Nearly God

Nearly God
Studio album by Various Artists
Released	April 29, 1996 (1996-04-29)
Genre	Trip hop, Abstract, Electronic
Length	64:44
Label	Island
Producer	Tricky
Professional reviews
Allmusic link
Various Artists chronology
Maxinquaye (1995) Nearly God (1996) Pre-Millennium Tension (1996)

Nearly God is a collaborative album produced by Tricky, released on 29 April 1996.

Album name, recording history, collaborators

The album's title comes from an interview where Tricky was asked "So how does it feel to be God... well, nearly God."^[1]

It was recorded in three weeks during the summer, in New York and London, and Tricky himself describes it as "a collection of brilliant demos".

Originally, Nearly God also included a song with Blur singer Damon Albarn, but it was removed at the last minute, with Tricky expressing displeasure at Albarn's working methods, saying: "He wants to work on something for like two months and then do the vocals again and again and again, and I don't work like that." ^[2] The song was later recorded again with former Madness singer Suggs, but this version ("I'll pass right through you") was not released either. Four of ten rumoured songs with Neneh Cherry were released on her singles "Woman", "Kootchi" and "Feel it" in 1996 and 1997. Tricky also recorded another song with Cath Coffey, a cover of the Grease song "Summer Nights" which was released in 1997 on her first album Mind the Gap (released only in Japan so far).

The final product contains collaborations with Terry Hall (singer of The Specials), Alison Moyet, Cath Coffey, Neneh Cherry, Björk and Martina Topley Bird. The first track is a cover of "Tattoo", a b-side of popular post-punk band Siouxsie & the Banshees.

Track listing

1. "Tattoo" (performed by Tricky) (Budgie, Steven Severin, Siouxsie Sioux)
2. "Poems" (performed by Tricky, Terry Hall, & Martina Topley Bird)
3. "Together Now" (performed by Tricky & Neneh Cherry)
4. "Keep Your Mouth Shut" (performed by Tricky & Björk)
5. "I Be the Prophet" (performed by Tricky & Martina Topley Bird)
6. "Make a Change" (performed by Alison Moyet)
7. "Black Coffee" (performed by Tricky & Martina Topley Bird) (Paul Francis Webster & Sonny Burke)
8. "Bubbles" (performed by Tricky & Terry Hall)
9. "I Sing for You" (performed by Cath Coffey & Dedi Madden)
10. "Yoga" (performed by Tricky & Björk)
11. "Judas'" (US Release) (performed by Tricky & Martina Topley Bird) (Cover of Depeche Mode)
12. "Children's Story" (US Release) (performed by Martina Topley Bird) (Cover of Slick Rick)

"Together Now" was also featured on Neneh Cherry's album Man. "Keep Your Mouth Shut" samples the song "Dedicated" by Das EFX from their album Hold it Down, and features lyrics from Björk's song "You've Been Flirting Again", from the album Post.

References