Reviews (page 10 of 14)
Me esperaba más.
Perfect 3.4 stars album
Not as good as Protection. It was still pretty good, but the vocals were a step down in quality for me. I would've preferred just instrumentals and ~vibes.~
Pretty good. Not really my cuppa but I didn’t hate it
Another solid but kinda boring album with one or two super memorable songs.
not the massive attack album i would have picked but sure. 2.5
I was really looking forward to this but reggae just isn't my vibe. This was good for reggae, but it's not what I associate Massive Attack with.
liked it from time to time but in the end didn't catch me
Honestly not sure what to think. Definitely different than what I am used to. But some good songs for sure. Might have to give this one another listen down the road.
really good
השיר הראשון מצוין כל השאר.. בסדר
Important because it was the first "Trip Hop" album. I wouldn't call it essential, though. Massive Attack's next two albums after this one were way better. For a real kick, check out the dub remix album, "No Protection" from Massive Attack Vs. Mad Professor. I want to give it four stars, but think it should only be a three. Gotta leave room for "Mezzanine" and "Protection."
I know this is classic Trip Hop but it just doesn’t do much for me. Appreciate the production. The vocals throw me off though.
There are only a few songs on this album that are familiar to me (Unfinished Sympathy, of course) but maybe what's more familiar is the sound. Massive Attack invented something that was to be the echo of the 90s. When music wasn't being mopey grunge or hyped-up techno, this sound was the complex but chill soundtrack of those idle moments
2.5 Don’t hate it but wouldn’t listen again.
3.5 More excellent music to get stuff done to. So easy to get into the groove and stay there all day. I was expecting something different/less enjoyable for me from a band named Massive Attack. Pleasant surprise. Saving Safe From Harm, One Love, and Unfinished Sympathy, but likely going to add the whole thing to my work playlist.
Is OK.
Was aware of the band but not the history they made. It's OK but not something I would listen to frequently. I did add 5 Man Army to my main playlist for it's Reggae sound. 3.5/5
Not as good as the following album imo
Cornerstone of trip hop with strong basslines, electronic beats, soulful vocals (the female vocalist is better than the male), and early 90s styled raps (the only piece that sounds dated). Highlights: "Safe from Harm" (strong opener that establishes the sound of the album), "Be Thankful for What You've Got" (vocals have a 70s soul vibe to them that works with the mellow music), "Unfinished Sympathy" (string swells and piano riffs give the song flavor), "Hymn of the Big Wheel" (not a fan of the nasally vocals but the song itself has an interesting Graceland-era sound to it)
Surprised by the fact I actually kind of enjoyed this a bit. It's not my usual kind of thing, and I wouldn't actively choose to listen to it, but I appreciate what they tried to do. It feels different.
Not terrible, but didn’t do anything for me
Pleasant to work to in the background. Not sure I’m going to listen again though. Simpson: Nah (although teardrop has been used)
It was alright, nice chilled background music but nothing special.
Really enjoyed the beginning and end of the album. The middle dipped a bit for me though. Almost a 4 but not quite
3.3/5 listened 3x
Meh
Not bad
105/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑
I'm happy to say that this isn't for me and I'm okay with that. I understand it's important, but there's a lack of emotional connection for me. It flies completely under the radar.
7/10
A rap album with a much thicker sound than I'm used to hearing. It was a pleasant surprise!
Some decent tunes on there. Reminded me of Sopranos for some reason, had that nineties vibes throughout.
Enjoyed it! Brought back some memories from back when it was a ‘new’ album
Somewhat enjoyable and completely original. But wasn't my cup of tea. Lyrics were okay, but the instrumentals and beat was wonderful.
When I drive now it is no longer a pleasant experience. It's a stressful exercise in accepting the fact that you can't control other people, judging only hurts yourself, and anger management all while navigating an increasingly dangerous and out of control world. Putting this on helped soothe the pain as I drove to the store and back. Trip hop is cool, I listen to it a lot, especially instrumental stuff. This is great. Almost broke my earbuds, there's SO MUCH BASS. (A compliment, not a complaint). Not the best but there are some choice cuts - I could live with Five Man Army for a long long time. Owes a lot to some post-punk R & D guys like Adrian Sherwood and Jah Wobble.
This album bounces between a 3 and 4 throughout the entire play time. Solid grooves, but some of the vocals and "almost rap" parts feel a little dated or slightly corny. Some tracks are incredible, some underwhelm me. It's a solid 3.5 for me, but I'm not sure if I can raise it to all the way to a 4 by the time I'm ready to give its final rating.
Some is okay. Some not as much.
Safe From Harm is a great introduction with its catchy, groovy bass line and eclectic vocals. I really liked Blue Lines - this is hip hop I can potentially get behind. Is this even hip hop, though? I'm to sure what genre this constitutes. Altogether pretty decent.
Had never heard of the artist or the album. Interesting...liked it.
