Project 1001: Protection by Massive Attack

I stand in front of you / I'll take the force of the blow, protection

Massive Attack has been said by many to be a foundational artist of the trip hop genre. What is trip hop you may ask? Far Out magazine took a shot at defining it:

As the name suggests, it pertains to an origin in hip-hop music. Hip-hop was itself born from funk music, characterised by heavy use of sampling.

Trip-hop is a term coined in the mid-1990s, but the label has since been extended back to the late 1980s. What sets trip-hop apart from hip-hop is that it blends a more diverse array of genres into proceedings, such as acid jazz, post-punk, reggae, and electronica. As a rule of thumb, trip-hop will mix samples with a more melancholic instrumental atmosphere and introspective lyrics.

…the earliest trip-hop music can and should be traced back to the genre’s spiritual home, Bristol, UK. The city helped put trip-hop on the map throughout the 1990s; local giants Massive Attack and Portishead are still seen as the ace and king of the pack.¹

The album opens with a cool and sexy vocal reminiscent of Sade. The rest of the album is similarly cool and at times sexy. The vibe I got was a dark lounge with people sitting on low couches at low tables trying to look cool without appearing to be trying to look cool.

For me, this album isn’t something to listen to but rather something to create a mood or vibe for an evening. It’s as good as any other album I might use for such a purpose. My rating:

Rolling Stone praised Protection:

Even with the departure of the smoky-voiced Shara Nelson, this English dance-pop outfit still delivers brilliant body music that doesn't neglect the brain. Cool, sexy stuff, it smoothly fuses dub, club and soul, grounding its grace in sampled hip-hop beats.²

AllMusic’s review also praised the album, but expressed disappointment:

Massive Attack's sophomore effort could never be as stunning as Blue Lines, and a slight drop in production and songwriting quality made the comparisons easy. Still, from the first two songs Protection sounds worthy of their debut. The opening title track is pure excellence, with melancholy keyboards, throbbing acid lines, and fragmented beats perfectly complementing the transcendent vocals of Tracey Thorn (an inspired choice to replace the departed Shara Nelson as their muse). Tricky, another soon-to-be-solo performer, makes his breakout on this record, with blunted performances on "Karmacoma," another highlight, as well as "Eurochild." But even though the production is just as intriguing as on Blue Lines, there's a bit lacking here -- Massive Attack doesn't summon quite the emotional power they did previously. Guest Craig Armstrong's piano work on the aimless tracks "Weather Storm" and "Heat Miser" leans uncomfortably close to Muzak, and his arrangement and conducting for "Sly" isn't much better (vocals by Nicolette save the track somewhat). Though it's still miles ahead of the growing raft of trip-hop making the rounds in the mid-'90s, Protection is rather a disappointment.³

In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Liam Pieper wrote:

Protection helped cement Massive Attack’s status as figureheads of Britain’s emerging Bristol sound; paving the way for acts like Portishead, Sneaker Pimps, and Beth Oton. It was the first indicator that that style today known as trip hop was not a trend but a growing viable genre.⁴

Enjoy and listen without prejudice. Cheers!

Prime Playlist: 204. Protection by Massive Attack

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For details about this project, read this: Project 1001 Albums

 Charts

• Peak on Billboard 200 album chart: n/a
• Singles on Billboard Hot 100 chart: n/a
• RIAA certification: n/a

Released on September 26, 1994. Here’s what else was happening:

Pop Culture

• Number one song: “I’ll Make Love to You” by Boyz II Men⁵
• Number one album: If by Boyz II Men⁶
• Number one movie: Timecop by Peter Hyams⁷
• Most watched TV programs: Seinfeld, ER, Home Improvement, Grace Under Fire, Monday Night Football, 60 Minutes, NYPD Blue, Friends, Roseanne, Murder, She Wrote, Mad About You, Madman of the People, Ellen, Hope and Gloria, Frasier, Murphy Brown⁸
• NYT bestseller, fiction: Debt of Honor by Tom Clancy⁹
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: Couplehood by Paul Reiser¹⁰

