Pre-Millennium Tension

Tricky | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 1996)
• Original Release Date: November 19, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B000001EA8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,815 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #43 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > International Rap

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Pre-Millennium Tension picks up where the first album Maxinquaye left off, but this CD fulfills the promise of Tricky's unbounded spontaneity and fondness for sonic digression. Abandoning the accessible pop of Maxinquaye, Pre-Millennium Tension serves up a beguiling array of sound effects, electro distortion and fragmented lyrics that amount to a rich--if bizarre-musical montage. As suggested by its title, this disc zeros in on a kind of end-of-the-millennium disruption of classifiable sound. With its cross-pollination of hip-hop, cabaret balladry, background textures, and disjointed arrangements, Pre-Millennium Tension takes a peek at the future of pop music and declares it will be nothing like we expect. --Nick Heil

Product Description

CD

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You people anger me August 20, 1999

By Joe Kenney

Format:Audio CD

The people who have given this album a bad review say they don't like it because it doesn't sound like Maxinquaye. Should Tricky be like AC/DC, and release the same album over and over? Any true fan of eclectic music (which, by definition, trip-hop and all it's subcategories is) would appreciate this album for what it is: something new, something different. In a world where crap like Matchbox 20 is labeled "alternative," Tricky stands alone as a true "alternative" voice in rock music. This is the album where he really cut loose, getting over the Massive Attack-wannabe sound of Maxinquaye, deciding to do music that was a little more polished than those tracks on Nearly God, a little less hip-hop than those on Grassroots, and instead started doing music that sounds like nothing else. Christiansands is still my favorite Tricky song ever (save for this one he does live but hasn't released yet, which we've taken to calling "Movies Don't Move Me"), and the first 5 songs on here are sheer genius. I'll admit that some of the songs aren't very listenable, ie My Evil Is Strong, but all in all this album is purely amazing. I think his most recent, Juxtapose, is better overall, but Pre-MT has some better stand-alone songs, like Christiansands, Tricky Kid, Makes me wanna die, and Vent. Bad Things is cool, too, once you get into it. And to my friend below, that's not even Tricky singing on Ghetto Youth, it's some Jamaican guy that was hanging out in front of Tricky's studio, and Tricky had him come in and sing over the music. Why? Go ask Tricky, I don't know. God bless you all! Your opinions are important, even if they're the wrong ones!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars well, I liked it September 9, 1999

By Lisa

Format:Audio CD

I know I'm usually alone on this, but this is my favorite Tricky album. "She Makes Me Wanna Die" is the most beautiful thing I ever heard, and I bought the movie "A Little Romance" because Tricky wrote Piano based on it. I own Fifth Element because he was in it. I think Maxinquaye was a little too "pop". I liked it, but it sounded too restricted. PMT is just all out original, even the samples he uses are used brilliantly, not as some Puff Daddy rip off. Pre-Millenium Tension has that edge, the paranoia, the anxiety that just screams genius. "My Evil is Strong" is brilliant... the lyrics to that are awesome. Tricky just goes to show you that blacks don't need to be gangsters to succeed. I don't know what the hell "Juxtapose" was. I admit it was better than radio, but it was too close to radio.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The most explosive album of the 90's. February 14, 2002

By Go Bulldogs

Format:Audio CD

From a Diehard fan's point of view, I shun every reviewer who has given this album a poor review. Its not pop or mainstream music. Its an artistic album with a lot of experimental beats and rhythms to it. Never has anything sounded like this before. I thought Tricky couldn't top Maxinquaye's surreal mystique and inventive beats. I was wrong. This is a 180 degree turn but its exactly perfect for Tricky to explore new territory. Maxinquaye is more of a dream album. Pre-Millenium is more like an apocalyptic nightmare vision. Pre-Millenium is more angst driven than all his other albums. Its an album of self-discovery. Much of the lyrics is about Tricky's life struggle and what he is feeling. And he's venting out his rage. Lyrically, its the most brilliant and creative. Almost to the point of insanity. You'll hear roaring drums at the start with the eruption of the first track, "Vent." The screaching of guitars in this is unbelievably incredible. This flows right into "Christiansands," an r&b flavor track that's closer to pop than the rest of the tracks. Many consider this to be Tricky's best song on here. Its a great song to listen to at a party but it seems a little out of place and should have been on Maxinquaye instead of this. The strength of the cd comes later with "Bad Dream, My Evil Is Strong, Lyrics Of Fury and Piano." These songs sound very industrial and heavy. I especially love, "Lyrics Of Fury." Martina raps the entire song over almost nothing but a single drum beat. The song is played in almost all his live shows with a lot of fury and passion behind it. I always push repeat on this track and on the track "Bad Dream," my two favorites on the album. Many people complain about rubbish and don't understand the true art behind Pre-Millenium Tension.... If its too intelligent for you I can understand but don't bash it because its not mainstream or pop.
Its as innovative and revolutionary as comtemporary music can get. I rank this among Nirvana's Nevermind and Radiohead's Ok Computer albums. Its that good. Read more ›

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Trickster at his best! August 2, 2000

By NOWAY

Format:Audio CD

Tricky proved himself a true genius by making this record. It is his most original work, as he strays from the Massive Attack-like "Maxinquaye". Some reviwers might assume it is extremely harsh, but that is why it is a work of art. It is rather claustrophobic.

It begins with "Vent". This is one of the best tracks ive ever heard. It's a "call and response-type" track featuring his trusty sidekick, Martine. The rest of the album is full of interesting surprises (Ghetto Youth, Bad Dream, My Evil is Strong, etc.). It seems Tricky mastered the formula for his trippy sound. He finally lays it down here.

PMT is not a very accessable record, but it is full of infectious rhythms, trippy melodies and vocals, and the marred voice of the man himself. This album is not recommended for those who want easy hooks, but for those who want to teach their brain new things.