100th Window

Massive Attack

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 11, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B00007KK7V
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (265 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,415 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
With dark shades of dub and songs that stretch with patient grace, 100th Window finds trip-hop legends Massive Attack seeping through your speakers with the same eerie intensity they mined on 1998's revelatory Mezzanine. The burden of high expectations has been a constant for this band since they released the classic Blue Lines in 1991. Under pressure to produce yet another record that changes the playing field of dance music, the collective has turned in a brooding, orchestral work that profits greatly from collaboration. The breathy, distinctive voice of Sinead O'Connor elevates a song like "What Your Soul Sings" into a deeply affecting, candlelit nocturne, while Horace Andy's stylized vocal washes through the string-laden "Name Taken." O'Connor also shines on "A Prayer for England," a remake of "Safe from Harm" off Lines, as her barely contained emotions artfully collide with Window's stark, distorted production. It may not turn the world upside down again, but Massive Attack retains the power to keep you transfixed and blissfully off-balance. --Matthew Cooke

From URB Magazine
Finding a perfectly hallowed ground between Pink Floyd, Mad Professor and classic soul, Massive Attack have always had the extra burden of being true trailblazers. In their wake has come everything from the Mo’Wax record label to the "Bristol Invasion" of the mid-’90s (Portishead, Tricky). Their last album, the dark and subversive Mezzanine, however, was a black celebration, as the band — Daddy G, Mushroom and 3-D — fractured beyond repair making it. That brings us to 100th Window, with 3-D the last man standing. What he comes up with is epic, elaborate and well worthy of the sacred Massive Attack moniker. More a continuation of Mezzanine than anything else, the album calls on Sinead O’Connor to elevate songs like "What Your Soul Sings" to the holy pantheon of MA classics. While it’s hardly an overwhelming masterpiece like Blue Lines or Protection, it still stands head and shoulders above most everything else.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's wrong with everyone?, January 17, 2005

By	Clarissa "MoonGoddess" (Ontario, California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I am in complete accordance with those who say that 'Mezzanine' is a masterpiece but I also feel that '100th Window' is a worthy follow-up to such a classic. Is it better? Not really, but I hear a definite growth of experimentation in sound. I haven't read any other reviews, however, I notice most of the ratings to be either 3 or 4 stars and I am left scratching my head, wondering why? My guess is many fans are having a difficult time getting into this album simply because the overall tempo is slower paced than the majority of their previous works, and perhaps your not used to hearing that from Massive Attack but, believe me, they've created some brilliant songs here. Just open your mind without any sort of expectation.

The mood throughout is rather somber with dark, atmospheric electronic dubs instead of funky trip-hop ones, and the inclusion of orchestrated instruments provide a cinematic feel that really seems to shade the melodies, accenting them chillingly. But by no means does '100th Window' tread into ambient territory. It would be best described as smooth electronica that will likely appeal to those who enjoy dance-tinged chillout music (visions of ice and snow come to mind when listening to this record). And replacing the sweet female vocalists Sara Jay and Elizabeth Fraser, who both sang on 'Mezzanine' when Andy Horace wasn't (and you gotta love his unique style, which I find to be very sexy...in a strange kind of way), the more powerful yet ever gorgeous Sinead O'Connor guest sings on several cuts here; most notably "A Prayer For England" which comes on after a slightly more upbeat "Butterfly Caught", a personal favorite of mine. My only complaint is that the album starts losing its luster a bit after track 6. However, given there's only 9 songs in all, this evens out to be a winner in my book.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark and brooding yet delightful., February 11, 2003

By	S Matthews (Stoke, UK) - See all my reviews

Owning all the previous Massive Attack albums I was awaiting this most recent instalment with great anticipation. In my opinion Massive Attack have, over the past decade, been honing and finely tuning their talents, extracting the finest moments of previous albums to make the next even more breathtaking. 100th Window appears to have benefited from exactly this, taking the most chilling and dark aspects of Mezzanine to produce their scariest album yet. This album has the 'inertia creeps' feel throughout with a hint of the east thrown in for good measure.

There is no 'teardrop' equivalent on this album which some may find disappointing yet Sinead O'Conor's vocals adequately compensate for the loss of Liz Fraser's presence. The album also features what may be some of Horace Andy's best performances to date, with a welcome softer approach.

In all, this deeply layered and lush addition to Massive Attacks collection of LPs is well worth a listen, whether you're a fan or not.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Massive Attack fans have never agreed on anything., March 4, 2003

By	Chief Quimby (Berkeley, Ca) - See all my reviews

It's not for everyone. Good art never is, you know.

100th Window is the sound of throwing your life in frustration against a solid steel wall and feeling it crack and shatter like glass. I can see why not all Massive Attack fans would like this album. But for me, it's so intricately creepy and soothing at once, sort of like the perfect combination of Protection and Mezzanine.
The standouts to me are not the 'micro-beats,' perhaps modeled after Matmos' efforts on Bjork's "Vespertine;" rather, it's how the album is so bizarrely melodic. Everything from Sinead O'Conner's vocals to the live instrumentation are bizarre, achieving an enticing creepiness. Or a comfort after seeing everything you have done not being good enough.
It might not be for everyone. It's obviously more of a solo effort than anything, but it is without a doubt head and shoulders better than any cd i have purchased in the past year, and the first one that felt so intensely personal since Vespertine.