Editing Blue Lines

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2013}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Blue Lines
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Massive Attack]]
| cover      = MassiveAttackBlueLines.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = {{Start date|1991|04|08|df=yes}}
| recorded   = 1990–1991
| studio     =
* Coach House ([[Bristol]])
* Eastcote (London)
* Cherry Bear
* [[Abbey Road Studios|Abbey Road]] (London)
* Hot Nights (London)
| genre      = {{hlist|[[Trip hop]]|[[British hip hop]]}}
| length     = {{duration|m=45|s=08}}
| label      =
* [[The Wild Bunch (sound system)|Wild Bunch]]
* [[Virgin Records|Virgin]]
| producer   =
* Massive Attack
* [[Jonny Dollar]]
| next_title = [[Protection (Massive Attack album)|Protection]]
| next_year  = 1994
| misc       = {{Singles
 | name        = Blue Lines
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Daydreaming (Massive Attack song)|Daydreaming]]
 | single1date = 15 October 1990
 | single2     = [[Unfinished Sympathy]]
 | single2date = 11 February 1991
 | single3     = [[Safe from Harm (song)|Safe from Harm]]
 | single3date = 27 May 1991
 | single4     = Hymn of the Big Wheel" / "[[Be Thankful for What You Got|Be Thankful for What You've Got]]
 | single4date = 10 February 1992
}}
}}

'''''Blue Lines''''' is the debut studio album by English [[electronic music]] group [[Massive Attack]],{{efn|On certain releases, the group is credited as "Massive".}} released on 8 April 1991 by [[The Wild Bunch (sound system)|Wild Bunch]] and [[Virgin Records]].<ref name="Arundel"/> The recording was led by members [[Daddy G|Grantley "Daddy G" Marshall]], [[Robert Del Naja|Robert "3D" Del Naja]], [[Tricky (musician)|Adrian "Tricky" Thaws]], and [[Andrew Vowles|Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles]], with co-production by [[Jonny Dollar]]. It also features contributions by singers [[Shara Nelson]] and [[Horace Andy]]. Generally regarded as the first "[[trip hop]]" album, ''Blue Lines'' blended elements of [[hip hop music|hip hop]] (such as [[breakbeat]]s, [[sampling (music)|sampling]], and [[rapping]]) with [[dub music|dub]], [[soul music|soul]], [[reggae]], and [[electronic music]].

''Blue Lines'' was named the 21st greatest album of all time in a 1997 "Music of the Millennium" poll conducted by [[HMV]], [[Channel 4]], ''[[The Guardian]]'' and [[Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM]]. In 2000, ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' readers placed it at number 9 in the magazine's poll of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever". In 2003, the album was included on ''[[Rolling Stone]]''{{'}}s list of "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]" and again in 2012 and 2020.<ref name="RS2012"/><ref name="RS2020"/> ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' ranked it at number 85 in its list of "The Top 100 Albums of the 1990s".<ref name="Top 100 Albums of the 1990s"/>

A remastered version of the album was released on 19 November 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.factmag.com/2012/09/11/massive-attack-announce-specially-remastered-blue-lines-reissue/ |title=Massive Attack announce specially remastered Blue Lines reissue |website=[[Fact (UK magazine)|Fact]] |date=11 September 2012 |access-date=1 November 2012}}</ref>

==Background==
"We worked on ''Blue Lines'' for about eight months, with breaks for Christmas and the [[1990 FIFA World Cup|World Cup]]," said [[Robert Del Naja|Robert "3D" Del Naja]], "but we started out with a selection of ideas that were up to seven years old. Songs like '[[Safe from Harm (song)|Safe from Harm]]' and 'Lately' had been around for a while, from when we were [[The Wild Bunch (sound system)|The Wild Bunch]], or from our time on the [[sound system (DJ)|sound system]]s in [[Bristol]]. But the more we worked on them, the more we began to conceive new ideas too – like, 'Five Man Army' came together as a [[jam session|jam]]."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=You know the score! |magazine=[[Select (magazine)|Select]] |location=London |issn=0959-8367 |issue=19 |date=January 1992 |page=51}}</ref> The group also drew inspiration from [[concept album]]s in various genres by artists such as [[Pink Floyd]], [[Public Image Ltd]], [[Billy Cobham]], [[Wally Badarou]], [[Herbie Hancock]] and [[Isaac Hayes]].<ref name="Reynolds">{{cite book |title=Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture |url=https://archive.org/details/generationecstas00reyn |url-access=registration |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |year=1998 |isbn=0-316-74111-6 |page=321}}</ref>

