Angel (Massive Attack song)
| "Angel" | |||||||
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| Single by Massive Attack | |||||||
| from the album Mezzanine | |||||||
| Released | 13 July 1998 | ||||||
| Format | CD, 12", cassette | ||||||
| Recorded | 1997–98 at Massive Attack and Christchurch Studios, Bristol | ||||||
| Genre | Trip hop, electronica, electronic rock | ||||||
| Length | 6:19 | ||||||
| Label | Virgin Records | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Robert del Naja, Grantley Marshall, Andrew Vowles, Horace Andy[nb 1] | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Neil Davidge | ||||||
| Massive Attack singles chronology | |||||||
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"Angel" is a song by the British trip hop group Massive Attack. It was released on 13 July 1998[1] and is the third single from their third album, Mezzanine, and the tenth single overall. The song samples The Incredible Bongo Band song, "Last Bongo in Belgium".
Background and composition
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"Angel"
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Daddy G described the song as "[starting] something we've got to finish. It was a much bigger thing than any member of the band."[2]
Music video
The music video for "Angel" features Daddy G in a car park. He is walking to the exit when Robert del Naja, Andrew Vowles and Horace Andy appear behind Marshall. They gradually get closer to Marshall, causing him to feel intimidated. More people start following him, which causes him to run outside the car park until he reaches a fence and therefore cannot go any further. As he turns to face the people chasing him, they stop and face him. He then runs towards the people that followed him, which causes them to run away.[3]
The video has had over 16 million views on YouTube.[3]
Critical reception
Reception for the song was positive. Amy Hanson of AllMusic describes the song as "While the beat here is slow, druggy, and deep, what ultimately drives Angel is the wall of guitars that are reminiscent of a very early Cure".[2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Angel" | 6:19 |
| 2. | "Angel" (radio edit) | 5:24 |
| 3. | "Angel" (Blur remix) | 6:21 |
| 4. | "Angel" (Mad Professor remix) | 6:15 |
| 5. | "Group Four" (Mad Professor remix) | 7:51 |
Total length: |
32:10[1] | |
Personnel
Massive Attack
- Robert Del Naja – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples, art direction
- Grantley Marshall – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples
- Andrew Vowles – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples
Additional personnel
- Neil Davidge – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples
- Horace Andy – vocals
- Angelo Bruschini – guitars
- Sweetheart (Johanna Bautista)-Vocals, Lyrics, Song design, art direction
- Jon Harris, Bob Locke, Winston Blisset – bass guitars
- Andy Gangadeen – drums
- Dave Jenkins, Michael Timothy – additional keyboards
Recording personnel
- Jan Kybert – Pro Tools
- Lee Shepherd – engineer (Massive Attack and Christchurch Studios)
- Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (Olympic Studios)
- Jan Kybert, Paul "P-Dub" Walton – assistant mixing
- Tim Young – editing, engineer (Metropolis Studios)
In popular culture
- "Angel" was featured in the 1998 film π and appears in its soundtrack.
- Featured in the 1999 film "Best Laid Plans" and appears in its soundtrack.
- Featured in the 2001 film "Antitrust"
- In 1998, the episode "Off Profile" of the series La Femme Nikita,[4]
- Near the end of the second episode of Third Watch(1999), "Anywhere But Here" features this song.
- In 2000, the British film Snatch.
- It has been used to the soundtrack of film Go director Doug Liman.
- It was used in Far Cry 2 E3 2008 trailer.[5]
- In the Hugo Boss bottled and Boss bottled night adverts starring Ryan Reynolds.
- Flight of the Phoenix.[6]
- In the 2005 psychological thriller Stay, "Angel" was used in the provocative and emotionally disturbing strip club scene.[7]
- In the Burn Notice episode, "All or Nothing".
- Grimm episode "Island of Dreams".
- In the The West Wing episode "Commencement" during the club scene, providing a fitting soundtrack to the run up to the discovery of Zoe's kidnapping.
- My Mad Fat Diary featured the song when main character Rae breaks up with boyfriend Finn and she sets fire to a poster of a woman wearing lingerie.
- Used in the season 8 episode of CSI: NY entitled "Sláinte".
- In the pilot episode of Person of Interest.
- In the Showtime Documentary "McConkey", a tribute to Shane McConkey.
- In 2015, it was used as the opening theme for the Brazilian telenovela Verdades Secretas.
"Angel" has been covered by mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan, for their iTunes only EP, Plagiarism, and also by Brazilian metal band Sepultura on their EP Revolusongs and on the special edition of their 2003 album Roorback.[8] Sepultura's cover was featured in the second episode of the Fox series The Following. It has also been covered live by Australian psychedelic outfit Tame Impala.
Charts
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart[9] | 129 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart[10] | 33 |
| UK Singles Chart[11] | 30 |
References
- 1 2 Whalley, Matt. "Angel – Massive Attack (single review)". Allmusic. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- 1 2 3 Hanson, Amy. "Angel - Massive Attack". Allmusic. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- 1 2 Massive Attack. "Angel" (Video). YouTube. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ↑ Music of La Femme Nikita
- ↑ "Far Cry 2 E3 2008 Trailer". youtube.com. Ubisoft.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377062/soundtrack?ref_=tt_trv_snd
- ↑ "Stay (2005) Soundtrack". IMDB.com. Retrieved 2014-11-02.
- ↑ "Roorback/Special Edition: Sepultura: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2013-08-10.
- ↑ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 12 July 2016". Imgur.com. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ↑ "Discography Massive Attack". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
- ↑ "Massive Attack". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
Notes
- ↑ Horace Andy is credited by his real name, Horace Hinds, on the CD notes.