Song · Massive Attack
“Protection” by Massive Attack with Tracey Thorn
From the album Protection (1994) With Tracey Thorn
“Protection” by Massive Attack with Tracey Thorn appears on 14 radio countdowns from 10 stations between 1995 and 2026. It was first released in 1994 on the album Protection. Its best result is #95 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1995. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #298 alternative song of 1995 and #6,521 alternative song of all time.
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Video from YouTube (MassiveAttackVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Protection" is the title track of Massive Attack's second album, from 1994, and its voice belongs to a guest: Tracey Thorn of Everything but the Girl, who shares the writing with Robert Del Naja, Grant Marshall and Andrew Vowles. Nellee Hooper produced with the collective, and Mark "Spike" Stent engineered and helped mix.
It's slow-motion soul for the small hours: a hi-hat and bass figure and a recurring wah-wah chord lifted from James Brown's "The Payback", a long, patient groove, and Thorn singing with a warmth and tenderness that critics singled out for praise. Put out as a single in January 1995, it reached number 14 in Britain, and Michel Gondry directed the video. Everything but the Girl later claimed it for their own compilations too.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 97 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1995 | 107 |
| 1995 | 95 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 1995 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 473 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) | 500 |
| 2006 | 429 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) | 499 |
| 2009 | 641 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Essential Songs | 913 |
| 2019 | 260 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2020 | 1420 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2021 | 112 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 834 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2022 | 131 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2023 | 571 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2023 | 195 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2024 | 264 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
| 2026 | 828 | KXT | KXT 917 Song Countdown | 917 |
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