Ihan ok, täältä ei oikee mikään noussut yli muiden yhel kuuntelulle mut voisin laittaa jatkossa töissä soimaan :D
A lot of good music and a few great tracks - "Safe from Harm" and "Hymn of the Big Wheel" are my favorites - but consistently bad vocals and lyrics. Not something I'm likely to return to too much. 3/5
I could get down with this. Definitely worth another listen. Favorite song was Be Thankful for what you've got. Should also listen to other Massive Attack albums.
More vibe than I expected
Safe from Harm on 5 tähden biisi, mutta tää levy on sen asettamiin odotuksiin nähden suuri pettymys (joka kuuntelukerralla). Yllättävän imelä ja jopa vähän camp. Tekee tiukkaa jaksaa kuunnella ihan loppuun.. mutta äänimaailma viehättää mua kovin kuitenkin.
I do like what little I have heard from Massive Attack (Mezzanine), so this will be fun to listen to their debut. Some of the tracks are a bit repetitive and bloated, but there is still some good, interesting stuff here. Not one I'm likely to revisit a ton but does make me want to listen to more of their stuff. 3/5
Never heard any of this before. Really enjoyed it, especially the final song. A little too inconsistent for a 4 rating, but close.
Love Massive Attack, but I'm glad I heard Mezzanine before listening to this.
Gotta give props to them being innovators and popularizing trip-hop, but this really isn’t my tempo. I pretty much only know them through their song, Teardrop, that was used as the House theme (and I suspect I am not alone). Most of this sounds pretty generic to me. Something you may hear in a hipster salon. Not bad, but in my mind also not worthy of the praise it receives. 2.75/5
Good EDM. Not my general thing, but it was good for 2 listens. 3/5
This wa as fine album. Pretty unique. Not exactly my thing but it was good. 3
B- Safe From Harm 3 One Love 3 Blue Lines 3 Be Thankful For What You've Got 3 Five Man Army 3 Unfinished Sympathy 4 Daydreaming 3 Lately 3 Hymn Of The Big Wheel 3 Pretty good, eh?
I was nice listening...not my music, but would work in an elevator
It's a good album for road trips.
This was okay, inconsistent.
Wow that was a fun listen. Great mix of spoken word and electronic. I knew about mezzanine but never heard this one. 3 stars
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Hymn of the big wheel
First time all the way through. 2x.
I liked some of the instrumentals and cutting and scratching, but s few of their voices irked me. They get 3.5 stars.
Interesting album I did enjoy it but it’s not for me
This album had some really high notes and I did like the overall vibe, but it felt a little inconsistent in parts. Not in a bad way, just an unexpected way.
Chill n stuff V nice
Alright, so damn unique. I hear some of the Madchester sound here. It feels so out of time and place. I had no idea what to expect. What a strange, strange, singular record.
3.5
Expected to enjoy this, sounded very dated and unexciting. Have to revisit.
Not the Album or songs I know from Massive Attack. Easy to listen to.
Groovy
Some songs had a pretty good vibe
I appreciate Massive Attack's unique sound, but trip hop tends to put me to sleep.
A deserved classic
Meh
ganz chillig
3.5
Had some good beats.
Liked it a bit. Not a go to. Thought there would be more with the name
I’ve come across this album before. Safe From Harm is such a groovy song. I like the song Five Man Army but other than that idk…it gets a bit cheesy for me. I always enjoyed the conspiracy that Bansky is the singer from Massive Attack
Inoffensive background music. It's OK.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jfKfPfyJRdk Fits this niche
Pretty unique especially relative to the rest of the albums to date. Considering giving it another run through but only for that reason.
I like the chill trip hop beats and sounds especially for background music. cool to see the lineage to the Madonna album we listened to (ray of light), the matrix, gorillas, and Born to Die by Lana del Rey, etc.
Good in places, with one great song
One awesome track mixed in with a bunch of ok ones. I think modern trip hop has more interesting sounds to offer, though the album is worth a listen from time to time
Maybe it's the hangover from Led Zeppelin IV but this Massive Attack album sounded amazing to me. Very chill vibes that can be actively listened to or great background music for so many situations. Not a ton of chills-inducing moments, just a cool listen
Not bad, pleasantly surprised. My prior exposure to massive attack was limited to Angel on the "Snatch" soundtrack.
Some combination of electronic and hip-hop, it didn't excel at either but it didn't totally miss either. It had a pretty low-key vibe and made my mind wander a bit, but I wouldn't be terribly excited to listen again.
My first listen of this album had be like, “boo, dogshit, 1 star.” But then I listened to it the next day, and I was like, “what crack was I smoking yesterday?? Is this even the same album.” The music is very groovy and listenable. Some of the vocal performances (particularly the female performances) are not my favorite. But it’s certainly not a bad album.
trance. trippy
first time i've heard the term "trip hop"...but I kind of dig the genre. thought this one was pretty good.
Interesting. Enjoyable listening. Mood setting music.
Album started off nice and I thought I would love it, but it quickly became nothing more than background music and didn’t hold my attention. I enjoyed ‘Unfinished Symphony’. Overall middle of the road- enjoyed but wouldn’t seek it out, 3/5
7 but a lower 7 so ill round it down to 3 stars. i love mezzanine so much more than this one its insane lol
Yeah this was ok. Unfinished Sympathy is great. The rest of the album is good as background music, but overall feels a bit more unfinished than the sympathy!
