No Protection is the name of a dub remix of Massive Attack's Protection album, done by the English reggae producer Mad Professor.

Sound

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Mad Professor heavily edits the original material (Massive Attack's Protection album) to form a slow, pulsating mix in which the beat is emphasized, reverb is extensively used and the occasional vocals (many of the tracks are almost entirely instrumental) fade in-and-out in typical dub fashion, making a hypnotic (if slightly repetitive) mix. The result is arguably more textured than the original, in which many of the tracks were rather sparse for a typical Massive Attack production. No Protection does lose any sense of the jazzy feel of Protection, but then again, it is a dub remix album.

Trivia

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In High Fidelity (film), John Cusack's character Rob puts "Radiation Ruling the Nation" on his list of 'Top 5 First Tracks on an Album,' to which Jack Black's character Barry responds "A new track snuck into a list of old classics - very PUSSY!"

Reviews

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"...only months after releasing Protection, it took the unprecedented step of having the dub icon Mad Professor do this remixed version of the album (now reissued in the United States). The difference is astonishing. Mad Professor has taken Massive Attack back to the source – dub – and in the process transformed an indifferent statement into a formidable, deeply rewarding challenge.

There's sex in the music now – the evocation of grinding hips, bellies rubbed together and gyrating pelvises. The revamped, newly extended intros are teasing foreplay; the deepened grooves (pumped-up bass, glorious percussive flourishes, spacey effects, crunching beats) fuck with and then heighten the melodies. Mad Professor spins off into Cocteau Twins territory by sampling voices and phrases, then detaching them from the familiar. He distills lyrics into their essence before discarding the husks of actual words. The unmasked emotion is the jumping-off point.

Nowhere is that more obvious than on the retooled title track. After the Professor slices, dices and modifies Thorn's performance, the simmering defiance that originally rang in her words of comfort is supplemented by desolation and unresolved tension. Her disembodied voice becomes a cry for help beneath the murk. And, yes, it's still sexy.

The paradox between the ethereal and the earthly is what Mad Professor has restored to the music, thereby strapping on the aesthetic gloves that Massive Attack had tossed aside. The result is sinewy, emotion-filled grooves that you can chill to, smoke blunts to or make love to. But you can't just shrug them off."

ERNEST HARDY of Rolling Stone magazine

"Mad Professor has returned the group to their experimental, cut-and-paste dub reggae and hip-hop roots. He has gutted the songs — twisting and reassembling the vocal tracks, giving the songs deeper, fuller grooves and an eerily seductive atmosphere. In other words, he has made Protection into a more daring and fulfilling album with his remixes."

STEPHEN THOMAS ERLEWINE of the All Music Guide

Track listing

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1. "Radiation Ruling the Nation" (based on "Protection") – 8:35
2. "Bumper Ball Dub" (based on "Karmacoma") – 5:59
3. "Trinity Dub" (based on "Three") – 4:22
4. "Cool Monsoon" (based on "Weather Storm") – 7:10
5. "Eternal Feed Back" (based on "Sly") – 6:26
6. "Moving Dub" (based on "Better Things") – 5:57
7. "I Spy" (based on "Spying Glass") – 5:07
8. "Backward Sucking" (based on "Heat Miser") – 6:17

Massive Attack albums | 1995 albums