Portishead

I cannot say that i'm a fan of Discordinant sound.
Many a musical snob calls this intelligent music.
I call it noise.
It doesn't take rocket science to create garbles of mathematical
sound. Just an analytical mind, & a want to stray far from center.

This release is very disappointing in my estimate.
Not in the fact that it is indeed so unlike old Portishead, but that it lacks in any firm tonal center for much of the duration.
As soon as you begin to want to connect to something, it is quickly ripped from underneath you.

There have been many geniuses that have pushed the bar far from the norm
but have maintained a central tonality in their work.
This is in my estimate where genius lies. You can play with time signatures,
tempo's, progressions, etc; Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, King Crimson, Prokofiev, Gorecki,
indian raga's & so on & manage to push the envelope.
But no center, then there's emptiness.
Like building a summer cottage without a foundation & expecting that a summer home can be a permanent home.
It falls apart.
It's fun for the immediate moment, but you quickly lose interest.

There are elements of mind & ear candy on this recording for certain.
However for me it is very temporary. Then i have no want to listen again for a good while.
Stereolab has done similar, but much warmer work over the past 7-8 years.
This cd isn't so much groundbreaking to me, as it is trendy.
For a generation of listeners who really have stopped listening with the decline of the trip-hop era,
or have been forever trapped therein it sounds like a revelation.
The name Portishead carries the weight.
Much like several other bands that had legendary cult followings during their respective era's,
only to take a long hiatus & then re-appear with an updated sound.
People were waiting & waiting, with the want for something to embrace.

Sounds like:
Elements of cold electronic like the algorithmic Autechre,
minus some of their rhythmic structure,
added elements of the coldest of Bjork's post Nelee Hooper vocal arrangements,
Lo-fi analog synth, via Stereolab,
but run through filters to once again create a very cold,
& detached feel.
Elements of the signature Portishead scattered to & fro.

Like so many belated follow ups, the pioneering "trip hop" act's self-explanatory release feels partially out of touch, but perhaps that has benefits when the experimentation commences in earnest. The entire process can shift from sounding effortlessly fresh to hopelessly contrived a little too jarringly.

I have been a Portishead fan from the start and at first I was a little uneasy with the heavyness of the music on this Third disc. Now that I have listened to it over 200 times, I must say it is my #1 pick of 2008. Portishead continues to evolve and this is the future. They are the top of the "trip hop" food chain and as for the other reviews that dogged this "don't you evah," and you wouldn't know good music if it beat you toa pulp. This is a work of Art and deserves the highest of recognition. Buy it, listen to it and then listen again. If it doesn't blow your mind then save it for your future mind. It is way ahead of it's time.

What a comeback! Those who were expecting the same thing and are disappointed should be ashamed. This band took a ten year layoff and have come back with an extraordinary effort, advancing their sound beyond what anyone could expect.

Great effort.

This is a pretty solid record for a band that could have just been a one hit wonder 10 years ago - they stay true to themselves and dedicated to producing vibrations of aesthetically pleasing music.

"Trip-hop"? "Downtempo"? Although it is a dark record, between Beth Gibbons' tortured voice, Geoff Barrows' beats, scratches and samples, and Adrian Utleys' jazzy guitar: this album is pure sex.

Don't believe me? Try it.

What can be said that already hasn't been said? I don't think there's much. This must have REALLY seemed ground-breaking at the time: Backbeats that sometimes recall hip-hop elements and some real soaring, soulful vocals from Beth Gibbons. There's not a single bad song on here, and it's most famous for the awesome "Sour Times," which sounds at times like a James Bond theme with certain elements. Then there's "Numb" which is probably my favorite song on the album, real soulful vocals there. You get more blues-rockin' moments like on the record's closer "Glory Box." There's occasional samples which rule and sound neat like everything else. If you haven't heard "Dummy" yet you are in for a real treat. Pretty much everyone who owns it can tell you that it's well worth the hype. It is beautiful and proves electronic music CAN BE full of emotion. Even today, it doesn't sound dated at all. I like the follow-up album too, but advise this as your start.

What can I say that hasn't been said in other reviews? Well, for me this is the one essential trip-hop album. But it goes way beyond being a very successful pop or trip-hop disc. What Portishead established with Dummy was the recognition of the diverse musical roots of the trip-hop movement, filtered through an intensely modernistic lens. Out in 1994, it sounds like it was released yesterday.

Let's briefly analyze "Glory Box," likely the most well-known track from this pervasively known disc. Glory Box begins with that unmistakeable descending bass line, which basically has the same resonance to 25-40 year olds that John Coltrane's "Tunji" or "Equinox" did to the baby Boomer generation. A repeating series of chords in F sharp, Glory Box is a gutbucket blues tune transposed to Gen X values, dripping with film noir nightclub atmosphere, the type of song that could be successfully played for any age group from Greatest Generation to Silent Generation, to Baby Boom to millennials. This song has that kind of universality. It's also a great instrumental blowing tune.

