Sly (Massive Attack song)

"Sly"
Single by Massive Attack
from the album Protection
Released	17 October 1994 (1994-10-17)
Genre	Trip hop
Length	5:25 (album version) 4:56 (single edit)
Label	Wild Bunch Circa
Songwriters	Andrew Vowles Robert Del Naja Grant Marshall Nellee Hooper Nicolette Suwoton Vivien Goldman
Producers	Andrew Vowles Robert Del Naja Grant Marshall Nellee Hooper
Massive Attack singles chronology
"Massive Attack (EP)" (1992) "Sly" (1994) "Protection" (1995)
Music video
"Sly" on YouTube

"Sly" is a song by British trip hop collective Massive Attack. It was released as a first single from their second album, Protection (1994), on 17 October 1994 by Wild Bunch and Circa Records. Vocals on the track are performed by Scottish singer-songwriter Nicolette. "Sly" reached number 24 in the United Kingdom, becoming Massive Attack's fourth top-40 single there. The accompanying music video was directed by Stéphane Sednaoui and filmed in New York City. ^[1]

Background

"Sly" was the combination of Craig Armstrong's strings combined with Nicolette's vocals. After hearing her first album Now is Early, and being suitably impressed by it, Massive Attack chose Nicolette to appear on Protection .^{[ citation needed ]}

Critical reception

Push from Melody Maker felt releasing the song as the first single from the Protection album was "the smartest choice", praising the "dreamy-voices" by Nicolette. He concluded, "Thumbs up." ^[2] Robbert Tilli from Music & Media described it as "slowly-creeping". ^[3] Andy Beevers from Music Week gave it a score of four out of five and named it a "moody, downbeat song". ^[4] Dele Fadele from NME wrote, "'Sly' finds Nigerian-born Nicolette trilling on in a sultry and wistful manner about time-travel, fate and destiny whilst the string-laden, mid-tempo backdrop conjures up images of the South Seas Pacific and somewhere more devastated and ominous. The overall effect is of putting your ears close to a sea shell and hearing clear, chiming, harmonic bells; as dazzling as that." ^[5] Brad Beatnik from the Record Mirror Dance Update remarked the singer's "sultry and jazzy vocals" on "a beautiful moody tune that won't be easy to fit in a set (although times are changing fast in clubland)." ^[6]

Music video

The music video for "Sly" was directed by French music video director, photographer, film producer and actor Stéphane Sednaoui, and produced by Line Postmyr for Propaganda. ^[7] It was filmed in New York City and released on 17 October 1994. In the video, three mysterious storylines merge. ^[7]

Track listings

UK CD1 and cassette single; Australian CD single [8] [9] [10] "Sly" (7-inch edit) – 4:10 "Sly" (7 Stones mix) – 5:58 "Sly" (Underdog mix) – 5:19 "Sly" (Underdog double bass & a cappella) – 3:36 UK CD2 [11] "Sly" (album version) – 5:24 "Sly" (Underdog version) – 4:29 "Sly" (Cosmic dub) – 5:26 "Sly" (Eternal Feedback dub) – 6:23 UK 12-inch single [12] A1. "Sly" (7 Stones mix) – 5:58 A2. "Sly" (Underdog mix) – 5:19 B1. "Sly" (Cosmic dub) – 5:26 B2. "Sly" (album version) – 5:24 B3. "Sly" (Eternal Feedback dub) – 6:23

European CD single [13] "Sly" (7-inch edit) – 4:10 "Sly" (7 Stones mix) – 5:58 US maxi-CD single [14] "Sly" (7-inch edit) "Sly" (7 Stones mix) "Sly" (Underdog mix) "Sly" (Cosmic dub) "Karmacoma" (LP version)

Charts

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA) [15]	98
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [16]	77
Europe (European Dance Radio) [17]	20
Scotland (OCC) [18]	29
UK Singles (OCC) [19]	24

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	17 October 1994	12-inch vinyl CD cassette	Wild Bunch Circa	[20]
Australia	14 November 1994	CD cassette		[21]

References

1. "Music Video: Production Notes" (PDF). Billboard . 29 October 1994. p. 49. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
2. Push (15 October 1994). "Singles". Melody Maker . p. 36. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
3. Tilli, Robbert (29 October 1994). "Massive Attack Puts The Album Before Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 44. p. 13. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
4. Beevers, Andy (22 October 1994). "Market Preview: Dance" (PDF). Music Week . p. 19. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
5. Fadele, Dele (22 October 1994). "Singles". NME . p. 50. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
6. Beatnik, Brad (8 October 1994). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 8. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
7. "Promos In Production" (PDF). Music Week . 8 October 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
8. Sly (UK CD1 liner notes). Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. WBRX5, 7243 8 92855 2 1.
9. Sly (UK cassette single sleeve). Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. WBRC5.
10. Sly (Australian CD single liner notes). Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. WBRXF5, 7243 8 92662 2 1.
11. Sly (UK CD2 liner notes). Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. WBRDX5, 7243 8 92656 2 0.
12. Sly (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. WBRT5, 7243 8 92655 6 9.
13. Sly (European CD single liner notes). Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. WBRXE5, 7243 8 92657 2 9.
14. Sly (US maxi-CD single liner notes). Virgin Records, Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. V25H-38465.
15. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 4 Dec 1994". ARIA . Retrieved 1 September 2016– via Imgur.
16. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 45. 5 November 1994. p. 15. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
17. "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 47. 19 November 1994. p. 31. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
18. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
19. "Massive Attack: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
20. "Single Releases" (PDF). Music Week . 15 October 1994. p. 27. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
21. "New Releases 14th November 1994: Singles". The ARIA Report . No. 248. 13 November 1994. p. 22.