[[Daddy G]] said about the making of the album:
{{cquote|We were lazy Bristol twats. It was [[Neneh Cherry]] who kicked our arses and got us in the studio. We recorded a lot at her house, in her baby's room. It stank for months and eventually we found a dirty [[diaper|nappy]] behind a radiator. I was still DJing, but what we were trying to do was create [[dance music]] for the head, rather than the feet. I think it's our freshest album, we were at our strongest then.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/observer/omm/story/0,,1240048,00.html |title=Blue Lines, Massive Attack |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |location=London |date=20 June 2004 |access-date=13 October 2009 |last=Thompson |first=Ben}}</ref>
}}

The font used on the cover of the album is [[Helvetica|Helvetica Black Oblique]]. Del Naja has acknowledged the influence of the inflammable material logo used on the cover of [[Stiff Little Fingers]]' album ''[[Inflammable Material]]''.

==Composition==
''Blue Lines'' is generally considered the first [[trip hop]] album,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/25/arts/music-trip-hop-reinvents-itself-to-take-on-the-world.html?pagewanted=all |title=Trip-Hop Reinvents Itself to Take on the World |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 October 1998 |access-date=13 October 2009 |last=Garcia |first=Guy}}</ref> although the term was not widely used before 1994. A fusion of [[electronic music]], [[hip hop music|hip hop]], [[dub music|dub]], [[1970s in music|1970s]] [[soul music|soul]] and [[reggae]], it established Massive Attack as one of the most innovative British bands of the [[1990s in music|1990s]] and the founder of trip hop's [[Bristol underground scene#"Bristol sound"|Bristol sound]].<ref name="Schwartz">{{cite book |chapter=Planet Rock: Hip Hop Supa National |last=Schwartz |first=Mark |title=The Vibe History of Hip Hop |url=https://archive.org/details/vibehistoryofhip00ligh |url-access=registration |editor-last=Light |editor-first=Alan |editor-link=Alan Light |publisher=[[Three Rivers Press]] |location=New York |year=1999 |isbn=0-609-80503-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/vibehistoryofhip00ligh/page/361 361–372]}}</ref> [[AllMusic]]'s John Bush also affirmed the album as the "first masterpiece" of what later became known as trip hop, and described it as "filter[ing] American hip-hop through the lens of British [[clubbing (subculture)|club culture]], a stylish, nocturnal sense of scene that encompassed music from [[rare groove]] to dub to dance."<ref name="Bush"/> The album featured [[breakbeat]]s, [[sampling (music)|sampling]], and [[rapping]] on a number of tracks, but the design of the album differed from traditional hip hop.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://humag.co/features/massive-attack |title=Massive Attack: Out of the Comfort Zone – An Excerpt |website=[[The Honest Ulsterman]] |date=February 2019 |access-date=5 February 2020 |last=Chemam |first=Melissa}}</ref> Music critic [[Simon Reynolds]] stated that the album also marked a change in electronic and dance music, "a shift toward a more interior, [[meditation]]al sound. The songs on ''Blue Lines'' run at '[[joint (cannabis)|spliff]]' [[tempo]]s – from a mellow, moonwalking 90 beats per minute&nbsp;... down to a positively torpid 67 bpm."<ref name="Reynolds"/>

