Protection (album)

Infobox Album | Name = Protection
Type = Album
Artist = Massive Attack


Released = September 26, 1994
Recorded = Wild Bunch Studios, London
Genre = Trip hop
Length = 48:57
Label = Circa/Virgin
Producer = Massive Attack and Nellee Hooper
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:l1ug6jp871e0 link]
*Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=massive+attack link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/massiveattack/albums/album/322083/review/6067499/protection link]
Last album = "Blue Lines"
(1991)
This album = "Protection"
(1994)
Next album = "No Protection"
(1995)

"Protection" (1994) is Bristol-based trip-hop collective Massive Attack's second album.

ound

"Protection" was featured in the top ten of "Rolling Stone" magazine's 'Coolest Albums of All Time List,' calling it "great music for when you're driving around a city at 4 am," due to the 'chill out' nature of the album. Like most of Massive Attack's albums, the music often defies quick categorization, ranging from R&B (title track, Sly) to hip hop/rap (Karmacoma, Eurochild) to reggae-tinged synthpop (Spying Glass) to classical-influenced electronica instrumentals (Weather Storm, Heat Miser). This album in particular has a heavy use of string instruments (or at least synthesizers imitating string instruments) compared to other Massive Attack albums, although certain tracks before and after have featured strings, like "Unfinished Sympathy" and "Live with Me".

Paul Evans of "Rolling Stone" gave the album four of five stars calling it "Cool, sexy stuff, it smoothly fuses dub, club and soul, grounding its grace in sampled hip-hop beats."

It is also listed in the book '1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'.

The track "Karmacoma" featured vocals from Tricky, and the video was directed by Jonathan Glazer. The song also features a sample from the track "Dream Time in Lake Jackson" by The KLF, which can be found 2:00 minutes in.

DJ Mad Professor remixed the album in 1995 under the name "No Protection".

Track listing

#"Protection" (Vowles/Del Naja/Marshall/Thorn) – 7:51
#"Karmacoma" (Vowles/Del Naja/Marshall/Tricky/Norfolk/Locke) – 5:16
#"Three" (Vowles/Del Naja/Marshall/Hooper/Suwoton) – 3:49
#"Weather Storm" (Vowles / DelNaja / Marshall / Hooper / Armstrong / Harmon / Napoleon /Lloyd /Murray) – 4:59
#"Spying Glass" (Vowles/Del Naja/Marshall/Hooper/Andy) – 5:20
#"Better Things" (Vowles/Del Naja/Marshall/Thorn/Watt/Brown) – 4:13
#"Eurochild" (Vowles/Del Naja/Marshall/Tricky/Norfolk/Locke) – 5:11
#"Sly" (Vowles, Del Naja/Marshall/Hooper/Suwoton/Goldman) – 5:24
#"Heat Miser" (Vowles/Del Naja/Marshall/Hooper/de Vries) – 3:39
#"Light My Fire" (live) (The Doors) – 3:15

Personnel

*Massive Attack - Producer, Mixing, Programming, Artwork
*Nellee Hooper - Producer, Mixing
*Marius De Vries, Andy Wright, The Insects, Nick Warren - Programming
*Robert "3d" Del Naja, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky, Tracey Thorn, Horace Andy, Nicolette - Vocals
*Craig Armstrong - Piano
*Chester Kamen - Guitar
*Rob Merril - Drums
*Mark "Spike" Stent - Mix Engineer
*Jim Abiss - Mix Engineer
*Jeremy "Jim Bob" Wheatley - Additional Engineering
*Al Stone - Additional Engineering
*Mike Marsh - Mastering
*Michael-Nash Assoc. - Artwork
*Matthew Donaldson, Jean Baptiste Mondino, Eddie Monsoon - Photography