Moving on to another harmonically interesting tune, "Roads" has even more of the old jazz feel, with a roomy series of chord progressions in F Major. You can imagine an orchid in Beth Gibbons' hair as she sings the bridge. On this track and on this disc, Adrian Maben makes extremely tasteful use of the oft-abused wah pedal, and proves to be Gibbon's ideal running mate in this classic album.

It Could Be Sweet is an adult lullaby. Deeply felt and deeply moving.

The emotional range on this disc is significant. Not every song on Dummy is a gutwrenching heartbreaker, and they don't need to be. Tunes like "Wandering Star" and "Mysterons" are soundtracks to Gen X urban life with a measure of humor and dry observation. The entire disc is unmistakeable and as cohesive as Dark Side of the Moon was to an earlier generation. Like DSOTM (but not in sales), Dummy is a law unto itself and an inescapable disc of its times.

There's so much more I could say. Sitting through and learning some of these tunes by ear gave me a whole new appreciation for what Gibbons et. al. did on this disc. Some of the stuff on here stands up to anything written in the last 60-70 years or more. If there's one album to buy to represent the 90's, for me this would be the one, without hesitation.

And finally, after 14 years, Portishead will release another album! Astonishing.

This is almost the perfect album. I bought this recently having listened to it years ago and it was like finding an old classical watch or something. It moved me. The hits are great of course- 'Sour Times' and 'Glory Box'. Songs like this just want you to run out and open a lounge with a blue light or something! Then there is the absolute gem in "It's a Fire' with that wonderful bass running through as her voice weaves between the notes. This album is a beautiful moment in time.

First, this is a phenomenal album, it creates an amazing atmosphere that feels both new and familiar. However, I gotta say that I prefer the live album PNYC(the dvd is even better.) Aside from the wonder of seeing the band and orchestra deliver an amazingly on-point performance, the interplay between the musicians (as opposed to the loops on the album) makes the songs really come alive. Anyway, Dummy is a great album nonetheless, and if you are coming at Portishead from an electronic, hip-hop or dance angle, then you will probably prefer this to PNYC. But if you're more into jazz, rock or classical than I advise to check out PNYC first.

With Dummy, Portishead cemented their niche in the world of trip hop, and honestly had no obligations to carry out afterwards. Dummy was a fantastic album, good enough that even if the group had stopped there and made it a one time deal, the album would not have faded into obscurity. In any case, Portishead's early end has always felt slightly unrealized. Portishead only made two studio albums, one live album, and a few stray singles, b-sides, and rarities. It takes a very special band to be this appreciated with so little for fans to go on.

The self titled album has always been the overlooked one. Dummy was clearly the better album, and considering the band only really had two albums, that makes Portishead the bands worst album. This curse of relativity is unfortunate. The truth is, it's a great record that appeals to fans way more than direct connection with the masses through the radio.

In comparison to Dummy, Portishead is darker and more adventurous. It is more elaborately produced, detailed, and complex. While Dummy had some more tender moments (the sublime It Could Be Sweet and the jazzy Sour Times), Portishead is a blistering, difficult album that pulls no punches. In that way it is a logical step forward from Dummy, but it lacks some of it's simplistic charm. Then again, listening to a follow up to an album as iconic and popular as Dummy entails some unfair expectations. This album was never supposed to be a direct sequel. It has it's own identity. While it may be lacking in comparison, it stands pretty strong on it's own.

Or at the very least it expands on Portishead's repertoire in a way that gives the short lived group more form. The opening song, Cowboys, pins the albums style, to a certain extent. Beth Gibbon's voice is now more jazzy, regal, and brave. The music that accompanies it is significantly darker and more big sounding. What accompanies the signature heavy beats and well placed scratching are more disjointed and disturbing melodies. Even when Gibbons is belting out some of her more positive lyrics, the music is disturbing and perverse enough to warp the end result.

This switch from melancholy to disturbing is interesting, even compelling. Being partial to the fact that this really isn't supposed to be Dummy 2 doesn't hide the fact that the albums most interesting and compelling moments occur when the music gets vulnerable. Mourning Air makes use of cold, chilling cymbals and subtle horns. This is surely almost as breaking as Roads, which is a pretty great accomplishment. Undenied is also a slower, more touching venture, which somehow manages to feel somewhat warm with it's loneliness. That meaty bass thumping always does the trick. The closing Western Eyes is a really shockingly vulnerable way to end Portishead's last album. After gently introducing a piano melody and one of Gibbon's most beautiful performances, a jazzed little piano roll is the quaint, subtly biting end to the album. These songs make a little more sense, and give the album clarity.

