Blue Lines

I’m a BIG Massive Attack fan. This is certainly not their best album, so if this one isn’t for you don’t count them out. I love the elevator music, Euro-rap, and R&B elements that this album blends into a delightful song smoothie. This is one also of the first bands that I bonded with my step-dad over. These songs will always hold a special place in my heart and singing along will always add a special kind of joy to my day. And Tricky is fucking incredible. So there’s also that.

Very grovy! Liked the variety of musical genres and overall vibe. Would listen to it again

#482 Perfect, no notes. Heard before? ✅ Would I revisit? ✅ Listen before you die? ✅ Fave track(s): Unfinished Sympathy; Daydreaming; Safe from Harm Rating: 10/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of my all time favs, when I first heard it blew me away and massive attack would go to make some other great albums but I think this is my fav of theirs, amazing beats amazing vocals just a beautiful chilled out experience, classic and glad it made it on this list

“I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me to see me looking back at you” Well here’s 5 stars looking back at you, Rob ‘3D’ Del Naja (if that is your real name, or maybe it is Banksy!). What a bloody fantastic album. Get rid of the Union Jack. Get the album cover of this as our flag instead. Such a bloody fantastic album. You got the invention of trip-hop here and the blueprint for all future music that is cool and snazzy. Super choice 70s soul, funk and jazz fusion crate-digging from the likes of Billy Cobham Spectrum, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Isaac Hayes. Chill, reflective, anti-gang, anti-bravado raps from the Wild Bunch gang. Shara Nelson laying on the thick sweet soul. Horace Andy laying on the thick sweet reggae vibes. The beats are so clinical and precise and the turntabling from producer Andrew Mushroom Vowles is virtuosic throughout - Hendrix mixed with Picasso. Virtually every track is genius but in particular Safe From Harm is total slam dunk opener, a helluva starter for ten and Unfinished Sympathy is one of the most moving songs of the 90s decade, a personal favourite. A few extra random tidbits about this album. - During the time that the singles from album were charting Massive Attack had to censor their name by shortening it to Massive because of the Gulf War. - Massive hadn’t budgeted to pay for the 40-piece orchestra at Abbey Road that plays on Unfinished Sympathy so Andrew Mushroom Vowles had to sell his Mitsubishi Shogun. - A good chunk of the album was recorded in Neneh Cherry’s Cherry Bear home studio which had nappies trapped in the air vent which caused it to smell like ‘The Poo Room’. Blue Lines is also the indication on a nappy that it is wet and needs changing.

love massive attack easy 5 stars !!! Goes so hard

Spectacular album. One of my favorites.

Unfinished symphony is actually too good

Background music. Nothing more.

Year zero for ‘back to mine’ chill out vibes or recovering from a lagger lad Brit Pop piss up. Iconic.

Очень хороший, слушабельный, интересный альбом 8/10

First song opens with Safe From Harm which has a hypnotic bass line to nod your head to and get buckled in. Hints of Rasta sprinkled throughout the album against the backdrop of sleek trip hop that massive attack are known for. Standout song is still Unfinished Symphony for me with Shara Nelson’s strong vocals and a gripping percussive melody in the forefront. Individually each the songs of the album are good which makes for a great album.

I guess I can see why this album has its place in music history, but it just isn't for me. There's some interesting stuff going on musically, but the songs never really build toward anything. The production has its moments, but I found myself losing interest more often than not. It's not unpleasant to listen to and would work perfectly well as background music, but nothing here makes me want to come back for another listen.

I don't know how you do it, Robert. Electronica's my favorite genre. This should have been an easy A, and then I'd have simply moved on with my day. And yet, you've somehow managed to once again find that which just doesn't work for me. I gave this a couple listens, and I honestly don't get it. It's too boring to be catchy, and it's too busy to be chill. The lyrics are lame, and the beats are weak. I can't think of a single itch this would ever scratch. This appears to be well-rated, so maybe it's just me. After reading the wiki, I found a possible pattern in the data: Tricky. I also pretty much hated 'Maxinquaye' (giving it a 2 only because of Alison Goldfrapp's guest appearance); so maybe our vibes just aren't compatible. Who knows... This probably doesn't deserve it, and there are so, SO many other things on this list that are worse, but I'm giving this a 1 anyway. I really, really didn't like it.

