"Unfinished Sympathy" is a song written and performed by Massive Attack, and regarded by many reviewers as among the best songs of all time. The singer on the track is Shara Nelson. It appears on their debut album Blue Lines. The song and the whole band were part of a wider musical movement dubbed the 'Bristol Sound' by the music press, and established itself as being at the forefront of the international hip hop scene. The music was part of the wider Bristol Urban Culture scene.
The song
"Shara Nelson’s wonderful rich vocals rise above the simple ascending/descending chord structure and make it clear that while this may be electronic music, it has just as much soul as anything to have ever come out of Detroit." The lyrics really add to the emotional mood of the song, complementing the string section:
"I know that I've been mad in love before
And how it could be with you
Really hurt me baby, really cut me baby
How can you have a day without a night
You're the book that I have opened
And now I've got to know much more"
The song projects an incredibly dark mood. This was likely to have been influenced by the tensions within Massive Attack. Robert Del Naja has described the dark atmosphere within the group: "There was always this tension between control and collaboration. Always ... We were just trying to get the job finished ...Everything became thinner and smaller. All that warmth being spun into a tiny little thread, then that thread just being cut."
Critical Acclaim
"Unfinished Sympathy" is a song written and performed by Massive Attack, and regarded by many reviewers as among the best songs of all time. The singer on the track is Shara Nelson. It appears on their debut album Blue Lines. The song and the whole band were part of a wider musical movement dubbed the 'Bristol Sound' by the music press, and established itself as being at the forefront of the international hip hop scene. The music was part of the wider Bristol Urban Culture scene.
"More than a decade after its release it remains one of the most moving pieces of dance music ever, able to soften hearts and excite minds just as keenly as a ballad by Bacharach or a melody by McCartney." - BBC Review
"The emotional purging and beat-driven orchestral movement of 'Unfinished Sympathy' was among the first signs of life in contemporary English trip-hop culture." - Amazon.com Editorial Review
"...'Unfinished Sympathy', with its sparse orchestration and ghostly overdubs, is one of the defining singles of the 90s." AudioEnz review
"The first single, 'Daydreaming', attracted a critical interest, but it is not until its follow up, the string driven, windswept 'Unfinished Sympathy' was released that Massive Attack launched their first major blow to the music industry. Britain, until then divided between rave and rock, was knocked out. And the rest of the world would soon follow" - The Milk Factory review
It has frequently been placed at the top or near the top of lists of the best song of all time compiled by various different magazines, reviewers and TV channels:
The TV Channel MTV2 in the UK ranked it #1 in a poll of the best songs of all time
Face Magazine (UK) - Singles of the Year, ranking #1
Melody Maker (UK) - Singles of the Year, ranking #1
New Musical Express (UK) - Singles of the Year, ranking #8
Iguana (Spain) - Singles of the Year, ranking #2
A BBC Radio 2 poll ranked it #44 in the best songs of all time
Reviewer Julie Burchill has described as her favourite song of all time.
Mixmag (UK) - The 100 Best Dance Singles of All Time (1996) 10
New Musical Express (UK) - The Top 100 Singles of All Time (2002) 10
Q (UK) - The 1001 Best Songs Ever (2003), ranking #37
Q (UK) - Top 20 Singles from 1980-2004 (2004), ranking #8
RDL (Spain) - The 100 Best Songs from 1990 to 1998 (1999), ranking #1
Rock de Lux (Spain) - The Top 100 Songs from 1984-1993 (1993), ranking #4
BBC Radio 1 (1998), ranking #1
Q Magazine (1998) - ranking #15
EveryHit.com poll of poll - ranking #21
Song Meaning
The meaning of the song has generated much debate among fans. Some claim it is about the fear of getting hurt by someone you are falling in love with - the fear of getting too close. Other fans have argued it is about "the uncertainty that there is at the beginning of a relationship after being in a painful one. You are unsure whether it is going to hurt you like the previous one and asking the questions about what will go wrong even though it seems so perfect."
Song Facts
The song has been covered by Tina Turner
The song has also been remixed by Paul Oakenfold
The voice at the beginning of the song is a sample of John McLaughlin, whose voice was sampled without clearance.
The Video
The video for Unfinished Sympathy was recorded in January 1991 on W. Pico Blvd between S. New Hampshire Ave and Dewey Ave in Los Angeles, CA. It features Nelson walking down the sidewalk unaware of her surroundings, which include drunks, gangs, and bikers. It was one of the earliest music videos to use a continous shot. The band members, Robert Del Naja, Daddy G and Mushroom all have cameos in this video, and appear throughout the video.
