Track Listing

1. Safe From Harm
2. One Love
3. Blue Lines
4. Be Thankful For What You've Got
5. Five Man Army
6. Unfinished Sympathy
7. Daydreaming
8. Lately
9. Hymn Of The Big Wheel

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3095 in Music
• Released on: 1991-06-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

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

CD Description
'Blue Lines' was the debut album by the Bristol-formed dance collective, Massive Attack. The album is a prime example of what was later dubbed by the UK music press as "trip hop".The top 30 singles, 'Unfinished Sympathy' and 'Safe From Harm' are included.

Customer Reviews

A Massive Triumph
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.

Massive Album.
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.

Influential, brilliant .An album fully deserving the title classic.
Should i ever be asked to name the album i consider to be the most influential in the history of music( given that i have,nt heard every album in the history of music) i would plump for Massive Attacks 1991 debut album Blue Lines. Trip hop years before the term became synonymous with ....well anything , it triggered a shift in dance and electronic music to what the music critic Simon Reynolds called "a more meditational sound " running ( or maybe loping ) at lower tempo,s .
The band merged black music influences like hip -hop , reggae and soul but allied them to the more ambitious prog aspects of bands like Pink Floyd and King Crimson( without the middle class patina) and the savvy dub tones of Public Image. The music is infused with an empirical funkiness but is also emotionally charged .It combines the thrill and life of dance music with the visceral gut wrenching power of great pop or rock music .Jesus, no wonder Blue Lines is so revered.
Several tracks are illuminated by the sky-scraping vocals of Shara Nelson( who gives a lesson in how to sing big ballads that your Mariah,s Leona,s and Celines should be taking notice off .Incidentally her debut solo album is well worth investigating too) Most notable amongst these is the incredible "Unfinished Sympathy" -frequently gushed about as one of the best songs of all time , mainly because it is one of the best songs of all time. With it,s iconic video of Shara Nelson wandering through the streets of L.A. and the sampled "Hey , hey, hey" of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, this is one of those precious songs that straddles genre specifics effortlessly.It,s a smooth laidback dance track sure but it has the inexorable emotional pull of any great piece of pop, rock or classical music. It remains one of the most timeless and wondrous five minutes in music history.
Not that this song is the only moment of brilliance on Blue Lines. The grumbling bass line that underpins another Nelson vocal on "Safe From Harm" , the dub influenced paranoid beats of "Five Man Army " , the gliding soulful tones of "Be Thankful For What You Got" ,the cleverly arranged rapping on the title track ( featuring Tricky ) the glorious "Daydreaming" " ( Shara Nelson again ) or the hypnotic aptly circuitous Hymn Of The Big Wheel " ( featuring Horace Andy who also guests on "One Love") -all these songs contribute hugely to a influential cohesive work impeccably arranged by Neneh Cherry who is also acknowledged by the band as being a major driving force behind the recording .
Is it possible to overstate how important this album was in developing a new direction for dance music and melding together a new collage of sounds? Probably not. Even putting that aside though Blue Lines is an incredible album , even more so given that it is Massive Attacks debut. It oozes confidence , class and almost effortless talent . Astonishingly they were to match it withProtection . It,s no wonder Blue Lines appears regularly in those greatest albums of all time lists. Most pertinently , unlike a lot of albums in those lists, it fully merits it,s place.