| "Unfinished Sympathy" | ||||||||
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| Single by Massive Attack | ||||||||
| from the album Blue Lines | ||||||||
| Released | 11 February 1991 | |||||||
| Format | 7", 12", CD | |||||||
| Recorded | 1990; Coach House, Bristol, and Abbey Road Studios, London | |||||||
| Genre | Trip hop | |||||||
| Length | 5:12 | |||||||
| Label | Virgin | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Grantley Marshall, Andrew Vowles, Robert Del Naja, Jonathan Sharp, Shara Nelson | |||||||
| Producer | Massive Attack, Jonny Dollar | |||||||
| Massive Attack singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Unfinished Sympathy" is a song by English electronica group Massive Attack, from their debut album Blue Lines (1991). The song was written collaboratively by the members of the group (Grantley "Daddy G" Marshall, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles, and Robert "3D" Del Naja), with Jonathan "Jonny Dollar" Sharp and Shara Nelson, the latter providing lead vocals for the song. Production of the song was done by Massive Attack and Jonny Dollar. "Unfinished Sympathy" was released as the second single from Blue Lines on 11 February 1991. It fared well on singles charts, reaching number one on the Dutch Top 40, as well as reaching the top twenty in countries such as their native United Kingdom and Switzerland.
The song was acclaimed by critics, and is generally recognized as a pioneering song in the trip hop genre. Critics praised its unique production, atypical of the standard dance track: the song contains usage of "classical" instruments such as piano and strings, but also shows influences of their hip hop roots, utilizing well-known hip hop practices such as scratching and sampling. It was acclaimed for its use of its production and Shara Nelson's vocals to conceive a generally moving and emotional nature. "Unfinished Sympathy" ranked highly on 1991 year-end polls for the best singles of the year, reaching the top spots on polls from NME, Melody Maker and The Face, and also features prominently on critics' and popular polls as one of the best songs of all-time. It was also well-received by Massive Attack's peers in the electronic genre, and has been praised by other electronic artists such as Darren Tate and Norman Cook. The song was covered by American singer Tina Turner in 1996; her version became a top ten hit on the French Singles Chart.
The track is also known for its relatively simple video, directed by Baillie Walsh, which simply consists of one continuous shot of Nelson walking along a sidewalk, detached from her surroundings, as the members of Massive Attack gradually start walking behind her. The influence of the video can been seen in later music videos by other artists, most notably on The Verve's 1997 video for their track "Bitter Sweet Symphony".[1]
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"Unfinished Sympathy" was recorded at Coach House, Bristol, and Abbey Road Studios, London. Vocals on the track are provided by English singer Shara Nelson, whom the group had known from their days as a part of sound system The Wild Bunch. Strings on the track were conducted and arranged by Wil Malone at Abbey Road, led by violinist Gavin Wright, and engineered by Haydn Bendall at Abbey Road. The track was mixed by Jeremy Allom at the Matrix Recording Studios in London.
"Unfinished Sympathy" was released as the second single from Blue Lines on 11 February 1991. At the time of the single's release, the group temporarily shortened their name to "Massive" at the advice of producer Cameron McVey, who worked with the group on Blue Lines, to avoid controversy relating to the Gulf War, which at the time had broken out recently. The group then reverted to their original name, Massive Attack, for the release of their next single "Safe from Harm". As a result of their temporary name change, covers of the single credit either "Massive Attack" or "Massive" as the artist of the song.[2].
"Unfinished Sympathy" is a trip hop track, and makes use of instruments common to tracks in the trip hop genre: keyboards, strings, drum machines, and turntables.
Sampling is also utilized: the percussion loop of the song is sampled from the song "Parade Strutt" by American composer J. J. Johnson, from the soundtrack to the 1974 film Willie Dynamite.[3] The "hey, hey, hey, hey..." voice that recurs throughout the song is a sample from John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Planetary Citizen". The voice was sampled without clearance.[4]
The video for "Unfinished Sympathy" was directed by Baillie Walsh, and filmed in January 1991 on West Pico Boulevard between S. New Hampshire Avenue and Dewey Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Dan Kneece, SOC was the Steadicam Operator. Scott Ressler was the Focus Puller. John Mathieson, who later went on to shoot Gladiator for Ridley Scott, was the DP. It features Shara Nelson walking along the sidewalk, unaware or uncaring of her surroundings, which includes drunks, gangs, bikers, disabled people and other; the three members of Massive Attack - Robert Del Naja, Grant Marshall and Andrew Vowles - gradually start walking behind her. It was one of the earliest music videos to use one continuous shot. The video was later paid homage to in the music video for The Verve's song "Bitter Sweet Symphony".[5] The art director for the video was Leigh Bowery.
In European media, "Unfinished Sympathy" has frequently been placed highly on lists of "the best songs of all time":
Pitchfork Media rated "Unfinished Sympathy" as 44th best track of the '90s. [13]
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Singles Chart[8] | 17 |
| Dutch Singles Chart[9] | 2 |
| New Zealandian Singles Chart[10] | 48 |
| Swedish Singles Chart[10] | 40 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[11] | 9 |
| UK Singles Chart[12] | 13 |
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