Better than I thought it was going to be but not totally my kind of music.
I can dig it but mostly bored :/
Mezzanine is a go to album. This one less so, but the range and expression of this music is on the edge of art.
Decent, but definitely dated. Early 90’s Brit rap.
Ich schwanke zwsichen 2 und 3
5/10 nice but forgettable 2-29-2024
Massive Attack? Trip-hop? Never heard of ‘em, but liked it a lot. The group’s name and album cover led us to think it was gonna be heavy metal. One of the best things (so far) about the 1001 list is exposure to new music, and this time it worked! Songs with female vocals were the best, but all good, no fillers. Enjoyed this album enough to listen to it again, so (3.2*s)
Very good, modern, unique songs. Would listen again. Not anything crazy special, but very good.
This album is a snapshot in time. I find myself putting myself in the shoes of a young adult in the early 90s UK/Europe and this vibe expresses the dark and hypnotic grittiness of the urban environment in a progressive and inventive way. The narrative is riddled by realistic violence and heartache and yet an honorable sense of love and dignified hope shines through. I can't help but feel as though all is wrapped in the greater scheme of socioeconomic disparity. Musically it has a nice groove. It combines hip hop beats with soulful vocals and dark dreamy scenic textures that are very characteristic of both the 80s/90s. I can see how it pioneered a new sound that spearheaded a genre and contemporaries that followed were able to excel above and beyond due to its influence. Acts like Thievery Corporation come to mind. Some noteworthy tracks to me are: Blue Lines, Unfinished Sympathy, Day Dreaming, and Hymn Of The Big Wheel. I give it only a 3 out of 5 because even though this work was a pioneer in some regards, subjectively I found it to be a bit bland and forgettable. The beats seem novel for a moment and are great background music but lyrically it's not that strong and musically it just doesn't hold up to the plethora of other inspiring material out there.
An interesting album. I loved how much variety there was with the vocals. The beats are nice and weighty, and the instrumentation is unique from song to song. However, it just feels kinda boring overall. Like, the songs are good while they are on, but they don’t stick very well after listening. I’ll probably throw some of the songs (“Unfinished Symphony,” “Safe From Harm,” “Be Thankful for What You’ve Got,” & “Five Man Army”) on my giant playlist for variety and call it a day.
Thought I'd like it more because I've listened to quite a few MA songs. I like much of it, but dated and lags in places.
I really enjoyed the first couple tracks on this. Groovy baselines over trance synths at time - but it got old kind of fast.
I recognize the artistry in this album, but I am very ambivalent.
Was good
I can 100% see why this was revolutionary at the time and I enjoyed it for the most part, but if I had to pick a Massive Attack album to be on this list it would’ve been Mezzanine (an instant classic). Blue Lines has bits that feel too dated, especially the vocals. Can’t give less than ⭐️⭐️⭐️ to the first Trip Hop album, but I don’t think it’s gonna go on my rotation.
I was into this one, but not quite as much as Protection. Still had some incredible tracks though.
Interesting early (first?) trip-hop album. Was surprised to hear the title track, which was sampled for another song on David Lynch's "Lost Highway" soundtrack. Still prefer Portishead, though.
This wasn't as edgy as I remember it.
Not totally my thing, although I - and everyone else in the world - love Unfinished Sympathy. One Love and Blue Lines threatened to change my mind, but then it pretty much fulfilled my expectations. In the context of when it came out, I can see why this was influential.
This is the reason I’m trudging through this project. This was a solid album that I’ve never heard of from an artist that I’ve never heard of. It’s a little dated, and some tracks are definitely stronger than others, but overall enjoyable!
Not their best but the rhyme's were good.
2 von 9 gibt 3
A little too all over the place but fun sounds
Just okay
An ok album
Well, definitely British and 90s… Maybe too British and 90s for my taste. Solidly okay.
I enjoyed this, will go find other albums
The songs with singing are great. The rapping didn't age very well, like most older rap music. Favorite song: hymn of the big wheel
Maybe I didn't give this the proper amount of attention, but nothing stood out on this album. That said, it's still good trip-hop.
Was really hyped when I got the album but let me a bit down
Much like the other Massive Attack record this was inoffensive.
Ground breaking.
This album is easy to vibe on and hard to dislike. That being said, nothing about it really stood out either. Despite how broad the range of vocalists was, the result when mixed with the good use of sampling and chill beats made for a mild experience. I dunno, this was like a vanilla milkshake where it might be perfect sometimes, I'm usually looking for more, but I'm never upset with it.
This album felt hugely varied from start to finish. Drifted into shades of rasta and hip hop, and felt like the kind of music you would enjoy in a big crowd. No one track blew me away, but no track was lacking.
Argh I doooon’t get it. I really want to. I hate that I don’t. But I did just get bored. I’ll come back to it some day and try again.
Notable tracks: Blue Lines, Unfinished Sympathy
Lautsprecher Test
Massive Attack's Blue Lines album caught me off guard a bit, didn't know if it was electronic, or hip/trip-hop. The trip-hop sounds slightly too American for a British artist. Overall not bad, just wish it leant a little more into the electronic side of things. Best: Safe From Harm Worst: One Love 2.5 stars
This was ok. Nothing stood out really but no dislikes.
Decent electronic album. Not super into it.
I appreciated the fact that they didn't try to stretch ideas into songs all the time. the hits hit, though
Positives: I absolutely love this genre. I think it's such an easy listen, its never too in your face, it works as a great background groove. Unfinished Sympathy is incredible, Safe from Harm is a great opener, Good closer too. Album is a good length, and flows really well Negatives: Some of it sounds quite dated, in particular some of the rapping. It happens too often and takes the album down a few points In the end it goes from a 4 to a really high 3, but it could be a grower as it does have so many positives
It sounded like an album that could play through in the background of the bar at a hip pool in Miami or Cabo.
The only thing I knew about massive attack before listening to this album was that they wrote the song "Teardrop", which was used as the theme for the television medical drama, House. The Gravity drums and modulated droning present throughout most of the tracks on this album sounded like it could've been inspired by listening to someone's ticker through a stethoscope. It's not something I would throw on to listen to consciously, but I thought they had quite an impressive range of genres on the album while still maintaining that same new age/hip-hop sound. From what I've read about this album, it was supposedly foundational for a lot of different artists after it, and I could definitely imagine a line from Massive Attack to the sort of unconscious Lofi hip-hop of the 2010s.
Pretty slick and unique. Definitely dug the trippy hip hop vibes. Some songs better than others but I enjoyed the versatility and varied styles. My first exposure to Massive Attack as far as I know. Would be interested in seeing what else they have put out. I had heard they had connections to Gorillaz though never saw them as a listed collaborator. I can definitely hear the influence. 3.25 stars
Proto-trip hop.
I liked it more than I thought I would! But still not really my thing
Trip-Hop-Pioniere. Läuft gut rein; entspannt und conscious.
I'm a fan of this album. Definitely a bit of a precursor to this sound, but the creativity is apparent and is a fun listen.
Weird
This album was far ahead of its time, and 100% left a massive (tehe) imprint on what would come after. Personally I like everything MA would go on to do more than this record, but the sampling is solid, the beats are top notch, and a handful of tracks are all time greats. That said, most of this is pretty forgettable or just subpar. Some of the production remains stuck in 91, and I just don't dig that sound too much.
Blue Lines simmers with trip hop's signature hypnotic allure, though its sparse sonic palette leaves some moments feeling unfulfilled.
Trip Hop is one of the first genres that I _really_ got into, and that included Massive Attack, though back then I was more familiar with Mezzanine. This album was unfamiliar to me, and TBH it was kind of disappointing. I liked one track (Unfinished Sympathy) but everything else was "meh".
I love Mezzanine, but haven't really listened to this album. I can appreciate it's historical place in music, but much more uneven as a result.
Giving this 3 stars for what Massive Attack would become, and how cutting edge they were for 1991. It's an achievement to sound dated before your time.
Tja,
Me esperaba más.
Pleasantly surprised with this album. I had never heard of Massive Attack. Nice easy listening music. Lots of good tempos and vocals.
Decent, not my typical jam, was hopeful after the first track but the the album didn’t do much for me, I enjoyed a couple of the songs. Good downtempo beats and positive messages, though.
Pretty cool, unique songs mix of r and b and other reggae or punk shit
'Blue Lines blended elements of hip hop (such as breakbeats, sampling, and rapping) with dub, soul, reggae, and electronic music.' I couldn't've agreed more! I mostly enjoy this for atmosphere while doing a task, cleaning, drawing or entertaining. I love the mix of sound and massive array of sampling that lays CLEAN on top of a nice soulful beat.
Un album con rastros hip hop, funk y pop, que por momentos me recuerda a Michael Jackson o los Jackson 5. Cuando canta la chica el album cobra otros colores, incluso progresivos. Cierra con una cancion que me hizo acordar a la banda sonora de El rey león.
I’m not like the biggest fan of trip hop or anything. It’s a genre that takes a certain kind of mindset to listen to. Because it’s weird. And often times the production style is kind of off and unorthodox. Massive Attack was one of the leading artists in the 90’s for this sound. When going into a record like this, I’m mostly looking for one thing. And that’s unique and varied production. Particularly with the drums. And this album definitely has that. If you are looking for variety from song to song, this would be a good album to check out. The vocal performances are decent. I wasn’t looking for stellar vocals in an album like this anyway. And some of them are a little basic, and they don’t always add much to the instrumental. Rating: 6/10
Fav song: be thankful for what you've got
Definitely feels aged but an interesting blend of early hip hop and trippy beats
I enjoyed this album but there wasn't a lot for me to come back to. I think Massive attack was a pioneer in this groove style of music this early in the 90's. This kind of sound is all over now and its cool to see an early version of it.
Some great tracks with guest singers. But not really into this style of music.
I always wanted to like Massive Attack more than I actually do.
