Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Angel (Massive Attack song)

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Released
  
13 July 1998

Length
  
6:19

Format
  
CD, 12", cassette

Label
  
Virgin Records

Recorded
  
1997–98 at Massive Attack and Christchurch Studios, Bristol

Genre
  
Trip hop, electronica, electronic rock

"Angel" is a song by the British trip hop group Massive Attack. It was released on 13 July 1998 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".

Contents

Background and composition

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."

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 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.

The video has had over 16 million views on YouTube.

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".

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)
  • "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,
  • 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.
  • In the Hugo Boss bottled and Boss bottled night adverts starring Ryan Reynolds.
  • Flight of the Phoenix.
  • In the 2005 psychological thriller Stay, "Angel" was used in the provocative and emotionally disturbing strip club scene.
  • 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.
  • In Episode 3 of the HBO Series "Luck".

    • "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. 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.

    References

    Angel (Massive Attack song) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA