Blue Lines

Docela Vibe - safe from harm

very good album, very british and bristol, 3/5

Top songs: Safe from Harm, Unfinished Sympathy. 7/10

Like the music but not a fan of Shara Nelson and Horace Andy's vocals. Highlights: Blue Lines, Five Man Army, Unfinished Sympathy, Hymn of The Big Wheel.

This should probably be ranked higher, but this was my first listen.

Pretty good, will listen again sometime. First and last tracks were great. Prob like a 3.5/5

The debut album of the original trip hop group. It get's points for that, but it does sound quite dated. Not terrible by any stretch, trip hop just isn't my thing. This is a clear 3.5.

Electronic isn’t my go to genre. Again, I can appreciate it for what it is, but probably won’t revisit.

I wasn’t a big Bowie fan 40 years ago. When he died and all his music was being played on the radio, it made me think that there was more to Bowie than I had thought. I didn’t like this album much though. Jean jeanie is a classic, but even that is a bit dirgie. So, not a great album for me.

Litt opp og ned, men noen gode i blant

It’s legendary but not great

i really like massive attack usually, their music is clever and interesting, but this one is pretty week compared to other albums of them.

Very chill, something that might be nice in the background while partaking in many activities...sleeping, napping, resting, recovering from a hangover, taking a sauna/steam or during a massage. Reminiscent of early 90s Me Phi Me but more mellow overall.

Decent, chill beats. Not bad, but didn't really grab me.

It’s the type of album you can’t not bop your head to.

This is not at all what I expected. It was nice.

Just ok

Oh great! More English Electronica. /s. But the 1st song had a nice groove to it. A Portishead feel, with engaging vocals. A good start. There were a couple of other tunes that I liked. Enough to reach a 3 instead of the 2s most in the genre get from me, but short of the 4 I had hoped was possible.

Not my favorite Massive Attack, a little too trip-hoppy for me. But still a good listen.

Interesting, really eclectic

Good for what it is, but I’m not thrilled about any of it.

I feel like Trip-Hop is trying to do something but doesn't know what it wants to do. That's this album, a little bit of motion that goes nowhere.

Short n sweet. Chill as heck, can’t imagine I’ll ever listen to it again but it was enjoyable

Unique collection of tracks with consistent laid-back sound.

I had the wrong idea about this going into it. For some reason I had this group pegged as white guy indie alternative type music. So when it started off with some loops and hip hip stylings I was massively thrown off. Took a few tracks to get into this new mindset. But then I was really digging it. Then I started to come back to earth. When I got some more instrumental tracks. Maybe even fell below baseline. Overall this was kind of a Rollercoaster for me. Up and down and loop de loop. But generally I had a decent time. N9thing earth shattering or anything of the sort. Just relatively enjoyable. Though I will say I had a good laugh when the record ends with the exact thing I was so mistaken about. White guy music closer.

Nice & relaxing grooves

Beats are great - but man those lyrics and vocals are rough. As others said here…is it house, hip hop…maybe both but neither really well. The reggae vibes and sampling for the time is excellent though. Unfinished Symphony earns its stripes though

Love Massive Attack, but Mezzanine is more my vibe. This album trends toward soul/hip hop. Will add the two singles to my rotation though.

The production sounds a little dated now, but it is a cool mix of a bunch of different things, dub hip-hop, soul, reggae, etc. I like tricky the best and I think the tricky album Maxinquay and pre-millennium tension do the stuff on this better but this is still good

A couple of bangers but some mediocrity as well

Unfortunately not as good as I was expecting. Still decent.

Strong concept, very ambitious genre-wise to mix soul, reggae, electronic synths and a mellow almost whispered rapping (alongside delightful singing feature players). This is a seed of trip hop, but much like a lot of other long-standing bands, I tend to like when they’ve mutated a bit for it to resonate with me. Think the Beatles, Wilco, or Radiohead; like those bands, Massive Attack benefitted from going deeper over time and mutating the forms they were playing with to find what they needed. They got better and more focused without Tricky; in fact, Tricky also benefitted from taking up more space on his own.

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.

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

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

Meh.

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.

ok

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

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. 🤣

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.

Pretty good triphop.

enjoyable but blends together after a bit

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.

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

cool

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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)

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

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.

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

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.

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

Pretty good

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

I liked it

A bit of a groove, but too slow paced

Great 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.

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.

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

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

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.

Not my cup of tea.