==Reception==
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Bush">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-lines-mw0000264743 |title=Blue Lines – Massive Attack |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=4 September 2015 |last=Bush |first=John}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[The A.V. Club]]''
| rev2score = A<ref name="Gallucci">{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/massive-attack-blue-lines-1798175048 |title=Massive Attack: Blue Lines |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=20 November 2012 |access-date=5 December 2012 |last=Gallucci |first=Michael}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
| rev3score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Petridis">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/dec/06/massive-attack-blue-lines-review |title=Massive Attack: Blue Lines (remastered) – review |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |date=6 December 2012 |access-date=6 December 2012 |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |author-link=Alexis Petridis}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''
| rev4score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Massive Attack: Blue Lines |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |location=London |issn=1351-0193 |issue=229 |date=December 2012 |last=Segal |first=Victoria |page=102}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev5score = 10/10<ref name="Fadele">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000006reviews.html |title=Immense at Work |magazine=[[NME]] |location=London |issn=0028-6362 |date=6 April 1991 |access-date=23 January 2016 |last=Fadele |first=Dele |author-link=Dele Fadele |page=35 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001011033418/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000006reviews.html |archive-date=11 October 2000 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev6score = 9.0/10<ref name="Raymer">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17384-blue-lines-remastered-box-set/ |title=Massive Attack: Blue Lines |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=30 November 2012 |access-date=5 December 2012 |last=Raymer |first=Miles}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Massive: Blue Lines |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |location=London |issn=0955-4955 |issue=57 |date=June 1991 |last=Henderson |first=Dave}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev8score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Kot">{{cite book |chapter=Massive Attack |last=Kot |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Kot |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |editor2-link=Christian Hoard |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/517 517–518]}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]''
| rev9score = 5/5<ref name="Harrison">{{cite magazine |title=Power Gem |magazine=[[Select (magazine)|Select]] |location=London |issn=0959-8367 |issue=10 |date=April 1991 |last=Harrison |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Harrison (journalist) |page=80}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''
| rev10score = 9/10<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Massive Attack: Blue Lines |magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |location=London |issn=1368-0722 |issue=187 |date=December 2012 |last=Martin |first=Piers |page=92}}</ref>
}}

In a contemporary review of ''Blue Lines'' for ''[[NME]]'', [[Dele Fadele]] described the album as "the sleekest, deadliest, most urbane, most confounding LP [[1991 in music|1991]] has yet seen", writing that Massive Attack "put current changes on the dancefloor in perspective and map out blueprints for what must surely come next" and that "after ''Blue Lines'' the boundaries separating soul, [[funk]], reggae, [[house music|house]], [[classical music|classical]], hip-hop and [[space rock|space-rock]] will be blurred forever."<ref name="Fadele"/> ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]''{{'}}s [[Andrew Harrison (journalist)|Andrew Harrison]] similarly complimented the album's diverse mix of styles and called it "a record to transcend every boundary",<ref name="Harrison"/> while in ''[[Melody Maker]]'', [[Jim Irvin]] praised it as an album that "one hopes might just bring down forever the wall of snobbery that still exists between dance and all other music."<ref name="Arundel">{{cite magazine |title=Rhapsody in Blue |magazine=[[Melody Maker]] |location=London |issn=0025-9012 |date=30 March 1991 |last=Arundel |first=Jim |author-link=Jim Irvin |page=34}}</ref> [[Robert Christgau]] was more reserved in his praise, giving the album a [[Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s#Grading key|three-star honourable mention]] and writing, "from soul ii [[ska stroke|skank]], those [[post-industrial society|postindustrial]] [[blues]] got them down".<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Massive Attack: Blue Lines |chapter-url=https://robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=2302 |access-date=18 March 2022 |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s |title-link=Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |publisher=[[St. Martin's Griffin]] |year=2000 |isbn=0-312-24560-2 |page=196}}</ref> At the [[Brit Awards]]' [[Brit Awards 1992|1992 ceremony]], ''Blue Lines'' was nominated for [[Brit Award for British Album of the Year|Best British Album]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brits.co.uk/history/shows/1992 |title=The BRITs 1992 |publisher=[[Brit Awards]] |access-date=8 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020050617/http://www.brits.co.uk/history/shows/1992 |archive-date=20 October 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The album reached number 13 on the [[UK Albums Chart]]; sales were limited elsewhere. ''Blue Lines'' proved to be popular in the club scene, as well as on college radio stations.<ref name="Schwartz"/>

