Blue Lines

I guess I'm just not a big fan of r&b which I think is what the singing sounds like. I liked Blue Lines but the rest was very background to me. I'm not even sure if I finished the album or if I got distracted by something.

Album has a clean and fresh sound, unique to the electronic genre. Also Unfinished Sympathy is a 5 star track. Favorite track: Unfinished Sympathy other picks: Safe from harm, be thankful, five man army

very unremarkable

5 sterne

On paper, you would think I would love Massive Attack. But I haven't ever been able to get into either of their two big albums. Maybe it's a lack of consistent vocals? No, not really. Gorillaz did this and I got into them. What is it, then? I'm not sure but it just doesn't stick. A shame.

Dope

It's unlistenable.

Pretty good. Not something I would listen to all the time but it was pleasant and fun to dance to. Favorite Songs: Blue Lines, Unfinished Sympathy, Hymn of the Big Wheel

mid

little rough but ill check again

An album that I never really listened to at the time or in the years following, despite being fully immersed into leftfield and Portishead at the time. On first listen, I was not overly drawn into this album. It was okay, with a few tracks that I connected with. On the whole though, I was actually a little bit disappointed. I was expecting more. Has it been overhyped?. Don't get me wrong. It is still a good album, but not as amazing as I was expecting. On a second listen, I noticed a few of the intricacies that I maybe missed. I was still a little disappointed. At the same time, the album still warrants 4 stars. Blue Lines and Five Man Army were the out and out notable songs. Be thankful for what you've got was the out and out worst song. 4 Stars

This album was just ok. Some good background ambience but nothing really stood out to me. Top tracks: “Unfinished Symphony,” “Blue Lines”

feels loik oi ‘ave it, bout to get in barney wif mi bruvs in a pub then fack off in the lorry innit true (derogatory). British fucking electronic music, miss my ass. Where's Moby when you need his ass?

"Hymn" is just an okay track that probably belongs on a completely different album. Does that take away from the almost 40 minutes of perfection that preceded it? No, not for me ******************************************************************************* --Safe from Harm...sick --One Love...not loving Horace Andy's vocals but it's still pretty great. really like the slight guitars. head bopper, too --Blue Lines...silky smooth. great keyboards --Be Thankful for What You've Got...just a solid bass groove. not special but it continues the immaculate vibe. outro vocals elevate it --Five Man Army...the bass! the rappers' flow! it's simply too good! --Unfinished Sympathy...love the high percussion sound on this one. what is it? This group's ability to stay in a vibe pocket but still create surprising moments is impressive --Daydreaming...perhaps the weakest track so far. still a bop --Lately...sexy as hell. shout out to Shara Nelson --Hymn of the Big Wheel...not bad but it feels like it belongs on another album entirely. will I have to remove a point for this?!

Very english. Incredibly english. Despite it all, pretty good.

Meh.

A lot of people say this is the album that defined trip-hop, which makes it very influential, as inspiring for me. The album feels smooth, hypnotic, hazy, and laidback but also deeply reflective and introspective. It’s the kind of record that feels like nighttime music. The production is incredible as well very detailed. Aggressive bass lines throughout the album, immediately sets a very direct tone. It blends elements of hip hop with breakbeats, sampling, and rapping, along with soulful vocals, reggae, dub, soul, jazz and ambient textures. There’s a heavy atmospheric undertone, a very crisp snare and straight to the point drum beats. All of these elements come together to create a sound I really enjoyed. It’s good at being immersive background music or the full focus of your attention. That said some songs are a hit or miss for me, some songs I didn’t really like, while the majority however are definite standouts. Favourite tracks: Safe From Harm, Blue Lines, Thankful for What you've Got, Five Man Army, Unfinished Sympathy, Hymn of the Big Wheel

Much too British for me

I went through a massive Tricky phase and still like his older stuff. This is good, but it doesn’t quite grab me in the same way.

Litt slitsomt. Orket ikke høre hele.

Really liked this album, didn’t think I needed to skip any. For being electronic it had a lot of range, some songs had sounds very much like something you'd hear from The Roots, Toto, and Enya (or from that time). Good album overall, would recommend.

I've never heard Massive Attack until I listened to it for this site. I really liked this music, looking forward to hearing more of them

have gone downhill over time

I like the non remixes better

Didn't rustle my jimmies enough. Kinda wish this was sneaker pimps if we're gonna rep triphop

ok

More of this kind of thing. Again, just fine.

no

Ummm

listening when: half on the way to pilates and half on my afternoon walk thoughts: first album from someone i hadn’t heard of and i hated this from song one. i googled the genre and it says they were pioneers for hip hop electro. not the vibes fr fr rating: 1/10

I like this more than Mezzanine. Astonishingly beautiful album. Exudes concrete soul. I actually enjoyed every song on here. You got the heavyweights in "Safe From Harm", and "Unfinished Sympathy", but the tracks in between don't drop that far in comparison to them, so it doesn't become a chore to listen to them. I love the vocal deliveries on this. A perfect mix of nocturnal lurking of trip-hop on some tracks (on which they would build their sound on later records), and sunshine soul. Even the lyrics are good if you get into that part of the album. I believe there isn't a single person on this planet who listened to this album that found every track boring. The only gripe I have is that Five Man Army is an amazing track that gets stale because of the length, but trip-hoppers will like that prolonged instrumental.

