Album · Massive Attack
Blue Lines by Massive Attack
Blue Lines is an album by Massive Attack, released in 1991. 2 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 37 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Unfinished Sympathy”, on 28 lists with a best position of #29.
Blue Lines, Massive Attack's debut, came out on Wild Bunch and Virgin on 8 April 1991, and it sounds like Bristol after dark: heavy bass, slow breakbeats and smoke. 3D, Daddy G, Tricky and Mushroom led the sessions and produced with Jonny Dollar, pulling hip-hop's samples, beats and raps into the deep low end of dub and reggae and the warmth of soul, with Shara Nelson and Horace Andy lending their voices.
"Unfinished Sympathy" is the heart-stopper, huge and aching, while "Safe from Harm" prowls on a menacing groove. Nobody had a name for this stuff yet; it's generally taken as the first trip hop record, and it has kept turning up on the all-time lists ever since.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Blue Lines on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unfinished Sympathy | 28 | #29 | – | 1991–2026 | |
| 2 | Safe From Harm | 9 | #163 | – | 2000–2024 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.