Massive Attack - Protection --> underrated [Archive]

Leon

08-10-2005, 01:06 PM

I remember a lot of negative opinions about this album, but as it is RAINING over here in Holland, I decided to put this on, and for 5 days now it hasn't come out of my player yet.
This is such a SWEET SWEET album. It starts off beautiful and has great variations along the way, with the dancy beats of Three and Spying Glass.
I think it's more than a worthy follow up to Blue Lines, I even dare to say that Blue Lines doesn't beat Protection. They're just not comparable so I can't say which one's better.
Karmacoma and Eurochild have great synths for a '94 album, Better Things and Protection are SWEET as hell and Weather Storm and Heat Miser are great to have sex on, so is the rest of the album.

Any thoughts?

goldfish

08-10-2005, 01:23 PM

It suffered from a) following Blue Lines and b) being released at more or less the same time as Dummy.

It sounded very smooth and soulful in comparison to the raw edges of Dummy, and sounded a bit less than groundbreaking as a result. I think it's a lovely album that's stood up well; if it had been released by anyone else, or at any other time, I think it would have received greater critical praise.

It's a shame that Massive Attack haven't come even remotely close to matching their first two albums with subsequent releases.

Simon

adam

08-10-2005, 02:29 PM

I agree with you, Leon, but I also like 100th Window, so I'm hardly representative of the whole.

Actually, for 100th Window, I really like the songs where 3D did the vocals, and I dislike the ones with Sinead, and I'm indifferent to the ones with Horace Andy, though it's not the vocals that make me think that. That just seems to be the way things worked out.

Karmacoma is sooooooo sooooo good.

b.miller

08-10-2005, 02:35 PM

my only two problems with Protection is 1) the Light My Fire live track at the end.... that seems to go on forever... and 2) No Protection was so awesome when i heard that... it overshadowed Protection completely for me.

Eikman

08-10-2005, 03:30 PM

I love Protection!

Forgotten Sanity

08-10-2005, 03:30 PM

Unfortunately for me, Protection has been burned into my head as an album that reminds of a girl I used to love, and am still in love with. So perhaps unfairly, it has been tarnished.

But as a testament to how incredible Blue Lines is, I was playing it last night when a friend that was riding with me to a concert asked me to dial up some reggae on my mp3 player. I didn't have any reggae, so I put on Five Man Army, followed by the title track of Blue Lines... he's sitting there, checking it out... then he starts bobbing his head... and then he says to me, "Who the fuck is this? This is fresh as hell, WAY ahead of the times..." And I replied back, "This is Massive Attack, their first album... which came out in 1990."

He spent the whole night tripping out on the fact that the album came out 15 years ago, and bought it today. :)

patrick

08-10-2005, 04:07 PM

ya. i love protection too. such a phenominal albumn. i think the problem is that some kinds of people often look at an albumn for the groundbreaking influence instead of the actual quality of the tracks on the albumn. that probably plagues a lot of the great bands that have been around for a while. if they don't change their sound too much then their latest albumns are rated not as well...

protection isn't as good as blue lines though in my opinion.

morningrise

08-10-2005, 04:12 PM

Karmacoma is my favorite Massive Attack song to date. Love that album and I think goldfish was right, if anyone else would have put out that album it would have been received better. Though, I thought Mezzanine was great as well. 100th Window was crapola. I expect nothing else from them now, sadly.

rayray

08-10-2005, 05:50 PM

i'm breaking out that 15 year old album tomorrow - no protection is amazing
underworld needs to hook up with the mad phd immediately - imagine the resulting soundtrack

b.miller

08-10-2005, 09:41 PM

slightly sort of off-topic...

the mad prof.'s mixes of Angel, Teardrop, and Group Four are also really sweet. I really wish they would've done a "No Mezzanine" equivalent... I'm just greedy, i guess.

lukeyd

08-11-2005, 01:22 AM

I think it's more than a worthy follow up to Blue Lines, I even dare to say that Blue Lines doesn't beat Protection. They're just not comparable so I can't say which one's better.
i think before you say this, go back and listen to blue lines again - you'll be suprised.

and i don't know how you can say that they are incomparable, i would say they are incredibly similar. they are both amazing amazing amazing records, but i summed up the difference between them perfectly in an old (brown!!) thread.....

"blue lines feels like it was inspired by the sum total of music in the world before it was released. protection just sounds like it was inspired by blue lines"

sanblaster

08-11-2005, 02:19 AM

This thread made me feel very anxious, now I want to listen to Dummy and Protection....

