Blue Lines |  | Artist: Massive Attack
Label: Wild Bunch/Virgin
Category: Music
List Price: £8.99
Buy Used: £1.16
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New (56) Used (49) Collectible (1) from £1.16
Seller: fruin
Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 916
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.9 x 0.4
UPC: 007777862282
EAN: 0007777862282
ASIN: B000000WHX
Release Date: June 1, 1991
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Safe From Harm | | • | One Love | | • | Blue Lines | | • | Be Thankful For What You've Got | | • | Five Man Army | | • | Unfinished Sympathy | | • | Daydreaming | | • | Lately | | • | Hymn Of The Big Wheel |
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| Editorial Reviews:
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
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 28
 A Massive Triumph February 16, 2005
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
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.
Influential, brilliant .An album fully deserving the title classic. December 1, 2008
russell clarke (halifax, west yorks)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
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.
Massive Album. March 1, 2004
robojam
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
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.
timeless masterpiece August 28, 2002
M. Turner (Cardiff)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
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.
Always in my 'top five' and always will be! March 10, 2003
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
When sitting down with your friends over a beer or ten, do you end up discussing what your top five favourite albums of all time are?I do and this little beauty is always there! So, some background information for you. I used to be involved in the Bristol music scene in the eighties and in fact spent many a blissful night behind the decks at a number of Bristol's clubs, one of those being the now famous 'Dug Out' which was the foundation scene for the Wild Bunch and from there - well that's history and well documented. So having seen the Wild Bunch in action all those years ago I found myself buying Blue Lines the day it came out in 1991, and having taken the purchase home sat back in amazement as from the dark undertones of "Safe from harm" to the final uplifting beauty of "Hymn of the big wheel" I knew that this was unlike anything I had ever heard before. How could a bunch of 'blaggers', as the guys used to refer to themselves as being, produce an absolute masterpiece and I mean masterpiece? I guess we will never know but for me music has never quite been the same since. This CD never stays out of my home or car for long and even though I have followed Massive Attack like a religion since their birth, I still love this album more than anything else they have released. Don't get me wrong, I treasure their subsequent releases and would always find a moment or a mood for each. 100th Window for instance is very dark and very different than anything else you can put your hands on currently which makes it so unique, but picture a sunny day in Bristol driving through St. Pauls or across the Downs and Blue Lines falls into place. I guess it's simply just a Bristol thing. If you have just got into Massive Attack and want to understand where it all began, get your hands on this and give it a try. If dark and moody is your thing then you might find Blue Lines a little light and soulful for your musical taste buds, but if you are like me and can cast your body and soul back to 1991 when this hit the streets then you might find a new entry in your top five! May I suggest that you look up the book "Straight Outa Bristol" by Phil Johnson, it gives a glorious account of the beginnings of the Bristol sound and covers the emergence of Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead etc in great detail and with great passion (limited availability now but good hunting). One final note, has there ever been a track with such a sublime beginning as "Unfinished Sympathy"? - No I didn't think so either! (I dedicate this review to Smiler. X)
Showing reviews 1-5 of 28
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