[swt61]

I have seen many of you talk about the group Massive Attack before, but I never got a good sense for what kind of music it was.

Well I got a surprise package in the mail from my buddy philodox the other day with several new albums. They're all good, but he was afraid Massive Attack might be my least favorite. Well that couldn't have turned out less true.
The album he chose for me is "Collected", basically a greatest hits. I'm still not sure how to describe the genre, kind of British Modernist heavily inspired by Rap and New Age with some Blues undertones maybe. There is some great instrumentation on the album, and it somewhat reminds me of Phil Spector's "wall of sound" style. The difference being that with Massive Attack the instruments are more sporadic, and layered into the mix. This is truly great headphone music, and I can't wait to get my "real" system finished to be able to use my good headphones, and give Massive Attack the level of playback they deserve.

Call me a fanboy!

 

[krmathis]

Great to see that you have got your eyes (or ears that is) up for Massive Attack.
They sure make some stunning music!

 

[philodox]

I'm glad you are enjoying them so much Steve. Collected is a great look at them, but if you find yourself loving them more and more I recommend getting the albums. They are all good, but in my opinion Blue Lines and Mezzanine are the two most essential, with Protection coming in at a close third place.

Good description of their sound. The media has labeled them 'Trip Hop', but it is a name that they aren't too fond of. I tend to refer to it as 'Downtempo' myself, and I have an insane amount of it in my CD collection. It used to be all I listened to.

 

[swt61]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm glad you are enjoying them so much Steve. Collected is a great look at them, but if you find yourself loving them more and more I recommend getting the albums. They are all good, but in my opinion Blue Lines and Mezzanine are the two most essential, with Protection coming in at a close third place. Good description of their sound. The media has labeled them 'Trip Hop', but it is a name that they aren't too fond of. I tend to refer to it as 'Downtempo' myself, and I have an insane amount of it in my CD collection. It used to be all I listened to.

I will most certainly start collecting their albums! I love it when I'm introduced to a great new band!
Trip Hop is a concise description, but already I can see that this band will be hard to label, but no need, just enjoy.

 

[Asr]

Massive Attack invented trip-hop.

Glad to hear you enjoy their music, as Jay already mentioned you should get the rest of their CDs! If you like soul as a genre then you should get Blue Lines first, followed by Protection.

 

[LuckyKarma]

I like to listen to them occasionally too. Jose Gonzalez recently covered "Teardrop" on his album "In Our Nature." It actually sounds really good stripped down to an acoustic guitar and folky vocals

 

[craiglester]

Check out stuff Nellee Hooper produced back then (he produced the first MA album I think), basically, he's responsible for a LOT of that early stuff sounding that way..

 

[uraflit]

yup. Mezzanine was awesome!

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uraflit /img/forum/go_quote.gif yup. Mezzanine was awesome!

Was? As it is not awesome any longer...

Mezzanine was the first Massive Attack I got to know, and it still stand as my favorite.

 

[1967cutlass]

They are my second favorite band, the first being the flaming lips.

 

[uraflit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Was? As it is not awesome any longer... Mezzanine was the first Massive Attack I got to know, and it still stand as my favorite.

let me correct myself, "i had an awesome session when i listened to it a couple weeks ago"

 

[goldenratiophi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Was? As it is not awesome any longer...

Unfortunately, yes. Oh how I long for the times when Mezzanine was awesome...

I love Massive Attack.

 

[philodox]

Listening to Collected right now with the K340's... afterwards if I'm not too tired I might give it a spin on the Chocolate Donuts.

 

[BassheadJazz]

Massive Attack is one of those rare groups that you can keep coming back to time and time again and when you listen to them, it's like it's your very first time. Especially on Mezzanine and Blue Lines they manage to look creative even though those albums came out years ago.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by goldenratiophi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Unfortunately, yes. Oh how I long for the times when Mezzanine was awesome...

I certainly feel with you!
The day I loose my Mezzanine-love will be a sad day...