Far be it from me to speak out on the development of trip-hop, so I ought not a lot. Just accept my demure suggestion that this record portrays adolescent and awkward early Massive Attack, a hip-hop collective with a glimmer of an as yet unrealized innovation. It sets itself apart aesthetically as urban soul with rap/reggae inclinations. I get it, this represents the inception of a powerfully stylistic impulse, but Protection, Mezzanine and 100th Window are so much more absorbing and transcendent, any of them would be a much better inclusion in this list. I sure hope any or all are on this list so I can give them each a 5.
Blue Lines starts off pretty bad for me. On the first few tracks, I feel like the beats don't fully support the quite expressive vocals. Luckily, it picks up. Unfinished Sympathy is of course a classic, and I found myself enjoying the album towards the end. 3.3
Decent. Bit background music to me though
I've listen to this project before so it was a fun revisit, I def like Massive Attack's later works better but I can def hear the influences and them developing their sound. There were a few stand out tracks but all in all I thought it was just good, nothing outstanding.
Thought I was going to like it more than I did.
Met vlagen best lekker
Mooi!
Altijd lekker!
Fijn plaatje!
They certainly have a favourite bass drum sound.
As a casual Massive Attack fan I enjoy their later albums, not the early ones. Blue Lines has a feeling of the band trying to figure out their own sound, experimenting and looking for a secret recipe. What that leaves us with is this record, pretty heavy on hop, not so much on trip. Honestly, I didn't really enjoy this album, even though it had to be a breakthrough at the time. Maybe I need to be more mature to like it.
When I saw saw Apple Music describe it as one of the very first trip-hop albums, I knew I was in for 40 minutes of shit. But what came out was not what I expected. I found it very listenable and overall pretty decent. Per my scale, I'm giving it a 3 but it's very close to being a 4. Scale: 5 - My absolute favorites. 4 - Albums I like. 3 - It was ok to listen to but I wouldn't seek it out. 2 - Didn't like. 1 - Absolute shit.
Sopi lumisessa aamussa kävelyyn.
Pari huippua, mut ei Massiven parasta antia muutoin. Hyvä levy toki
Love: Be Thankful for what You've Got Like: One Love Blue Lines Five Man Army Lately Unfinished Sympathy Meh: Safe from Harm Nope: Daydreaming
It’s really an inspiring Music. It sound very fresh and timeless.
Album got kinda ruined by One Love and Hymn of the Wheel.
Ok so this was not what i expected from massive attack but pretty good, but like would only listen to it when in a particular mood
As far as I can tell this is the first major Trip Hop release, at least in terms of stuff more substantive than just singles. I don't think it's unfair to say that while there's a lot of strong songs here, they aren't necessarily full of original ideas for the entire track runtimes. There's a lot of great bits in songs for sure but, for example, "Five Man Army" is a very nice chill song that doesn't entirely fill its six minute runtime with originality. That's not always a bad thing though and I gather that here a lot of the appeal is in letting the softer relaxing beats run for longer, it just doesn't entirely translate into a thrilling listen throughout for me. I'd also say that much of the album feels like it's running on a "good song, decent song" one two combo and that makes it hard to fully connect with the tracklist. Either way, there's a lot of soft soulful songs here underlayed with fun groovable beats. Tracks like "Safe from Harm" and "Hymn of the Big Wheel" (the latter totally different from a lot of the rest of the album) are really enjoyable stuff.
I was honestly expecting Mezzanine, maybe I’ll get it down the line. This one is also cool but not as good, in my opinion.
Låter ungefär som jag förväntade mig.
Wallpaper music, but good if you like that kinda thing.
Quite chill, ain't it?
Meh. Fun sounds, listenable album. But not going to go out of my way to hear it again.
Me esperaba más.
it’s fine, i would probably play it in the background of me playing video games or something
Overall great 7/10. Tracks liked: Blue Lines, Unfinished Sympathy, Hymn Of The Big Wheel
Enjoyable but felt a lot longer than it was.
Really enjoyed this album. I had not listened to this album top to bottom and it has some great songs. Love the opening track with the hand cramping bassline is fantastic. Love the different vocalists. 3.5*s
喜欢鼓点伴奏，节奏和音量适合做工作bgm？
Not bad. Ahead of its time.
Liked this
Good! What PM Dawn could have been had they not found drugs. Beats are solid, singers are solid, MCs are solid-a solid album!
Pretty good but I much prefer Mezzanine.
Approached this with a weary sigh, but was pleasantly surprised. Much more interesting than I rememeber, I guess it lost some impact through being overplayed in every dark bar and/or teenage afterparty in the mid-'90s. Not bad at all but hardly thrilling
Unfinished sympathy Hymn of the big wheel
My initial impressions of Massive Attack suggested that this would be an album I was going to love. The only song I’d heard before (‘Unfinished Sympathy’) is a complete banger and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the tracks on ‘Mezzanine’ that I’ve heard. I love Portishead’s ‘Dummy’, which I consider one of my 25 favourite albums of all time. I knew Massive Attack had a different sound to Portishead but both fall under the ‘trip-hop’ label. Finally; Robert del Naja is very attractive ;) However, while I can recognise the influence and impact this album has had on electronica, I found it rather bland and repetitive. While ‘Dummy’ appears to focus more on the ‘soul’ aspect of trip-hop due to the sheer power of Beth Gibbons’ voice, ‘Blue Lines’ seems to lean more towards the juxtaposed ‘hip-hop’ aspect, with a focus on beats over the singer, and extended tracks. Hip-hop is one of my least favourite genres, primarily as a result of what I see as unimaginative music. The lack of a unifying singer also increases focus on the arrangements and instrumentation. Overall, though, the album was not a regrettable listen. 5/10.
