About

Protection was widely considered a disappointing follow-up to Massive Attack's groundbreaking debut, Blue Lines. Where their debut bent all of the conventional hip-hop, dub reggae, and soul rules, Protection essentially delivered more of the same. Perhaps that's the reason why Mad Professor's remix of the album, No Protection, was welcomed with open arms by both Massive Attack fans and critics. Mad Professor has returned the group to their experimental, cut-and-paste dub reggae and hip-hop roots. He has gutted the songs - twisting and reassembling the vocal tracks, giving the songs deeper, fuller grooves and an eerily seductive atmosphere. In other words, he has made Protection into a more daring and fulfilling album with his remixes. — (via Stephen Thomas Erlewine // AllMusic)

Given Massive Attack's background, it was almost inevitable that they'd release a dub overhaul of one of their albums at one point. That time came in 1995, when British sound system legend Mad Professor - responsible for some of the greatest UK-made dub records of all time - put his distinctive twist on Protection. 21 years on, the set still sounds sublime: a radical translation that frequently bares only a passing resemblance to the Bristol band's original. It's packed with highlights, from the spaced-out, dub-house rework of "Spying Glass" ("I Spy"), to the ricocheting percussion hits and twinkling pianos of "Weather Storm (Cool Monsoon)", and creepy, delay-laden string surges of "Eternal Feedback (Sly)". - Juno

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Label: Virgin
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 180gram
Reissued: 2016 /Original:1995
Genre: Electronic, Reggae
Style: Downtempo, Dub, Trip Hop

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