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

dub dub dub

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

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.

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

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

Not doing it for me

Good album.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Very cool and very British.

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

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.

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

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.

Actually pretty good.

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.

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

Funky grooves.

Love this album. Beautiful music

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.

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

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

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!

ddddddddddd

This album came out of the gate with a massive early 90s feel. The bass, the vocals, the delay in the drums, the percussion. Felt like a theme to a cop show. Wait, was this used on the Wire? (I realise that's not 90s). I listened while doing housework, and while I have no complaints, I wasn't particulary engaged. No melody stuck out. Despite the fact my five year old son ran and got his toy microphone hoping to sing. That's never happened before! 'Unfinished Sympathy' stuck in my head a bit. I'm sure I've heard it before. But nothing else on the album was memorable. Not bad, but not memorable. 3 Stars.

Was ok. Nothing to excited you but nothing offensive. Good background music.

Not bad

Trip hop!!!! Yes!! Ok, so I’d never heard of Trip Hop before I started blazing through these 1,000+ albums. I got Tricky earlier and enjoyed his album, so I figured I might like this. It was good, though far from amazing. It did get off to a great start with Safe From Harm. That was an excellent song. Unfortunately, they threw all that momentum away with One Love, which desperately needed to be sped up a few notches. I found this one to be very boring. Most of the rest of the album was up and down. I have to say, I kind of get why Tricky decided to go solo. He’s the most interesting voice after the first song on this record. I like the vibe of this album, and it has some diverse sounds to it, but the individual songs aren’t that great, and it’s far from complete. A solid effort all the same.

very chill, background music. not my personal favorite, a solid 3/5??

Pretty whatever. Didn’t hate it

Igen mycket som låter samma men gillade detta bättre än Nebraska helt klart. Typ skön bakgrundsmusik

Wait... Massive Attack doesn't just do TV themes? Huh. Nothing really stuck me, except for the final song, Hymn of the Big Wheel. Really cool and thoughtful. 3/5

Ha, I accidentally listened to this when it was another MA album day. So I'm skipping today. Because this album sucked.

I liked it, very modern

I think, in general, trip hop has catastrophic flop potential for me - only because so much of it is trying to emulate something only Massive Attack has. Not my fav album of theirs but lightning in a bottle no less

Great middle tracks and big bangers. 90's sound to the maximum, suspect/weird lyrics, but I imagine that they are fun when out in a 90s/2000s rave.

Ok in places and I liked Unfinished Sympathy.

Great album in terms of the influence on what it was ushering in…….the trip-hop boom to follow. As a stand-alone album it illustrates a transition point. The bassline in the first track was a great sound they and others explored further. 5 man army is a great dub track and Unfinished Symphony just has its own classy uniqueness. The album also has a few of late 80s dance/soul/hip hop style influenced tracks, which was never my bag really. So it’s a bit of a mixed affair, but we know they continue to improve. Which is nice.

Good choice - Tricky is his prime!

I feel like this type of music isn't my cup of tea. This album has 9 songs so it's easy to divide it by saying 3 of these are pretty good and could easily listen to again like add to a playlist or something like that, 3 are okay, and 3 aren't sitting with me at all. Maybe another album from them or another in this sub genre of hip hop I could say something different, but I doubt it.

A couple of bangers with a mixed bag in the middle of the album.

Not aware of this band until now. Some good tunes. Uplifting sound. A good album overall.

meh

that was... a trip. Some songs I liked, some others not. But bonus points for creativity! This felt like a bunch of friends playing around with different instruments and genres

The sound of hooking up with someone in the 90s. I don't remember the big single (by Spotify numbers) "Unfinished Sympathy" at all. It's loaded to say this is by the numbers trip hop because Massive Attack punched in those numbers. I like how they create thick atmosphere about almost nothing, but I get tired of the vocals in pretty much every song. Also doing a cover of a song using samples of that song ("Be Thankful") is a real feat of postmodernism.

More palatable than Mezzanine in some regards but also less groundbreaking and memorable for those reasons. A lot of 90's stereotypical production flairs/techniques with the reverb, dub and synth layers. I don't mean to sound overly critical as there are some of their best tracks on this but it really does feel like the starting gun to their eventual seminal trip hop sound.

I enjoyed this. The electronic elements were cool. The songs were a little long for me and there wasn’t a big pay off or huge song I was blown away by.

Introspective and good quality. title track on was where it really got going for me.

the groove of the night is the dance of the heart

Pretty good

I'm not a fan of electronica but this had a little soul and kind of worked for me. It was enjoyable enough for a review listen but I won't return to this. 2.5/5

I enjoyed listening to this. Very entertaining.

Actually ended up enjoying this, really liked the last song

Jajaja, easy mentig morge rege home office album. Flutscht im hintergrund, meisten legere, meistens nöd am stresse. Aber s album rüehrt eim ez au nöd us de socke oder es litzt au kei ärmel ume oder susch was. Das heisst nach de klassische Album Klub 3er formle: jawol 3 Dezenti quaulquappe

Some pretty groovy tunes. Didn't totally grab me but not a bad listen.

Solid. I don't think I like it as much as a lot of people seem to - it seems to kind of drone on, and the album finale is literally terrible. But, it's a very enjoyable listen with a lot of groove and a lot of hits. Makes me feel like I'm in the Matrix. Perhaps the closest I'll ever get to liking reggae. Fave songs: - Safe From Harm - Blue Lines - Five Man Army - Unfinished Sympathy - Daydreaming

I like the mix of genres, I think it works well. It’s an ok album overall, just now really my thing. I really liked Shara Nelson vocals tho

Just not remotely my thing. I was bored to tears! 2.5

Tengo muchos sentimientos encontrados con este album. En cuanto a lo bueno, massive attack consigue un sonido propio y característico, lo cual tiene mucho mérito. Lo de que canten como 5 personas diferentes en un mismo album como solistas también es original y hace que sea entretenido. Como música de fondo para ganar aura es la polla, o para estar haciendo otra cosa de mientras. Lo malo es que se hace bastante repetitivo (a pesar de lo de los cantantes). Son canciones muy tranquilas y completamente anti estructurales. No hay partes, es el beat y ya. Como escucha activa es un coñazo vamos. En cuanto a la puntuación dudo mucho. No me dio la sensación suficiente para 4 estrellas, pero puede que objetivamente si. Nose 6,9/10—3/10

album cover giving whmis

Interesting listen and a genre defining album, just didn't really hit for me.

Its not 100% my cup of tea but its definitely a groundbreaking new sound for electronic music and hip hop. Bridges the gap between a lot sounds and in turn would influence an entire generation of producers to come. The songs are mellow, the vibes are there but it just didn't quite do enough for me. I feel bad giving something this innovative a 3 but yeah it ain't Mezzanine just yet. Favourites - Safe From Harm, Be Thankful For What You've Got, Unfinished Sympathy

6'5/10

This album has value as ambient / background noise like seemingly so many of the albums on this list. (Maybe thats a consequence of having only 1 day to absorb?) The opening song sounds so much like 311 I had to check the queue to make sure I hadn't erred. All said, I liked the variety of vocal styles but not something I could see myself listening to much in the future. 3/5

One good, a lot of fillers

it was okay. nothing special for me

I liked this more than I expected but nothing super memorable.

Generally too cool for me, but I liked it okay.

This album has a unique and consistent sound plus some interesting ideas, but it doesn’t speak much to me. British music started going in some weird directions from the 80s onward. Best song: Be Thankful for What You’ve Got

I love massive attack but this album just isn't that good. Pails in comparison to Mezzanine.

I actually really enjoyed this one. Solid relaxing tracks. Perfect for the Monday back after break! 7.3/10

Instrumental for trip-hop. That’s about it.

Already a fan, but I think I prefer Mezzanine - more trip, less hop.

Trip hop is definitely the gateway end of hip hop for me. This was listenable and I even recognised a few tracks.b might listen again.

Preferred this to Protection. Unfinished Sympathy is so good

Moins un coup de coeur que Heligoland, mais bon! Plus campé dans son époque (90s), le hip hop le scratch.. en même temps Blue Lines est sorti bien avant, en 1991, ça devait être très innovateur à l'époque Des tones peaufinés clairement, exemple le son de snare dans la premiere track Safe from Harm, les sons de snare en général! Clairement recherchés. Fun fact wiki sur la page de MA : "Chaque album est enrichi par de très nombreuses collaborations et la participation systématique de Horace Andy." Chanteur de reggae jamaicain. Dans Blue Lines : Five Man Army, pièces clairement inspirée des codes du reggae

These trip-hop beats and British rapping/singing are so 90's; while they feel dated at times once I was on the album's wavelength I overall enjoyed it.