Very nice as background music, but I can't decide if it's something I'd want to work to, relax to, or sleep to.
Safe from Harm I like but it is 2 minutes too long :(. Unfinished business is "good" but it sounds like a song that would play in the end credits of a cheesy 90s action movie that took itself too seriously. Blue Lines is a straight BOP Five Man Army
Album was OK
Nice but not very intriguing, also ok for learning
interesting, I liked one love a good bit, not bad overall
Interesting, not their best though. On the verge of a 4 star.
Good beats. British rap. Would like to listen again sometime and maybe with the lyrics available? Didn't love every song, but some were interesting musically.
decent, some good tracks, not all
This is such a subjective thing I suppose, but I just didn't really enjoy this album. The whole concept of their sound just isn't my thing.
Eh
Understandably important but parts haven’t aged well
Cool album, but not something I'd revisit.
Meandering mellow dance music. Meh.
Pretty good - quite different from Portishead
Sounds incredible, well mastered A bit sleepy and repetitive for me. But I can definitely see myself listening to it or similar again Similar feel to some synthwave, good for driving in a city at night through the rain.
Not their best, but still solid. Vibes are kinda like a British version of the Sopranos theme. +1 for the pronunciation of vit-a-mins
There’s some alright songs here, but nothing like the timeless tracks of Mezzanine.
A pretty mid Massive Attack album in my opinion. If you wanted to have a definition for what trip-hop sounds like, this would work though, it comes across as pretty straight in that genre, but none of the individual tracks really jumped out at me.
Some head bops, will have to listen again with lyrics but certain songs fell flat for me.
Good vibes but not loving all elements
Early 90s alt-dance-hip-hop-reggae hybrid. That’s a lot of hyphens. I feel like this must have been on in a bar or three that I spent time in back then. It’s background-y, but well-executed.
Is it actually good though or was it just popular?
If Portishead made background music for 90's gym equipment commercials.
2.5
3.5 Ahch. Rating these things is usually so difficult given that you can't give half stars. This one is close to a 4 for me, the sustained vibe is immaculate. Just chill as fuck. The loops the synths, everything layering nicely, gently. Laid back. I'm sure this is a lovely album on X. What knocks it down for me is the very 90s england lyrics around rasta-lite one love-ism. I think had the album closed a little stronger it would have been a four for me. But I can't quite bring myself to add this one to my library.
mid
Some really good music here. I like their style.
Mezzanine brings everything together just a little bit better in my opinion, but this is a very solid album.
Heard before. I knew Unfinished Sympathy from some talkshow that used this as its intro, so I always think of that when I hear it. Some chill vibes, nice trip-hop. + Blue Lines + Be Thankful For What You've Got + Lately + Unfinished Sympathy
It’s was alright,nice beats and ok rapping.I didn’t particularly see what’s so good About it.Maybe I’m missing something
The first time I encountered Massive Attack was in the early '00s when I downloaded a file named "Heat Miser" on a dial-up connection free song sharing site. It was not only not the song I was hoping for, I've never wanted to listen to it again, and yet it still lurks in my Apple Music library. I wouldn't be adverse to listening to this album again, but it would probably be so low on my ever-growing list, that I shall bid this a fair adieu and maybe we'll meet again on the Sirius XM Chill channel one of these days.
Not listened to it all the way through in years. Unfinished Sympathy is still the best track on the album. 3.
Vet album die het begin inluidt van de zgn triphop. Waar o.a. Gorillaz uit voortvloeit. Soms wel echt moker saai. Nummer reviews: 1. nice nummer, ben wel fan van de rap. Beetje faithless achtig. 7,5 2. Beetje trippy en meer ska achtig nummer, wel nice 7 3. Rustig 7 4. Deze is wel lekker 7,3 5. Hele lekkere vibe, vooral zo rond 1:30 7,5 6. Natuurlijk hun #1 banger. Iconisch nummer. 8,5 7. Lekker beetje funky 7 8. Lekkere change in beats, maar wel saai 6,8 9. Iets leuker 7,0
This felt really 'experimental' and I didn't lack the lack of pattern. Glimpses of meaningful lyrics, and I liked the way they sampled different styles and people. It was at least very varied. Be Thankful for What You've Got and Daydreaming were highlights.
Interesting surprise here. I could see mixing in a few songs to a shuffle, but I wouldn't want to listen to an entire album.
A couple of the songs were pretty cool. I really like the breakbeat/Dub kinda stuff but other songs dragged on.