But no less important are the muscular, more big sounding songs that are distinct to the album. Cowboys is a fantastic opener, and is only complemented by the skilled use of strings and horns on All Mine. Seven Months is actually a fit of anger, in a sexy sort of way, and is about as liberating as Portishead gets.

While Dummy might be the focal point of Portishead's short lived career, it is really a shame to stop there when such a good album is up for grabs for further listening. On one hand, the bands self titled sophomore album has some uninspired moments, specifically Half Day Closing and Only You, two easy picks for worst Portishead songs. The flipside is that there are many songs here that stand very tall and give the band more depth. It is a little more difficult, but it yields great rewards upon further exploration. Despite the fact that it is miles behind it's predecessor, this is an album that is worth attention for reasons other than the fact that Portishead had very little material for people to feast on.

In the three years following Portishead's first album about 1 billion trillion bands ripped off the portishead sound... Or tried to.

Postishead reponded with this lame effort. I barely remember it. I think it had one mediocre song and a bunch of really bad ish. The singer decided to rip off Barbara Streisand instead of billy holiday. wtf?

I have yet to check the third album. even though it was released six months ago. this sophmore record is THAT BAD

1.5 stars.

(the best band to deliver that "portishead" sound was LAMB who mixed a beefy style of creative DnB with the style. Locust also had a dope mix by Boom Boom satalites that did a grunge rock take on the sound. you can also go back in time and peek Skinhead Oconner, Suzi Sioux and Cocteau Twins first album if you like P-head roots muzak)

I can't think of an instance since Elvis Costello's brilliant This Year's Model that an artist or group so thoroughly obliterated the sophomore jinx in the face of high expectations as Portishead did on this one. And Portishead did so in the same way: by ratcheting up the intensity to a severe level just hinted at in their excellent, but comparatively tame debut.

By taking their distinctive, eerie sound to a new level, Portishead created a nightmarish, heart-wrenchingly emotional, yet catchy groove quite unlike anything before or since.

Portishead has yet to put out a bad CD and in my opinion this is their best.

Following their success with Dummy (1994), Bristol band Portishead released their second electronic Trip Hop self-titled album in 1997. With a mesmerizing sound similar to two other Bristol bands, Tricky and Massive Attack, Portishead (instrumentalist Geoff Barrow, guitarist Adrian Utley, and vocalist Beth Gibbons) blends dark, melancholic, down-tempo electronica with hip-hop, jazz and dub to create a unique sound. Stand out tracks include "Half Day Closing," and three UK singles, "Cowboys," "Over," and "All Mine."Complete album tracks include:

1. Cowboys (4:39)
2. All Mine (4:00)
3. Undenied (4:20)
4. Half Day Closing (3:47)
5. Over (3:55)
6. Humming (6:02)
7. Mourning Air (4:12)
8. Seven Months (4:16)
9. Only You (4:59)
10. Elysium (5:54)
11. Western Eyes (3:59)

G. Merritt

Hot on the heels of two acclaimed studio albums, the trio of Geoff Barrow, Adrian Utley and singer Beth Gibbons toured the United States and in doing so worked with an orchestra and horns for a live release.

It is often thought that electronic music is difficult to capture outside a studio, but "Live: Roseland NYC" is at the very least an exception. Whilst many critics have said Portishead's releases are too similar to each other, a good listen to "Live: Roseland NYC" with reveal a great many surprises about how Portishead adapt their songs to a concert setting. Contrary to what some might expect all the samples of their studio work are present, notably on "Only You" where they are used to create a crescendo effect in the middle of the song.

The strings add a great deal of melody to the songs compared to the stripped-down versions seen on their second album, but what is really surprising and overlooked in the much greater range of Beth Gibbons' voice found in the live setting. At the end of the dark "Sour Times" her voice - so restrined in the studio version - turns into an absolute growl that might put off some fans, but is as impressive as anything Bjork could ever manage. The quiet-to-loud dynamic of "Over" is similar in its effect, notably when Beth sings "recognise me any more" in an angry tone. On the other side, "Half Day Closing" is quite remarkably eerie and out-does any post-rock band. The opening tracks, "Cowboys" and "All Mine", and the earlier "Roads" are more akin to the studio versions but their powerful beauty is so unlike most pop music that it always captures the attention of someone weaned on the commercial music of the eighties.

