WARREN DU PREEZ AND NICK THORNTON JONES/VIRGIN RECORDS
Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, left, and Robert "3D" Del Naja of Massive Attack.
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Back on the Attack
The British band Massive Attack releases a CD/DVD collection that should please fans old and new
WATCH OUT. Massive Attack's back. But, really, it never went away. Even though the Bristol, England trip-hop entity hasn't released a new album since 2003's slightly disappointing "100th Window," its urban ambient sounds have been heard on a number of TV and movie soundtracks over the years.
"Collected"
Massive Attack (Virgin)
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Now, to help support an upcoming new album, "Weather Underground," and a headlining gig at the important alternative Coachella Music and Arts Festival later this month in California, out comes an impressive CD/DVD set called "Collected," something that should satisfy both fans and newcomers to their music.
Massive Attack has been basically whittled down to two people, co-founder Robert "3D" Del Naja and Neil Davidge. But dating back to 1991, Del Naja, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall and Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles were the men responsible for creating a devastating combination of blunted beats and late night grooves with jazz, hip-hop and cinematic flourishes.
"Collected" is divided into three sets: two CDs of career-making "hits" and rare, reworked and new recordings selected and arranged by Del Naja, and a flip-side DVD of music videos directed by some of the best and most creative in the biz, including Stephane Sednaoui, Michel Gondry and Jonathan Glazer.
When it comes to the music, it's best to listen at night, in the dark. God knows the music itself is an opiate, as you submerge and submit yourself to its mesmerizing and haunted haze.
3D and Daddy G were the rappers, plus, on occasion, the devilish-looking Tricky, an original member back when they were known as the Wild Bunch. One early and effective collaboration was between 3D and Tricky on the jungle-beat "Karmacoma," included here on the collection. And there's a new track as well, as Chicago folk-jazz legend Terry Callier sings of the salvation of love on "Live With Me."
But it's the female guest singers who really shine on this dark material, their voices floating over the thick arrangements. It's the soulful Shara Nelson on the majestic "Unfinished Sympathy," still an immensely moving piece of music, even 15 years later. Other women who have lent their voices include the Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser ("Teardrop"), Everything But the Girl's Tracey Thorn ("Protection") and Sinéad O'Connor on "What Your Soul Sings."
One surprising weak track on the second CD includes Massive Attack's collaboration with Madonna on Marvin Gaye's "I Want You." While all right in and of itself, it's not as memorable in this context. But Del Naja overall makes some interesting selections here: A lighter simplification of the track "Everywhen" called "Incantations," an erotic if foreboding alternative version of "Black Melt," a "romantic homage to Icelandic nights out" called "Joy Luck Club," the bim-booming "I Against I" from the "Blade 2" soundtrack featuring a potent guest rap by Mos Def, and a very cool "piece of soundtrack skullduggery" for the film "Danny the Dog" (the Jet Li action thriller retitled "Unleashed" in the United States.)
All in all, get "Collected."