A few songs, like the first in the album with the fun bass line, I enjoyed. Others faded more so into the background for me. I enjoyed it mostly, but there were a few songs that weren't quite for me.
it was alright. different than anything else I've listened to.
After listening David Holmes’ Let’s Get Killed, I did not have high hopes for this album. I guess this trip hop too but it’s much more listenable. It’s still not my thing but I appreciate the production value and the fact that they have various vocalists, and less repetitive sounding tunes. I enjoyed “Safe From Harm” and “Unfinished Sympathy” with Shara Nelson on vocals. I enjoyed the tracks that only rapped the least.
Slow start but gets good, good background music
I expected to like this album more than I did. It feels like an album ahead of its time but also dated. I did listen through this a few times though and found a few good songs I liked on it. But unfortunately, I don't think I'll come back to this album. Favorite Songs: Safe From Harm, Unfinished Sympathy Least Favorite Songs: One Love, Five Man Army, Daydreaming, Lately
This album was my introduction to trip hop back in the day and, for that reason, I have a soft spot for it. But it hasn't aged all that well. The synths aren't the best, the mix is just so-so, and these lyrics are pretty lame. But the point of trip hop isn't the lyrics. The point of trip hop is the vibe. And Massive Attack nails the vibe 90% of the time. It really is a great example of the genre. The problem is that 45 minutes of it in a sitting is exhausting. In a mix, these tracks slap. In an album, they're a slog.
Big fan of the trip hop vibe. Catchy bass lines, beats and vocals, but a lot of the tracks end up being forgettable for me Decent to strong 3 in my book!
Meditative
I wanna give this a 4 but this album has some of their weaker songs I do sometimes go around saying the "I was looking back at you to see you looking back at me to see me looking back at you" line to myself though, it rolls of the tongue
Highlights: "Safe From Harm," "Blue Lines," "Five Man Army," "Unfinished Sympathy" Feel unfit to judge this when the history of dub influence is unclear. This predates other dub-influenced pop entries in the list like Portishead's Dummy and Sabres of Paradise's Haunted Dancehall. It's uneven but mostly comfortable except for some drags like "Be Thankful" and pretty diverse in styles. This would have to be a very early entry in the new baseline for heavy chill jazz '90s grooves, five months before ATCQ's Low End Theory. That has to count for something.
3.5
Toteuttamatta jäänyt sympatia on albumin kaunein ja vetoavin soitto. Se on popin rakastaman teeman, rakkauden, alistama teos joka kurkottaa liian korkealla tälläisestä paska r&b chilling mf ass musta (ihonväri) musiikki, bändin nimen toisto, kakkailu r&b soimaan ja mustat kadulle mellakka,…. kikkailu, pinnallinen soitatus albumista……. joku huora varmaan tulee sanoo hyvä basso,,, JOO JOOO ON ON VITUN HYVÄ ON… VITTU…
Before today, the only song I ever knew of Massive Attack's was the House MD theme song (song title: Teardrop). That song is quite good, but I was unfamiliar with the songs on this album. Massive Attack are credited with starting the trip hop genre of music (electronica music with hip hop/rap lyric delivery). This music sounds similar to Gorillaz or that Nightmares on Wax record I reviewed a while ago. Overall, not anything special going on on this record. I listened to it this morning, and I already forget most of the songs. It was kind of hard to pick a favourite song because it all just kind of ran together. This would make good background music, but it was kind of bland and difficult to focus on and listen to. It wasn't terrible music, it just wasn't that exciting either. Favourite songs: Daydreaming, Hymn of the Big Wheel Least favourite songs: One Love 3/5
I didn’t know what I though Massive Attaxk was but it wasn’t this Listening to this I distinctly feel that yes, this is the sound of 91. How do I know this? Was I a six year old who was big on the scene at the time and just forgot? I think what I mean by this is if I’d discovered this album when I was still musically formative, I’d easily made this my entire personality but alas, not this lifetime. One Love kept threatening to be a track of add to my eternal playlist but just couldn’t commit to those dirty brass beats. Blue Lines - sleepy spoken word rap was an interesting choice but again was just kidding that kick Unfinished Sympathy - justifiably seen as a classic Lately - I always enjoy a baseline that means I have to turn my volume down for self preservation Hymn of the Big Wheel - excellent closing track for the priors 3.5
Safe, Unfinished och att Horace Andy är med är stora plus. Annars inte så himla kul.
Cool stylings and production - wasn't totally sold on it first listen but grew on me quite a bit the second time round. Three and a half. Fave track: Hymn Of The Big Wheel
I thought I'd like this more than I did. I understand it's importance as the first trip hop album, but it's pretty meh for me personally.
Pretty cool trip-hop with a laidback lounge-y style. Probably not something I’ll seek out again though. I imagine this was very fresh and influential in 1991 when electronic music and hip-hop were still kind of in their early stages.
