The last decade of the last century started with a bang.
Massive Attack, members of the Wild Bunch, a Bristol
collective, released what would become a landmark album,
their first opus, Blue Lines, in 1991. This
record had a serious hangover. Moving slowly, cautiously,
Massive Attack explored all genres from dub to soul,
transgressed all set rules, with no remorse. Blue
Lines would kick so hard where it hurts it would
be the starting point of a whole new form of music.
The first single, Daydreaming, attracted a
critical interest, but it is not until its follow up,
the string driven, windswept Unfinished Sympathy
was released that Massive Attack launched their first
major blow to the music industry. Britain, until then
divided between rave and rock, was knocked out. And
the rest of the world would soon follow. Safe From
Harm would only reinforce the fact that Massive
Attack were heavyweight contenders.
With vocalists ranging from the cotton wrapped rap of
3D and Mushroom and the paranoia of Tricky Kid, to the
feverish soul of Shara Nelson and the laid-back reggae
vibe of Horace Andy, Massive Attack locked up all the
exits. You couldn't escape the tension and beauty of
this record.
The force of Massive Attack was not only to produce
the most exciting new music around, but to attach an
equal importance to visuals and videos. The relative
anonymity of the record covers, the claustrophobia of
the Daydreaming video, the disturbing discomfort
of Unfinished Sympathy, the vertical weirdness
of Safe From Harm, everything worked towards
emphasising the atmosphere of the album. With Blue
Lines, Massive Attack defined new ways of producing
music, and they would prove to be redefining them again,
and again.
5/5 |
