Protection (Massive Attack song)

Protection (Massive Attack song)
"Protection" is a collaboration between English trip hop collective Massive Attack and Tracey Thorn from English duo Everything but the Girl. The song appears on Massive Attack's second studio album, Protection (1994). Released as a single on 9 January 1995 by Wild Bunch and Circa, "Protection" reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, staying on the chart for four weeks, and also peaked at number 27 in New Zealand. Michel Gondry directed the accompanying music video. The song was also included on Everything but the Girl's compilation The Best of and Like the Deserts Miss the Rain.
The song contains samples taken from "The Payback" by James Brown, namely the hi-hat/bass figure that drives the beat and the recurrent wah-wah guitar chord.
Critical reception
Larry Flick from Billboard viewed the song as "gorgeous". Linda Ryan from the Gavin Report wrote, "Produced by Soul II Soul's Nellee Hooper (who also did Björk's album, Debut), "Protection" is a slow groove to paradise. I mean, this one is smooooth! Everything but the Girl's Tracey Thorn handles the vocals on this one, and she really shines." Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian felt that the "normally limpid" singer "shows torchy sensuality" on the song. Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel viewed it as "supple", naming it the album's "highlight". In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton complimented the "velvet tones" of Thorn, stating that "the result is an instant Top 20 smash, just one place short of the peak originally reached by their groundbreaking debut hit "Unfinished Sympathy"."
David Stubbs from Melody Maker felt "Protection" "sets the tone that they sustain throughout this eclectic selection, with its stately, undulating sequencers and its wits-end plea for compassion and assistance. And though you want to live yourself/Could you forgive yourself/If you left her as you found her...." James Hamilton from Music Weeks RM Dance Update described the song as "an attractive gentle atmospheric R&B swayer". James Lavelle for NME wrote, "You have to forget the boom-box busting beats of the past and enter a more dreamy, minimalist state, complete with analogue synth, piano lead and a constant, slamming beat. A welcome and brave return.!" The magazine's Ted Kessler praised "her rich voice". Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel felt the singer is "a cool, elegantly melancholy presence". Barry Walters for Spin constated, "The eight pained minutes of the title track are alone worth the price of the CD, despite suggesting that an Everything but the Girl remix album might have been the way to go."
Music video
A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by French film director, screenwriter, and producer Michel Gondry.
Track listings
UK CD1 and cassette single; Australian CD single "Protection" (7-inch edit)
"Protection" (the Eno mix)
"Protection" (Radiation for the Nation mix)
"Protection" (J Sw!ft mix)
UK CD2 "Protection" (album version)
"Protection" (Underdog's Angel Dust mix)
"Three" (Dom T's House of Fortune mix)
UK 12-inch singleA1. "Protection" (Underdog's Angel Dust mix)
A2. "Protection" (Radiation for the Nation mix)
B1. "Protection" (the Eno mix)
B2. "Protection" (J Sw!ft mix)
B3. "Protection" (album version)
European CD single "Protection" (7-inch edit)
"Protection" (the Eno mix)
US CD single "Protection" (LP version) – 7:51
"Protection" (single edit) – 4:53
"Protection" (the Eno mix) – 9:10
"Protection" (J Sw!ft mix) – 7:12
"Three" (Dom T's House of Fortune mix) – 7:16
US cassette single'
A1. "Protection" (single edit) – 4:53
A2. "Protection" (the Eno mix) – 9:10
B1. "Three" (Dom T's House of Fortune mix) – 7:16
B2. "Protection" (J Sw!ft mix) – 7:12
Charts
References
External links
1994 songs
1995 singles
British contemporary R&B songs
Massive Attack songs
Music videos directed by Michel Gondry
Song recordings produced by Nellee Hooper
Songs written by Andrew Vowles
Songs written by Daddy G
Songs written by Robert Del Naja
Songs written by Tracey Thorn
Tracey Thorn songs
Virgin Records singles