Drawing a blue line from the mind to the heart! (Blue Lines - Massive Attack)

Member Name: DanielKemp

Product:	Blue Lines - Massive Attack
Date:	12/06/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The vocals are immense during the entire album, Unfinished Sympathy is incredible

Disadvantages: I'm not a fan of Lately and it is possible that the album will be too chilled out for you

Massive Attack - Blue Lines (1991)

Producer: Massive Attack, Cameron McVey, Jonny Dollar

Safe from Harm
One Love
Blue Lines
Be Thankful for What You've Got
Five Man Army
Unfinished Sympathy
Daydreaming
Lately
Hymn of the Big Wheel

Massive Attack are usually seen as the originators of the genre we would now call trip-hop. Their obvious influences are primarily icons such as Isaac Hayes, whose work pushed the boat out in terms of what could be achieved within the soul genre. Having said this, the music itself is a far cry from Isaac Hayes - it seems to incorporate everything from dub to reggae and hip-hip to the all important component of Massive Attack - electronica.

The soulful opening track, Safe from Harm, features vocals from Shara Nelson, who manages to sound entirely unique in a genre which probably suffers from more identikit artists than any other. The song samples heavily from Billy Cobham's song Stratus, bringing in everything from the bass, guitar and drums. But it is the bass which is the most identifiable borrowed piece and it works ever so well, its smooth groove working its way into your heart, soul and mind. The production is crystal clear and this aids the prominence of Nelson's vocals no end.

One love is a firm favourite of mine from the album, with some very gender-bending vocals from Mr Reggae Reggae - Horace Andy. Andy tells us quite honestly that, "I believe in one love... some men don't feel secure... they have to play the field to prove they have charm." It's nice to hear for a change a song NOT about being a 'playa', but rather staying faithful to your one love.

The title-track is probably the most defined trip-hop moment on the LP. Indeed, it is so chilled out that you almost get high off its vibe. Tricky and members of Massive Attack contribute a stunning rapping section, the gentle guitar and organ funk in the background manages to be very, well, trippy.

The deservedly big hit from the album is Unfinished Sympathy; it is one of the 1990's best songs. Just imagine creating a song this well realised and so marvellously crafted early on in your career?! Not many bands can accomplish such a feat. It characterizes the general mood of Blue Lines and remains to this day the album's standout moment, if not Massive Attack's standout moment. The orchestration is magnificent and it slowly builds up to this forceful and all-encompassing emotional high. Shara Nelson's vocals are flawless in their delivery, really very quite pretty and they are the icing on the cake.

Daydreaming pulls out all the stops and has expressive vocals from Nelson and rapping from Tricky. The song is primarily built around a modest percussion section which is the perfect accompaniment to Tricky's thoughtful words, "My heavy my brother got lighter than helium, float above the world to break the tedium." That is just one of the many couplets of excellence on Daydreaming. Nelson's backing vocals are otherworldly throughout while remaining entirely pained and human.

There are a few songs on Blue Lines which I'm not completely in love with and Lately is probably my least favourite from the album. It continues to follow the same blueprint of many of the other tracks, but isn't as half as well realised. The tedious bass purr isn't so much a thing of minimalist funk as it is a piece of obtrusive and lazily crafted junk. And for perhaps the first time on Blue Lines the vocals aren't in any way heartfelt and seem to have been recorded for the sake of it.

The closing Hymn of the Big Wheel features Horace Andy back on primary vocals and none other than Neneh Cherry providing backing vocals. It's the finest closer imaginable and is a good summary of Blue Lines' greatest moments. As always, it is the low key instrumentation injected with touching vocals which win over the listener. At over 6 minutes and 30 seconds it is the longest track on Blue Lines - but like you noticed. Magical.

I think that everybody deserves to own a copy of Blue Lines. It is more of a historical piece than it is anything else, due to it being the accepted creator of the trip-hop genre. Sure, it isn't perfect, but what is? After all, Unfinished Sympathy is worth the price of the album alone.

8.5/10

Daniel Kemp

Read more reviews at www.danielkempreviews.co.uk

Summary: A fine place to start any Massive Attack collection!