Massive Attack - Blue Lines
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Free Music Notes for Blue Lines
Free Music Review: MADE IN HEAVEN
Hit: 5 Stars
BLUE LINES is Trip-Hop's KIND OF BLUE. Apart from the "blue" in the title, the albuns share a similar moody pace and that bold flame of innovation and beauty that holds listener's attentions even centuries after their releases. By gathering an superb string of guests - legend Jamaican singer Horace Andy, soultry soul diva Shara Nelson etc - BLUE LINES reproduce's KIND OF BLUE all-star team. Finally, BLUE LINES is a genre-defining record. This is Trip-Hop neophite's must-have and the only Trip-Hop album that every record collection should contain.BLUE LINES presents a striking row of masterpieces - starting with the sublime tension of SAFE FROM HARM, then following with the daunting breezy coolness of ONE LOVE. Gentle rap-jam inflections like BLUE LINES share the space with a masterful cover of DeVaughan's BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU'VE GOT. Another genre-defining recording in FIVE MEN ARMY precedes Massive Attack's ultimate masterpiece, UNFINISHED SYMPATHY - awarded Best Song of the Century by BBC listeners. And then? The best non-american rap track ever seen, DAYDREAMING, the soul showcase LATELY and the uplifting HYMN OF THE BIG WHEEL.
As KIND OF BLUE, BLUE LINES is a first-class ticket to Heaven. Heaven is Blue, after all!
Free Music Review: The founders of trip-hop deliver a masterpiece! Most people will like it a lot!
Hit: 5 Stars
With their classic "Blue Lines" Massive Attack introduced trip-hop into the world with an extremely entertaining and mostly consistent album (the track "One Love" is the weakest one - the guy's voice really gets annoying). This kind of album falls into the league as The Beatles first albums and Run-D.M.C.'s "Run-D.M.C." in terms of how influential it was to the music industry. Every track here is not only original but also very entertaining. There's about 4 or 5 different vocalists that appear throughout the album, and although the one off "One Love" is arguably the weakest, the rest are very good (Tricky is my personal favorite, he does the "Blue Lines" song). The lyrics are also very good - you'll end up liking a lot of the songs in that regard. If you're a hip-hop fan you'll love this album. If you are a casual music fan there's a high probability you'll love this album. A highly influential album that hasn't aged a day (although the sound quality could use a remastering). Definitely recommended! If you like this you'll love their other album "Mezzanine" and most likely Portishead's "Portishead".
Highlights include:
everything except for "One Love" (it's annoying) and "Lately"
Free Music Review: A classic in every sense of the word
Hit: 5 Stars
Massive Attack's debut introduced the rhythms of trip-hop to the music world, and even if we ignore its historical importance, it is still a masterpiece of its genre. While "Mezzanine" boasts several stronger tracks ("Angel", "Risingson", "Teardrop"), they have never matched the consistent brilliance of their debut.The album begins with "Safe From Harm", immediately setting the trip-hop blueprint: soulful vocals, stoned rapping and hazy beats. From that point on, the pace never slows down. The group takes us on an amazingly varied trip, ranging from the dub-influenced "Five Man Army" (featuring none other than reggae legend Horace Andy's exquisite falsetto) to the dance classic "Unfinished Sympathy". The title track is equally worthy of praise, making the connection to hip-hop even more explicit courtesy of Tricky, himself a member of Massive Attack at the time.
While the production may sound slightly dated to modern ears, the songwriting and vocals are simply timeless. There is no doubt this album will receive even more recognition in the future and once you hear it yourself, you will easily realize why. Simply essential.
Free Music Review: accessing the blue line
Hit: 5 Stars
i got this album a long time ago during an impulse buy trip; just cos it was in the bargain bin. and after listening to it, i saw plainly the reason for being in there with the one-hit wonders of yesteryear: ground-braking trip-hip album for the discerning music buyer... yes i'm talking about all 10 of you out there.i recently had the pleasure of revisiting this cd and was blown away again. the 'recent event' was the use of 'be thankful for what you've got' in the pilot episode of felicity, which was a year and half ago in singapore. where and how do i start swoponing over this cd? should i talk about the etheral and transcendental vocalists shara nelson and tony bryan? or should i comment on the sharp, truthful and occasionally heart-breaking lyrics? or maybe attribute the album's classic status to the hypnotic and sometimes subtly driving (possible?) beats? or the amazing 'remixibility' of some tracks that have become club classics in their own right?
it all comes down to one thing: this cd is a damn fine listen. put 'safe from harm', 'be thankful for what you've got', 'unfinished sympathy' and 'daydreaming' on continuous repeat, you won't regret it. :)
Free Music Review: Five Man Army
Hit: 5 Stars
I bought "Blue Line" album after listening to Massive's 1998 release "Mezzanine" and was not impressed at first. I read that it was an essential album that influenced to whole trip hop genre (though critics and trip hoppers also site Smith & Mighty as the first) and that it was a classic. The two albums are quite far apart in style and tone. Mezzanine being, dark, edgy and heavy, Blue Lines more easy, neutral and urban. Now that I've had Blue Lines for a while and have all three Massive releases to compare it to, I see it for what it is worth. It sound more urban than their other two albums with soul, rap, reggae and R&B influences. I think the male vocals in Blue Lines are more impressive than the male vocals on Protection. Tracks like "blue lines", "five man army" and "daydreaming" are great. "Safe from Harm" is a decent opener with Sara Nelson's soulful voice over a smooth bass guitar. It's not edgy and dramatic like Mezzanine or trys to be slick like Protection but it is an essentially, cool recording. So pick it up and hear how they sounded in the early day of trip hop.