Not everything on this hit for me, but a lot of it did. Saved this for a revisit, and to listen to more of their work when I have the spare time.

While I am morally opposed to British people rapping I can't deny that this is very good music. Hate the sin, not the sinner.

It will forever confuse me why this is considered better than Protection? It's definitely more dated sounding, and I'm not really digging Horace Andy's vocals on this one (Although he doesn't really bother me on Mezzanine much). A little too much 90's R&B vibes, not enough of the darker trip hop vibes that were on Protection or Mezzanine. Decent album, just not really for me.

Own this one but not necessarily something i listen to a lot. Unfinished Sympathy is the big track and it really is superb..totally deserving if its status. However the much less played Hymn For The Big Wheel is equally wonderful. The other 7 tracks don't quite match that standard with Safe From Harm probably being my third favourite.

Blandar soul och reggae. Bakgrundsmusik. Känner igen Unfinished Sympathy, den och Safe From Harm känns bäst.

I liked thid one more than i thought i would, very nice vibes to it!

This might be my favorite English electronic music so far! Esp. the start of the album. :)

Massive Attack - Blue Lines Full of menace, dissociation and suspicion. The way each track is constructed from repeating motifs in bass and beats, with brief stabs of instrumentation never allows you to be 'comfortable'. I guess that's the point. Then the vocals - Sahara Nelson like some kind of ethereal Mother Superior gliding over it all and providing sumptuous focus. But for me it is the tracks featuring the angelic voice of Horace Andy, holding court and bringing reason, that really make this. There are some dips. The title track and Be Thankful not up to the standards set elsewhere. Best Track - Yes, Unfinished Sympathy is a perfect 5 seconds of classy, unsurpassed pop urgency that never tires. But the one that I always keep coming back to is Hymn of the Big Wheel. Something about Horace Andy's lyric just connects, over a hypnotic, spinning, looping soundtrack. Worst Track - Be Thankful. 8.5/10

2.5

Influential, but a bit boring. 3 stars

I don't fully get the love for this album. There are some later Massive Attack songs I like, but this one seems more dated that groundbreaking. "Unfinished Sympathy" is cool, but a lot of it doesn't seem much different from the dance pop that was coming out in the late 80s. Light 3 stars.

Canny aye

Love this album. Favorite tracks: Unfinished Symphony, Be Thankful for What You Got

It was fine

I know it's an important album, I just don't really like it.

Nice for background music

Cudo

A pain to get through for me sounds like the kinda album your vaguely racist uncle asks you “now why don’t they make hip hop like this anymore this was good”. Found it a bit annoying.

first song very good, rest very mid

(I can't be assed to write really long notes anymore unless the album is mind-blowing) Great album with really cool beats and I really appreciate it for being so influential for trip-hop but unfortunately I felt like it dragged on a little and that none of the tracks were really similar in quality to Unfinished Sympathy. Favorite track: Unfinished Sympathy Least favorite track: One Love

Kinda getting tired of this genre…

4.75. Got to give it a 5. A complete album

Is this great? I'm not sure. Definitely very good though - I was happy to listen to it on a morning off from work.

Some cool base lines and some of it was kinda cool. But most of it was not.

The birth of trip-hop for many critics. You know that it’s embryonic, but it’s groundbreaking on the other hand. It was a cool listen. There’s some really good songs on that record for sure. 3/5. Safe From Harm: 3,5 One Love: 3 Blue Lines: 2 Be Thankful For What You've Got: 3,5 Five Man Army: 3 Unfinished Sympathy: 5 Daydreaming: 3 Lately: 4 Hymn Of The Big Wheel: 3

Im not sure if I found the right album, because all were tilted remix or mix. Anyways a pleasant listen overall, mixing downtempo with hip hop and reggae, it was nice. Safe from Harm was especially good. 3.7/5

6,50 Buen album, pero nada que destacar. Algunos temas mejores que otros, unos bastante pj, pero buen nivel en general

Great music, love the samples and nods to pop culture songs. This was released during my formative years, but is a style of music I only came to appreciate after adolescence. I can hear the influence in Portishead, one of my favorite bands, though they're all cited as pioneers. Bonus points for their political, environmental, and human rights activism.

Interesting mellow jams.

huge fan of them. objectively, this isn't my favorite album of theirs and listening today it hasn't aged quite as well. But this album spawned a whole genre and was so innovative at the time.

