One day, while talking about my musical tastes with a friend, I remember he said to me: "You should have been born 10 years earlier, in 1961 and not in 1971!"
The downside is that today I would be 41 instead of 31, but I certainly would have seen The Cure, The Smiths, Joy Division, Talking Heads, and those two, my "girls," Lisa Gerrard and Elisabeth Fraser, in concert.
I could see myself well, starting out on a train, maybe with a friend, at 20 years old, dressed in black, with heavy eyeliner and red lipstick, arriving at a Cocteau Twins concert and being enchanted by Elisabeth Fraser's voice live... sure, I can still listen to their records, but it's not the same thing!
Fortunately, it was them, Massive Attack, who put this splendid voice in the right place in the '90s. It's no coincidence that it's her, Elisabeth Fraser, who brings brilliance to this album, one of the queens of '80s "Dream-Pop." This almost ethereal creature immediately envelops us with her voice from the first track "Angel".
The atmosphere that Mezzanine creates is already clear from the cover. It is haunting and nocturnal with some flashes of light like "Teardrop" that filters through from time to time.
The Massive Attack in this album nod to the dark '80s atmospheres, reworking them perfectly.
In my opinion, one of the best albums of the '90s, and like all my favorite albums, it's to be listened to (after having hit repeat) from beginning to end, in the dim light, before slipping into sleep, although some nightmares are not to be excluded.
These sounds were absorbed, slowly but inexorably, becoming part of the deepest fibers of the soul.
Every single song on the album is a little gem to discover.
The first electronic love is never forgotten.
‘Mezzanine’ is one of the darkest songs ever, the perfect title track for this album.
Close your eyes. Imagine running your finger over the globe... It is a voice that speaks, an ancient voice that belongs to the whole world.
A mix of New York hip hop, ambient, electronic music, dub, reggae, psychedelic music, jazz, funk, and soul... a mesmerizing and powerful journey.