I have been waiting for the day I get this album. This is easily one of my favorite albums of all time. In just objective relevance, this album helped create one of the most underrated genres of music. In subjective value, it is chock full of amazing songs that just blow my mind. The production and unique styles that vary significantly through the whole album makes this album so interesting and relistenable (ex. Be Thankful For What You’ve Got vs. Unfinished Sympathy). The switch between Tricky’s rapping, Robert Del Naja’s deep voice and of course Horace Andy’s Jamaican touch as well all add a very varied element to the album that is incredibly enjoyable. And that’s not even mentioning the hallmark of the whole album and what would become so signifying of trip hop as a whole: Shara Nelson’s haunting soprano. That voice would undoubtedly go on to influence the works Beth Gibbons in Portishead and many others. Crazy fundamental album to music and certainly one of the top albums I would recommend people listen to before they die.

Very of the era - enjoyable listen.

Funky and goth at the same time.

looks good will listen

Some songs (like Blue Lines) are depressingly empty of texture and very cramped.

A 4.

It seems Gen Z judges everything by vibes now, and the vibes I got from Blue Lines (which I’d never heard until now) are very chill. It’s music I wouldn’t mind listening to while working at a cafe, but honestly nothing stood out enough that I would reach for it to actually listen to regularly.

I'm sure some in the group may or may not be surprised that I have never heard of this band but I was pretty firmly entrenched in Heavy Metal during the time of their releases. Great mix of genres here with parts being a sort of psychedelic electronica but mixed with soul, sometimes a reggae influence and even my least favorite genre Hip Hop... Hate all you want. 🤣

An absolute phenomenal album!! Classic in every way! Grooves out of this world!

Did there need to be two Massive Attack albums on this list?

I felt like a was transported back to the 90s. Decent enough album, good background music.

The best 90s album yet

Sound is ok. Samples are ok. Vocals are fine. Reminds me Dummy by Portishead, which is far better than this.

One of my favorite Massive Attack Albums. I massively played the fuq outta Be Thankful for What You Got!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Fedt album. Slutter på klart det fedeste nummer

Virkelig smooth, fed plade, ikke lige så god som Mezzanine. Sikke en serie af bangere vi har fået på det sidste!!

Pretty good triphop.

Unfortunately I think I may just not like trip-hop, though that doesn’t hide the unique style of the band here. “Unfinished Sympathy” is absolutely great, and there’s some cool vibes, but overall it’s just a bit mushy and meh for me. Maybe one day I’ll find a trip-hop band I enjoy.

enjoyable but blends together after a bit

It's a no from me, dawg.

Good

Trip hop legends make a fantastic album, shocker, I think mezzanine has higher highs by just a bit but this is still amazing!

Ok

Impact is blunted by the army of inferior followers, but still a classic.

Better than expected

Thank you god and jesus for massive attack

10/10… trip hop / electronica

Wonderful, dark, trippy and groovy. Some huge highlights on here that carry the album. This is an excellent start for triphop, though the genre certainly gets better after this album. 5 stars because of the influence and importance

Super chill! Brought me back to a time.

I first became fully aware of Massive Attack when I watched the movie Pi and learned they did the soundtrack. Since that time I've been a fan. As a band they hit all the great marks, a few amazing releases, politics that match mine, and just bangers bangers bangers. Blue lines being their first and while not best, that is Mezzanine, you can see the beginnings of what is going to be great. I don't think I've ever considered them part of the trip hop stuff but that is mostly cause It think of that sound as being more Portishead than Massive Attack, but that is just me. If I could give more stars for this album I would give it 1,000,000 but for now it just has to be 5.

Some of these tracks were pretty killer. I can hear the influence in groups like the Streets (Unfinished Sympathy) and Gorillaz (Five Man Army). Others felt a little too dated and corny. I’m not big on trip hop but I still enjoyed the album for the most part.

I can see the significance of this being potentially the first "trip hop" album, it must have had a huge impact on the first groups of people discovering it. Personally I don't like this album as much as Massive Attack's "Mezzenine" which came several years later, or even the Tricky album Mazinquaye both of which sounded more more mature and much more soluble in their use of new and modern effects for that era (loops samples and drum machines.) Listening to Blue Lines now you can really hear the age of the album, it sounds like it was trying very hard to be cutting edge and new, almost like it was trying to prove some relevance during that era but I feel like it didn't age particularly well.

Very interesting combination of genres. Some hip hop, some electronica, some funk, some soul, some reggae. Overall, I enjoyed the vibe, but there were a few elements that didn't quite hit the mark for me. Specifically, I didn't love the vocals and some of the reggae elements seemed a bit out of place.

Pretty groovy, with all of the sounds being really good. but honestly kind of boring and a lot of the songs sound the same

not a fan, not my style

Fine beats, bad lyrics. 2.5

cool

I wasn't crazy about this but I can see why it's on the list.

A bit boring

I was surprised by this- I expected a massive attack album to be very techno forward, but this album had more of a funk/alt/industrial feel. It was unique and enjoyable.

Ikkje like bra som mezzanine

Hypnotic night time music

Very sick album, but why is Mezzanine not on this list? Without a doubt their best work. However, what this album might lack in Mezzanine’s mood/atmosphere, it makes up for it in “catchiness” I guess, with funky baselines and synths throughout.

