Massive Attack - Angel (1998/2025)

The Angel single is just as stylish and crafted as the titled track. The album version of "Angel" beats a heavy bassline into the listener than softens out with a sublime vocal track. The remixes offer something fresh and different almost straying to far from the original, but then showing themselves to be firmly rooted in the original. Blur's reworking of "Angel" sees the use of a children's toy to give the version a distinctly different feel. A robotic voice calls out "a is for apple" then goes onto spell "angel." The robotic voice gives "Angel" a much more eerie feeling that is very much apart of the "Blur Mix." They stress certain phrases from the original lyrics, which shines a strange light on the original intent of the song. Mad Professor takes a funkier approach to remixing "Angel," replacing the rhythm track with his own. It is a solid remix that does not betray Mad Professors classic work on other Massive Attack singles. The closing track is another Mad Professor remix of the song "Group of Four" from the album Mezzanine. He adds his classic touch and creates a dubbed-up mix of a track from that album that was in the same vein as "Angel." The single is without flaw, and provides two different looks at one of Massive Attack's most famous tracks.

© Matt Whalley /TiVo