Unfinished Sympathy

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"Unfinished Sympathy"
"Unfinished Sympathy" cover
Single by Massive Attack
from the album Blue Lines
Released 1991
Format cassette tape, CD
Genre Trip Hop
Length 05:07
Label Virgin Records
Producer(s) Robert Del Naja / Grant Marshall / Shara Nelson / J. Sharp / Andrew Vowles
Chart positions
#13 (UK)
Massive Attack singles chronology
Daydreaming
(1991)		 Unfinished Sympathy
(1991)		 Safe From Harm (single)
(1991)

"Unfinished Sympathy" is a song written and performed by Massive Attack. The singer on the track is Shara Nelson. It appears on their debut album Blue Lines. The song and the whole band were part of a wider musical movement dubbed the 'Bristol Sound' or Trip hop by the music press. The music was also part of the wider Bristol Urban Culture scene.

Contents

[edit] The song

The lyrics add to the emotional mood of the song, complementing the string section:

I know that I've been mad in love before
And how it could be with you
Really hurt me baby, really cut me baby
How can you have a day without a night
You're the book that I have opened
And now I've got to know much more

The song projects a dark mood. This was likely to have been influenced by the tensions within Massive Attack. Robert Del Naja has described the dark atmosphere within the group: "There was always this tension between control and collaboration. Always ... We were just trying to get the job finished ...Everything became thinner and smaller. All that warmth being spun into a tiny little thread, then that thread just being cut." [1]

[edit] Critical acclaim

The song appeared on the album Blue Lines
Enlarge
The song appeared on the album Blue Lines

It has frequently been placed at the top or near the top of lists of the best song of all time compiled by various different magazines, reviewers and TV channels:

  • The TV Channel MTV2 in the UK ranked it #1 in a poll of the best songs of all time
  • Face Magazine (UK) - Singles of the Year, ranking #1
  • Melody Maker (UK) - Singles of the Year, ranking #1
  • New Musical Express (UK) - Singles of the Year, ranking #8
  • Iguana (Spain) - Singles of the Year, ranking #2
  • A BBC Radio 2 poll ranked it #44 in the best songs of all time
  • Reviewer Julie Burchill has described as her favourite song of all time.
  • Mixmag (UK) - The 100 Best Dance Singles of All Time (1996) 10
  • New Musical Express (UK) - The Top 100 Singles of All Time (2002) 10
  • Q (UK) - The 1001 Best Songs Ever (2003), ranking #37
  • Q (UK) - Top 20 Singles from 1980-2004 (2004), ranking #8
  • RDL (Spain) - The 100 Best Songs from 1990 to 1998 (1999), ranking #1
  • Rock de Lux (Spain) - The Top 100 Songs from 1984-1993 (1993), ranking #4
  • BBC Radio 1 (1998), ranking #1
  • Q Magazine (1998) - ranking #15
  • EveryHit.com poll of poll - ranking #21

[edit] Song meaning

The meaning of the song has generated much debate among fans. Some claim it is about the fear of getting hurt by someone you are falling in love with - the fear of getting too close. Other fans have argued it is about "the uncertainty that there is at the beginning of a relationship after being in a painful one. You are unsure whether it is going to hurt you like the previous one and asking the questions about what will go wrong even though it seems so perfect." [2]

[edit] Trivia

  • The percussion loop is the 'belly break' sampled from "Take Me To The Mardi Gras" by Bob James, a cover version of Paul Simon's "Take Me To The Mardi Gras" which was also used by Run DMC on "Peter Piper"[3]
  • The group were forced to change their name due to the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991. They were briefly known as "Massive", and it is that name which features on the cover of this single[4]
  • The voice at the beginning of the song is a sample of John McLaughlin, whose voice was sampled without clearance [5]
  • The song has also been remixed by Paul Oakenfold and Nellee Hooper
  • The song has been covered by Tina Turner for her 1996 Wildest Dreams album.

[edit] The video

A shot of the single's music video
Enlarge
A shot of the single's music video

The video for Unfinished Sympathy was recorded in January 1991 on West Pico Boulevard between S. New Hampshire Avenue and Dewey Avenue in Los Angeles, CA. It features Nelson walking down the sidewalk unaware of her surroundings, which include drunks, gangs, and bikers. It was one of the earliest music videos to use a continuous shot. The video was the influence for the "Bitter Sweet Symphony" video by The Verve, which was in turn parodied by the video for the single "Vindaloo" by Fat Les.

[edit] Samples

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Sydney Morning Herald review. Retrieved on June 14, 2006.
  2. ^ SongMeanings.com page about the song. Retrieved on June 14, 2006.
  3. ^ Discogs. Retrieved on September 30, 2006.
  4. ^ Discogs. Retrieved on September 30, 2006.
  5. ^ Sydney Morning Herald review. Retrieved on June 14, 2006.
Massive Attack
Robert Del Naja aka "3D" - Grant Marshall aka "Daddy G"
Andrew Vowles aka "Mushroom"
Discography
EPs: Hymn of the Big Wheel - Butterfly Caught
Studio albums: Blue Lines - Protection - Mezzanine - 100th Window
Singles: Any Love - Daydreaming - Unfinished Sympathy - Safe From Harm - Massive Attack EP - Sly - Protection - Karmacoma - Risingson - Teardrop - Angel - Intertia Creeps - Special Cases - Butterfly Caught - Live With Me
Compilations: The Singles Collection - Collected
Remix Albums: No Protection
Soundtracks: Danny the Dog - Bullet Boy
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