REVIEW: Massive Attack, Protection (Virgin)

- David Landgren

Massive Attack come from Bristol, England, a sea-side town just a stone's throw away from the Welsh border. There was not a whole lot to do there until The Wild Bunch started putting together sound systems and got the place jumping. The tsunami of energy that they unleashed is about all washed up, but the core members stayed together to form the group.

Protection is their second album, following on from Blue Lines some three years later. Overall, the tone of this album is more coherent than the first. The hesitancy and unevenness are gone, replaced by a continuity from start to finish -- a blend of entrancing rhythms and melodies, and lyrics that speak of alienation, loneliness and despair.

Gone are the generic soul vocals of Shara Nelson (which I think is/was the least best part of Blue Lines). This time Daddy G, 3D and Mushroom have called in two chanteuses, the sublime Tracy Thorn (one half of Everything But The Girl) to sing the opening track and Better Things; and Nicolette (a cross between Billy Holliday and Claire Grogan (ha! hands up all those who remember Altered Images)), to sing Three and Sly. Horace Andy, rapper on the first album, is still around, and can be heard on Spying Glass. Daddy G, Tricky and 3D sing or rap on most of the rest.

The music is the same sumptuous mix of laid-back soul, hip-hop, reggae, dub and rap, but with a new perspective that time and maturity gives. Although not designed to set the dance-floor ablaze, all of the tracks have sufficient pull to get all but the most recalcitrant legs, hips and shoulders asway.

Like the first album, no lyric sheet is supplied, so it is only with repeated listening that the songs slowly unfold themselves. And therein lies much of the strength of the album. The songs talk of intimate, personal things, such as the loss of trust, doubts about relationships and so on, and that underneath it all, maybe, just maybe, there is a spark of hope.

The high point of the album is the piece "Eurochild". A foreboding, restless, softly spoken rap by 3D and Daddy G. Add a dash of scratching, a pinch of samples, hook it all together with a rumbling bass and you have one hell of a song. Also of note is the instrumental "Heat Miser", a possible third "Poem Without Words" (c.f. Anne Clark's Hopeless Cases).

And finally, it's about time someone kicked The Doors off their pedestal. Massive Attack massacre (live on stage!) "Light My Fire" to close the album. It may not be to everyone's liking, but I find that their screechy rendition pretty well sums up what I thought about the original version in the first place.

In summary, for anyone who already owns Blue Lines, or any of the countless remixes of other peoples' material (e.g. try and hunt down the recent Massive Attack remix of "Face A La Mer" by Les Negresses Vertes), Protection will be an outstanding addition to your library. Otherwise, bear in mind there is not a lot of point going back to buy Blue Lines after Protection: you'll probably be disappointed.

I rated this album my no. 1 album for 1994 in the Consumable Online Writers' Top Ten. I still like as much as ever, and I give it a 9.5 out of 10.