring a Smashing Pumpkins sample.
Tricky himself raps, or just plain talks, only loud enough to get his breathy, sexy lines out of his chest and into the microphone. His songs don't quite hold up toward the end; the final few, such as the dub-style ``You Don't,'' feel a bit padded. But as one song says, ``when we funk we'll hear beats,'' and this record's beats prove the reverse true as well.
Various Artists, ``Joe Franklin Presents . . . Growing up with Radio''; ``Joe Franklin Presents . . . Hooray for Hollywood''; ``Joe Franklin Presents Vaudeville Show in the Sky'' (Legacy) -- With the emergence of the CD has come a silly trend: the unmarked bonus track. The first time you hear an extra song on a disc, it comes as a pleasant, haunting or eerie surprise. Now we're at the point that a CD without an bonus tune is the exception. But are most albums improved by the added material? No.
That said, thank the corporate geniuses at Sony and Joe Franklin's parents for the sneaky Track 13s on each of these nostalgia collections. After a dozen songs by the brightest lights of the years between the World Wars, the inimitable talk-show maven turns up to free-associate on what each of these extra-special stars meant to him:
``The Big Vaudeville Show in the Sky.'' Now there is a journey back in time, to once upon a time with classic songs from the all-time greats . . . The Mills Brothers - harmony supreme. I knew them and I loved them all. Mae West - who said, ``Come up and see me some time.'' Big star. Lady who saved Paramount Pictures. By Miss Mae West being blue, she took Paramount Pictures out of the red. A very important star was Mae West.
Franklin's enthusiasm is justified. These discs are fun, from the Mills Brothers' simmering ``Diga Diga Doo'' to Xavier Cugat's bouncy ``Cuanto La Gusta'' to Fred Astaire's incomparable ``Let's Face the Music and Dance.'' The rarities include Walter Huston singing ``September Song,'' Carl Brisson's sophisticated ``Cocktails for Two'' and Hoagy Carmichael's proto-Tom Waits ``Hong Kong Blues.''
Masta Ace Incorporated, ``Sittin' On Chrome'' (Capitol) -- Not only does this record have an dreamy, irresistible title track. Not only does this disc have the last sample you'd expect to hear in a gangsta track -- a snippet of Hall and Oates' ``Sara Smile.'' Even better is one of the funniest lines of the summer -- ``The roof is on fire and my name ain't Left Eye.''
The Viceroys, ``The Viceroys at Studio One: Ya Ho'' (Heartbeat) -- A memorable collection from a lesser-known reggae vocal group, featuring the nautically themed single ``Ya Ho'' and a cheery tune about seafood preparation, ``Fat Fish.'' But the most galvanizing track is ``Love Jah,'' which could be proof that David Lynch has lurked around Coxsone Dodd's Studio One.
Future Sound of London, ``ISDN'' (Astralwerks) -- Really, truly Lynch-like is this album of music originally disseminated live worldwide by the Integrated Services Digital MEMO: Print version of story stops in mid-sentence.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Tricky
by CNB