"Angel" is a song by English trip hop group Massive Attack, featuring the vocals and songwriting from Horace Andy, and is partially based on Andy's song "You Are My Angel". It was released as the third single from their third studio album, Mezzanine (1998), on 13 July 1998. "Angel" peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart.
Background and composition
Daddy G, who was the main songwriter on it (along with 3D), described the song as "[starting] something we've got to finish. It was a much bigger thing than any member of the band." The song samples The Incredible Bongo Band song "Last Bongo in Belgium".
Music video
The music video for "Angel", directed by Walter A. Stern, features Grant "Daddy G" Marshall in a car park. He is walking to the exit when Robert del Naja, Andrew Vowles and Horace Andy appear behind him. They gradually get closer to him, causing him to feel intimidated. More and more people start following him, which causes him to run outside the car park until he reaches a fence and therefore cannot go any further. As he turns to face the people chasing him, they stop and face him. He then notices that they seem to be mirroring his movements, as if his body controls them. He suddenly charges towards the people that followed him, which causes them to run away.
The video has had over 52 million views on YouTube (as of October 2023).
Critical reception
Reception for the song was positive. Amy Hanson of AllMusic describes the song thus: "While the beat here is slow, druggy, and deep, what ultimately drives Angel is the wall of guitars that are reminiscent of a very early Cure".
Track listing
Personnel
Massive Attack
Robert Del Naja – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples, art direction Grantley Marshall – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, guitars, samples Andrew Vowles – producer, arrangements, programming, samples, percussions
Additional personnel
Neil Davidge – producer, arrangements, programming, keyboards, samples
Horace Andy – vocals
Angelo Bruschini – guitars
Jon Harris, Bob Locke, Winston Blisset – bass guitars
Andy Gangadeen – drums
Dave Jenkins, Michael Timothy – additional keyboards
Recording personnel
Jan Kybert – Pro Tools
Lee Shepherd – engineer (Massive Attack and Christchurch Studios) Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (Olympic Studios) Jan Kybert, Paul "P-Dub" Walton – assistant mixing Tim Young – editing, engineer (Metropolis Studios)