3.4 - I like massive attack, but maybe I just thought it lacked a bit of depth

Didn't really get a lot from this, quite disappointed. Unfinished Sympathy stood out, and a lot of other songs fine, but mostly I found the dub tracks uninspiring. 3.2/5

Deserves to be on the list I just didn't like it at all.

One time listen

I love Massive Attack but have mostly listened to their later albums. This was great but felt a bit dated.

alright

I wasn't too big on some of the vocals on this album but for the most part I enjoyed it, there was some really good funky instrumentation up in here.

Mezzanine is the true classic

Some songs were groovy, but a lot of them had a rhythm/instrumentation that made me antsy

Medio punk, medio reggae y medio hip hop. Zarpado. Mejor canción: Unfinished sympathy. Varias canciones me resultaron medio aburridas.

My 2nd favorite Massive Attack album, but it's a big jump from here to Mezzanine at #1. Good album though, probably more like 3.5/5

I feel so guilty not loving this record given how much people have tried to get me to get into it so much. I do really like Mezzanine, but the featured vocals are just not doing it for me as much as I expected

Had heard good thinks about MA..Just didn’t feel it. Not bad but just meh IMO

Considering this is the first trip hop album and Massive Attack have attracted a large dedicated fan base, I guess I was expecting more. It felt underwhelming, but there wasn't anything that made me dislike it or annoyed me, so in many ways that's a win. The beats are chill and the rapping was right on, it was enjoyable enough to keep my interest, at least until the end. Nothing on here will be life-changing or inspire me to seek out more Massive Attack. Overall, it's solidly, a definite maybe.

Second 1991 album in a row (after Blood Sugar Sex Magick) and second midfest in a row too. On my birth year of all things. Yawn. Also, two Massive Attack albums Jeremy? You must be insane.

I like it… there are some great beats and melodies, but it does sound of it’s time and that time is kind of silly to me.

A pretty chill album. I didn't realize these guys invented trip hop. Definitely an album ahead of its time. It's a good album, and I can see why people like it. Kind of like lowkey background music though. Not sure it draws much emotion from me, though it's definitely a mood. 3/5

Quite good.

Some tracks are too repetitive for me but that is normal for the genre. Definitely a vibe and you gotta be in it to enjoy it.

Electro/House/EDM, whatever you want to call it, is either really, really good, or repetitive as all get out.

3 - too slow

I've listened to Mezzanine a few times as it's on of my dad's favourite albums, though I've never checked out their other stuff. Hoping it's of similar quality though I'm guessing as it's much earlier in their career, this one might be a step down. Expecting something trippy and hypnotic, yet something that stays focused and consistent at the same time. Really looking forward to this one. Safe From Harm Has an interesting atmosphere to it. I like the looping bass. The female vocals are very solid. I'm not too sure about the male vocals, they seem very of the time. I really like the some of the production choices on here, like the vocal layering and the clever stops before the chorus. The higher pitched synth almost sounds like a radar beep which adds an almost aquatic feel to the track. Decent. 3.5/5 One Love Yeah the production sure is interesting, though the horn sample is a bit distracting. Don't love the singer's voice, sort of takes some smoothness away from the track. The piano near the end is a pretty excellent way to end the track. Average. 2.5/5 Blue Lines Really don't like the record scratches. The jazzy piano sounds really good. The entire track remains jazzy and smooth throughout, I really like the subtle guitar in the background. The vocals are fine, I do like the back and forth quite a bit. They are however a bit repetitive. Has a great moody atmosphere. Decent. 3.5/5 Be Thankful For What You Got Great groove, love the bass and organ. Love the singer's voice, goes really well with the production. Mediocre lyrics. The backing singers sound a bit weak. Some cool percussion at times. Decent. 3.5/5 Five Man Army I like the dub like bassline. Great percussion. Awesome synthline. I like the background vocals quite a bit. They add a lot of atmosphere and dynamism to the track. Does lose quite a bit of focus near the end, feels like it's just going through the same few bars without really adding anything of interest, though the groove is still quite good. Decent. 3.5/5 Unfinished Sympathy The large cinematic strings add a lot of texture to the song. Decent percussion. The vocals are performed really well. It's very impressive. how they've made this very stylized vocal performance work with the chaotic production. Love the string arrangement, feels like the two different parts run paralell to each other. Good. 4/5 Daydreaming The drum pattern is quite infectious. Very dated sounding rapping, the rhyme schemes are kinda bad and the references don't quite hit. Boring flows make for a monotonous listening experience. Pleasant vocal, but not enough to save the track. Dislike. 2/5 Lately Incessantly average beat. Hollow and uncharismatic with very little interesting going on. The vocals are well performed, but not special enough to keep this interesting. Boring and unsatisfying. Dislike. 2/5 Hymn Of The Big Wheel The synths are pretty retro, I like the warm sound they provide to the track. I like the imagery presented in the lyrics of the track. The singer does a good job bringing them to life with a spirited and passionate performance. Well crafted and atmospheric. Good. 4/5 Am I wrong to be a bit disappointed with this one? It feels a bit sparse, like every track is missing something to make it stand out. I didn't find it neither trippy nor hypnotic and while the production is good it's never mindblowingly clever like I sort of expected it to be. Record scratches plague this album, making it really show its age. The rapping comes off as samey and honestly a bit goofy at times. And while most of the tracks have outstanding atmosphere I can't help but feel they sound a bit empty. Where this album shines best is with how they choose to work around the various vocal styles. They pick unexpected combinations of basslines, synths and percussive elements and build a composition that never is obvious, but tends to work really well with the vocals. I do like the mesh of styles. Dub, soul, reggae and hip hop are examples of genres they blend uniquely with electronic electronic elements to create a consistent and recognizable style. In the end you get a bit of a mixed bag, where you can tell it was pretty revolutionary for its time. However it does feel quite dated and a bit unsatisfying, especially considering the quality of their later work. In the end it's just fine with a few tracks worth revisiting every now and then. 3/5

