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Amazon.co.uk Review
The critical and commercial triumphs of Portishead, Tricky and Roni Size have established Bristol as a centre of slow-burning creativity, but it was the staggering impact Massive Attack made with their debut album which first put the West Country town on the musical map and made reluctant superstars of Mushroom, 3-D and Daddy G. Blue Lines provided a blueprint for the sound which would become known as trip-hop, combining the raw soundsystem vibe of the Wild Bunch parties with immaculate production and the distinguished vocal talents of Tricky, Shara Nelson and Horace Andy. From the understated beats and deftly-arranged ensemble rapping of the title track to the smokey paranoia of "Five Man Army" and the unrepeatable melancholic splendour of "Unfinished Sympathy", the album is a modern classic through and through. It won the Mercury Music Prize in 1992 and remains the finest work of a frighteningly talented group. --Ed Potton
Review
Twenty years on from this landmark album’s release and its makers are very much a part of the mainstream, an outfit comfortably capable of selling out the nation’s biggest venues and with enough column inches of acclaim behind them to build a (rather flimsy, granted) ladder to the Moon. But at the time, Massive Attack were purveyors of a sound so new that it didn’t have a pigeonhole to fits its form – trip hop would not be coined for another few years, and this mash-up of dub, rap, reggae and soul caught attentions like few other releases of the time. It didn’t so much hold one by the collar as set fire to their shoes.
Blue Lines wasn’t produced without persuasion, though, and while it might shuffle to a remarkably assured beat, the then-trio of 3D, Daddy G and Mushroom needed a little coercion to get the puzzle pieces in their right places. The celebrated guilty party: one Neneh Cherry, a star on the back of 1989’s Raw Like Sushi LP, whose championing of this group of Wild Bunch sound system sorts helped seal a record deal. And once Blue Lines was delivered, Virgin set about exploiting its singular content. Hip hop unlike its stateside purveyors, soul without bedroom intent: this wasn’t quite like anything else out there. And the breakthrough would be, while hardly instant, dramatic enough to still be felt to this day.
Unfinished Sympathy alone didn’t make Blue Lines the classic its standing in so many best-albums-ever charts confirms, but it ensured that the public en masse would give Massive Attack the chance to impress with their myriad approaches to music-making. While its peak position of 13 on the UK singles chart could be seen as something of a disappointment if released today, Unfinished Sympathy’s video clicked with the MTV crowd – Shara Nelson’s determined street-walking was immediately iconic, later referenced (read: stolen wholesale) by The Verve and parodied by Fat Les. Although it utilised samples, uncleared at the time, there was no doubting that the track signalled the arrival of a powerful pop force with unique ideas. It blew the floodgates open, and in the years that followed a thousand lesser acts aping Blue Lines’ melancholy-kissed claustrophobia, bubbling basslines and smoky vocals poured into the world’s bedsits and penthouses alike.
Of course, focusing on just Unfinished Sympathy doesn’t tell a fraction of the story to be discovered on this album. Horace Andy’s sweet, from-dark-to-light tones on the distant-thundering dread of Five Man Army, the noticeable emotional crack in Nelson’s voice as she delivers the chorus of Safe From Harm, the slinky funk of Lately, Hymn of the Big Wheel’s urban-evensong climax: there’s a wide spectrum of delights spread across these nine tracks. And if you’ve never indulged before – the likelihood is slim, surely – make sure that you slip inside this enduring masterpiece as soon as you can. Arguably, Massive Attack have never bettered this debut – and certainly, they’ve never sounded quite this hungry and fresh since.
--Mike Diver
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Massive Triumph,
This review is from: Blue Lines (Audio CD)
I came to this album very late - 13 years late to be exact - and I'm still in the honeymoon period with it, playing it constantly. I'm probably about to say the same as everyone else but there's not a duff track here, mainly because of the different styles at play (jazz, hip-hop, dub, dance, bits of soul, the beginnings of trip-hop, tribal beats with 'Hymn of the big wheel' and of course, orchestral music on 'Unfinished Sympathy'). There's a wonderfully sparse, late-night feel on tracks such as 'Blue Lines' and 'Five Man Army' - the way 3D and crew languidly interact with each other on these tracks is awesome - and 'Lately' has such a dreamy, atmospheric quality to it, not forgetting a wicked bassline. Then there's the magnificent 'Unfinished Sympathy', but I don't think I need to go on about the chilling effect it has on my mind, body and soul because that's all old hat really. Not that this album will ever be old hat - I'm pretty sure I'll still be listening to it in another 13 years.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Massive Album.,
This review is from: Blue Lines (Audio CD)
Like most people, I first got to know of this band through hearing 'Unfinished Sympathy'. It's not that typical of the rest of the album, but I bought it on the strength of the one track, and boy, and I glad I did!This has got to be one of the best albums of the 90's, one that redefined music and gave birth to the genre of 'trip-hop'. I know that sounds like a terrible exageration, but I really cannot think of anyone else who played this kind of music before Blue Lines. Every track here is a killer - 'Five Man Army' is a favourite of mine, and 'Blue Lines' gives us a clue where the band were going to head in future years. There is such a range of vocal talent here, from the undoubted talents of Shara Nelson and Horace Andy to the slightly off-key talk/whisper of 3-D. I don't think any other band would be able to get away with such a diverse collection of vocal talent on one album.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
timeless masterpiece,
By
This review is from: Blue Lines (Audio CD)
i've been listening to this album a lot lately and it still sounds as fresh now as it did all those years ago. i don't think there's one weak track on the album and some of them are simply stellar. this is the album that spawned a complete new genre in 'trip-hop' but don't let thoughts of the sneaker pimps put you off as most of the scene was just a pale imitation of this album.everyone knows the massive single 'unfinshed sympathy' with shara nelson vocals and famous video and lots of people also know the mighty 'safe from harm' (again ms nelson on the vocals making it another obvious single choice) but it's on tracks like 'blue lines', 'lately' and the sublime 'daydreaming' that this album comes into its own. absolutely essential and every home should own a copy.
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