Sly (Massive Attack song)

Last updated
"Sly"
Sly (1994 Single).jpg
Single by Massive Attack
from the album Protection
Released17 October 1994 (1994-10-17) [1]
Genre Trip hop
Length
  • 5:25 (album version)
  • 4:56 (single edit)
Label
  • Wild Bunch
  • Circa
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • 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. [2]

Contents

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." [3] Robbert Tilli from Music & Media described it as "slowly-creeping". [4] Andy Beevers from Music Week gave it a score of four out of five and named it a "moody, downbeat song". [5] 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." [6] 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)." [7]

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. [8] It was filmed in New York City and released on 17 October 1994. In the video, three mysterious storylines merge. [8]

Track listings

Charts

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

References

  1. "Single Releases" (PDF). Music Week . 15 October 1994. p. 27. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  2. "Music Video: Production Notes" (PDF). Billboard . 29 October 1994. p. 49. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  3. Push (15 October 1994). "Singles". Melody Maker . p. 36. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  4. 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.
  5. Beevers, Andy (22 October 1994). "Market Preview: Dance" (PDF). Music Week . p. 19. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  6. Fadele, Dele (22 October 1994). "Singles". NME . p. 50. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  7. Beatnik, Brad (8 October 1994). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 8. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  8. 1 2 "Promos In Production" (PDF). Music Week . 8 October 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  9. Sly (UK CD1 liner notes). Massive Attack. Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. WBRX5, 7243 8 92855 2 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. Sly (UK cassette single sleeve). Massive Attack. Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. WBRC5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. Sly (Australian CD single liner notes). Massive Attack. Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. WBRXF5, 7243 8 92662 2 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. Sly (UK CD2 liner notes). Massive Attack. Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. WBRDX5, 7243 8 92656 2 0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. Sly (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Massive Attack. Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. WBRT5, 7243 8 92655 6 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. Sly (European CD single liner notes). Massive Attack. Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. WBRXE5, 7243 8 92657 2 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. Sly (US maxi-CD single liner notes). Massive Attack. Virgin Records, Wild Bunch Records, Circa Records. 1994. V25H-38465.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 4 Dec 1994". ARIA . Retrieved 1 September 2016 via Imgur.
  17. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 45. 5 November 1994. p. 15. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  18. "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 47. 19 November 1994. p. 31. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  19. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  20. "Massive Attack: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 September 2020.