I had very little experience with Massive Attack before this album. I only ever heard one track from them, which I love, Teardrop. So I had a vague idea what I what I was getting into. It mostly fit into the box of what I anticipated. Blue Lines being their debut album and 7 years before Teardrop, was definitely Massive Attack in the raw. Unpolished and eager to show the world their creations. For that, I can see why it’s on this list. A forerunner of the genre in it budding stages. What I didn’t see coming was the bad attempts at rapping. I know it was 1991, but by this time De La Soul, Tribe, Ice Cube, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, amongst many others had all elevated the lyrical game years earlier. The lyricism and flows on these songs is bad and a bit disappointing. This record could have been a strong 4 of the script read more like the strong trip hop, trance, with easy flowing female vocals. I was loving those tracks. And the beats in the rapping tracks were all great beats, just ruined by the vocals. It’s like having an original Monet and drawing one of those S’s where you connect the 6 hash lines to create a pointy “wannabe graffiti” S right over top of the masterpiece. 6.6/10 #64/1001

This is not my favorite album from Massive Attack, but it's not bad. Unfinished symphony is by far my favorite song off of this album. Overall a solid album, just not my first choice.

Cool vibe. Had heard Safe From Harm before, not the rest. Dig the style.

Mouef. Très quali mais pas mon del

Too many songs sound the same. That electronic drum beat gets old after a while.

honorable 3

Pre-listening thoughts: no idea who this band is or what to expect from their sound. Going in blind Post/during listening thoughts: immediately got scared by a record scratching sound effect in the first song. It was like right in my ear and I deadass thought someone was clawing at my door or something. I'm one song in but I can tell this is going to be a three. It's kind of like that Everything But the Girl album. meh whatever elevator music 5/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: no Fav tracks: Unfinished Sympathy Least fav tracks: One Love

Good album to work to, catch a vibe in the background. Different than what I expected from the band name, and after listening to metal this week.

Nothing here should make your ears bleed, either literally or metaphorically.

Enjoyed the album when it came out. Don’t find it so exciting now.

One of those albums on here for pioneering a new genre but it's never been my thing. Unfinished Sympathy is the highlight. 2.5/5. Raising to 3.

Bueno

A classic, sure—but Blue Lines now sounds like it belongs in a ’90s museum. Influential, yes. Timeless, no. Dated sounds rarely makes for great records. This one’s just a fine one.

7/10?

Lots of catchy songs, but that's not necessarily meaning you'll have a good experience. The tracks with Shara Nelson are the highlight. Other vocalists are misses. I don't REALLY get trip-hop/downtempo, but guess this must have sounded mental in 1991.

Pretty good but not my fav album

Good fun.

Semmonen kiva.

Enjoyed the hits, but the rest don't stick that much.

I expected more from this album.

interesting listen.

