Massive Mezzanie!!

If you asked me when this album came out that I actually would listen to them I would more then anything tell you that I don't really listen to that much Trip-Hop and Electronica. I listen to Portishead and some Orb and that's about it. I realized my mistake a year later that I should be listening to more of this genre. I picked up this album from a friend and it was a CD that would not leave my CD player in the car or at home. It's distortion and strong guitars and effects sounded nothing like I ever heard before. When It came out, my friend told me if I never heard them, I should listen to some of their early work to get familiar with the music of Massive Attack.

He handed me Protection and Blue Lines and I was very impressed. The music was not the normal Electronica that I was hearing from other people. This music was smart and edgy and well presented. The dark quality of Massive Attack is shown here with greatness and wonderful non typical music. It was all so fresh to me that I loved it without having notions of what other Electronica was. I grew on this quickly and really wanted to hear the barriers torn down of what I expected to hear. What I heard was music that was fun and for a first time fan of this stuff, this was a wonderful introduction. It was a band that I would like more and more as I got to hear their music.



That same year I got invited by my friend to see them live in New York City. They were playing MSG (Madison Square Garden). I thought on how great music like this would feel at home. I was so right. The flash of the lights, the edge Electronica and heavy dissident guitars and the stark and somewhat scary vocals. It music that if you close your eyes the music is in your face without be to upfront about. I walked out of the show awestruck about how well this music was put in a live context. It gave me the impression that they do things very well. They really put the music you think is Electronica and make sure that they are the ones all the others copied. The blend of earthy with ethereal shouldn't work at all, but Massive Attack pull it off in fine fashion. "Inertia Creeps" could well be the highlight, another feature for just the core threesome. With eerie atmospherics, fuzz-tone guitars, and a wealth of effects, the song could well be the best production from the best team of producers the electronic world had ever seen. Obviously, the rest of the album can't compete.

Thing with Mezzanine is, there are so many levels of sound that every time you listen to it, you hear something new. That in itself is a wonder, but the vocals are simply gorgeous, the beats are hypnotic...bone conductive...and the lyrics are completely incomprehensible. With this album, it's all in the sound, which just wraps you up and takes you away. Massive Attack is a an eclectic mix of genres: jazz, pop, folk, rap, blues, even classical. They take what they need from each and create their own, unique sound. One of the best things about this album is the unique style of each cut: different vocalists, different styles, totally different sounds, but all absolutely Massive. (amazon)



When I went back to school in the fall of 2000. I wanted to do a radio program that showcased the best of the new music that was out there. Not the stuff that was mediocre, but the stuff that had a good look in the critical eye. I really did not have a chance to something like that till my last half of a year left. By then I actually could weed out the stuff that came in the station that was crap and the stuff that really could mean something in the contribution of modern music. Band like Stereolab, Built To Spill, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, and Massive Attack and many others fit that smart new Rock and Roll. This is the music you should listen to. The music is great, fresh and part of modern music. Take a listen and enjoy a band that is very far ahead of their time. Enjoy!!