Blue Lines vs. Mezzanine: Why the Disparity in Acclaim?

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Listyguy
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Blue Lines vs. Mezzanine: Why the Disparity in Acclaim?

Post by Listyguy »

So I was listening to Mezzanine the other day and couldn't help but notice it was ranked considerably higher than Blue Lines on RYM. Obviously the people who use RYM have certain musical tastes that differ from this forum (namely their love of metal), but the difference is stark: Mezzanine hovers just outside the top 100, while Blue Lines finds itself in the 800s. Mezzanine has 5,000 more ratings and a .25 star advantage as well. But then you come to acclaimedmusic.net and see Blue Lines in the top 40 and Mezzanine over 300 places behind. Does anybody have an explanation as to why the critics would love one so much more than music fans do? As a final note, in our most recents albums poll, Blue Lines was #120 and Mezzanine was #142. Considering how many more of us have heard Blue Lines than Mezzanine (or had more time to let Blue Lines grow on us) based on its ranking, I'd say that's another mark in favor of Mezzanine.

What are your opinions?
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babydoll
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Re: Blue Lines vs. Mezzanine: Why the Disparity in Acclaim?

Post by babydoll »

I think the critical acclaim for Blue Lines is due to the fact that the album has "Unfinished Sympathy". But, yeah, Mezzanine is a lot better (and, yes, "Teardrop" is an even better song than "Unfinished Sympathy").
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Re: Blue Lines vs. Mezzanine: Why the Disparity in Acclaim?

Post by Nick »

Maybe it's because "Blue Lines" came first by 7 years that it garners more acclaim? Hard to say for sure though, that's my only explanation and even then it's not all too satisfying. Among my friends Massive Attack are pretty popular (which is weird, being an American), and the consensus among them is that "Mezzanine" is their masterpiece. As for me, "Blue Lines" hovers around number 100 on my all time list, while "Mezzanine" hovers around number 150, so I do prefer "Blue Lines", but it's a lot closer than what's reflected on AM.
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Re: Blue Lines vs. Mezzanine: Why the Disparity in Acclaim?

Post by DDD troll account »

It's possible that some critics' lists take influence into account and Blue Lines definitely has an advantage there. So, in terms of overall (objective) importance BL would indeed rank higher even if Mezzanine makes up for that in (subjective) quality.
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Matski
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Re: Blue Lines vs. Mezzanine: Why the Disparity in Acclaim?

Post by Matski »

Lazy generalisation time: I get the impression that it is a generational thing. I feel that many older music fans who still make up the professional critic consusus honestly feel that Blue Lines is a better record: It's higher up in in Pitchfork's 90s list and out of Massive Attack's entire oeuvre it takes AllMusic's album pick. At the time of their release, Mezzanine did represent a remarkable and dynamic change in the group's sound but Blue Lines represented the more groundbreaking work that helped establish trip-hop within popular culture.

By contrast RYM is mainly used by people in the late teens to early thirties - a demographic that was too young to experience the zeitgiest of the earliest in nineties music trends and only now is starting to make headway into professional publications. I'd like to predict that there will be a shift towards Mezzanine being the more highly-rated album within the next two decades. The impression I get from the RYM brigade is that they feel Blue Lines sounds "dated" while Mezzanine still sounds like it could have been released yesterday. This is a criticism I've often seen being put forward by younger music fans towards a number of highly acclaimed albums from the early nineties. Off the top of my head, I've seen this criticism leveled at albums such as Bjork's Debut, Pavement's Slanted & Enchanted and Orbital's "Brown Album" - all albums that are held in high regard by older music fans but tend to be less adored by the next generation, especially when they're compared to their artist's later works.

Personnally, I kinda fall into the middle-ground here: Both of these Massive Attack records are masterful and while Mezzanine is the more timeless, consistent and singular album, Blue Lines sounds more soulful, more vivid and has greater variety.
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Re: Blue Lines vs. Mezzanine: Why the Disparity in Acclaim?

Post by Jackson »

I used to agree with the original post, but I've come around to Blue Lines more the last couple of years. While there are certainly aspects of the production that sound dated, Blue Lines has a chill, laid back vibe that makes for an easier listen than the dark and serious Mezzanine. You could also argue Blue Lines is more ambitious as sort of a synthesis of R&B, hip hop, and dance styles of its era, while Mezzanine is more of a pure 90s electronica style album.

Also, there's no song on Mezzanine that can match the emotion and power of Unfinished Sympathy, which is totally deserving in its reputation as one of the greatest songs of all time.
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Re: Blue Lines vs. Mezzanine: Why the Disparity in Acclaim?

Post by Jirin »

My personal current ratings of these albums are Blue Lines #79, Mezzanine #369.

I used to like Mezzaine a lot more too. I think part of the reason may be the Pepsi Challenge effect. Mezzanine has better pop hooks that have a stronger immediate flavor but Blue Lines has a little more depth that holds up to repeated listens.

Edit: Looking at my rating trends of both albums since 2008.

Blue Lines >200, >200, 144, 41, 68, 71
Mezzanine 90, 120, 119, 174, 140, >200
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babydoll
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Re: Blue Lines vs. Mezzanine: Why the Disparity in Acclaim?

Post by babydoll »

Jackson wrote:Also, there's no song on Mezzanine that can match the emotion and power of Unfinished Sympathy, which is totally deserving in its reputation as one of the greatest songs of all time.
Just listened to "Unfinished Sympathy" again in response to this post, and I'm still on the "Teardrop" side. It's just that line, "Fearless on my breath," in the latter that always gets me. I sometimes hear that haunting vocal line in my dreams. "Unfinished Sympathy" does have its wonderful points - it's a delightfully done pseudo-soul ballad sung by a great singer - but ultimately I always do kind of forget that song whereas "Teardrop" is just unforgettable.
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Listyguy
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Re: Blue Lines vs. Mezzanine: Why the Disparity in Acclaim?

Post by Listyguy »

I will admit that I haven't heard Blue Lines in probably three years, but I never really liked it back then. I'll have to give it another shot though. I will agree that "Unfinished Sympathy" is the band's signature song though.
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