Song · Massive Attack
“Safe From Harm” by Massive Attack
From the album Blue Lines (1991)
“Safe From Harm” by Massive Attack appears on 9 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 2000 and 2024. It was first released in 1991 on the album Blue Lines. Its best result is #163 on the WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,913 alternative song of all time.
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"Safe From Harm" opens Blue Lines, the 1991 debut from British trip hop collective Massive Attack, and went out on Virgin in May that year as the album's third single, following "Unfinished Sympathy". Shara Nelson takes the lead with Robert Del Naja chipping in, and her voice cuts through a bass line that stalks like a panther. Jonny Dollar produced it with the band, and they mixed it with Jeremy Allom.
It's a crate-digger's masterclass: the bass, guitar and drums come from Billy Cobham's "Stratus", off his album Spectrum with Tommy Bolin on guitar, with extra drums lifted from Funkadelic's "Good Old Music", touches of Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon" and backing vocals modelled on Johnny "Guitar" Watson's 1961 song "Looking Back". Hence Cobham's writing credit next to Del Naja, Grant Marshall, Nelson and Andrew Vowles. A Perfecto Mix later closed Michael Mann's film The Insider.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 375 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) | 500 |
| 2001 | 376 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) | 498 |
| 2002 | 356 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) | 500 |
| 2003 | 276 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) | 500 |
| 2005 | 257 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) | 500 |
| 2006 | 163 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) | 499 |
| 2020 | 1910 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2023 | 733 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2024 | 201 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
Also listed as: Safe from Harm.
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