#241 Massive Attack, 'Blue Lines' (1991)

Previously #397

What is widely considered to be the first Trip Hop record, ‘Blue Lines’ is the debut album of Massive Attack and it’s a huge one. On this record, the band drew inspiration from concept album artists such as Pink Floyd, Herbie Hancock & Isaac Hayes. It was the perfect mix of rap, dub and soul. An album that knocks you off your feet, hitting you with sounds when you least expect it; the horns in ‘One Love,’ the rapping of Tricky over guitar lines in ‘Safe From Harm,’ the backing vocals in the chorus of ‘Be Thankful For What You’ve Got,’ into the drum break. This song reminds me of something we would have heard on Isaac Hayes’s ‘Hot Buttered Soul.’

The scratching throughout the album gives it a street edge, while the sound of the drums on the record as a whole is really clear and prominent. I love how they’ve been featured so high in the mix. The high point on the record is ‘Unfinished Symphony.’ Emerging out of a jam, an orchestral score was later added, giving it its epic feel. The song transports you to ‘90s UK. It’s a song that you would have heard throughout the decade, most likely at 2:30am in one of the side rooms of a club. It’s a song that defined the record, soundtracked an era and announced the arrival of Massive Attack.

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