I find the lyrical messaging of this album and it’s more relaxed and electronic hip-hop production to go great together. There are some songs that kinda go on in a direction I’m not too fond of but as a whole piece this album is great. I really love the contributions from Horace Andy on this with the tracks he contributes on being clear highlights for me. Fav tracks: Safe from Harm, blue lines, Be thankful for what you got, five man army, and Hymn of the big wheel

nada me agradou

They say this was the first "triphop" album. Chill, lofi beats. 3.2/5 Favorite Songs: Safe From Harm Be Thankful For What You've Got Unfinished Symphony

I really liked this and it's much better than some of the other Massive Attack I've heard (which can get a bit too easy listening for me). Liked it enough to give a repeat listen. Especially love Tricky.

If it’s the precise moment that the 80s ticked over into the 90s, decadeologists don’t have to look much further than Blue Lines. A song like “Daydreaming” sounds enough like Neneh Cherry for it to be something a person could conceivably wear polyester near to, while also sounding completely drenched in that particular kind of antagonism that all cultural products properly native to the 90s had to. This album was its time, made its time, still sounds outside of time. It’s a towering achievement in the same way Babel was.

나쁘지않음

The music is very cool and I can hear the influence they may have had on future bands like Thievery Corp, but I hated almost all of the singing/vocals/raps on this. They really rubbed me wrong and don't mesh well with the music for me. I love the electronic tripped out funk sound of the music though!

Groovy and pioneering, a nice chill album that kickstarted one of my favorite genres.

Still one of the coolest albums ever. Blue Lines is a part of my DNA.

Unfinished Sympathy does the heavy lifting here.

This is so 90s

dope sound, loved the mix of vocals on the songs

Parece um compilado de músicas de departamento dos anos 80/90. Me sinto jogando GTA San Andreas, provando roupa pro CJ dentro da Binco por horas quando tinha uns 10 anos.

Put Bristol on the map Chilled and thoughtful sound

I mean, one of my favourite albums ever: a desert island pick in the song 5 Man Army and an absolute banger in Unfinished Symphony.

you’re the book that I have opened and now I’ve got to KNOW MUCH MOOOOOOOOOOOOORE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

dub is massive

100% must listen classic

Nice.

Heard it before. I still can't believe their first 2 albums are on the list but not Mezzanine. Blue Lines is fun too though, Unfinished Sympathy is an absolutely massive (no pun intended) banger. Can't have a bad time listening to Massive Attack 3/5

Never heard this before but really enjoyed it. 4.5/5

interessant und abwechslungsreich

Yes

mega gutes album was für eine Mischung der gernes bin paff für trip-hop die mischung zwischen elektrische musik,downtempo,hip-hop, dub und reggae absolut wegweisend für das gerne

2/5 - Not that good, it was alright. Had a very long break of listening to these daily albums.

Not sure what this is but will check it out. Sounds like will be different. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s old school beats with some good vocals early on. Kinda like a soulful funk vibe at times. Definitely interesting as a sound. Enjoying it when it has that more soulful sound and vocals than the rapping. Some of the vocals are really good and work with that lowkey hip hop backing. Not sure what really stood out as an individual track but it more than kept my attention and entertained me a good amount. I’ll go 3.

A change of pace. Home to the fantastic Unfinished Sympathy, Blue Lines sounds simultaneously of its time and current. Timeless.

not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue

As a long-time trip hop and Massive Attack fan, I'm glad to see this on the list. Blue Lines may not be as good as Mezzanine, but it was still an obligatory inclusion as the album that basically invented trip hop. It's a great record, no argument about that. Groovy, soulful, and trippy at the same time, it was miles ahead of its time in 1991. I've listened to it many times and will probably return to it again in the future. However, it's still far from the depth and complexity Massive Attack would achieve later on. And as with many pioneering works, it hasn't aged perfectly ; you can feel that the production was still in a trial-and-error phase. It remains a wonderfully creative debut album with a unique mood and personality, though, and it's probably my second favourite after Mezzanine. I like the fact that it stays close to its hip hop roots, while later albums would stray further into electronica territory. Subjectively speaking, I'd rate it a 4* or a 4,5*, but I'll bump it up out of nostalgia and because of its milestone status. 8+1/10

I had the CD, probably a gift and even at that time it took long fo it to grow on me. Nowadays I have a kind of fondess but can't deny a loack of substance. For instance I love teh bassline of LATELY. There this expectation and the sought after resolution. Its brillant but that's it, there's not much built on it. Its Tricky!

