Nearly God

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

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

"Together Now" was featured on Neneh Cherry's album Man and it could be considered a co-authored track, rather than simply Cherry featuring on Tricky's Album. "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

1. ^ The Face - April 96
2. ^ The Madness of King Tricky I - Raygun 96