ожидал большего

Enjoyed it.

A bit too sleepy for me. There were a few nice grooves, especially the closing track (Hymn of the Big Wheel).

Excellent production but not my favorite Massive Attack album

Iconic cover. Legendary influence. Blue Lines basically invented trip hop, and it still sounds fresh for something that dropped in 1991. The production is dark, slow-burning, and full of atmosphere. Hip-hop, soul, and dub all mashed into something that didn’t exist before. "Safe From Harm" opens the album perfectly. Heavy groove, smoky vibe, total statement of intent. "One Love" doesn’t hold up as well; the vocals feel flat. "Blue Lines" pulls it back with a smooth, almost jazz-rap flow that fits the mood perfectly. "Five Man Army" slows things way down, maybe too much. Not bad, just kills the energy a bit. Then you hit "Unfinished Sympathy," and the whole thing levels up. That song feels like it came from the 00's. The album isn’t perfect, but it changed the game. It laid the foundation for everything that came after. 8.5/10.

Pretty damn good! Chill, great production, and mellow raps and singing.

In its own subtlety there is an epicness, but not all the songs are unfinished sympathy. So those others didn't end up doing much with me.

Snore. I know trip hop is technically probably different than EDM, or maybe it’s a subgenre of it or something, but I don’t really care cause this is so damn boring for me in the same way that EDM is. 1.5/5

It's probably the 200th time someone's said this but Mezzanine should have been the representative album for this group. Blue Lines is fine but immemorable

Molt musical, no se perque esperava algo mes de rock. No me mata.

Very smooth hip hop

Probably the best possible example of this kind of music. I like it but it’s not my favourite musical place to be.

chill. kind of feels like they're on the edge of something crazy coming in each song. also a great vibe for like, racing game lobbies. Would I listen again: probably Deserves to be on this list: for the cover alone, lol 3.8

Instruments: 3/5 Lyrics/Storytelling: 4/5 Production: 2/5 Vibes: 4/5 Emotional Value: 1/5 Stand Outs: Unfinished Symphony, Daydreaming Overall Rating: 2.8

eh

Video Game lobby

I wish I had more to say. It's fine, but it's not as good as Mezzanine, and even Mezzanine is like... okay. I think I just have to recognize that this isn't my genre.

This one shocked me. What a vibe. I'd never heard of this album before but throwing it on was a treat. Very pleased

Very subdued, but I enjoyed most of this album. I don't have a ton of experience with Trip-Rap, but I'll have to at least check out more of their stuff. Thinking 3-3.5 (we really need a half star system)

Trip-hop has all the elements I should like but I can never get all the way into it. Portishead is cool, but this sounds like the music playing in every bad club scene ever from any movie in the mid 90s featuring a club scene. Hell, I’m pretty sure there’s a scene in Batman Forever where Massive Attack is playing… while they’re in a club.

There’s some good moments but this suffers from the early electronic repetitiveness. I think a better example from this year would be Dreamland from Black Box

Kids, I must have been having a bad day when I first reviewed this but it’s actually quite very good. So yeah.

Sonically, shit doesn't get more grimy and cool than this. And they put together something this futuristic and left-field in '91? I wasn't even born yet! The Gorillaz first album wasn't til 10 years later! I really enjoy downtempo electronic and trip hop, and this is the mother of those genres. It’s still such a unique listen and worth praise.

Ranking purely in comparison to Mezzanine. Solid album but doesn't quite hit as well as Mezzanine.

When I saw this was an electronic album from the 90s, I was a little worried that it would be like other electronic albums from that era. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't sound like those. This was a solid listen.

86/100. Blue Lines by Massive Attack is yet another impressive record from the British group. While I personally prefer Mezzanine, this album still stands out as extremely good. The mix of trip hop, soul, and hip hop creates a unique and inviting sound that really draws you in. As Massive Attack's debut album, Blue Lines laid the foundation for the trip hop genre, blending moody beats with soulful vocals and rhythmic hip hop elements. Even if it doesn't hit the same notes as Mezzanine for me, its creative mix of styles and innovative production make it a rewarding listen.

𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 captures the smoky, late-night pulse of Bristol in the early ’90s — where hip-hop, dub, and soul collided to form something entirely new. Massive Attack created a sound that feels both urban and intimate, smooth yet heavy with atmosphere. 𝘜𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘺 remains the centerpiece — lush, emotional, and timeless — while the rest of the album drifts between cool detachment and deep introspection. A landmark debut that still defines what trip hop means.

Pretty innovative sound for the time

Other than having a few good beats, this album does nothing for me. There are maybe 2-3 songs with vocals I could stomach & the rest irritated me to no end. Trip hop just doesn't really do it for me I suppose because this album was hard for me to get through.

This is album that really showed something new come the 1990s. Especially since right after 1990, things really came to change and this was no different to music. It is a new sound, however, it is just incredibly bland and dull. It also feels really long and dragged out. Electronic music to me is not the best music out there and again while an album like this was probably revolutionary in the early 90s especially coming out of the 80s, in 2025, I think it doesn't really break any barriers. I do like the album cover though, I think it's iconic. Favorite Tracks: Safe From Harm, Unfinished Sympathy Rating: 2.5/5

Love massive attack.

