Track Teardown: Massive Attack - "Five Man Army"

Emerging from Bristol's counterculture with their highly acclaimed debut album Blue Lines is Massive Attack. Let's take a trip(hop) back to 1991 to dissect Five Man Army, one of the album's seminal tracks....

BACKGROUND

To truly understand the creation of this genre-bending album, one must first delve into the surrounding circumstances from whence it arose. It has been argued that "the sensory beauty of this record relates to the authenticity in which (the group) reflect the cultural, social, racial, economic, political, and geographic circumstances of their own backgrounds" (Schlachter, 2013). I tend to agree that the album is a sonic answer to urban life in Bristol in the 80s and early 90s.

Historically, Bristol was one of the biggest perpetrators and profiteers of the slave trade, identified by Dresser (2007, p. 28) as "the nation's number one slaving port" for a period of time. It consequently inherited a racist atmosphere, becoming a city with a huge African-Caribbean population, which is reflected by the cross-racial dynamic of the group. To add to the problem, towards the late 80s under Margaret Thatcher's leadership, the disparity between the the upper- and working-class was rapidly growing. Her neoliberal views were heavily influencing the area with economic pressures and unemployment concerns, causing rise to racial issues and eventually a heavy backlash with protests and riots (Jones, 2012, p.47).

Keep in mind that this was the era of a flourishing Punk scene, which is characterised by anti-establishment views and individual freedom, and you start to have some periodic context. Simultaneously, on the other side of the globe, Hip-Hop was on the rise, rapidly approaching its 'Golden Era'. Tricia Rose assembles hip-hop as "a cultural form that attempts to negotiate the experiences of marginalization, brutally truncated opportunity, and oppression within the cultural imperatives of African-American and Caribbean history, identity, and community" (1994, p. 21). Take the associated rebellious attitudes of Punk and Hip-Hop, combine it with the calm approach of Reggae, throw in some Dub production and mixing techniques... and out emerges Massive Attack.

"Blue Lines magic works because it envelopes dance music that you can actually listen to; hip-hop beats whose customary urgency is deconstructed into dreamy, erotic soundscapes; machine-made rhythms chock full of body, heart and soul; lyrics that transcend tired genre conventions to respond playfully to language by shooting the breeze, passing the buck, taking the piss.” - Johnson, 1996

TRACK ANALYSIS

Track: Five Man Army

Artist: Massive Attack

Album: Blue Lines

Label: Wild Bunch Records | Virgin Records

Formats: CD | Vinyl | Cassette | Digital

Release Date: 8 April, 1991

Written By: Grant "Daddy G" Marshall | Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles | Robert "3D" Del Naja | Adrian "Tricky" Thaws | Claude "Willie Wee" Williams

Produced By: Grant Marshall | Andrew Vowles | Robert Del Naja | Jonathan "Jonny Dollar" Sharp

Performed By: Massive Attack (3D | Daddy G | Mushroom), featuring Willie Wee, and Tricky

Including Samples: Al Green - I'm Glad You're Mine | Lewin Bones Lock - Five Man Army Dubb | Horace Andy - Money, the Root of All Evil | Horace Andy - Skylarking

Recording Engineer: Kevin Petri @ Eastcote Studios, London

Mixing Engineer: Jeremy Allom @ Matrix, London

Duration: 6:04

Tempo: 81 BPM

Key Signature: D

Time Signature: 4/4

Genre: Trip-Hop (Although Blue Lines is widely regarded as the first Trip-Hop album, the terminology had not yet been coined: at the time it was considered an infusion of Electronic, Hip-Hop, Dub, and Reggae)

Instrumentation:

Vocals: 3D | Willie Wee | Tricky

Keyboard: 3D | Mushroom

Arrangement:

OPENING | The song opens with a two bar drum pattern sampled from the opening of I'm Glad You're Mine by Al Green, which is then repeated throughout the entire song. Fascinatingly, this is a transformative contrast to the hip-hop context in which the break is usually used, and highlights the band’s ability to seemingly dissolve genre limitations. It is also interesting to note the sample's corresponding vinyl crackle can be heard throughout the track. The drum sample has been EQ'd and placed central in the mix, with an additional reverb added to provide a stereo image which gives the impression the drums are positioned in a large room some distance from the listener. This technique takes the focus off the drums, and provides space for other elements to be the centre of attention. The kick drum has also been heavily processed to be appear more prominently in the mix, and with a large reverb tail; though whether that is the result of heavy compression and added reverb, or by overdubbing it with a new recorded sample is hard to say.

INTRO | The bass line, introduced in the third bar, is also sampled; though from a Reggae song by Lewin Bones Lock of the same name (seen below). A reference to Jamaica's musical heritage, Massive Attack pays homage by including it, though its emphasis shifted as the band used it for template to rap over. The strong bass line sits central and high in level, carrying the groove throughout the song. It sits perfectly constant in level throughout the song, and therefore is most probably heavily compressed until there is negligible dynamic range.