According to [[Greg Kot]] in the 2004 ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'', ''Blue Lines'' became "the blueprint" for trip hop, which would later emerge as a commercially popular musical style.<ref name="Kot"/> "On its release, ''Blue Lines'' felt like nothing else", [[Alexis Petridis]] wrote for ''[[The Guardian]]'' upon the album's 2012 reissue, adding that it "still sounds unique, which is remarkable given how omnipresent trip-hop was to become".<ref name="Petridis"/> Michael Gallucci of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' noted that the album "created a template trip-hop artists relied on extensively" in the years following its release.<ref name="Gallucci"/> ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''{{'}}s Miles Raymer, meanwhile, identified ''Blue Lines'' as "at its heart&nbsp;... a hip-hop record", crediting it with being "at the forefront" of the genre's musical progression from "blocky rhythms and minimal arrangements" in the 1980s towards "deep, organic textures" in the 1990s.<ref name="Raymer"/> Concluding his review for AllMusic, John Bush deemed ''Blue Lines'' "one of the best dance albums of all time."<ref name="Bush"/>

In 1997, ''Blue Lines'' was named the 21st greatest album of all time in a "Music of the Millennium" poll conducted by [[HMV]], [[Channel 4]], ''[[The Guardian]]'' and [[Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM]]. The following year, ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' readers placed it at number 58 in its list of the "100 Greatest Albums Ever", and in 2000, the album was voted at number 9 in the magazine's poll of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever". In 2003, the album was ranked number 395 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]''{{'}}s list of "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]",<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/blue-lines-massive-attack-19691231 |title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Blue Lines – Massive Attack |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=11 December 2003 |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220144357/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/blue-lines-massive-attack-19691231 |archive-date=20 December 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 397 in a 2012 revised list,<ref name="RS2012">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/massive-attack-blue-lines-66986/ |title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=31 May 2012 |access-date=5 September 2019}}</ref> and 241 in a 2020 revised list.<ref name="RS2020">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/massive-attack-blue-lines-2-1062992/ |title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=22 September 2020 |access-date=24 August 2021}}</ref> ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' ranked it at number 85 in its 2003 list of "The Top 100 Albums of the 1990s".<ref name="Top 100 Albums of the 1990s">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/5923-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/?page=2 |title=Top 100 Albums of the 1990s |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=17 November 2003 |access-date=2 December 2012 |page=2}}</ref> The album was also included in the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Massive Attack: Blue Lines |last=McIver |first=Joel |author-link=Joel McIver |title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die |title-link=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die |editor-last=Dimery |editor-first=Robert |publisher=[[Universe Publishing]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7893-1371-3 |page=673}}</ref> The track "[[Unfinished Sympathy]]" has also been singled out for praise, being hailed by [[BBC Radio 2]] as "one of the most moving pieces of dance music ever, able to soften hearts and excite minds just as keenly as a ballad by [[Burt Bacharach|Bacharach]] or a melody by [[Paul McCartney|McCartney]]."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/unfinishedsympathy.shtml |title=Unfinished Sympathy |publisher=[[BBC Radio 2]] |access-date=2 December 2012}}</ref>

"This album is [[chill-out music|chill music]] for me – music to write to", said author [[Chuck Palahniuk]]. "I'm writing short stories to this right now. I put this on repeat, something [[Andy Warhol]] used to do: He'd put [[single (music)|single]]s on and play them unendingly to the point where the language would break down, and he would paint to that [[trance]]like repetition."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.blender.com/guide/my-music/67277/chuck-palahniuk-147i-was-choking-on-animal-hair148.html |title='I Was Choking on Animal Hair!' |magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]] |location=New York |issn=1534-0554 |volume=2 |issue=9 |date=November 2003 |access-date=20 December 2022 |last=Wadsworth |first=Andrew |pages=126–127 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308060556/http://www.blender.com/guide/my-music/67277/chuck-palahniuk-147i-was-choking-on-animal-hair148.html |archive-date=8 March 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

