Rewind: Massive Attack 'Blue Lines' (Part 1)

Following success with the Wild Bunch, the members of Massive Attack released one of the then-unnamed genre of trip-hop's defining albums: 1991's 'Blue Lines'. Like its hip-hop predecessors, 'Blue Lines' contains more than its fair share of sampled breaks. This two part look at 'Blue Lines' will cover Massive Attack's sample sources.

The album's opening track and highest charting single is the hypnotic 'Safe from Harm'. The track samples its bassline from Billy Cobham's 1973 song 'Stratus' from the album 'Spectrum' as well as drum fills from Funkadelic's 'Good Ole Music'. The title track 'Blue Lines' samples Tom Scott and L.A. Express' necessary breakbeat 'Sneakin' In the Back' and the Donald Byrd produced b-boy classic 'Rock Creek Park' from the Blackbyrds' 1975 album 'City Life'. Massive Attack do a cover of William DeVaughn's 'Be Thankful for What You Got' on their similarly titled 'Be Thankful for What You've Got'. The group use another classic break on 'Five Man Army': Al Green's slo-mo intro drum fill on 'I'm Glad You're Mine' from his legendary album 'I'm Still in Love with You'.

Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Blue Lines'.

The Lowdown:
Massive Attack 'Safe from Harm', 'Blue Lines', 'Be Thankful for What You've Got', and 'Five Man Army'
from 'Blue Lines' (1991) (MP3/CD)
Billy Cobham 'Stratus'
from 'Spectrum' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Funkadelic 'Good Ole Music'
from 'Funkadelic' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD)
Tom Scott and the L.A. Express 'Sneakin' in the Back'
from 'Tom Scott and the L.A. Express' (1973) (MP3/CD not available)
The Blackbyrds 'Rock Creek Park'
from 'City Life' (1975) (MP3/CD)
William DeVaughn 'Be Thankful for What You Got'
from 'Be Thankful for What You Got' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD)
Al Green 'I'm Glad You're Mine'
from 'I'm Still in Love with You' (1972) (MP3/CD)

Bonus Cuts:
The title track from 'Blue Lines' was sampled on Barry Adamson's 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' released only a few years after Massive Attack's album. The song is notable for its use in David Lynch's film 'Lost Highway'.

Related Posts:
Source Material: Marvin Gaye 'I Want You' (Massive Attack appearance)