Good Album, good for chilling and listening to while working.

Loved it: unquestionably arty yet approachable, International/wordly yet immediate with multiplicity of voices uniting to form a common vision. Seamless yet offering a new twist around every corner. Not a particularly short record but came to an end far before I was ready.

I liked this a lot. Never heard of the band before or any of their songs, but the interplay of instruments, electronics made a cool atmosphere

Hadn't been familiar with this one outside of Unfinished Sympathy (which is fantastic) but this is such a novel mix of styles and genres and has such a unique flavor. I think I like the tracks with more of a dark/foreboding/minor key atmosphere, the opening song is just immaculate in this regard with the pulsing baseline, the vocal, and the synths providing the overall mood. Great stuff. The rapping/flow does sound a bit dated at times but then I remembered it was 1991 and the hip hop scene was pretty nascent in the UK. Although their sound would certainly develop further in later works this is a pretty great debut.

Still felt modern, some killer bass lines. Could be convinced to drop it to four stars for a couple songs that didn't land for me (One Love, Lately, and Hymn of the Big Wheel) ... but I listened start to finish multiple times. Five Man Army is a favorite.

Massive attack of diarrhea more like

I like Massive Attack. I wish I listened more closely to them. I feel like I would love a long ass YouTube video of them. I gotta revisit these on a roadtrip when I can really listen. God, I want to go on a road trip.

Bisher unbekannt, sehr spannend.

A triphop classic.

Stuck between a 4 and a 5 for this. Some of the rapping is not for me, feels a bit dated and not effectively complimenting just how audaciously perfect the instrumental elements of this album are. Nelson absolutely smashes it with every second of her involvement and brings it up to the 5 with her levels of perfection.

Diese Attacke ist nicht massiv genug, um mich zu überzeugen. Prallt ab!

Suena antiguo, pero suena bien

I don’t get it. This was awful. Most of the songs sounded like SNL parodies of 90s R&B. So many of the lyrics were just too cheesy to be taken seriously.

Not sure I need to hear this before I die. I think at the time it was innovative? But hasn’t aged well

Not a TripHop fan, but I liked this quite a bit.

Unfinished Sympathy is so clear of everything else here. Absolute masterpiece, one of the songs of the decade. Safe From Harm is very good too. The rest hasn't aged too well in my opinion. Not bad music at all, it has a nice laid back vibe and is a pleasant listen, but those two mentioned songs are leagues ahead of the rest. Mezzanine is infinitely better.

Love this album, probably the best play through of everything I’ve had so far on this list. Every song picks up right where the other ended, and it’s feels cohesive. Mezzanine was more on my radar, but this is great too. Will definitely safe for future relistening.

80/1089 Not what i expected, based on the name alone i expected some britpop/rock so was pleasantly surprised to get some vibey elctronic trip hop some really nice vocals production and flows on this album that i’m keen to return to. faves: Daydreaming, Unfinished Symphony, Blue Lines, Safe From Harm 4 stars or 71/100

Expected to hate this one but it was actually very cool, I can respect it

Pretty good

I’m digging this a lot!! Maybe I’m slowly becoming open to more dance/electronica music. This was great

Massive trip-hop master

No thank you

Pretty mixed bag. Some amazing songs but quite a lot of filler.

Good stuff

Not my favorite genre, but I was vibing to this

Like the relaxed tracks, nice summer grooves

15.33 (pe), hima, harmaat gen, qobuz noniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin

I liked it

A bit of a groove, but too slow paced

Qualité trop inégale

All the elements are there but not quite formed into a cohesive consistent whole. A good start but not near as great as Mezzanine.

Great album

I put "Fuck yeah!" in my notes but forgot to finish the review. Upon further reflection, that's entirely sufficient. An album so innovative I'd Mandela Effected it coming out 5-7 years later than it did.

Some good songs on this album.

This seemed to vary in quality throughout my listen. I guess this was one of the foundational "trip hop" albums for its time though, so I'm trying to fairly assess this. The samples and breakbeats were interesting and inventive. Couldn't really snuff out one particular track that I would deem as memorable, I think this particular genre is known more as a "sum of its parts" rather than individual highlights. Not necessarily a knock either, as the right crowd can flip this and other trip hop records on and sort of just chill out. I personally prefer the jazz rap that sort of emerged in the US around the time this album was released, but I can recognize the influence "Blue Lines" and Massive Attack had on this subgenre as a whole.

MASTERPIECE.

Excellent!

Yes.

Trip Hop is weird. Probably going for Portishead over this. Seems like they found their sound more on Mezzanine and this is closer to generic trip Hop. Still decently enjoyable in the background

Some pretty good songs at the beginning of the album, but I got bored quick

Some of these songs weren’t bad, I liked the more rap based tracks, others were not very exciting.

It's fine. I wouldn't object if this was put on, but I doubt I'd search it out on a regular basis.

I thought this was just fine, nothing too special.

