Massive Attack v Mad Professor - No Protection

No Protection is a dub remix album by English trip-hop group Massive Attack, and dub producer Mad Professor, originally released in February 1995 by Virgin Records.

Only months after releasing Protection, Massive Attack took the unprecedented step of having the dub icon Mad Professor do this remixed version of the album. The difference is astonishing. Mad Professor has taken Massive Attack back to the source - dub - and in the process transformed Protection into a formidable, deeply rewarding challenge.

The revamped, newly extended intros are teasing foreplay with the deepened grooves (pumped-up bass, glorious percussive flourishes, spacey effects, crunching beats) heighten the melodies. Mad Professor spins off into Cocteau Twins territory by sampling voices and phrases, then detaching them from the familiar. He distils lyrics into their essence before discarding the husks of actual words. The unmasked emotion is the jumping-off point.

Nowhere is that more obvious than on the retooled title track. After the Professor slices, dices and modifies Thorn's performance, the simmering defiance that originally rang in her words of comfort is supplemented by desolation and unresolved tension. Her disembodied voice becomes a cry for help beneath the murk. And, yes, it's still sexy.

This is no mere exercise in knob-twiddling, the Professor explores these tunes very intimately and with reverence and yet strips them of almost all their original identity, creating something new. The paradox between the ethereal and the earthly is what Mad Professor has restored to the music. The result is sinewy, emotion-filled grooves that you can chill to, but you can't just shrug them off.

If you're a fan of the Massive Attack original, you'll be highly entertained by this very original and well-crafted musical meltdown. Top marks.

This reissued LP with digital download is pressed in Europe on 180 gram heavyweight vinyl.