We now enter a section of the music project where we encounter another number of compilations comprising of “best of”s. Much like “Best of”, “Collection” albums tend to feature a showcase of the artist’s most popular works. They’re often a good starting point for finding out whether the band is compatible with your tastes and tends to have tunes you’re more likely have heard.
Massive Attack were part of the 90’s soundscape and very much akin to Portishead, Tricky and Morcheeba in that regard. Whenever they make a “period” drama set in the 1990s, it’s those bands that become part of the soundtrack.
Now the controversy: I like only a handful of Massive Attack songs. I tried. I got this album to try and like them more but it’s still only the same handful of Massive Attack songs that I like. Like all bands of a similar nature, after a while nothing new or inventive happens. We tend to get the same systematic rhythms, the same mix of women singing and men…Shatnering and the same repetition of themes over and over.
All that is great if you’re after a nice quick fix but it’s like that favourite table cloth you have. It’s the right colour and the right texture but it just isn’t the right shape for the table. That, dear reader, is what Massive Attack are like for me.
Stegzy's Music Project 