Fødestedet for triphop som jo er tunge beats med soul like vokaler og stemningen er lidt mørk. Så det er musik til bylivet bare uden dans, som er rimelig nemt at mærke. Jeg føler det er sensuelt og sexet og frækt et eller andet sted. Jeg tror det er blandingen af downbeats og soul vokal. Dybe toner og nogle af sangene er nærmest hvisken. Portishead var en af mine første albums og der følte jeg ikke helt triphop genren, men den er vokset meget mere på mig siden sidst. Jeg synes helt sikkert det er en 4-5 hvor jeg bare tænker at give det en 5 men det i virkeligheden er en 4,5. Så må jeg vende tilbage.

Interesting record. Not what I usually listen to, but I get why people find it interesting.

It's amazing how you can listen to something & have little to no reaction to it. I know what I like & it ain't this. Didn't care for lyrics or style of rap. The beats were meh & did little to nothing for me. I feel nothing for this. I just don't like it. No musical attraction whatsoever. 1

I liked it, but not my favorite.

A little too sexy for my tastes

I understand this to be seminal and really liked parts of it, but being the progenitor of reggaeton doesn’t endear it to me at all and it wore out for me early on.

When I moved to the UK I remember sitting in the pub and having conversations about who the top 5 UK groups were of all time. Massive Attack kept being mentioned. I picked up Blue Lines and it slowly grew on me. I still play this at least once a week. Love the production and so influential.

It was fine - pretty calm, the vocals were nice - i thought they would. Be more like prodigy -

Listened to this album 100s of times, so hard to stay objective. Tried with a fresh listen and I still get goosebumps, 30 years later The blend of reggae, hip hop, electronic. The bass heavy laid back grooves. The different singers which make every song fresh. I could go on and on. My favourite song: blue lines (the groove!!) least favourite:

Another wonderful album, which is very important for my personal musical journey. It opened a new world to me.

Blue Lines is often hailed as a pioneering trip-hop record, but this debut can feel uneven. While tracks like “Unfinished Sympathy” showcase real innovation and atmosphere, much of the album drifts without the same impact, leaving stretches that feel dated rather than timeless. Ambitious but inconsistent, it doesn’t fully live up to its reputation.

Massive attack of shit.

I liked it more than Portishead but I’m just not a trip hop girl. I did learn that a guy from Massive Attack, 3D, is possibly Banksy? Is that true? I don’t know. I did a half hearted google search that said no.

Perhaps it was just the big lunch my fat ass ate, but this made me very, very, sleepy. 2.5⭐️

So much trip hop on this list....but this is well deserved. 'Daydreaming', 'One Love', 'Be Thankful For What You've Got' are the favorites here. 4.5 stars, just because it doesn't have immediate replay-ability for me.

It's been a run of surprising albums. I thought I knew Massive Attack but apparently I didn't. I even saw them live at Coachella a million years ago and all this time I remembered their music to be more industrial like Nine Inch Nails or something. But I was waaaaay off. I didn't realize their music was so soulful. Ok, just checking the lineup from the year they did Coachella, it was the same night as Tool. So either I am mashing their music together because I heard them so close together... or I never even saw Massive Attack and I'm confusing them with Tool.

nope 2/5

Fav: Unfinished Sympathy Least Fav: Hymn Of The Big Wheel I love Portishead so I’m surprised I’d never tried Massive Attack. Glad this challenge made me bite the bullet because it was so worth it. Everyone is on top form for the album and it rightfully earns its place as one of trip hop’s finest albums

This apparently blew some damn minds in the ‘90’s judging by what I’ve read, ranking this album as top in the last century. I guess it’s a “you had to be there” kind of thing because the music didn’t do much for me. There was a nice “Fidler on the Roof” reference in “Daydreaming”. “Hymn of the Big Wheel” I liked but too little, too late. That’s about all. Not one I’ll revisit.

3.75 Stars. The singing and the rapping sound like 1991, but nothing else does; I found that really interesting. It has a certain sound to it that I wasn't sure about at first, but I would say this still sounds fresh and unique today.

Very innovative blending of different genres. Didn’t sound at all dated but the songs started sounding the same after a while. Really enjoyed it though and great melodies and vocals.

Not my cup of tea.

Banger

I did not enjoy. Was expecting something better due to their song teardrops. Very uninspiring

Boring album. It must be #1001. It was uninteresting. I would go out of my way to not listen to it again.

3.75

I expected to hate it, because all other trip-hop albums I heared were annoying. This wasn't, but still rather a background music for me. Didn't hated it, but still don't understand the hype

Me lo acordaba mejor. Big wheel temazo igual

like

dub dub dub

Didn't grip me but a lot of bits that I liked

Didn't really do anything for me

Enjoyable

I enjoy trip hop but this felt pretty plain.

I was ecstatic to get this group. I enjoy hearing their music and their interesting compositions. Great listen.

Kinda feel bad for giving it a 2. It was a good chill, background music kinda album. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

Some good tracks on here, mixed with some mediocre ones. It all feels very dated, and a bit like experimental noodling. I know I know. Allmusic called it a “masterpiece”.

No es para tanto aspaviento. Pero tiene algún aporte

Tem uma música legal, mas achei bem chatinho no geral.

I liked most of this but some stands out much more.

I was not quite expecting this from a British album. The beats are good, catchy, and honestly very convincing all around.