I, like adam, like a lot 100th Window too. I think Antistar is one of the most psychedelic songs ever..

undarrenworld

08-11-2005, 02:49 AM

Yes i like Protection a lot, i was lucky to hold the CD pack with Protection and No Protection.

Karmacoma?

One of the most beautiful song ever...;)

Leon

08-11-2005, 09:07 AM

Hmmm I love interesting arguments...

Well though I was passed getting breastfed and living in Holland also helps not being aware of the influence Dummy by Portishead would've gotten, but I can understand its impact yes... Protection seems a bit more mediocore compared to Dummy. Nonetheless it's a good album :)

Aaron Contreras

08-11-2005, 04:43 PM

I don't believe it is underrated. If anything Mezzanine is their underrated album.

At any rate Blue Lines, Protection and Mezzanine are *so much fucking better* than 99% of the albums I've ever listened to...so picking one over the others just isn't something I like to do.

adam

08-11-2005, 05:32 PM

True that.

dubman

08-12-2005, 01:01 AM

100th window has aged hilariously bad for me.
i was listening to it the other day and was so put off by the lyrics that i was a bit embarrased that it was on while my friends were over

"ssssssay what yer sooouuul, saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiings to yewwwwwwww-ooooouuuuuuu-uuuu-huuuuuuu"

blaugh!

mkb

08-12-2005, 06:24 AM

I think this thread was on the old forums, no?

anna

08-15-2005, 12:39 PM

Protection is an amazing album but I don't think it could ever have topped Blue Lines. And being in the shadow of Dummy (which is an absolutely phenominal album) didn't help too much either!

Raz

08-15-2005, 01:38 PM

I like all of the albums. Blue Lines is the one I play the least for some reason.

Protection is great, including the title track, Better Things and Eurochild. As for Light My Fire, think I need whatever they were smoking at the time before I'll even consider it's music.

Mezzanine is awesome. Remember playing it on my new stereo and falling in love with the detail of the instruments. Amazing lyrics, crazy bass, some beautiful singing... Spanking gorgeous. Dissolved Girl + Group Four = me a happy bunny.

100th Window is all good, save for Prayer for England. That's shandy.

Leon

08-15-2005, 01:57 PM

Melian the Maia

08-15-2005, 03:46 PM

maybe it's just me but i had felt somewhat mesmerized when i had first heard 'butterfly caught' on tv...

Raz

08-15-2005, 10:21 PM

maybe it's just me but i had felt somewhat mesmerized when i had first heard 'butterfly caught' on tv...

That's my favourite track from the album.

adam

01-03-2007, 01:12 PM

Quoted from somebody's livejournal:

"Massive Attack - Protection
parts of this are sublime. i'm starting to like it better than Blue Lines."

BAM!

holden

01-03-2007, 02:05 PM

i've no idea about this topic, but i gotta say Adam, way to resurrect a thread! This might be a record!

adam

01-03-2007, 02:08 PM

Yeah, some "guest" was browsing it a week ago and reminded me of it. It's not just like it came to mind all on it's own. What a guest is doing browsing back this far, I don't know.

kid cue

01-03-2007, 02:24 PM

Leon's right on! "sweet" is a fitting word for Protection. a damn worthy followup to Blue Lines. i can't believe how differently i hear this in the 00s compared to the 90s.

jOHN rODRIGUEZ

01-03-2007, 05:52 PM

Reminds of SADE. Love it.

King of Snake

01-05-2007, 07:07 AM

this thread made me realise I had neither of these albums in my collection. This has now been rectified. Thank you.

:)

stimpee

01-05-2007, 07:37 AM

Underrated? i dont think so. I think its very highly regarded as a classic by most.

Jafs

01-05-2007, 09:52 AM

I'm not convicted by Blue Lines. Does the album "Protection" sounds the same ?

GreenPea

01-05-2007, 09:56 AM

I'm not convicted by Blue Lines. Does the album "Protection" sounds the same ?

Blue Lines sounds pretty dated imo...The tracks I know from Protection are better than Blue Lines but I haven't heard the whole thing.

Aaron Contreras

01-05-2007, 08:20 PM

You need to own both. Seriously.

Jafs

01-06-2007, 03:50 AM

Blue Lines sounds pretty dated imo...

this is the problem...

Leon

01-06-2007, 07:41 AM

Yes Aaron Contreras is right. Argueing about which one is better is useless if you just get them both and enjoy them.

patrick

01-06-2007, 08:05 AM

ya... i think both albumns are masterpieces. blue lines and protection are so different that it's hard to compare... however, they are definatly close to overall quality, and the other two are the ones i never think aboot