Album: Blue Lines
Artist: Massive Attack
Artist: Massive Attack
Born: St Pauls, Bristol
Released: April 1991
Genre: Trip Hop
Influenced: Portishead, Beth Orton, Thievery Corporation, Moby, Air, Gorillaz
After the drug-fuelled excesses of acid house and Madchester, the band that would chart the comedown from this hedonistic period, and influence British music deeply in the process, was Massive Attack. Born out of the Wild Bunch collective, a Bristol-based music scene heavily influenced by dub and reggae and featuring elements of Jamaican musical culture like soundsystems and MCs, Massive Attack operated as the core trio of Robert Del Naja (3D), Grantley Marshall (Daddy G) and Andrew Vowles (Mushroom), with the added input of Tricky and Shara Nelson, as well as reggae legend Horace Andy. Cameron McVey, who also produced Neneh Cherry's Raw Like Sushi, was behind the controls and largely responsible for the album's polished, precision engineering. These high-production values, combined with Massive Attack's inspired fusion of dub and hip hop, created a sound that was entirely original and that reflected urban, multicultural Britain. While dance music was locked in an ever increasing beats per minutes arms race, Massive Attack went in the other direction, slowing the music down to a languid, stoner groove. 3D was a graffiti artist inspired by New York hip hop and his ability to rap without a trace of his west country accent is impressive. Shara Nelson is the star though on the album's two hit singles, Safe From Harm and Unfinished Sympathy. Being an avid watcher of MTV in my early teens, seeing the video for Unfinished Sympathy for the first time was a revelation. Shot with a steadicam through the streets of LA by Dan Kneece, who worked on David Lynch's Blue Velvet, the video is itself a work of art. But the song is even more astonishing; the baroque, psychedelic strings of Wil Malone pull the listener in a different direction to Mushroom's scratching and the sleek bassline, creating a beautiful tension that's reflected in Nelson's soulful, yearning vocals ("You're the book that I have opened / and now I've got to know much more"). Pop is rarely this emotionally powerful and groundbreaking at the same time.
Safe From Harm also features Nelson, but this time not as heartbroken lover but protective mother ("If you hurt what's mine / I'll sure as hell retaliate"). Nelson's vocals are shadowed by the sinister rapping of Daddy G and others, creating a sound that distils the dark urban chic of Bristol council estates. One Love sees the pace slow almost to a standstill, as Horace Andy takes charge of the vocals to sing an ode to monogamy. Things pick up again on the brilliant stoner hip hop opening of title track, Blue Lines, which is Tricky's chance to shine with his mumbling, vicious rapping style ("No sunshine in my life / the way I deal is shady"). Half the time I've no idea what they're talking about, but there's a deep stoner logic to it all. Five Man Army is an even better example of the group's interweaving vocals, and thanks to its heavy dub atmosphere and thundering bass groove, it's one of my favourites tracks on the album. Daddy G's sections are particularly inspired, "Don't call me an officer just call me a sarge". The more funky Daydreaming is Neneh Cherry-style hip hop, featuring even more rap conversations, with Tricky again the star. Lately is a light interlude before the inspired, epic album closer, Hymn Of The Big Wheel, which sees the group exploring an ambient sound and eastern philosophy. Horace Andy's vocal performance is superb, a ray of sunshine and positivity after the dark atmospherics of the album ("But the ghetto sun will nurture life / and mend my soul sometime again"). I'm a little biased, maybe, but I don't think any British group were as influential as Massive Attack in the 90s.
After the drug-fuelled excesses of acid house and Madchester, the band that would chart the comedown from this hedonistic period, and influence British music deeply in the process, was Massive Attack. Born out of the Wild Bunch collective, a Bristol-based music scene heavily influenced by dub and reggae and featuring elements of Jamaican musical culture like soundsystems and MCs, Massive Attack operated as the core trio of Robert Del Naja (3D), Grantley Marshall (Daddy G) and Andrew Vowles (Mushroom), with the added input of Tricky and Shara Nelson, as well as reggae legend Horace Andy. Cameron McVey, who also produced Neneh Cherry's Raw Like Sushi, was behind the controls and largely responsible for the album's polished, precision engineering. These high-production values, combined with Massive Attack's inspired fusion of dub and hip hop, created a sound that was entirely original and that reflected urban, multicultural Britain. While dance music was locked in an ever increasing beats per minutes arms race, Massive Attack went in the other direction, slowing the music down to a languid, stoner groove. 3D was a graffiti artist inspired by New York hip hop and his ability to rap without a trace of his west country accent is impressive. Shara Nelson is the star though on the album's two hit singles, Safe From Harm and Unfinished Sympathy. Being an avid watcher of MTV in my early teens, seeing the video for Unfinished Sympathy for the first time was a revelation. Shot with a steadicam through the streets of LA by Dan Kneece, who worked on David Lynch's Blue Velvet, the video is itself a work of art. But the song is even more astonishing; the baroque, psychedelic strings of Wil Malone pull the listener in a different direction to Mushroom's scratching and the sleek bassline, creating a beautiful tension that's reflected in Nelson's soulful, yearning vocals ("You're the book that I have opened / and now I've got to know much more"). Pop is rarely this emotionally powerful and groundbreaking at the same time.
Safe From Harm also features Nelson, but this time not as heartbroken lover but protective mother ("If you hurt what's mine / I'll sure as hell retaliate"). Nelson's vocals are shadowed by the sinister rapping of Daddy G and others, creating a sound that distils the dark urban chic of Bristol council estates. One Love sees the pace slow almost to a standstill, as Horace Andy takes charge of the vocals to sing an ode to monogamy. Things pick up again on the brilliant stoner hip hop opening of title track, Blue Lines, which is Tricky's chance to shine with his mumbling, vicious rapping style ("No sunshine in my life / the way I deal is shady"). Half the time I've no idea what they're talking about, but there's a deep stoner logic to it all. Five Man Army is an even better example of the group's interweaving vocals, and thanks to its heavy dub atmosphere and thundering bass groove, it's one of my favourites tracks on the album. Daddy G's sections are particularly inspired, "Don't call me an officer just call me a sarge". The more funky Daydreaming is Neneh Cherry-style hip hop, featuring even more rap conversations, with Tricky again the star. Lately is a light interlude before the inspired, epic album closer, Hymn Of The Big Wheel, which sees the group exploring an ambient sound and eastern philosophy. Horace Andy's vocal performance is superb, a ray of sunshine and positivity after the dark atmospherics of the album ("But the ghetto sun will nurture life / and mend my soul sometime again"). I'm a little biased, maybe, but I don't think any British group were as influential as Massive Attack in the 90s.
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