I’ve been going back to a lot of the Trip Hop classics from 95-05ish for the past couple of months, it seems that 1001 is in the same mode recently for our group. Blue Lines along with most of Massive Attack’s catalog is top tier in this genre. I feel like Mezzanine has a little more depth to the mix but I do love the drums being up front on this album. The many dark ambient layers are there but on this albums but they’re pushed back a bit so the drums and vocals can take the forefront. Excellent album for times of focus or relaxation. I’d give it a 4.5

Trip-hop icons. We've had a few of these trip-hop albums on this list. Sure beats Elvis Costello... My favorite on here is Blue Lines. Sounds like it could be on a Digable Planets album, plus it has Tricky, who I saw live in 97. 4

Ahead of its time! I like trip hop and I guess some claim this one kicked the whole genre off. That being said I don’t think it’s their best album. Dig the bass heaviness of “safe from harm” and the dubnovertones and Horace Andy’s deep bellows on “five man army” the most.

That was better than I expected. I don't think the lyrics were all that great, but the beat is what makes this album.

The voices startle me when listening to this with headphones. Sounds like a sleep paralysis demon whispering in your ear

Why does "One Love" remind me of a Persona 5 song? I'm not complaining but something about that keyboard. Very British. It was good. I liked it. Something about it seemed really stereotypical of those early 90s bands. I understand why they call it the first triphop album

Eh

Not doing it for me

Not a bad album but not my favorite genre. I was looking for the hit on track 3 or 4 but it was a cover song.

A pleasant experience. Way better then most of the later trip hop.

a bit boring

daora

Mind blowing production and arrangements, and still as amazing and influential as ever.

it was godo!

Good album.

I have to give it a five star ranking because of it basically being trip-hop royalty, but I like their second album better. I prefer tricky as a solo artist and he is heavily featured as the lead on Blue Lines. Still, not a bad song on the album and it was a groundbreaking release that ushered in a new genre that is still going strong more than 30 years later.

I don’t think the vocals have really stood up to time but the production and design is fantastic. Cool to see the beginnings of the genre.

Tracks are good as expected but the vocals.. what the fuck. Some of it's cool but some is incredibly lame. Who's the posh english rapper?

I gather Massive Attack were a big. deal in the UK when this book was written. The moment passed me by. I find the record inoffensive but not particularly compelling. Might have been different if I had been a young person in the UK in the 90s. Having never been a young person, I can't know.

A couple of tracks had my head bobbing. But this felt old and unnecessary.

I had no idea what genre this band was in until we got Protection a couple of weeks ago. I didn't like it at all. This one is only marginally better. But, as I do with bands I'm not familiar with or are questioning why they're here, I did some research on them and found that I do like some of their later stuff...the collabs with Sinead, Liz Fraser, Damon Albarn, etc. Hopefully we'll get to those albums because they're miles better.

This is better than Protection, and their pastiche game is strong (I always like a good Fiddler on the Roof reference) but the actual music made by them is still pretty boring. To wit, the best song (Be Thankful for What You've Got) is a cover. But overall I was pleasantly surprised. 3.5

hell yeah

masterpiece

It’s unfortunate that this album has to compare itself with its little sister Mezzanine but it’s very good in its own right.

Enjoyed this much more than I expected - in a playing in the background kind of way 😀

Not really for me

hadn't really heard of these guys, cool stuff

Dope

Not bad. Not my thing, but still a reasonably good listen.

I am sure this is somebody’s style, but it is not mine.

Yeah i think its pretty good! Most songs i find enjoyable. Too bad the last two songs fall flat for me, with the melody not doing it for me and the vocals not up to snuff. But there are definitely some stand outs- Unfinished Symphony is great and Safe from Harm as well. The instrumentals reward a closer listen as well with the individual parts. I do like the fusion of genres as well with like the record scratches amid the more straightforward tracks. Would be 3.5 but fall back to 3 stars. Tentative 3 though, may need to return to it more to fully appreciate it

Not my favourite from massive attack, but happy to hear this in the list. Was a great listen, haven’t done it for this album in years. Fingers crossed for more MA in the list.

Poo poo.

More soulful than I expected, my first trip hop listen I think

Boring

Very cool and very British.

1,3/5

I can't put my finger on what exactly it it is, but I hate this album. There is a specific pretentious cool I remember from the 90s and this just feels like the anthem for it.

Very groovy, this album was such a mood. Loved it.

This is somewhere between trip-hop and hip-hop. Some DEFINITE grooves, but it's not a fantastic album. It's good though. Pitchfork: 9.0 Rolling Stone: Top 500 Albums #241 (2023) Best Songs Safe From Harm Unfinished Symphony

Massive Attack, altijd leuk. Vooral verrast hoe vroeg dit uitkwam, helemaal in 1991 al. Dan hebben ze echt bijtijds een fris geluid neergezet waarmee men in dit genre de hele jaren negentig nog vooruit kon. De nieuwe ideeën en mogelijkheden opgepakt en er lekker eigenwijs mee aan de slag gegaan om dat unieke sfeertje van ze neer te zetten. Ik voel nu een beetje de druk van Eric op m'n schouder om dit goed te vinden, maar weet je, je moet niet altijd tegen de wind in blazen.

