Product Description

Bristol's trip-hop pioneers crystallise their melancholic splendour on PROTECTION. It's a simmering shadow of a soundtrack to urban life, where dub, hip-hop, electronica and soul mesh into something quite singular. Imagine the chilling threnody of scene-mates Portishead allied with rough dancehall,club and South Bronx bass-beats, set ablaze by Mushroom, 3-D and Daddy-G's sour gaze into the millennial horizon. A host of fine guest vocalists help drive the vocal tunes, in turn making the instrumentals stand out all the more.
It is a juxtaposition of cold and hot, alienation and unity, that informs PROTECTION. Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl steals the show with her sure, silky vocals on the title track, her voice a sweet fire that thrives in a frosty wind, just barely anchored by the entrancing swirl of wah-guitar, strings and phased keyboard drones. Old-school reggae favourite Horace Andy tears up "Spying Glass" with a haunting lilt over the house-dub beat. "Sly" evokes the icy landscapes of Bjork's late-'90s work, albeit with the warm gust of string passages. "Karmacoma" features fellow trip-hopper Tricky, adding further motion to the forward-looking pop vision of PROTECTION.

Track Listing

1. Protection
2. Karmacoma
3. Three
4. Weather Storm
5. Spying Glass
6. Better Things
7. Euro Child
8. Sly
9. Heat Miser
10. Light My Fire

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10749 in Music
• Released on: 1994-09-26
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Bristol's Massive Attack released a classic with their first album, Blue Lines, but only those who were paying careful attention noticed for a while; then, after everybody caught on, they were overshadowed by the likes of colleagues Portishead, who were cooler. But not so after the release of Protection, which sported a massive hit and was just as critically acclaimed as their first album. (The hit was the title track, for which Everything but the Girl's Tracy Thorn lent her divine pipes--a move that presaged EBTG's move to the dance floor.) Eschewing the showmanship of their scene mates, Massive prefer subtler soundscapes and using a diverse range of vocalists (including Horace Andy, Nicolette, and Tricky) who give them a number of flavours and moods with which to work. Protection is an understated album with a rich palette; it reveals more of itself on repeated listens, growing better--and deeper--each time. --Randy Silver

Customer Reviews

The second album that showed as much promise as the first
I remember well the period of the early nineties - and the sounds that were in my life then. Much of my leisure time was spent clubbing: fast-paced, loud, excitable and generally full-on. It was a good time and the music I heard when I was out was fantastic. But I often felt some "humanity" was missing. During those 'down times' I'd drop Protection onto my record player and slide back into a feeling of warmth, honesty and embracing lyrics. "Lyrics!" I thought, that's what's was missing! What was the point otherwise? It was simply music only of the 'thrill factor'. Of course I listened to other classics that my collection contained, but this was the sound at the time. And Massive Attack had seemed to tap into the zeitgeist.

There was a brooding sense of darkness in these sounds, an almost brutal honestly that sometimes alluded to some parts of life not being particularly beautiful, but they were still parts of our lives nonetheless. And the honest narrative only helped to fortify this truth.

Using an original approach to sampling whereby the samples actually meant something: ie: they had a reference point, the sound is cut-up, urban and powerful, and certainly not "dance music" as some have mistakenly presumed. But it's the vocals of Nicolette, the lovely Tracy Thorn and the unique Horace Andy that provide the backdrop to the unmatchable Massive sound. When these two are mixed there is an infectious draw that certainly resonates for me. But maybe that's because the music means something to me?

But the point is, it turned out that this music meant something to most people then. And that time has passed.

Thankfully we're entering another period whereby the music is beginning the mean something. If it has stayed like it was before for any longer I would have gone mad.

Typical massive attack
When I bought this cd, I didn't stop listening to it for ages! If you've only heard 'Protection' - the single, and want more of the same then this is the cd for you. Three, Karmacoma and Better Things are fabulous, and Sly sounds like a James Bond theme, albeit in a good way! Protection is without doubt the best of Massive's albums, and I'd consider buying 'No Protection' to complement it too.

Superbly crafted 'Trip-Pop'. an Understated masterpiece.
The poppiest of the Massive Attack albums suffers none for its apparent desire to showcase the group's murky, dark sound to a wider audience. On this album, the three 'true' members of the group bring in a number of guest stars including long-time companion Tricky, Horace Andy, Tracy Thorn and Nicolette. This tactic paid dividened with debut album 'Blue Lines' - Shara Nelson's beautiful voice made 'Unfinished Sympathy' into a massive hit - and it paid off again in spades with this classic.

From the opening, quite beautiful title track to the last cut (a live, mega-dubby version of the Doors classic 'Light My Fire') this album is breathtaking in its impact. You'll find yourself listening to the whole album right through on more than one occasion and wondering where the hell the time went.

Perfect for relaxing to, going to sleep to or travelling to work, this album is, as stated earlier, much more commercial than the group's other work. But make no mistake, the dark undercurrent is still there. Witness the slithering bass of 'Karmacoma' - with Tricky's harsh, breathed vocals over the top. Or the dark majesty of 'Spying Glass' - guest vocals from reggae legend Horace Andy. Both are classic cuts.

But the true heights of the album are the two numbers with Nicolette providing vocals, namely 'Three' and 'Sly'. This woman has the most incredible voice - you just have to hear it to believe it. Reminiscent of a cross between Eartha Kitt, Shirley Bassey and Nina Simone, yet managing to sound completely original, her vocals are just breathtaking. Unfortunately, her solo album 'No Government' is a hit and miss affair, largely a mess of drum and bass with a smattering of good tracks. Still, the two tracks on here more than make up for the disappointment of that album.

One of those albums that should be in EVERY music fan's collection