Some other albums released that week

• Whip-Smart by Liz Phair
• Hot Trip to Heaven by Love & Rockets
• My Iron Lung by Radiohead
• Thug Life: Volume 1 by 2Pac
• American Thighs by Veruca Salt
• Boomtown by Toby Keith
• Brandy by Brandy
• Divine Intervention by Slayer
• I Love Everybody by Lyle Lovett
• In the Hot Seat by Emerson, Lake & Palmer
• Kermit Unpigged by The Muppets
• Monster by R.E.M.
• Permanent Record: Al in the Box by "Weird Al" Yankovic
• Songs by Luther Vandross
• Under the Table and Dreaming by Dave Matthews Band
• Waitin' on Sundown by Brooks & Dunn¹¹

Sport

• Sep 14 MLB team owners vote to cancel remainder of 1994 season, as well as the World Series for only the second time in history, continuing labor dispute with Players Association.
• Sep 18 1st Presidents Cup Golf, Robert Trent Jones GC: Davis Love III is undefeated as US beats International team, 20-12 in inaugural event.
• Sep 24 Oliver McCall TKOs Lennox Lewis in 2nd round to win heavyweight boxing title at Wembley Arena in London, England.¹²

Notable Births

• Sep 15 Wout van Aert, Belgium cyclist, born in Herentals, Flanders.
• Sep 17 Taylor Ware, American yodeler and country music singer, born in Franklin, Tennessee.
• Sep 29 Halsey [Ashley Frangipane], American singer-songwriter (Without Me), born in Edison, New Jersey.¹³

Historical Events

• Sep 19 ER premiers on NBC.
• Sep 22 Friends premiers on NBC.
• Sep 28 "Cats" 5,000th Broadway performance, joining "A Chorus Line" and "Oh! Calcutta!" in the 5,000 club.
• Sep 28 909 people die when an Estonian ferry capsizes & sinks in Baltic sea.
• Sep 29 1st phase of O.J. Simpson murder trial jury selection ends (304 chosen).

Notable Deaths

• Sep 11 Jessica Tandy, British-American Oscar-winning actress (Driving Miss Daisy), dies of cancer at 85.
• Sep 17 Vitas Gerulaitus, Lithuanian-American tennis player (Australian Open 1977; Wimbledon doubles 1975), dies of carbon monoxide poisoning at 40
• Sep 20 Jule Styne [Julius Stein], British-American Academy and Tony Award-winning songwriter ("Three Coins In The Fountain"; "Time After Time"), and Broadway composer (Funny Girl; Hallelujah, Baby!; Gypsy), dies at 88.
• Sep 22 Edward Shackleton, English explorer, geographer and Labour Party politician, dies at 83.
• Sep 22 Forest 'Bud' Sagendorf, American cartoonist (Popeye), dies at 79.¹⁴

1. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/what-is-trip-hop-where-did-it-originate/

2. https://web.archive.org/web/20071025021625/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/massiveattack/albums/album/322083/review/6067499/protection

3. https://www.allmusic.com/album/protection-mw0000119284

4. Pieper, Liam, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Fifth printing, ed. by Robert Dimmery p. 742

5. https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1994-09-24/

6. https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1994-09-24/

7. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/1994W37/?ref_=bo_wey_table_19

8. http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/1991/08/1994-95-ratings-history.html

9. https://www.hawes.com/1994/1994-09-25.pdf

10. Ibid.

11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_in_music

12. https://www.onthisday.com/sport/events/date/1994/september#:~:text=Events%20in%20sport%20in%20September%201994.%20See

13. https://www.onthisday.com/birthdays/date/1994/september#:~:text=Famous%20people%20born%20in%20September%201994.

14. https://www.onthisday.com/deaths/date/1994/september#:~:text=Famous%20deaths%20in%20September%201994.%20Learn