Ik noemde Protection eerder al als de minste van de drie grote albums van Massive Attack. Dat ontving alsnog afgerond 5 sterren. De 5 sterren voor Blue Lines zijn daarom niet verrassend. Blue Lines is het debut en iets minder gebalanceerd als Protection. In dit geval zorgt dat voor net iets meer kleur. Naast de vaste waarden Tricky en Horace Andy wordt samengewerkt met Shara Nelson. Een combinatie die geweldig uitpakt. Dat hoor je gelijk bij het eerste nummer Safe from Harm en natuurlijk bij het beste nummer, Unfinished Sympathy. Ook dit album is prachtig afwisselend en combineert heel mooi meer klassieke muziekstijlen met (toen) moderne digitale klanken. In 1991 was dit zeer vernieuwend. Voor die tijd heeft het album een vrij heldere klankkleur. Als je het niet weet zou je dit album waarschijnlijk iets recenter inschatten. Kortom: een tijdloos album.

Onderstaand schreef ik bij Protection. Dus dit kan ik prima hier reproduceren, dit album lekker luisteren en op de 5-sterrenknop drukken. "Dat Mezzanine niet in de lijst staat is echt een grove schande. Als een soort pleister op de wond zullen we het met dit album en zijn voorloper moeten doen. Wat natuurlijk ook helemaal prima is. Maar het blijft onbegrijpelijk dat de beste en belangrijkste Massive Attack plaat niet gekozen is. Als ik even spiek online, dan krijgen we het debuut Blue Lines nog. Om dit allemaal even in perspectief te plaatsen, loop ik alvast even vooruit op de zaken, want ik wil deze 3 platen even in volgorde luisteren. Wat me gelijk opvalt, is dat alle platen een beest van een openingstrack hebben. Dan kom je wel even binnen zeg, nondeju! Blue Lines wordt beschouwd als de eerste triphopplaat, dus die moet er eigenlijk in. Die plaat wisselt heel mooi genres af en illustreert ze door het gebruik van verschillende zangers/rappers. Al vind ik niet alle nummers even sterk, door alleen al Unfinished Sympathy verdient dit wel een notering. Protection vind ik over het algemeen vrij saai. Afgezien van de openingstrack, die ondanks de zangeres van Everything but the girl bijzonder goed te pruimen is. De muziek is wat trager, ik mis vaak een moddervette bas of een dikke beat zoals "Euro Child" wel heeft. Sowieso zijn de 2 nummers met Tricky samen met de titeltrack de betere nummers van het album. Mezzanine is wat mij betreft het magnum opus van Massive Attack, ondanks het vertrek van Tricky. Met absolute kneiters van hits als Angel en Teardrop is dit misschien wel het beste triphopalbum aller tijden. En als ik dan moet kiezen en maar 2 albums in deze snoblijst zou mogen zetten (al gooi ik er liever een of ander wanstaltig new wave product uit), dan zou ik toch gaan voor Blue Lines en Mezzanine. Qua cijfer ga ik daarom een 4 geven. De 5 zou voor Mezzanine zijn en zal ik voor Blue Lines gaan geven. Dit album is net een tandje minder."

Did not enjoy any of this

Wow. Kind of a depressing relisten. This album was worn out during my early days. It was fresh and vibrant. Haven't listened in a long time. While I know that the inspiration and influence has spread massively over the years, on this relisten, it really fell flat, kind of dull, and lifeless. Not sure why. Maybe it's the countless other acts that have parroted it and it's sounds, but yeah... Kind of sad, actually.

A really solid album, it’s crazy. This is the first of its kind. I love the effort they put into it and even how they basically created an entire genre. Not every track resonates with me 100%, it’s so close to being a five, but it’s a really solid effort that I definitely want to revisit.

Cool album, would listen to more. Felt pretty varied

My first thought with this album is that I could tell that it’s had a lot of influence on a number of modern artists/groups (Brockhampton being a notable one that comes to mind) The insanely creative instrumentals and song structures left me pleasantly surprised at how well this album holds up (released 34 years ago) Unfinished Sympathy and Lately were both very enjoyable, but I found that the album’s closer, Hymn of The Big Wheel, stood out to me the most as the message of the song is one that I really needed to hear Although it wasn’t perfect and a few songs had me a bit underwhelmed, “Blue Lines” exceeded my expectations Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Blue Lines, Unfinished Sympathy, Lately, Hymn of The Big Wheel

I loved this Album and didn't realize that Massive Attack was the founder of trip-hop, which is a fav genre of mine.

After listening to this album, I'm definitely going to look more into trap hop. While I don't think I'll return to this album much, I like the style and people online day this album was the original of trap hop

Not for me. I’d heard of the song Unfinished Sympathy before, but I didn’t like it. It’s just not my genre of music.

Nice

Real good. Trip hops debut album was a good listen

Great stuff.

Unfinished Sympathy has such Moby and Pet Shop Boy vibes. That one goes on my playlist. Otherwise, the album is fine. Each song could be a minute shorter and the album would be better, but it's not to the extent that I had to skip anything. Album gets a 4 for Unfinished Sympathy.

Falls victim to something I call The Nujabes Curse, where the instrumentals are far and away superior to any of the mediocre rapping thrown onto these beats. I can respect what this album encouraged and inspired, but it’s a canyon of a difference to me between Unfinished Symphony and Blue Lines.

It's fine. Trip-hop beats and soul singin

Actually pretty good.