90s techno erotic thriller music
Muy lento para mi estilo
Eh. Nothing special, but not bad.
a. realizing once again that I really like trip-hop b. especially with this album, I generally do NOT like vocals in conjunction with said trip-hop. I'm paraphrasing what one of the members of the band said about this album, and by extension the genre since this album is considered one of the first trip-hop albums: "this is dance music not for the feet but for the mind" - that's probably what I like most about it. What brings it down is how dated it still sounds in parts - I get that there was only so much you could do in 1991 but... some of those 80s sounding drum beats/synths just don't age well. Like where they're going here but future work is more enjoyable for me. 6/10 3 stars
meh
mezzanine is better 😬
I like it. Living in Chicago in the early 90s I never heard Massive Attack on the radio. Now I hear them on KEXP. Enjoyed hearing a full album.
Cool vibe and starts strong. But gets a bit repetitive in the middle.
Some absolute bangers on this. A few fillers though.
Nice!
I still don't love this style of music but there was some nice singing on this so will round up
I like younger albums of Massive Attack. I also think that Blue Lines and Lately are funky songs. The beginning of Hymn of the Big Wheel is my favorite on this album. I understand how this changed Electronica music and the genre, and more specifically later on as they experimented more. I think the singing is dated because it sounds so 90s but the beats are strong. And that's what makes them unique -- and probably affecting other bands that came out of the early 00s (The Postal Service).
Not bad, liked Unfinished Symphony. But overall not my vibe, too ‘artsy’.
Just fine.
Not what I was expecting massive attack to sound like but I enjoyed it!
I Ain’t the One into Tuesday’s Gone is shift! But seven and a half minutes is too long for the second track. Gimme Three Steps is fine. Free Bird is not my thing.
Melodic and mellow. 3.5
Tired and tepid and even tame-sounding today. "Be Thankful" is best song.
Good album!
Not bad, musically, just not my type of music
Mixed bag here, Unfinished Sympony, is an all time classic, definitely up there as one of the best tracks of the 90s. And then we have, Hymn of the Big Wheel, which is pure shite. So I'd say, some of the album I would defo listen to over and over again, but about 60% of the album wouldn't get another airing for me.
the beginning was weird but it got better by the end
Blue Lines is way ahead of Protection in terms of quality. But while I adore trip hop there’s just something about Massive Attack that I never quite get. The reggae feel of “One Love” and “Five Man Army” does nothing for me. It’s really only on “Safe From Harm”, “Unfinished Sympathy” and “Hymn Of the Big Wheel” that Massive Attack proves their true potential. But boy oh boy, what a potential!
I like this, but it never truly clicked deep with me, even though I really wanted it to. 1 - bad 2 - average 3 - good 4 - great 5 - outstanding
This sounds pretty fresh for a 32 year old album. Not really my bag but I quite liked it.
A fun genre blending album, but not any standout songs really. Beats feel monotonous at times. 3.5/5
I do love Unfinished Sympathy, and there were some good pulsating rhythms in there. But was fairly apathetic about the rest. Was not entranced by this as much as I thought it would be.
I love Mezzanine, but have never been able to get into their earlier albums. This is my second or third try for this one, and there are just no hooks or for me to grab onto. I mean, it's cool for what it is, but I don't ever reach for this one.
Cool sound. Like music from a dream rave
US
Nowhere near their best but not bad.
Great chill vibe, with a really diverse range of influences. Enjoyed it. Fave Songs: Unfinished Sympathy, Be Thankful for What You've Got, Safe from Harm, One Love, Lately
Svakalega mikill tíundi áratugur. Unfinished sympathy er æði, hitt er allt í lagi. Soundið er flottara en raddirnar. Áfram gakk.
Was a cool album i never heard. don’t see myself coming back to it
Jazzy hip-hop fusion... Kinda liked it
Okay but I didn't want to keep listening.
I only had a chance to listen to this casually as I was driving around doing errands. I enjoyed it albeit superficially.
In the early 90s, Massive Attack and Portishead from Bristol kicked off the British trip-hop/downtempo movement and they quickly became ubiquitous in the tiki lounges and bars everywhere. They blended hip-hop with jazz, soul, electronic and reggae and slowed down the beats, waaaay down to create a languorous sophisticated mood. My favourite songs on this album are Be thankful for what you've got (a nice cover of William DeVaughan's hit) and Safe from harm with its thunderous bass. The other songs with the male singers softly rapping with their Bri'ish accents don't work as well for me though. I wish Shara Nelson's vocals were featured on more of these songs. Three stars for their influence in creating this new genre though.
Didn’t expect the hip hop and reggae influences, couple of good songs though
Great, but ain't no Mezzanine.
Interesting. Seems very influential to some post punk/alt rap today.
I appreciate what these guys set out to do, and the originality and influence of this album. Overall though, the execution is slightly off and felt one-note. I found myself checking to see when it would end. Five Man Army was decent.
Cool beats and lyrics but I couldn’t really get into the album. I think it’s that I’m not really a fan of so much speaking in music?
Liked this much more than I expected to. Rhythms and beats are strong and the vocals and rapping work very well.
Lots of people seem to be calling this vibes music. I think that’s fair. It’s kind of background music even when lyrics are happening. Well produced but not memorable.
Fine
Well done but mostly boring.
Has dated poorly. I prefer the more songful ‘Protection’ but forget the group… ‘Maxinquaye’ is the best.
3.6/5