William Gibson wrote in the book Burning Chrome that “the street finds its own uses for things”. A widely quoted phrase for describing how people put technologies to other uses. Or perhaps how inhabitants can create art directly from experiences found in the rich veins of a city, leading to new movements or musical genres.
Like most big cities, Bristol is dirty and loud, chock full of diversity and culture. It buzzes like a bag of wasps, mean and edgy but peel away the layers and you find something more complex. A lot of important artists, writers and musicians have come from Bristol, all putting a new spin on old things.
I moved there in 2016 and it didn't take long for it to get under my skin. I walked everywhere, being the sort of city that makes this possible. Exploring the parks, green spaces and neighbourhoods where things happened. I pieced together the geography of the region and experienced first-hand the independent identity that the people have. From its dark links to slavery to a bustling cultural melting pot, its musical legacy ranges from punk to reggae, indie to dance.
I was listening to an episode of the Bandsplain podcast and its host, Yasi Salek, said that ranking bands is a male thing to do. I’d never really thought about it being gender specific but ranking my top five bands has always been difficult due to an ever-changing taste as I get older. However, in that list would always be Massive Attack.
Blue Lines, their debut album, is full of rich moments and showcases a band confident with its sound; soul hooks, dub licks, subtle breakbeats and hip-hop production. The diversity of the band as it mixes patois rapping with some beautiful singing, lyrics ranging from politics to love, climate change to surveillance. It was groundbreaking and original, eventually spawning the (much-maligned by those involved) “trip-hop” scene with Portishead and Tricky a few years later when their second album Protection was released.
Protection was sleeker but had more of the same soulful sentiments, a band more confident but not arrogant. Their third album, Mezzanine, was heavier in sound and tone, 3D taking influence from some of the punk bands he listened to when he was younger. Other albums were released without some of the core band members and songs tackled consumerism, war and social injustices, documenting a world slowly crumbling and using their fame to highlight the wrong.
But back to Blue Lines. It was released in 1991, the same year that alternative music broke and the Americans invaded with “grunge”. Despite that, a number of UK bands released indie-dance crossover records. Jesus Jones Doubt, 808 State EX:CEL, KLF White Room, EMF Schubert Dip.
Thatcher's reign as Prime Minister had ended the previous year, and despite another Conservative government, the UK was free from such a divisive and despised leader. The country had turned to shit but the music scene was thriving.
Blue Lines was recorded at Coach House studios in Bristol over 8 months. It was both too slow to dance to but too dynamic for sleeping, perfect for late listening after a night out.
Being a moody 15-year-old, not really old enough to get into a nightclub, it was great to slip a copy into my walkman, pull up my hood, and walk around the dark streets of the small town I grew up in.
The album starts with Safe From Harm, a wind blowing in and a looping baseline around snappy percussion. Shara Nelson delivers sweet and soulful lyrics and drums crash.
“Midnight rocker, City slickers, Gunmen and maniacs, All will feature on the freakshow, And I can't do nothing 'bout that, no, But if you hurt what's mine, I'll sure as hell retaliate”
A city at night, neon-lit, straight from a cyberpunk novel, before 3D comes in and raps about danger. Casting shadows, danger lurking around corners, then Shara delivers the line:
“You can free the world, you can free my mind, Just as long as my baby's safe from harm tonight”
The second track, One Love, features the now long-term collaborator Horace Andy. An already legendary Jamaican reggae artist, he sings about a man and woman, love and heartache. The roots of reggae are felt in the music as Horace croons in his distinctive tone. The song snaps you out of the rolling baseline of the first song and delivers you from danger to somewhere warm and inviting.
“It's not every day you find the woman of your dreams, Who will always be there no matter how bad things seem, Ever so faithful ever so sure, No man could ever ask for more”
Blue Lines, the title track, rolls in with more snappy snares as Tricky, 3D and Daddy G rap about a man seemingly struggling to find out who he is or his place in the world. The first verse is pure poetry.
“Can't be with the one you love, then love the one you're with, Spliff in the ashtray, red stripe, I pull the lid, Her touch tickles, especially when she's gentle, But I don't hear her words 'cause I slide the instrumental, Keep the girl in the distance, moves are very hazy, No sunshine in my life the way I deal is shady”
Be Thankful For What You’ve Got is a cover of the William DeVaughn song from 1974, sung by Tony Bryan. It's not about flash cars or being a gangster, which was something a lot of artists sang about in the 70s. This version is a modern soul interpretation that works and fits in with the overall sound of the album. Finding uses for old things.
Five Man Army sees the band rapping about their past, reflecting on their time as The Wild Bunch and the sound systems they would put on at house parties. Then it gives way to perhaps the song that broke Massive Attack, Unfinished Sympathy.
I remember watching the video on MTV on its release, the song rattling along at a cinematic pace, with Shara walking through the streets of LA and singing about love directly to the camera in one shot. The breakbeats and scratching set the tone and the song itself was hugely influential in introducing Massive Attack to the world.
The last few tracks of the album switch the mood and dial down the tone, from the menace of the first song, Daydreaming starts with someone taking a big hit off a spliff and evokes the feelings of a summer spent in beer gardens, smoking roll-ups and drinking as the day floats by and the sun sets. The party moves on to the next song Lately, where the evening begins and then the the final song, Hymn of the Big Wheel.
It’s a perfect conclusion and perhaps acts as a warning as the band sees the world still spinning despite humans having fucked it. Cities spreading like a virus, surveillance and acid rain, the song is over 30 years old yet it could be written today.
The album was a critical hit, the band and their voice were and still are huge and the music is innovative yet retains a lot of old soul and reggae.
When I finally got to see Massive Attack in Bristol it was part of the tour to celebrate the anniversary of Mezzanine. While they didn’t perform any songs from Blue Lines, it was a culmination of years of following them. And perhaps I might not get the opportunity again, the band has declared they won't tour until they can find a more sustainable way to do so. Climate and world breakdown are at the forefront of their agenda again.