This was very good. Unfinished Sympathy is great and the rest was very enjoyable too. A few more listens and this could definitely come into regular rotation for me. Very easy and vibey to listen to.

This album is so chill and relaxing. Which was just what I needed tonight. I love Tricky's voice, almost like a whisper throughout his verses. It's very cool

classic album the start of a good run of albums from MA

It's so nice and chill I almost wanted to study for an exam or something.

Massive Attack is always a joy to listen to. This may not be my favorite album by then but it’s still fantastic and well worth the listen.

Fun bit of trip hop, can’t fault it really

Massive Attack's debut album is great. This one alongside Protection and Mezzanine really showcase the creativity of the band and are must listens in the trip-hop genre.

Slow trippy dark beats, with some British singing or rapping overlayed. Would be good for driving at night. Cool mysterious vibe

Enjoyable to listen to. Need to listen a few more times for a real opinion, but wanting to listen to it again is a better than I feel with most of these albums.

Music was overall good. No totally into it, but still fun to listen to.

Hvorfor føles det her album så kort? Jeg har aldrig hørt hele albummet før, men kun de store numre som er for vilde. Skal jeg have noget med hop, så må det godt være trip-hip.

Nogle helt fantastiske tracks og nogle der bliver lidt ligegyldige.

trip-hop, downtempo (yeah I could groove to this in the lounge.) yes: 1 (definitely, banger start!),2 (another banger),4,5,7,8,9 no: maybe: 3,6 4 stars...I will listen to this album again. But I might think of skipping a couple tracks...who knows what mood I'm in.

Honestly, the album was quite dull and lifeless.

Beauty. Need more of this. Easy 5 stars.

Chill music. Good vibes

Some of the songs were quite good, but not my type of music. Very groovy and very 90s. Thought the female singer was good

Possibly an unpopular opinion, but I think this is Massive Attack's best album. It also birthed the trip hop genre. Often imitated, but never bettered. How could this possibly be anything less than a 5?

Not really my thing here wirh this one

i hated this. will try to come back sometime and like it.

i like it cause its different

really not for me. a lot of the beats felt stale and disjointed to me. the songs were fine at best. just really not my thing.

Funky grooves.

Smooth relaxing album with lot of different influences. Seems like something I would have on in the background while just relaxing at home.

Love this album. Beautiful music

Dreary rubbish

It was fine. Very 90s.

I'm generally a Massive Attack fan, though I have to admit this is a bit dated to me. But I've never actually listened to this record in sequence, so no regrets there.

3.0 to 3.5 / 5.0 Mezzanine is the group's best and most consistent album but this album has Unfinished Sympathy which is such a banger of a track. I will never not like 90's trip-hop might-as-well-be-the-amen-break drums over giant orchestra pads and I cannot be swayed from this correct opinion.

Already knew 1. Safe from Home 6. Unfinished sympathy 7/10

Not my style, was decent in the background but nothing sticks out

pretty good no real stand out songs for me

Pretty mediocre album for me, not my type of music again.

Brad, just because you played this CD when you hooked up with Stacy in your mom’s Astro Van doesn't mean it’s the best album of all time. It’s not even that good. You’re just being nostalgic.

my very first trip-hop album! very intricate production and fun electronic feel blending two genres - hip-hop and electronic music very interesting, but maybe not music that I would typically listen to

It do be kinda shit tho ngl ngl.

Some lovely trip hop with a bit of British weirdness. Recognized the "diamonds in the back" section of "Be Thankful for What You've Got" from the Ludacris song! Have always loved "Unfinished Sympathy", "Daydreaming" slapped immediately.

Not a big fan. Big 90s feel and feels very dated. None really stood out.

A nice album with good beats and a fistful of good songs at the end 7/10

2.0

Chill

War bestimmt sehr influental damals, ich bin aber nicht so großer Fan der HipHop Lyrics. Die Reggae Abschnitte mochte ich.

Musically, I like this. Singing/rapping/lyrics, less so. At first, I thought maybe it was a little dated, but was thinking dated to late-90's aesthetics. Saw that it came out in '91, so actually ahead of its time! Standout track(s): Unfinished Sympathy, Hymn of the Big Wheel

Quite chill Didn't really move me in any way The duo vocals got stale quickly It was okay, won't be adding it to my library, but it was a pleasant enough listen I give it a 3 Score chart: 5 - Adding it, and will listen to it several more times 4 - I liked it, might listen to it again a few times 3 - It was okay, worthwhile listen, not opposed to listening to it again 2 - Not my style, or just didn't hit for me, probably won't listen to it again 1 - I did not like it, unwilling to hear it again

Some great beats!

Okay

You guys have got to stop giving me albums I’ve already listened to, or I need to stop listening to so many albums.

I saw them once play live, they were good. Nothing to rave about tho. 9/10

I have a few tracks from Massive Attack off most of their albums. This one only had one I regularly keep on rotation (Safe From Harm). The rest are pretty good, though I still do hold to my opinion that collectively Massive Attack's music would be better overall as instrumentals. Their singing/rapping/spoken word isn't bad, but I don't think I've heard a track by them that made me think "Ooo this singing really elevated this song". It's usually that the song is good in *spite* of the singing

ddddddddddd

The was amazing, absolutely loved it