J’ai beaucoup apprécié l’écoute par cette mélodie , ce rythme et les sons …. Malgré le fait que je n’étais pas particulièrement fan de ce groupe. Mais cet album a indéniablement de grandes qualité.

No debate, this period was probably the last truly exciting one, when music still felt capable of exploring new ground and inventing something genuinely fresh…and pretty much every scene benefited from it. This debut is an absolute killer. Still, some tracks suffer a bit from the lingering influence of the 80s, and the band’s sound isn’t quite as mature as it would become on the following albums. Since it’s also not my favourite from the band and feels less consistent than Mezzanine, I’m giving it a 4, just to keep some distinction between excellent albums and true masterpieces. My heart is still on a solid 5, though.

10

Awesome album, perfect on this dark and rainy day.

I don't like electronic music, and this especially.

8/25/26. Each time I dive back into Massive Attack I enjoy their sound more. Chill but exciting & engaging; it's almost that happy mix of alternative rock and hip hip.

Love massive attack. This albums basslines are deep and sumptuous. I still think I like Mezzanine better than this tho

This is very good, I just personally don’t enjoy listening to a beat settle into a chilled out groove. I totally understand if that’s someone else’s thing. The layering here is very cool, they clearly have a good sense of texture.

There were some very pretty strings and piano on unfinished symphony but unfortunately the rest electronic elements didn’t really do it for me :( Okay that wasn’t too bad. Tbh I really wish some of the electric stuff wasn’t there bc I feel like a lot of the songs would be better without it. I did like the lead singers and I thought they both had good flow and chemistry but tbh this was just not for me. 2.45776/5

Groundbreaking and timeless, the grooves remain infectious

A now familiar and appealing sound, it was considered cutting edge at the time. It's a winning combination of drum machines, and Tricky's laid back rapping, alternating with more traditional songs..... except for the final song "Hymn of the Big Wheel" which really is tripe. The stand out track is of course the majestic and emotional "Unfinished Sympathy" which deserves to live on independent of the album and band, a gift to wider humanity. But the rest of the album is strong and varied enough not to be overshadowed (except the excretable Big Wheel).

Did not like this one. Just wasn’t for me overall

La verdad que esperaba menos, y me sorprendió bastante. Me gustó de fondo. 7,5/10

classic

The irony in calling your group Massive Attack when it is a Massive Bore.

5/5. All Massive Attack albums are 5/5. Abosulte masterpeice. Love it

grooved!!!! i like the title track a lil repetitive towards the end tho

Cool trip hop album. I’d heard of the band (due to the movie High Fidelity) but wasn’t really familiar with their music. I really enjoyed it. Good beats, solid lyrics, very engaging. 4.5

Two amazing tunes. Rest was ok. Would be 3.5 if I could

Well, it essentially established an entirely new genre so definitely belongs on the list. Has the basis of what Massive Attack would go on to perfect in Mezzanine. Still sounds plenty good, and very cool, just some dated production and a couple songs that don't really go anywhere.

It's good but some tracks are better than others. Not really consistent in quality

I think this suffered for having been listened to immediately after the Bob Marley album. I enjoyed how expansive the sound was! There’s so much going on but it comes together really nicely. Blue Lines was a really winner for me. Unfinished Sympathy also 👍 and I loooove the thick accent in Daydreaming

So apparently Mezzanine (what I thought was the bigger and more iconic Massive Attack album) isn't on this list at all, but at least Blue Lines is! I remember when triple j had their hottest 100 of all time list in 2009 there was minor controversy that the only 2 songs in the entire 100 to feature women were both Massive Attack songs with featured artists (Unfinished Sympathy and Teardrop), and that is shocking!!! but both amazing songs. I loved the sound of this album, all of the trip hop elements and the expansiveness of it all. Great vocalists and features. Unfinished Sympathy is gorgeous and has a great video. Also huge respect to Massive Attack for apparently still putting on incredible shows this year and their political advocacy. Will be listening to some of their other albums.

This has been on of the highlights of the listening Challenge so far, perfect production meets great lyricism and beautiful vocals

Love the bass and all the different voices. Such a warm sound. Great album!

Not bad but not quite what I was expecting