Martina Topley‐Bird | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Because of a printing error on Maxinquaye, Martina Topley-Bird has often been referred to as "Martine," an error the unpredictable, low-profile, and confusion-loving singer/songwriter didnt bother correcting. The woman Vibe referred to as "the black Dietrich of Soul" grew up in London and went to schools that were mostly white and middle class. Being the odd one out suited Martina just fine; in fact, it was an environment she thrived in. A chance meeting with Tricky led to a relationship, both romantic and musical. Martinas ethereal voice mixed well with Trickys gruff style, sounding like a siren calling listeners into a dark world. She played a large role on Trickys debut, Maxinquaye, along with the follow-ups Nearly God and Pre-Millennium Tension. The relationship eventually cooled down to platonic and Martina looked to strike out professionally on her own. She spent most of 2002 working on her debut, producing it herself with some help from Tricky and Alex McGowan. The appropriately named Quixotic hit the shelves in the U.K. in 2003, with guest appearances from DJ/producer David Holmes, Kyuss guitarist Josh Homme, and former Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan. Critics loved it, so much so that it was a 2003 finalist for the U.K.s esteemed Mercury Prize, but it failed to find release in America. With help from Martina, Palm Pictures "re-designed and re-sequenced" the album and released it as Anything in the summer of 2004. During a four-year hiatus, she collaborated with Diplo, Gorillaz, and Son of Dave. She returned to recording proper in 2008 with the Danger Mouse-produced retro-sounding yet experimental album The Blue God. After an international tour, Topley-Bird released Some Place Simple in 2010 on Damon Albarns Honest Jons imprint. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 4 Title: Quixotic Released: 2003-06 Tracks: 13 Duration: 51:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Intro (01:11) 2 Need One (03:55) 3 Anything (04:25) 4 Soul Food (05:31) 5 Lullaby (04:22) 6 Too Tough to Die (03:57) 7 Sandpaper Kisses (03:52) 8 Ragga (03:15) 9 Lying (04:14) 10 I Wanna Be There (01:53) 11 I Still Feel (05:20) 12 Ilya (04:36) 13 Stevies (Days of a Gun) (04:31) |
| Quixotic : Allmusic album Review : Longtime Tricky chanteuse Martina Topley-Birds solo debut is a fine but entirely inoffensive affair, and thus perhaps exactly what the doctor ordered for her trip-pop-adoring admirers. For the most part, Quixotic sees Topley-Bird straddling tasteful chillout vibes with patches of soul, blues, and rock thrown in for good measure. The far too short "Intro" is the deepest excursion into Topley-Birds blues jones, and if it were just another minute longer, it would be worth the price of admission on its own. The appropriately titled "Soul Food" sees the singer donning her very best Dusty Springfield garb. Just a touch too commercial and plastic, the song is still a wonderful showcase for Topley-Birds beautifully sweet voice. Similarly geared toward the Top 40 is "Need One," a collaboration with Queens of the Stone Ages Josh Homme. The track is certainly catchy, but its airy background vocals drown out Hommes contributions. "Too Tough to Die" and "I Wanna Be There" round out the rock tracks and present another dose of mimicry: Topley-Birds snarling aggression on these two tracks positions her as an absolute dead ringer for Rid of Me-era PJ Harvey. With other collaborators such as David Holmes, David Arnold, and Tricky himself lending helping hands, every note, sample, and genre flourish feels exactly in the right place. The album showcases both Topley-Birds range and her gorgeous voice, and while its stylistic shifts make for a consistently engaging listen, one cant shake the sense that specific musical formulas are in place at every corner. Still, most listeners will probably revel in the albums eclecticism, as Topley-Bird is an absolutely first-rate musical and vocal chameleon. Satisfying but rarely challenging, Quixotic is a fantastic start to a solo career, and its display of range, talent, and charm suggests that Martina Topley-Bird has an endless well of creativity at her disposal and that she is most likely destined for greater things. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 4 Title: Anything Released: 2004-07-27 Tracks: 10 Duration: 39:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Anything (04:25) 2 Ragga (03:15) 3 Need One (03:53) 4 Soul Food (05:31) 5 Ilya (04:14) 6 I Still Feel (04:27) 7 Sandpaper Kisses (03:52) 8 Too Tough to Die (03:57) 9 Lullaby (04:22) 10 Outro (01:13) |
