Protection is the second studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 26 September 1994 by Wild Bunch Records and Circa. DJ Mad Professor remixed the album in 1995 under the name No Protection.
Composition
Like most of Massive Attack's albums, the music often defies categorisation, ranging from R&B (title track and "Sly") to hip hop/rap ("Karmacoma" and "Eurochild") to reggae-tinged synth-pop ("Spying Glass") to classical-influenced electronica instrumentals ("Weather Storm" and "Heat Miser"). The album follows Blue Lines structurally, to the point that the font used on the cover of the album is the same, Helvetica Heavy Italic. The album cover also nods to Blue Lines, revealing a futuristic, impenetrable wall behind a mostly-burned version of this previous album's artwork—implying that the depicted "flammable gas" had been ignited.
Tricky again appeared on the album, rapping on the tracks "Karmacoma" (whose video was directed by Jonathan Glazer, and which featured a sample from The KLF's "Dream Time in Lake Jackson" at the 2:00-minute mark) and "Eurochild" (which featured samples from Startled Insects' "Cheetah" and Liquid Liquid's "Lock Groove (In)").
Reception
Paul Evans of Rolling Stone wrote, "Cool, sexy stuff, it smoothly fuses dub, club and soul, grounding its grace in sampled hip-hop beats." The album is also listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
As of February 2010, the album had sold 292,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Track listing
Sample credits
- "Weather Storm" contains samples from "It's Time for Love" by Pieces of a Dream.
- "Better Things" contains samples from "Never Can Say Goodbye" by James Brown.
- "Light My Fire" (live) contains samples from "Light My Fire" by Young-Holt Unlimited.
Personnel
Musicians
- Massive Attack, Marius de Vries, Andy Wright, The Insects, Nick Warren – programming
- Tracey Thorn – vocals
- 3D – vocals
- Tricky – vocals
- Nicolette – vocals
- Craig Armstrong – piano ; arrangement, conducting
- Horace Andy – vocals
- Chester Kamen – guitar
- Rob Merril – drums
- Daddy G – vocals
Technical
- Nellee Hooper – production, mixing ; mix engineering
- Massive Attack – production, mixing
- Mark "Spike" Stent – mix engineering
- Jim Abbiss – mix engineering
- Jeremy "Jim Bob" Wheatley – additional engineering
- Al Stone – additional engineering
- Mike Marsh – mastering
Artwork
- Massive Attack, Michael-Nash Assoc. – artwork
- Matthew Donaldson, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Eddie Monsoon – photography
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1994–2001 chart performance for Protection
! scope="col"| Chart (1994–2001)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
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|-
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 46
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media)
| 21
|-
! scope="row"| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
| 33
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| UK Dance Albums (OCC)
| 1
|-
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2019 weekly chart performance for Protection
! scope="col"| Chart (2019)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Greek Albums (IFPI)
| 8
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ 2020 chart performance for Protection
! scope="col"| Chart (2020)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
|}