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Cover of Blue Lines by Massive Attack
Cover: Blue Lines

Song · Massive Attack

“Unfinished Sympathy” by Massive Attack

From the album Blue Lines (1991)

“Unfinished Sympathy” by Massive Attack appears on 28 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1991 and 2026. It was first released in 1991 on the album Blue Lines. Its best result is #29 on the Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2003). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,008 alternative song of all time.

28countdowns
5stations
#29best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1991–2026years charted

Watch

Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy

Video from YouTube (MassiveAttackVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Unfinished Sympathy" came out on 11 February 1991, the second single from Blue Lines, and it went out under a trimmed name: with the Gulf War on, Massive Attack called themselves plain Massive to dodge a radio ban. Robert "3D" Del Naja, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall wrote it with singer Shara Nelson and co-producer Jonny Dollar, and together they built a soul lament run through a sampler: vocal and percussion samples, programmed drums and a vast, aching string part that Dollar composed and Wil Malone arranged, with Nelson riding over it all in heartbroken majesty.

Baillie Walsh's video follows her in one unbroken shot through a Los Angeles neighbourhood, lost in her own head. It topped the Dutch Top 40, went top 20 in Britain, and still turns up in all-time best-song polls; Sean O'Hagan credits it with shaping generations of electronic musicians.

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#StationCountdownof
1991 64 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1991) 100
1998 98 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1998) 100
1998 34 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1998) 100
1999 57 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1999) 150
2000 47 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2000) 100
2001 45 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2001) 100
2002 38 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2002) 100
2003 29 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2003) 100
2004 36 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2004) 100
2005 51 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2005) 100
2006 35 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2006) 100
2007 39 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2007) 100
2008 50 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2008) 100
2009 68 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2009) 100
2009 93 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (2009) 100
2010 66 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2010) 100
2011 74 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2011) 100
2012 67 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2012) 100
2013 99 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2013) 100
2014 69 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2014) 100
2015 71 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2015) 100
2019 474 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2021 136 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2022 192 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 781 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2022 218 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2025 93 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2025) 100
2026 844 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound 1055

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