As of February 2010, the album had sold 266,000 copies in the United States, according to [[Nielsen SoundScan]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/massive-attack-prove-new-album-was-worth-the-wait-959308/ |title=Massive Attack Prove New Album Was Worth The Wait |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=19 February 2010 |access-date=7 December 2018 |last=Sexton |first=Paul |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918020732/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/959308/massive-attack-prove-new-album-was-worth-the-wait |archive-date=18 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| title1 = [[Safe from Harm (song)|Safe from Harm]]
| writer1 = {{hlist|[[Daddy G|Grantley Marshall]]|[[Andrew Vowles]]|[[Robert Del Naja]]|[[Shara Nelson]]|[[Billy Cobham|William Cobham]]}}
| length1 = 5:18

| title2 = One Love
| writer2 = {{hlist|Marshall|Vowles|Del Naja|Claude Williams|[[Horace Andy]]}}
| length2 = 4:48

| title3 = Blue Lines
| writer3 = {{hlist|Marshall|Vowles|Del Naja|[[Tricky (musician)|Adrian Thaws]]}}
| length3 = 4:21

| title4 = [[Be Thankful for What You Got|Be Thankful for What You've Got]]
| writer4 = [[William DeVaughn]]
| length4 = 4:09

| title5 = Five Man Army
| writer5 = {{hlist|Marshall|Vowles|Del Naja|Thaws|Claude Williams}}
| length5 = 6:04

| title6 = [[Unfinished Sympathy]]
| writer6 = {{hlist|Marshall|Vowles|Del Naja|[[Jonny Dollar|Jonathan Sharp]]|Nelson}}
| length6 = 5:08

| title7 = [[Daydreaming (Massive Attack song)|Daydreaming]]
| writer7 = {{hlist|Marshall|Vowles|Del Naja|[[Wally Badarou]]|Thaws}}
| length7 = 4:14

| title8 = Lately
| writer8 = {{hlist|Marshall|Vowles|Del Naja|Nelson|Gus Redmond|Larry Brownlee|Jeffrey Simon|Fred E. Simon}}
| length8 = 4:26

| title9 = Hymn of the Big Wheel
| writer9 = {{hlist|Marshall|Vowles|Del Naja|[[Neneh Cherry]]|Andy}}
| length9 = 6:36
| total_length = 45:08
}}

==Personnel==
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Blue Lines''.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Blue Lines |type=liner notes |author=[[Massive Attack]] |publisher=Wild Bunch Records |year=1991 |id=WBRCD 1}}</ref>

===Studios===
{{Div col}}
* Coach House ([[Bristol]]) – recording {{small|(tracks 1, 2, 6, 8, 9)}}; mixing {{small|(track 8)}}
* Matrix (London) – mixing {{small|(tracks 1, 4–6, 9)}}
* [[Konk (recording studio)|Konk Studios]] (London) – mixing {{small|(tracks 2, 7)}}
* Eastcote Studios (London) – recording {{small|(tracks 3, 5)}}
* Cherry Bear Studios – recording {{small|(tracks 4, 7)}}
* [[Abbey Road Studios]] (London) – recording {{small|(track 6)}}
* Roundhouse (London) – mixing {{small|(track 7)}}
* Hot Nights (London) – recording {{small|(track 9)}}
* LOUD Mastering (Taunton) – remixing, remastering {{Small|(2012 Mix/Master)}}{{Div col end}}

===Musicians===
{{Div col}}
* [[Shara Nelson]] – vocals {{small|(tracks 1, 6–8)}}
* [[Horace Andy]] – vocals {{small|(tracks 2, 5, 9)}}
* [[Robert Del Naja|3D]] – vocals {{small|(tracks 1, 3, 5, 7)}}
* [[Tricky (rapper)|Tricky]] – vocals {{Small|(tracks 3, 5, 7)}}
* [[Daddy G]] – vocals {{Small|(tracks 3, 5, 7)}}
* Tony Bryan – vocals {{small|(track 4)}}
* Paul Johnson – bass guitar {{small|(track 3)}}
* [[Wil Malone]] – string arrangement, conducting {{small|(track 6)}}
* [[Gavyn Wright]] – leader {{small|(track 6)}}
* [[Neneh Cherry]] – additional arrangement {{small|(track 9)}}
* Mikey General – backing vocal {{small|(track 9)}}
{{Div col end}}

