MASSIVE ATTACK: HELIGOLAND (9 out of 10)
Review by Paul Sizer

Massive Attack won me over from the start by how they combined so many influences into a cohesive mix. Dub, reggae, electronics, dance/club influences, rap, hip hop, all things that, if combined badly, would result in a horrible sludge of fighting and dissonance. But what made Massive Attack really standout was their fearlessness at then, on top of all that, bringing in vocalists that actually had a different angle on all of it. Tricky, Horace Andy, Tracy Thorn, Sinead O'Connor, Liz Fraser. And they let these vocalists do what they do, and in some way, it all seemed like it belonged together. The mix is their strength. Always.

My vote for strongest album is "Protection", followed right on the heels by "Mezzanine". "100th Window" and "Danny The Dog" only suffered because they strayed from the vocalist in the mix quotient, and became more a solo project of Robert Del Naja. And while he is a brilliant producer of sounds, I think he realized that his true strength lies in working with great vocalists. Hence "Heligoland". 

I will venture to drop "Heligoland" in at #3 for me, only because of the slightly uneven nature of "Blue Lines", which I'll put at #4. Part of Massive Attack's earlier albums being so ahead of the curve were that NOBODY was doing what they do. Now, there's a whole generation of musicians who have had Massive Attack's albums as part of their learning process, so they don't stand apart as much as they once did. But they must know this, because while many bands sound like them, nobody really sounds as good as they do at it. 

My first comment on hearing Gil Scott-Heron's new stuff was "Man, THIS is what Massive Attack needs to sound like." But I'll take that back a bit; Gil's new music fits very nicely in the mold made by Massive Attack years ago. Dubstep owes it's genesis at least in part to what Massive Attack paved. I loved hearing Scott-Heron's new music because it reminded me of hearing Massive Attack's mixture. 

I'll give "Heligoland" a 9 out of 10, only because I want to hear more of the remixes that are sure to come from this album, and because they can always still surprise me, so I give them room to do so.

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