As far as trip hop goes, this isn’t too bad. Unfinished symphony is incredible. Preferred the female vocalist tbh.

Trip hop or whatever they call it??? The drums are just immaculate, grabbed me in as soon as the album started. Vocals are also very nice as well :) Really in the border between a 3 and 4, flipped a coin at it landed tails so it’s a 3

Impressive trip hop album, I found it a bit boring though.

Very unique, not all good but none outright bad

Rentouttava ja kiinnostava kokoelma kilisevää jumputusta

*Blue Lines*, the debut album by the Bristol trip-hop group Massive Attack starts off unpromisingly with a couple of repetitive jams that go nowhere, but hits its footing with third track "Blue Lines" where Tricky rhymes over a well-constructed beat reminiscent of A Tribe Called Quest. After digressing with a well-executed cover of "Be Thankful For What You've Got" (whose robust chord progression casts the lesser songs in an unfavorable light), the album heads back into hip-hop territory with the strong but overlong "Five Man Army". The album's centerpiece, "Unfinished Sympathy", features dramatic chords, a compelling lead vocal from Shara Nelson and a complex beat, all of which gels into a sophisticated whole. "Daydreaming" is a solid track has Tricky on the mic again, with vocal embellishments by Nelson. "Lately" finds the album retreating back into a repetitive groove that never reaches escape velocity. Closing track "Hymn Of The Big Wheel" takes an unexpectedly upbeat turn but feels misplaced after the darker tone of the rest of the album. 3

Favorite Track: Be Thankful For What You've Got

I enjoyed a few songs, casually liked the album but it’s not something I would have on repeat. Regardless, it’s cool and reading the wiki entry gave historic context that made the listening experience really nice.

Didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. Was expecting something akin to Mezzanine and it just didn’t really get there. Felt very much like a product of its time.

First listen. Fairly solid album but nothing overly inspiring to me. Considered the first trip hop album. I do like that vibe to chill out to, so thank you for that.

Pretty enjoyable album. I liked it.

Acid jazz was not my jam in 1991, and trip hop isn’t my favorite now by any stretch. But I can recognize the importance of this album as the originator of the sound and genre. For that it gets an extra star: 3⭐️

It was pretty good, a little repetitive

Heerlijk die triphop vibe. En heb ook wel het gevoel dat ze hier zoekende waren naar welk geluid aan slaat. Het is een thin line tussen beetje lome (en saaie) achtergrond muziek of een perfecte jam voor over de festival weides. Unfinished Sympathy is echt super raak. Door de beats en de stem van Shara Nelson. De samenwerkingen zijn sowieso een belangrijke factor op dit album. De lyrics geven net dat extra stukje spanning om de songs interessant te maken. Geslaagd gepionier. 7,5/10 Highlights Blue Lines Thankful for what you've got (toch wel goud zo'n cover ineens halverwege) Unfinished Sympathy

Fun album, but not as memorable as I'd like it to be, and I don't care much for it either.

Never consciously heard trip hop. Till today. The opening track and Shara Nelson’s voice blew me away. What a powerful voice! I was a bit sad when I saw that she is not on every song. The song Unfinished Sympathy is incredible! What a gem - and this album gets one star for just this incredible track alone. Hymn of the Big Wheel is amazing as well. 3/5 stars because I did not always enjoy the dudes‘ voices and their rapping. It felt a bit corny and too forced. But this record is still worth remembering.

This doesn’t sound like electronica and hip hop had a child. Rather, it sounds like they thought about having a child, but were too tired so they just went to bed. Despite how painfully boring this is, it gets +1 star for the Fiddler On The Roof Episode eference. Favorite Track: Daydreaming

I did not enjoy the beginning of this album very much. It felt flat and empty. As the album went on, some of the tracks started to spark my interest, namely Be Thankful For What You’ve Got and Unfinished Symphony. Hymn of the Big Wheel was a great closer. But at the end of the day I’m not a huge fan of hip hop from England, and it hurt the overall score.

I think I'm a Massive Attack 'Greatest Hits' kinda guy. The stuff of theirs I love, I really love, but there is also a lot of meh.

Interesting to decide what genre this album fits into. Fine.

3.5

Pretty cool, but if I’m being honest I’d probably prefer the instrumental version of this album, even if not by much.

