Mezzanine

Mezzanine
Studio album by Massive Attack
Released	20 April 1998
Recorded	1997–1998
Genre	Trip hop, electronic, downtempo
Length	63:29
Label	Virgin
Producer	Neil Davidge, Massive Attack
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Drowned in Sound link Entertainment Weekly (A-) link Pitchfork Media (8.1/10) link Robert Christgau link Rolling Stone link
Massive Attack chronology
Protection (1994) Mezzanine (1998) 100th Window (2003)

Mezzanine is the third studio album by English trip hop group Massive Attack, released on 20 April 1998. It was produced by Neil Davidge along with the group. The album was produced on Virgin Records. Musically, Mezzanine is a major departure from the jazzy and laidback sound of the first two albums (Blue Lines and Protection), invoking the dark undercurrents which had always been present in the collective's music. It was released to near-universal acclaim worldwide, and was a huge success in the UK and other parts of Europe. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at #1,^[1] and was certified Platinum (marking sales of 300,000) by the BPI on 1 May 1998.^[2] It failed to share the same success in the United States, peaking at number 60 on the Billboard 200.^[3]

Mezzanine marked the departure of band member Andrew Vowles, due to creative conflicts. Similar to their previous albums, the majority of the songs consists of one or more samples, ranging from Isaac Hayes to Led Zeppelin.

Album information

Critics lauded the album's textured and deep sound, although it was a heavy departure from the sound of their previous releases. The album relies heavily on abstract and ambient sounds, as demonstrated in the song "Mezzanine" among others. Horace Andy, a well-known reggae artist also performed several spots on the album.^[4]

The entire album was provided on their website for legal download many months before the physical release was announced. It was one of the first major uses of the MP3 format by a commercial organisation.

In 1998 Manfred Mann sued Massive Attack for unauthorised use of a sample of the song "Tribute" from Manfred Mann's Earth Band's eponymous 1972 album, used in "Black Milk".^[5] The song has subsequently appeared as "Black Melt" on later releases and at live performances, with the notable absence of the sample.

Reception

Mezzanine was well received by critics, who praised the collective's new sound. Rolling Stone's Barney Hoskyns however, although praising the album, pointed to its flaws: "[Sometimes] rhythm and texture are explored at the expense of memorable tunes, and the absence of the bizarre Tricky (who appeared on Blue Lines and Protection) only highlights the flat, monotonous rapping of the group's 3-D."^[6]

John Bush of Allmusic also had positive words for the album's song "Inertia Creeps", saying it "could well be the highlight, another feature for just the core threesome. With eerie atmospherics, fuzz-tone guitars, and a wealth of effects, the song could well be the best production from the best team of producers the electronic world had ever seen."^[7]

Years after the album was released, it was placed on many "Best Of" lists in the UK, and even in the United States. In 2000, Q magazine placed Mezzanine at number 15 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 412 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.^[8]

Cover Versions

"Angel" has been covered by Brazilian metal band Sepultura on their Revolusongs EP, released in 2003; by Charlotte Martin on her 2007 album, Reproductions; and by American mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan on their EP Plagiarism, released in the summer of 2006.

Another song, "Teardrop" has been covered by Newton Faulkner, Mika, José González, Incubus, and Elbow, although their versions differ significantly in format and instrumentation from the original.

Track listing

Chart positions

Personnel

• Robert Del Naja – vocals, producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples, art direction, design
• Grant Marshall – vocals, producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples
• Andrew Vowles – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples
• Neil Davidge – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples
• Horace Andy, Elizabeth Fraser, Sara Jay – vocals
• Angelo Bruschini – guitars
• John Harris, Bob Locke, Winston Blisset – bass guitars
• Andy Gangadeen – drums
• Dave Jenkins, Michael Timothy – additional keyboards
• Jan Kybert – ProTools
• Lee Shepherd – engineer
• Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
• Jan Kybert, Paul PDub Walton – assistant mixing
• Tim Young – cut
• Nick Knight – photography
• Tom Hingston – art direction, design

References