"Safe from Harm" is the third single and opening track from '' Blue Lines'', the 1991 debut album from British trip hop collective Massive Attack, with vocals by Shara Nelson and Robert Del Naja. The bass, guitar, and drums are sampled from the song "Stratus" by Billy Cobham, from his album '' Spectrum'' (with guitar by Tommy Bolin). Additional drums are sampled from "Good Old Music" by Funkadelic. Other samples come from Herbie Hancock's "

Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, bein ...

", and some of the background vocals are based on Johnny "Guitar" Watson's 1961 song ''Looking Back''. "Safe from Harm" (Perfecto Mix) is featured at the end of the Michael Mann-directed movie '' The Insider''.

Inspiration

The liner notes to ''Blue Lines'' mention the movie '' Taxi Driver'' as an influence.

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote, "With the atmospheric synthesizer sounds, the hefty bassline and the irresistible vocals by Shara Nelson, this follow-up to the European hit

Unfinished Sympathy "Unfinished Sympathy" is a 1991 song by the English trip hop group Massive Attack, released under the temporary group name Massive. It was written by the three band members Robert "3D" Del Naja, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Mar ...

, is likely to be as big." Mark Frith from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' commented, "Like the London Funki Dreds, the music of Bristol's Massive has a pounding bass line and reggae overtones, but Massive's records are also highly reminiscent of American soul music. "Safe From Harm" "works best as part of an LP, but still sounds good as a single."

Track listing

# "Safe from Harm" (radio edit) – 4:28 # "Safe from Harm" (12-inch version) – 6:57 # "Safe from Harm" (7-inch version) – 4:28 # "Safe from Harm" (Perfecto mix) – 8:09 # "Safe from Harm" (Just a Dub) (by Steve Smith) – 3:14 # "Safe from Harm" (Just a Groove Dub) (by Steve Smith) – 3:18

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Massive Attack songs 1991 singles 1991 songs Black-and-white music videos Song recordings produced by Jonny Dollar Songs written by Andrew Vowles Songs written by Daddy G Songs written by Robert Del Naja Songs written by Shara Nelson Virgin Records singles