"Safe from Harm" is the third single and opening track from ''

Blue Lines ''Blue Lines'' is the debut studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 8 April 1991 by Wild Bunch and Virgin Records. The recording was led by members Grantley "Daddy G" Marshall, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian " ...

'', the 1991 debut album from British

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

collective

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...

, with vocals by

Shara Nelson Shara Nelson (born 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She worked with Massive Attack in the early 1990s, and as a solo artist had five UK top 40 hit singles. Her 1993 debut album, '' What Silence Knows'', was shortlisted for the Mercury ...

and

Robert Del Naja Robert Del Naja (; born 21 January 1965), also known as 3D, is a British artist, musician, singer and songwriter. He emerged as a graffiti artist and member of the Bristol collective The Wild Bunch (sound system), the Wild Bunch, and later as ...

. It was released in May 1991 by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

. The bass, guitar, and drums are sampled from the song "Stratus" by

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the '' Mode ...

, from his album ''

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

'' (with guitar by

Tommy Bolin Thomas Richard Bolin (August 1, 1951 – December 4, 1976) was an American rock guitarist who played with Zephyr (from 1969 to 1971), the James Gang (from 1973 to 1974), Deep Purple (from 1975 to 1976), with Billy Cobham on his first record tit ...

). Additional drums are sampled from "Good Old Music" by

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

. Other samples come from Herbie Hancock's "

Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

", 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 Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter, author and producer, best known for his stylized crime dramas. He has received a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for four ...

-directed movie '' The Insider''.

Inspiration

The liner notes to ''Blue Lines'' mention the movie ''

Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in a morally decaying New York City following the Vietnam War, it stars Robert De Niro as veteran Marine and ...

'' as an influence.

Critical reception

Andrew Smith from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' described "Safe from Harm" as a "swooning, sultry cut" and "no less compelling than '

Unfinished Sympathy "Unfinished Sympathy" is a song by the English trip hop group Massive Attack. It was released on 11 February 1991 under the temporary group name Massive. The song was written by the three band members Robert "3D" Del Naja, Andrew "Mushroom" Vow ...

.'" He added that it's "gathered round a deep, dense, dubbesque bassline, while ethereal strings and gently gliding pianos taunt

's sweet voice. It's a decadent, mesmeric, trance-inducing sound, one to lose yourself in completely." 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 m ...

'' 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' is likely to be as big." Barbara Ellen from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' named it Single of the Week.

Mark Frith Mark Frith (born 22 May 1970, in Sheffield) is a British journalist, music critic, and editor. He has been a writer and editor for magazines such as ''Smash Hits'', '' Time Out'' and ''Heat''. He has since branched into TV and radio presenting, ...

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 ...

'' commented, "Like the London Funki Dreds, the music of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

's Massive has a pounding bass line and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

overtones, but Massive's records are also highly reminiscent of American

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

. '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