Mezzanine (album)
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| Mezzanine | |||||
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| Studio album by Massive Attack | |||||
| Released | April 27, 1998 | ||||
| Recorded | 1997–98 | ||||
| Genre | Downtempo Trip Hop Electronica |
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| Length | 63:29 | ||||
| Label | Circa, Virgin | ||||
| Producer | Massive Attack, Neil Davidge | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Massive Attack chronology | |||||
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Mezzanine is the title of the third full-length album from Bristol-based trip-hop innovators Massive Attack. Released in 1998, it marked the moment when the dark undercurrents which had always been present in the collective's music came to the fore.
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[edit] Overview
Overall, the album was highly acclaimed by many critics. Discordant rock guitars are featured on several tracks, allegedly against the wishes of founding member Andrew Vowles (aka Mushroom), who left the band shortly after the album's release, citing creative differences. Mezzanine features the talents of long-time Massive Attack collaborator Horace Andy, along with guest vocalists such as Elizabeth Fraser.
The entire album was provided on Massive Attack's website for legal download many months before it was released on CD. Various other artists have since done the same, notably Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and more recently, Radiohead's In Rainbows. It was also one of the first major uses of the MP3 compression system by a commercial organization.
In 1998 Manfred Mann sued Massive Attack for unauthorized use of a sample of the song "Tribute" from Manfred Mann's Earth Band's eponymous 1972 album, used in "Black Milk".[1] The song has subsequently appeared as "Black Melt" on later releases and at live performances, with the notable absence of the sample.
"Angel" has been covered by Brazilian metal band Sepultura on their Revolusongs EP, by Charlotte Martin on her 2007 album, Reproductions, and by American mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan on their EP Plagiarism (which consists mostly of cover songs). "Teardrop" has been covered by Newton Faulkner although his version does differ significantly in format and instrumentation from the original.
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.
[edit] Track listing
- "Angel" (Robert Del Naja, Marshall, Andrew Vowles, Hinds) – 6:18
- Vocals by Horace Andy
- Contains the drum loop sample from "Last Bongo in Belgium" by The Incredible Bongo Band.
- Contains a vocal sample from "Practice Makes Perfect" by Wire.
- "Risingson" (Del Naja, Marshall, Vowles, Lou Reed, Seeger) – 4:58
- Features sample from "I Found A Reason" by The Velvet Underground
- "Teardrop" (Del Naja, Marshall, Vowles, Elizabeth Fraser) – 5:29
- Vocals by Elizabeth Fraser
- Features a sample from "Sometimes I Cry" by Les McCann.
- "Inertia Creeps" (Del Naja, Marshall, Vowles) – 5:56
- "Exchange" (Bob Hilliard, Mort Garson) – 4:11
- Features sample from "Our Day Will Come" by Isaac Hayes
- "Dissolved Girl" (Del Naja, Marshall, Vowles, Sarah Jay, Schwartz) – 6:07
- Vocals by Sara Jay
- "Man Next Door" (John Holt, Robert Smith, Laurence Tolhurst, Michael Dempsey) – 5:55
- Vocals by Horace Andy
- Features the drum loop sample from "When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin.
- Features sample from "10:15 Saturday Night" by The Cure
- Features the melody and lyrics from "Got To Get Away" by Ska-Band The Paragons
- "Black Milk" (Del Naja, Marshall, Vowles, Fraser) – 6:20
- Vocals by Elizabeth Fraser
- Based on a sample from "Tribute" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
- "Mezzanine" (Del Naja, Marshall, Vowles) – 5:54
- Vocals by Del Naja, Marshall
- "Group Four" (Del Naja, Marshall, Vowles, Fraser) – 8:13
- Vocals by Elizabeth Fraser
- Features samples from "In Your Room", "Get Right With Me" and "Higher Love" by Depeche Mode, from the album Songs of Faith and Devotion
- "(Exchange)" (Hilliard, Garson) – 4:08
- Vocals by Horace Andy
- Features sample from "Our Day Will Come" by Isaac Hayes
- "Superpredators" (Vowles, Marshall, Del Naja) (Japanese bonus track) – 5:16
[edit] Use in other media
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"Angel" is featured in many films and in other media including:
- Pi (1998)
- Best Laid Plans (1999)
- Go (1999)
- The Matrix (1999)
- Snatch (2000)
- Antitrust (2001)
- Phone Booth (2002)
- Wonderland (2003)
- Flight of the Phoenix (2004)
- Stay (2005)
- Long Way Round (2005)
- Firewall (2006)
- The West Wing episode "Commencement"
- Smallville episode "Rogue"
- Third Watch episode "Anywhere But Here"
- Tell Me You Love Me TV teaser trailers before it first aired
- Adidas advertisement campaign in 1997 for their "Predator" brand of football boots
- Hollyoaks
- I Come with the Rain trailer
"Teardrop" is featured in:
- House theme song, although versions of the program aired in Europe, Asia and other places use an original composition which resembles the "Teardrop" track.
- Charmed episode "Charmed Again" (2001), during the funeral of one of the main characters, Prudence Halliwell
- Cold Case episode "Sanctuary" (2006)
- Prison Break episode "Tonight" (2006)
- MTV's Daria episode "Write Where it Hurts"
- MTV Downtown episode "Before And After"
- TV spots for Assassin's Creed, a 2007 video game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles
"Inertia Creeps" is featured in:
- Stigmata (1999)
- NUMB3RS pilot episode
- Taking Lives (2004)
"Exchange" was featured twice in the 2001 documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, although it did not appear on the soundtrack.
"Dissolved Girl" is featured in:
- The Jackal (1997)
- The Matrix (1999) (plays on Neo's (Keanu Reeves) headphones when he first appears in the movie)
- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007) (Used in Massive Attack Trailer)
"Man Next Door" is featured in:
- Fight Club (1999) trailer
The Japanese release of Mezzanine featured an additional track, "Superpredators," which was used as the opening theme to the film The Jackal (1997) and as the favourite song of character Zaraki Kenpachi in the manga Bleach.
[edit] Samples
[edit] Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Australian ARIA Albums Chart | 1 |
[edit] 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, P-Dub – assistant mixing
- Tim Young – cut
- Nick Knight – photography
- Tom Hingston – art direction, design
[edit] References
| Preceded by Ray of Light by Madonna |
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album May 3 - May 9, 1998 |
Succeeded by The Wedding Singer: Music from the Motion Picture by Various artists |
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