Bristol, Regne Unit, 1991. Fa una dècada que l'escena underground bristolenca està en auge. La manca de clubs que difonguin música mainstream hip-hop ha fet que, des de finals del anys 80, una escena cultural pròpia emergeixi a la ciutat per a suplir-ne la mancança. El breakbeat, l'acid house, la cultura del graffittii del clubing, el dub i el reggae impregnen els carrers de la ciutat. Blue Lines és de Massive Attack és una sintesi d'aquest fenòmen. El que m'ha agradat d'aquest disc és arribar, a través d'ell, a músics que he trobat interessants i captivadors. D'aquí les tres estrelles.

This new-to-me band gives me mixed feelings. It’s a blend of electronic, ska and hip hop, which produces a cool sound. Some tracks, like the closer Big Wheel, are great. Some just miss. And some are a little tiring. But overall I kind of liked it.

I'd describe this as a "cool" sound, especially considering that it came out in 1991. It is neither overly complex nor too pop-ishly simple, but covers a lot of the ground between those types of production. It has some funk elements and unique technique, but also has the hooks and stylings of songs that would play on the radio today. Overall, a fun listen, though I don't know that I'd say I love it or that it was my favorite. Overall: 3.5/5

Not going to lie, I was expecting punk rock but instead had my first brush with trip hop. There were a few songs I really liked, some were okay, and others I never want to hear again.

Super Album zum Aftern!

Not bad. Okay.

The right kind of moody.

safe from harm- 5 one love- 5 blue lines- be thankful for what you got- 5 five man army- 5 unfinished sympathy- 5 daydreaming- 5 lately- 5 hymn of the big wheel- 5

I liked this better than I thought I would. It is electronica but with funky undertones that make it a moderately fun listen.

Based on the name, I thought this would be a blistering punk band. This wasn’t bad at all. 1001 album worthy: Yes - 57/106

the integration of reggae sounds keeps this more interesting than a lot of its ilk and i am on the record as a fan of Mezzanine but overall it's kind of in one ear, out the other for me. not bad, but a little droney and, perhaps only to my untrained ear, a little monotonous. side note just because it made me realize but: why does the book have two massive attack albums to this day, but gorillaz only had their self titled album make it in, and even that eventually got removed?

i just find it so funny when british people rap

Pleasant, but not a fave. The openers are both standouts: „Unfinished Sympathy“ is key track on side 2, „Safe from Harm“ also good, opening side 1, while some of the other stuff is instantly forgettable. Massive Attack produce a unique sound, but there's too much MCing going on. I prefer singing. „Mezzanine“ is a much better album.

Starts great, ends weird.

honestly this album was a bit too boring for me. cool soul and funk samples though. from the opening bass line, i kept waiting for safe from harm to finally do the da-dum guitar riff from the verses of war pigs, but it never came (unless you count the little part around 1:34). tragic. i didn't know this was considered the first trip hop album but nice, historical significance! too bad i don't really care for the trip hop that came after it. also, this might just be a me problem, but whenever i imagine a musical group called Massive Attack, i assume from their name that they're going to be hardcore or some flavor of metal. not so, it turns out. favorites: safe from harm, unfinished sympathy, hymn of the big wheel

Solid album, one of the pioneers of the genre. There are some great beats and sounds on here, everything is nicely produced. The album is an easy listen, you can put it on it the background and chill. Having said that, there's nothing too special or stand-out for me on this.

This one had me Daydreaming.

I'm not really a fan of one particular member's voice (the main vocalist on "One Love"), but I do like the other members' vocals and the instrumentals here.

Track listing : 1 - Safe From Harm 9/10 2 - One Love 6/10 3 - Blue Lines 4/10 4 - Be Thankful For What You’ve Got 7/10 5 - Five Man Army 3/10 6 - Unfinished Sympathy 8/10 7 - Daydreaming 6/10 8 - Lately 7/10 9 - Hymn Of The Big Wheel 8/10

Not what I was expecting but still a decent listen. Unfinished symphony is an absolute classic 3.5*

I can’t seem to find how Trip Hop can be anything better than ‘nice to listen to’. What turns me off a lot of Massive Attack and Portishead songs is the vocals, whether it’s Tricky’s slimy in-your-ear talking or Beth Gibbons’ strange intonations. I can certainly appreciate the instrumentation, those low undertones providing a great base (and indeed bass) for layering sounds. Whether it’s demonstrated to such an effect that I’d come back to this for a second listen (which seems to have been enjoyable for those who have, as per my browsing of discussions related to this), I don’t know. I don’t find myself wanting to put on a Massive Attack album, as much as I’d like to think I would. This formula only really works on the obvious standout, Unfinished Sympathy. That subtly layered combination of strings, drums and cowbells (?) makes it take off in a way that no other songs on the album seem to match. Great, but not exceptional. Which seems to be a theme in this list.

not bad, not great. not really my cup of tea, but I will say for an early 90's electronic album, its chillin. I know a lot of the stuff that came out around that time was super heavy, industrial sounding. this wasn't quite that, and it was a fine listen.

