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Development

Five Man Army more than any other Massive Attack recalls the heydays of The Wild Bunch with lyrics referencing The Wild Bunch’s live stint in Japan, turntable’s and mixer boards, house parties, not to mention Willy Wee who had been at Daddy G’s side throughout much of The Wild Bunch’s lifetime.

Five Man Army, itself was based around a similar song also called Five Man Army by Dillinger and Trinity. This was Daddy G’s doing most likely as this song, with it’s deep dub basslines is mostly indebted to his particular love of dub and reggae.

Additional Info

The vocalist of the first verse of Five Man Army is very commonly confused as being Daddy G. In fact, it is fellow Wild Bunch hanger-on Willy Wee, who has a very comparable deep voice like Daddy G.

The majority of Horace Andy’s lyrics which appear towards the end of Five Man Army were lifted from his own back catalogue of reggae anthems, namely “Cuss, Cuss” and “Money Money”.

On Collected, the song’s duration is only 05:21. This is because at the 03:58 time duration mark into the song, there is a seamless edit which cuts out roughly the next 40 seconds of the song.

Live Appearances

Five Man Army was played extensively throughout the 1994 soundsystem tour. On this tour, with Tricky and Willy Wee being available on most dates, they were able to provide their vocals as they are on the album version.

For the 1995 tour, with Tricky falling out with Massive Attack, it was Daddy G who had had to provide the vocals for both of Massive Attack’s lost touring party member on Five Man Army alongside 3D, Horace Andy and Willy Wee. The song itself was arranged and played in a similar fashion to way it appeared on Blue Lines.

Since the 1995 tour however, Five Man Army has failed to make any of the live setlists, probably owing to the fact of Willy Wee’s removal from the touring setup at this time.

Sampled From

Five Man Army uses a sample from the song “I’m Glad You’re Mine” by noted American soul and gospel performer Al Green. It appears primarily on his 1972 release I’m Still In Love With You. It is not credited officially by Massive Attack.

Five Man Army uses a sample from the song “Five Man Army Dub” by a reaggae production duo known as Lewin Bones Lock. It appears primarily on a 1970′s Studio One 12″ single release. It has never been released on any other format since. It is not credited officially by Massive Attack.

Notable Quotes

3D on why he mentions his Sony Walkman Budokan in the lyrics for Five Man Army - “Every rap track has a reference to Sony, yeah! It’s not a plug for them though, it’s just that Sony and their Walkman’s are such a massive influence and the Sony Budokan is the ultimate portable sound experience, extra bass and a really huge sound. They even give you a cushion to sit on while you listen to it. It’s a totally obsessive object and if you have something that you’re really into, you constantly think about it, so when I think about words and music I constantly think of my Budokan, it’s that simple. I also think about Subbuteo…” [Jocks Magazine - February 1991]

Lyrics

 

External Links

Interpretations From SongMeanings.com
Fan-made Lyrics Video