Blue Lines

Release type:What's this?
studio album
First released:
Apr 8 1991

Overview Edit

Blue Lines is the debut album by British electronica group Massive Attack, released on 8 April 1991 (see 1991 in music) by Virgin Records.

Blue Lines is generally considered the first trip hop album although the term was not coined until years later. The album was a success in the United Kingdom, reaching #13 in the albums chart; sales were limited elsewhere. A fusion of electronic music, hip hop, dub music, '70s soul music and reggae, the album established Massive Attack as one of the most innovative British bands of the 1990s and the founder of trip hop's Bristol Sound. Music critic Simon Reynolds stated that the album also marked a change in electronic/dance music, "a shift toward a more interior, meditational sound. The songs on Blue Lines run at 'spliff' tempos — from a mellow, moonwalking 90 beats per minute ...down to a positively torpid 67 bpm." The group also drew inspiration from concept albums in various genres by artists such as Pink Floyd, Public Image Ltd., Billy Cobham, Herbie Hancock and Isaac Hayes.

The Overview appearing in this section is attributed to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Lines. Portions of this Overview may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, version 3.0 or any later version, available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Additional terms may apply. See Wikipedia Terms of Use for details.

This particular version Edit

Record label:
Catalog number:
86228
Release dates:
  • Jun 29 1992

Genres

Electronic, Electronica, House, Trip-hop. Vote on Genres

What do Amazon.com customers think?

5 stars Reflection on Blue Lines - 10 Years Later
Review: Perhaps the smoothest, most rythmic album extant. Hypnotic, controlled, patient...the deep beat gently rocks you; the vocalists sing to you, about you, with you. The timing is pure; the feel natural, organic.

History: With their roots in the Bristol, England, club scene of the early '80s, the members of Massive Attack originated trip-hop, one of the most influential sound sof the '90s, combining the rythmic urgency of hip-hop, the freewheeling samples of the DJ's craft, soul-rich melodie…
Written by C.F. Stewart
3 stars i was not impressed
While this album is the most highly lauded of the long and amazing career of Massive Attack, it left me disappointed, prehaps because of all the hype I had heard about it before listening. Sure, safe From harm and Five Man Army are nice tracks but don't expect them to just knock you flat like 'Angel' or 'Black Milk' from Mezzanine did for me.

The production, owing to its age of course, definitely has that 'eighties' edge to it which I dislike; and there are a couple songs which I just can't STA…
Written by Daniel Ambrus

Track listing Edit

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Other versions Edit

Blue Lines 9 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: Wild Bunch Records
catalog number: WBRCD 1
release dates: Apr 8 1991 in United Kingdom
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Blue Lines 9 tracks format: 1 x CD
catalog number: WBRCD 1
release dates: Jun 29 1992
view details
Blue Lines 9 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: Virgin Records US
catalog number: 86228
release dates: Jun 29 1992
view details
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