VERSE 1 | After a brief intro, the fifth bar introduces Willy Wee rapping the song's first verse. His vocals can be heard at a constant level, indicating heavy use of compression, and also feature a strong stereo reverb effect to provide a wide stereo image. In addition, there is a very subtle delay present, which could be a consequence of a slow early reflection time on the reverb, an auxiliary send to a delay unit, else a common production technique in dub music called a Feedback Loop (investigated in Week 2 In Review). Overall his voice is panned ever so slightly to the right of centre, preventing his deep voice from interfering with the ever-present bass line. This verse also sees the introduction of Keyboard Synths, heavily panned right at first, and then sporadically dispersed throughout the remainder of the song in different auditory locations. They bring with them a dreamy aspect to the track.

VERSE 2 | Jumping in over the top of Willy Wee in the song's twentieth bar, is Tricky rapping the second verse. In comparison, his voice sits in a higher frequency range, preventing it from clashing with the bass. Consequently less processing is required. Assumedly it is also heavily compressed to maintain constant levels, but besides this his voice is presented much cleaner, with a subtle 3/4-beat delay (possibly another Feedback Loop), and panned fractionally to the left to compliment the takeover from the first verse.

VERSE 3 | Daddy G enters the mix in the thirty-first bar with a voice similar (and often confused with) Willy Wee. To further enhance this phenomenon, his vocal is positioned in a similar location and with similar processing.

VERSE 4 | The fourth consecutive verse features 3D, whose voice has been panned a little to the right and again processed heavily with compression. This track however, has been routed through a slapback delay unit and returns to a mirrored location on the left. This allows his vocal track to sit somewhat wide in the stereo image, but with space in the centre for the bass line to comfortably sit. It also results in the creative use of a slight phasing effect, altering the sonic quality of his voice, and emphasising his voice the most.

INSTRUMENTAL | BREAKDOWN | OUTRO | Following these four verses is an eighteen bar instrumental section. It features the creative use of various sounds, samples, and vocal stabs which have been processed with the combination of a delay and pan, such that the returning signal (usually one word in length) is panned unnaturally around the stereo field (or perhaps this is recorded in by hand). All of these elements are common to Dub mixing, and are included to maintain interest where there is no vocals. For a similar reason various synth effects are intermittently included, and the bass line is cut out occasionally for varying lengths of time. This has the effect of tricking the listener into believing the section is over, which consequently builds energy when it is reintroduced. The same effect is created between the seventy-third and seventy-seventh bars, during a brief breakdown. The remainder of the song follows a similar structure, constantly bringing in and out elements, and slowly lowering energy levels, to create a 2 minute outro. It is interesting to note the inclusion of Horace Andy in this second half of the song, repeating various samples from two of his songs: Money, the Root of All Evil and Skylarking. His inclusion is further testament to the track's recognition of Reggae's impact on their music.

WHAT ? The song's arrangement differs from any conventional song structure; yet another indication that Massive Attack intended to make their own rules. This could be attributed to an experimental recording process, as recalled by Del Naja: "Five Man Army was a jam", "here's the instrumental, here's the bass line, everyone take it in turns" (Johnson, 1996, p. 116).

Production Techniques:

Stylistically following the influence of Dub, there are numerous production techniques used in the creation of Five Man Army. As Terrano (2007) describes, "When you mix dub you are the driving force and you are expected to perform", "Doing a dub mix provides you with a framework within which you can unleash your creative potential". To focus on a couple though:

1. An effect coined a Room Shot (discussed in Week 2 In Review) is applied sporadically throughout the song. One such emphasis is created for the last word of 3D's verse; added effect by combining it with the aforementioned slapback delay. The technique involves patching a reverb via an aux send, and temporarily increasing its send level to give the effect of the the element suddenly 'shooting through the room' (Terrano, 2007).

2. Another common effect featured is, what I am going to name having failed to find a true terminology, a "Panning Delay". Taking notice of both the tom hit and the crash cymbal, this is first noticeable just six seconds into Five Man Army. Often a signal is run through an aux send to a delay unit and returned to a separate channel, though this Panning Delay takes the return signal and moves it across the stereo field by playing with the panning potentiometer ;)

IMPACT

Five Man Army received no individual accolades (though lots of respect), but the entire Blue Lines album became a significant point in musical history:

• It placed Bristol's west coast accent firmly on the map of hip-hop.

• It became commonly regarded as the first Trip-Hop album ever created (Garcia, 1998).

• It has been voted into numerous polls, including Rolling Stone's greatest albums of all time.

• Johnson claimed it, in 1996 (p. 11), to be "the highest point of British rap to date".

Like I sad, seminal!

Stay Tuned

- TA

REFERENCES

Dresser, M. (2007). Slavery Obscured – The Social History of the Slave Trade in Bristol. Bristol: Redcliffe Press Ltd.

Garcia, G. (1998). Trip-Hop Reinvents Itself to Take on the World. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/25/arts/music-trip-hop-reinvents-itself-to-take-on-the-world.html

Johnson, P. (1996). Straight Outa Bristol – Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky and the Roots of Trip-Hop. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

Jones, O. (2012). Chavs – The Demonization of the Working Class. London: Verso.

Rose, T. (1994). Black Noise – Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press.

Youtube. (2010). Al Green - I'm Glad You're Mine. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzAL59zslSM

Youtube. (2010). Lewin Bones Lock - Five Man Army Dub. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT2Ll3OdcMQ

Youtube. (2011). Massive Attack - Five Man Army. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_pg29keUCU