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Angel (Massive Attack song)

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"Angel"
Single by Massive Attack
from the album Mezzanine
B-side"Group Four" (Remix)
Released13 July 1998
Recorded1997–98
StudioMassive Attack Studios and Christchurch Studios (Bristol)
Genre
Length6:19 (album version)
5:24 (single version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Massive Attack singles chronology
"Teardrop"
(1998)
"Angel"
(1998)
"Inertia Creeps"
(1998)
Music video
"Angel" on YouTube

"Angel" is a song by English trip hop group Massive Attack, featuring the vocals and songwriting from Horace Andy, and is partially based on Andy's song "You Are My Angel". It was released as the third single from their third studio album, Mezzanine (1998), on 13 July 1998.[1] "Angel" peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background and composition

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Daddy G, who was the main songwriter on it (along with 3D), described the song as "[starting] something we've got to finish. It was a much bigger thing than any member of the band."[2] The song samples The Incredible Bongo Band song "Last Bongo in Belgium".

Music video

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The music video for "Angel", directed by Walter A. Stern and filmed at the Metropolitan Car Park & Old Goods Yard at Paddington, London across three nights, features Daddy G in a car park. He is walking to the exit when 3D, Mushroom and Horace Andy appear behind him. They gradually get closer to him, causing him to feel intimidated. More and 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 notices that they seem to be mirroring his movements, as if his body controls them. He suddenly charges towards the people that followed him, which causes them to run away.[3]

An edited version of "Angel" is used for the video reducing the length of the video to nearly a minute shorter than the album version. This edit does not appear on any other release besides the video.

Neil Davidge also appears in this video as one of the angry mob chasing Daddy G.

At the time of the single release of "Angel", the band decided (for cited reasons as not capturing the mood of the song) to not use the already shot promo video for "Angel" (which had reputably cost £20,000 to shoot) to promote the single. For this reason the video would remain unseen for over three years where it would finally was released on the Eleven Promos DVD in 2001.[4]

The video has had over 54 million views on YouTube (as of January 2024).[3]

Critical reception

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Reception for the song was positive. Amy Hanson of AllMusic describes the song thus: "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

[edit]
No.TitleLength
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

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Massive Attack

  • Robert Del Naja – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples, art direction
  • Grantley Marshall – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, guitars, samples
  • Andrew Vowles – producer, arrangements, programming, samples, percussions

Additional personnel

  • Neil Davidge – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples
  • Horace Andy – vocals
  • Angelo Bruschini – guitars
  • 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)
[edit]

Charts

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Chart (1998) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[16] 129
New Zealand Singles Chart[17] 33
UK Singles Chart[18] 30

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Silver 200,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Whalley, Matt. "Angel – Massive Attack (single review)". Allmusic. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Hanson, Amy. "Angel – Massive Attack". Allmusic. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  3. ^ a b Massive Attack (6 March 2009). "Angel" (Video). YouTube. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Info→Angel". 8 April 2021.
  5. ^ Music of La Femme Nikita
  6. ^ "1998 Commercials: Adidas during World Cup". YouTube. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  7. ^ Antitrust (2001) - IMDb, retrieved 28 August 2021
  8. ^ Top Gear - S1 E1 1, 4 February 2022, retrieved 19 January 2023
  9. ^ "Fourth Season Music". bewarne.com. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  10. ^ "VtM Bloodlines OST – Main Theme". youtube.com. 3 July 2008.
  11. ^ "Far Cry 2 E3 2008 Trailer". youtube.com. Ubisoft.
  12. ^ "Stay (2005) Soundtrack". IMDB.com. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  13. ^ "Roorback/Special Edition: Sepultura: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  14. ^ metrovideogame (10 June 2018), Metro Exodus – E3 2018 Gameplay Trailer [UK], retrieved 12 June 2018
  15. ^ Third Watch – Bosco throws psycho through a window on YouTube
  16. ^ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 12 July 2016". Imgur.com. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  17. ^ "Discography Massive Attack". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  18. ^ "Massive Attack". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  19. ^ "British single certifications – Massive Attack – Angel". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 April 2022.