Really nice to have on in the background while you're doing something else. Chill beats, cool vibes, and super British rappers. Would definitely come back to a couple songs, and might even keep it in reserve for music to play while hanging around the house.

Ok but not really my thing, a bit backgroundy

Whoa so good! I knew of Massive Attack before mostly from their 1998 album, Mezzanine, especially the track Teardrop.Although I had never sat down to listen to a whole album, nor their earlier work.

3/5

Massive Attack is one of those artists I've wanted to get deeper into their discography, I already love Mezzanine and every other song I've heard from their albums has always been really enjoyable, yet I never got myself to check their music out more. I had known beforehand that Blue Lines was quite different from Mezzanine in being, I guess the day to Mezzanine's night, it doesn't feel nearly as mechanical or like a city in the dead of night but instead like walking in a downtown area at 4 pm. It's interesting too to see how this really is their hip hop album in a way that makes me understand why one of the members of this eventually left the band once they shifted sound, it's just got a warmer, more approachable sound if you enjoy more hip hop or dub and I think that gives it a very unique feel to it. I don't love it but I do think I'll keep coming back to Safe From Harm, Daydreaming, Lately and obviously Unfinished Sympathy.

3.5 good to know where they came from but don't have much desire to come back to it. latter half is actually more interesting than the first! favorite track was Daydreaming

freumi! us irgeme grund han ich immer s gfühl gha, sie mached iwelche industrial sound? ich han glaub immernanif nahgluegt, was trip hop genau uusmacht, aber ich liebs jedes mal! ahhh s erste trip hop album ja das macht sich nöd schlecht im CV safe from harm hani super gfunde vo one love bini nanig ganz überzügt ich tuns natürlich ih mim chopf mit dummy vergliche - und das album isch blue lines scho um einiges voruus, was atmosphäre ahbelangt five man army isch jz nöd soo mis, aber d drums findi sehr cool ui unfinished sympathy isch wie wartemusig amene corporate event🫣 jaa also big wheel isch na cool I guess? aber leider isch das album ähnlich wie de ahgeblich suizid vom epstein: hetmi wenig überzügt. ich glaub es gäbt es 2 aber das album het trilwiis dezue biitreit, dass es dummy git, drum 3 blue lines schlenderte, so dummy could run

Like it. Bit different to what i was expecting

Alright

This is not really my genre, but I hummed along the whole time and generally had a pretty decent time. The melodies were nice and the production quality was excellent. Three stars.

I think I like other Massive Attack albums better

It's just fine I should probably be really impressed by the production esp. given the time I wouldn't change the station But nothing is moving me

Not for me, but definitely for other people and probably relevant.

It's good, but it's not Mezzanine-good

I hadn't heard this before and admittedly it didn't move me as much as Mezzanine, which I love, but I feel like it will grow on me over time. I liked it a lot but it didn't totally stick - but I like that early trip hop sound with some seriously soulful vocals... I can tell it's influential!!

Cool blend of different sounds and genres!

i really dont know much about these guys nor do i care ... but i guess they're banksy ? lol

Pretty good

well, i can dance to this but its still mid 3/5

I had some difficulty grasping what's going in with this Trip Hop album. There's R&B, Soul, Hip-Hop, Electronica and even Reggae. Overall IT feels very weird and ambient while quietly seeping in when you are going about it.

Music was solid, didn’t love the singing

Some catchy jams. Made me want to revisit them. 3 star.

Electronic -> drone but with nice lyrical singer sometimes

Some great tracks, but hasn't aged well in my opnion.

Was pretty surprised by this, it was enjoyable with some nice beats and samples. Favourite tracks: Safe From Harm, One Love & Unfinished Symphony. Would listen again. 3/5

Strange, like Stevie wonder

I have read this is a pioneering album… the first trip hop album. The lack of a varied Musical landscape makes me lose interested quickly in each song. All sounds nice but no need to hear it again

Eh

Some cool stuff here