===Technical===
{{Div col}}
* Massive Attack – production, mixing
* [[Jonny Dollar]] – production, mixing
* [[Cameron McVey]] (Booga Bear) – executive production
* Jeremy Allom – mix engineering {{small|(tracks 1, 3–7, 9)}}
* Bryan Chuck New – mix engineering {{small|(tracks 2, 8)}}
* Kevin Petri – engineering {{small|(tracks 3, 5)}}
* [[Haydn Bendall|Haydn]] – string engineering {{small|(track 6)}}
* John Dent – remastering {{Small|(2012 mix/master)}}
* Bruno Ellingham – remixing {{Small|(2012 mix/master)}}
{{Div col end}}

===Artwork===
* [[Judy Blame|Blame: Judy]] – art
* [[Robert Del Naja|"3D" Del Naja]] – art, design
* Michael Nash – art, design
* [[Jean-Baptiste Mondino]] – back cover photo
* Eddie Monsoon – single faces

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Weekly chart performance for ''Blue Lines''
! scope="col"| Chart (1991–2013)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums ([[ARIA Charts|ARIA]])<ref>{{cite Ryan|page=178}}</ref>
| 69
|-
{{album chart|Austria|5|artist=Massive Attack|album=Blue Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2019}}
|-
{{album chart|Flanders|81|artist=Massive Attack|album=Blue Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2019}}
|-
{{album chart|Wallonia|176|artist=Massive Attack|album=Blue Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2019}}
|-
{{album chart|Netherlands|39|artist=Massive Attack|album=Blue Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2019}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[European Top 100 Albums|European Albums]] (''[[Music & Media]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/91/MM-1991-05-04-OCR-Page-0024.pdf |title=European Top 100 Albums |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |volume=8 |issue=18 |date=4 May 1991 |page=24 |oclc=29800226 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>
| 24
|-
{{album chart|France|31|artist=Massive Attack|album=Blue Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2019}}
|-
{{album chart|Germany4|31|id=1233|artist=Massive Attack|rowheader=true|access-date=10 August 2024}}
|-
{{album chart|New Zealand|26|artist=Massive Attack|album=Blue Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2019}}
|-
{{album chart|Norway|29|artist=Massive Attack|album=Blue Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2019}}
|-
{{album chart|Scotland|28|date=19961006|rowheader=true|access-date=10 August 2024}}
|-
{{album chart|Sweden|14|artist=Massive Attack|album=Blue Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2019}}
|-
{{album chart|Switzerland|26|artist=Massive Attack|album=Blue Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2019}}
|-
{{album chart|UK2|13|date=19910414|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2019|refname=ukchart}}
|-
{{album chart|UKDance|3|date=20050501|rowheader=true|access-date=10 August 2024}}
|-
{{album chart|UKR&B|2|date=19970615|rowheader=true|access-date=6 March 2020}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Year-end chart performance for ''Blue Lines''
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1999)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/end-of-year-artist-albums-chart/19990110/37502/|title=End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1999|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>
| 93
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for ''Blue Lines''}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|artist=Massive Attack|title=Blue Lines|award=Gold|number=2|type=album|relyear=1991|certyear=2000|date=27 June 2000|access-date=17 September 2018}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Massive Attack|title=Blue Lines|award=Platinum|number=2|type=album|relyear=1991|certyear=2001|id=969-2279-2|date=19 October 2001|salesamount=856,108|salesref=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.musicweek.com/publishing/read/round-hill-music-acquires-catalogue-of-two-founding-members-of-massive-attack/082533|publisher=[[Music Week]]|first=George|last=Garner|title=Round Hill Music acquires catalogue of two founding members of Massive Attack|date=4 February 2021|accessdate=28 December 2022}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Chemam |first=Melissa |year=2019 |title=Massive Attack: Out of the Comfort Zone |publisher=Tangent Books |isbn=978-1-9100-8972-9}}

{{Massive Attack}}
{{Shara Nelson}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1991 debut albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Jonny Dollar]]
[[Category:Massive Attack albums]]
[[Category:Virgin Records albums]]