Collected

by Massive Attack

Overview

As expected but perhaps not hoped for, Virgin dishes fans this best of, Collected, as Massive Attack are buying time to complete Weather Underground, their next album to be released -- hopefully -- within the calendar year 2006. All collections of this type give punters the chance to look back at what was once futuristic and is now commonplace and how well an act's music has aged. The remainder of the Wild Bunch -- Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, and Robert "3D" del Naja -- who formed Massive Attack as evidenced by these 13 tracks, all have their place. The cuts are nearly equally divided between the albums Blue Lines, Protection, Mezzanine and 100th Window. None of the soundtrack works appears here, and neither do any 12" mixes. Hits like "Safer from Harm" and "Karmacoma" don't age so well, but others, such as "Inertia Creeps," the sublime "Teardrops," the sinister "Butterfly Caught," the spooky, mercurial love song "What Your Soul Sings," (with Sinead O'Connor on vocals), and even "Unfinished Sympathy," (with Shara Nelson singing her ass off), do. There is a an unreleased track, a new blues called "Live with Me" that begins with a string intro, a deadly slow rhythm track offered as mid-tempo creep, and the deep soul voice of Terry Callier hovering inside the darkness. He moves from the blues to soul and back again as M.A weave that sorrowful, noir-ish, sonic magic all around him, draping him in atmospheric shadows and snaky beats. Nope, it isn't so new, but music this fine doesn't need to be. This isn't music for kids, or perhaps even for clubs, but it may be for the masses if the masses were given the chance to climb on. This is a fine introduction if you've been sleeping these past 15 years, or have recently come to realize that indie rock is but one color on the spectrum. Massive Attack at their best -- and much of it is here -- were a force to be reckoned with, and "Live with Me," is a hint that they still may be. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	04/10/2006
Label:	Virgin
UPC:	0094635570021

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Massive Attack   Primary Artist,Vocals,Sampling,Keyboards
Mos Def   Primary Artist
Grantley Marshall   Primary Artist,Vocals
Madonna   Primary Artist
Tracey Thorn   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Nicolette   Guest Artist,Vocals
Terry Callier   Guest Artist,Vocals
Sinead O'Connor   Guest Artist,Vocals
Robert Smissen   Viola
Bill Benham   Viola
Marianne Haynes   Violin
Kathy Shave   Violin
Laura Holt   Viola
Rosalind Acton   Cello
Carina Cosgrave   Bass (Vocal)
Simon Hewitt Jones   Violin,String Director
Tim Grant   Viola
Gavyn Wright   Violin
Sonia Slany   Violin
Chris Laurence   Bass (Vocal)
Kate Musker   Viola
Boguslav Kostecki   Violin
Gustav Clarkson   Viola
David Daniels   Cello
Damon Reece   Drums
John Heley   Cello
Mick Sterling   Cello
Liz Edwards   Violin
Stuart Gordon   Violin
Anthony Pleeth   Cello
Mary Scully   Bass (Vocal)
Jonathan Strange   Violin
Eddie Roberts   Violin
Anders Olinder   Keyboards
Antonia Fuchs   Violin
Paddy Lannigan   Bass (Vocal)
Perry Montague-Mason   Violin
Beatrix Lovejoy   Violin
Peter Povey   Violin
Kamal Sabri   Sarangi
Christopher Tombling   Violin
Benedict Cruft   Violin
Mike McMenemy   Violin
Andy Gangadeen   Drums
Naomi Wright   Cello
Zoe Lake   Viola
Simon Hewitt Jones & Court Lane Strings   Strings
Catherine Bradshaw   Viola
Paul Willey   Violin
Peter Hanson   Violin
Ivo Jan van der Werff   Viola
Jonathan Rees   Violin
Yu Yasuraoka   Violin
Jonathan Evans-Jones   Violin
Simon Benson   Bass (Vocal)
Peter Gregson   Cello
Elizabeth Fraser   Vocals
Horace Andy   Vocals
Alex Swift   Keyboards,Guitar (Acoustic)
Jon Mattock   Drums
Robert del Naja   Vocals,Keyboards
Dominic Black   Bass (Vocal)
Simon Kodurand   Violin
Neil Davidge   Guitar,Sampling,Keyboards
Peter Lale   Viola
Martin Loveday   Cello
Skaila Kanga   Harp
Tricky   Vocals
Everton Nelson   Violin
Patrick Kiernan   Violin
Angelo Bruschini   Guitar,Bass (Vocal)
Ben Chappell   Cello
Craig Pruess   Musical Director
Rachel Bolt   Viola
Thomas Bowes   Violin
Mike Lea   Bass (Vocal)
Julian Leaper   Violin
Warren Zielinski   Violin
Mark Berrow   Violin
Bruce White   Viola
Donald McVay   Viola
Frank Schaefer   Cello
Allen Walley   Bass (Vocal)
Simon Fischer   Violin
Shara Nelson   Vocals
Dermot Crehan   Violin

Technical Credits

Massive Attack   Audio Production,Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Musician,Producer
Nellee Hooper   Audio Production,Mixing,Composer,Producer
Tim Norfolk   Composer
Johnny Dollar   Mixing,Producer
Tim Young   Mastering Engineer,Remastering
Adrian Thaws   Composer
Wil Malone   Arranger,String Arrangements
William Norfolk   Composer
Claude Williams   Composer
Doc Savidge   Engineer
Andrew Vowles   Composer
Sinead O'Connor   Composer
Billy Cobham   Composer
Mos Def   Composer
Arthur Ross   Composer
Rob Haggett   Mixing Assistant
David Treahearn   Mixing Assistant
Head   Mixing
Nicolette Suwoton   Composer
Booga Bear   Producer,Executive Producer
Nicolette Okoh   Composer
Grantley Marshall   Composer
Tom Hingston   Design,Art Direction
Jonathan Sharp   Composer,Composer
Steven Goldmann   Composer
Euan Dickinson   Mixing Assistant
David "Sparky" Hughes   Photography
Olli Timmins   Photo Courtesy
Mike Ross   Recording
Michael Jennings   Arranger,String Arrangements
Eddie Marshall   Composer
Three-D   Paintings
Debbie Clare   Composer
Eddie Monsoon   Photo Courtesy
Jan "Stan" Kybert   Assistant Engineer
Annabelle Dalby   Photo Courtesy
Robert Locke   Composer
Nick Knight   Cover Photo,Photo Courtesy
Juergen Teller   Photo Courtesy
Michael Nash   Photo Courtesy
Elizabeth Fraser   Composer
Lee Shephard   Engineer,Recording
G. W. Miller   Composer
Horace Hinds   Composer
Lee Shepherd   Engineer,Recording
Wally Badarou   Composer
Mark "Spike" Stent   Mixing,Mixing Engineer,Drum Programming
Mahavishnu Orchestra   Performer
Alex Swift   Programming,Drum Programming
Leon Ware   Composer
Mike Marsh   Remastering
Robert del Naja   Design,Arranger,Composer,Producer,Art Direction
Jeremy Allom   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Neil Davidge   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Producer,Drum Programming
Tracey Thorn   Composer
Paul Hudson   Composer
Paul "P-Dub" Walton   Mixing Assistant
Terry Callier   Composer
Craig Armstrong   String Arrangements
Jeremy Wheatley   Engineer
Craig Pruess   Arranger,String Arrangements
James Brown   Composer
Earl Hudson   Composer
P-Dub   Assistant Engineer
Mushroom   Composer
Isobel Griffiths   Strings Contractor
Al Stone   Engineer
Darryl Jenifer   Composer
William DeVaughn   Composer
Marco Migliari   Recording
Shara Nelson   Composer