| Anything : Allmusic album Review : Anything, the U.S. version of Martina Topley-Birds heavenly Quixotic debut album, arrived as something of a mixed blessing as the original U.K. pressing was utterly redesigned and resequenced, to emerge an almost completely different listening experience. The bad news first: no less than three songs have been dropped from Quixotic -- "Lying," "I Wanna Be There," and, oddly, the Tricky production, "Stevies." The original dynamic, too, has been shattered as the original albums opening "Intro" becomes the closing "Outro," and the remaining songs are shuffled away from any resemblance to their past appearance. The good news, however, is that all this messing around works, and works well. Without ever accusing Quixotic of going on too long, trimming its length does add a new tightness to the proceedings, and the rearranged track listing (opening with "Anything," winding down with "Lullaby") has its own internal sense as well. Of course, if you really care for Topley-Bird, youre going to want the full-length U.K. album. But if you just want a great album, Anything will not disappoint. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 4 Title: The Blue God Released: 2008-05-12 Tracks: 12 Duration: 39:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Phoenix (03:47) 2 Carnies (03:08) 3 April Grove (03:31) 4 Something to Say (03:26) 5 Baby Blue (02:26) 6 Shangri La (03:47) 7 Snowman (02:34) 8 Da Da Da Da (02:23) 9 Valentine (03:36) 10 Poison (02:57) 11 Razor Tongue (03:53) 12 Yesterday (03:41) |
| The Blue God : Allmusic album Review : Previously notable for providing the sultry vocals for Trickys trip-hop masterpiece Maxinquaye, Martina Topley-Bird became an artist in her own right with her 2003 debut, the Mercury Music Prize-nominated Quixotic. Her second release, The Blue God, is a slightly more commercial affair than its predecessor, adding a poppier edge to her usual brand of atmospheric soul, two-tone ska, and ambient chillout. Produced by Gnarls Barkleys Danger Mouse, the 2008 LP includes the singles "Carnies," "Poison," and "Baby Blue." | ||
 | Album: 4 of 4 Title: Some Place Simple Released: 2010-07-12 Tracks: 15 Duration: 36:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Baby Blue (02:47) 2 Phoenix (02:45) 3 Lying (03:49) 4 Da Da Da (01:20) 5 Orchids (02:59) 6 Poison (02:22) 7 Intro (01:30) 8 Snowman (02:39) 9 Sandpaper Kisses (03:36) 10 All Day (02:30) 11 Ilyah (03:05) 12 Valentine (03:34) 13 Too Tuff To Die (01:54) 14 Kiss Kiss Kiss (01:00) 15 Harpsichord Kiss (00:58) |
| Some Place Simple : Allmusic album Review : Martina Topley-Birds Some Place Simple follows the release of her dynamite 2008 Danger Mouse-produced Blue God full-length by two years. That said, this set wasnt planned. She was actually approached by Damon Albarn who suggested recording stripped-down versions of songs from both her albums (the other is her 2003 debut, Quixotic) for his Honest Jons imprint. Whats more interesting is that the production on both of those recordings -- which were wildly different from one another -- was far from excessive. Nonetheless, Topley-Bird took Albarn up on his offer, and stripped her songs to the bone, completely recontextualizing her melodies. Some Place Simple is driven by minimal instrumentation on each of its 15 tracks. Other than her melodies, her approach is unique, even riveting. One need go no further than the albums opening cut, "Baby Blue," which uses a ukulele and a keyboard imitating a glockenspiel to illuminate her vocals. Electric piano and skeletal synth lines provide a counter melody between verses on "Phoenix," which is also lightly kissed by a kick drum and a tambourine. The electric piano and hand-drum loops on "Lying" make it so poignant the listener is tempted to hold her breath throughout its three minutes-and-49 seconds. Other highlights include the sparse, skittering, near-raga of "Intro" and "Sandpaper Kisses," with Claire Nicholsons approximation of Duane Eddys sound. Then theres the swinging, fingerpopping dread heat of "Too Tuff to Die" with its heavily distorted electric guitar EFX and tom-toms. "Poison" is wildly exotic despite its musical economy: Topley-Birds expressive vocal is accompanied only by Eastern (Near, Middle, and Far)-flavored percussion. That said, these song sketches provide a much deeper look into Topley-Birds keen and original sense of melodic invention far more than her previous offerings, and display her ability to get the maximum from her limited vocal range. Some Place Simple is a delightful -- and sometimes astonishing -- surprise. | ||