All in all, "Live: Roseland NYC" is the most essential release from Portishead and one of the very best albums of the 1990s. The material is played in a subtly but genuinely darker, moodier, more intense yet more wistful tone than in the studio, and the accompanying orchestra is completely part of the songs as they are arranged. The cover, too, which reminds me of a school orchestra as I once played wihtout success in, is very fitting.

It seems like it might not work at first, but Portishead's "Live: Roseland NYC" album is probably the most stunning and most original live electronica album. And the string orchestra enhances their songs in unexpected ways.

If Portishead's second album sounded like a creepy soundtrack to a Halloween horror movie, the string ensemble take the scary crescendos to a whole new level. Beth Gibbons sings a crooning alto similar to the James Bond singer Shirley Bassey. In the song "Cowboys," the orchestra resounds with a wave of dissonance that escalates to a frightening peak with the electric guitars amplifying the dark tension. Combine that with the squeeky turntable scratches, and the band sounds like a deadly mix of James Bond mystery with electric mayhem.

And believe it or not, there are plenty of smooth and sassy James Bond-style orchestrations. The blaring trumpets and strings in "All Mine" turns the copa cabana song into a smoky, jazzy scene, with guitars to electrify the atmosphere.

Even though the live set begins with songs from their less popular second album, there are still plenty of fantastic mixes of songs from their debut album to spare. The high-pitched screeches of the violins in "Mysterons" transform the electronica song into a soundtrack from an Alfred Hitchcock horror film. "Glory Box" sounds even sassier and sexier with actual strings to back up Gibbons' voice and the funky DJ scratcher. And if Portishead fans thought "Sour Times" sounded cool, just wait until they hear the adrenaline-filled crescendo of strings, organs, drums, guitars and DJ scratches, combined with Gibbons' wailing at the end.

And the band has an especially tender moment in the song "Roads," where the spacy jazz wah-wahs and the strings soften their set with a gorgeous faze of romanticism. Beth Gibbons' softening voice near the end make this ballad reach a wonderful intimate level like no other.

But the strings are the most entrancing in the hip-hop beat-oriented jam "Strangers." The beats, combined with the snazzy horns and strings, make this Portishead exciting and electrifying. It's a great way to end an awesome concert of hip-hop, Halloween rock and orchestral splendor. It also shows Portishead in their prime, with an artistic taste like no other electronica band in the world.

I read a review for Third in the New Yorker, and I found out that this live album existed. I had to get it right away because the reviewer was basically saying that Third is great, but nothing can ever beat the Roseland NYC album.. I have to say that Roseland is genius and I am extremely sd to have missed out on it for so long. Roseland really is a masterpiece.

One word: "Roads." What a mess the dimwitted NYC audience made of this song. Their stupid little clap-a-long and early applause ruin what really would have been one of the standout tracks on this album. Good news: no clapping on the DVD version! That said, I think most people will be happier with the DVD audio. Buy the DVD, and download "Sour Times" as this is the only performance that is really missing from the DVD.

This is a masterpiece of contemporary music. PNYC is a very complex album, full of arrangements that goes to deep obsesive levels. No matter what kind of music do you really like. Everyone who cares about music should hear this album, and watch the dvd concert...many, many times. Pity i can't give them more than 5 stars.

I cannot say that i'm a fan of Discordinant sound.
Many a musical snob calls this intelligent music.
I call it noise.
It doesn't take rocket science to create garbles of mathematical
sound. Just an analytical mind, & a want to stray far from center.

This release is very disappointing in my estimate.
Not in the fact that it is indeed so unlike old Portishead, but that it lacks in any firm tonal center for much of the duration.
As soon as you begin to want to connect to something, it is quickly ripped from underneath you.

There have been many geniuses that have pushed the bar far from the norm
but have maintained a central tonality in their work.
This is in my estimate where genius lies. You can play with time signatures,
tempo's, progressions, etc; Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, King Crimson, Prokofiev, Gorecki,
indian raga's & so on & manage to push the envelope.
But no center, then there's emptiness.
Like building a summer cottage without a foundation & expecting that a summer home can be a permanent home.
It falls apart.
It's fun for the immediate moment, but you quickly lose interest.

There are elements of mind & ear candy on this recording for certain.
However for me it is very temporary. Then i have no want to listen again for a good while.
Stereolab has done similar, but much warmer work over the past 7-8 years.
This cd isn't so much groundbreaking to me, as it is trendy.
For a generation of listeners who really have stopped listening with the decline of the trip-hop era,
or have been forever trapped therein it sounds like a revelation.
The name Portishead carries the weight.
Much like several other bands that had legendary cult followings during their respective era's,
only to take a long hiatus & then re-appear with an updated sound.
People were waiting & waiting, with the want for something to embrace.

Sounds like:
Elements of cold electronic like the algorithmic Autechre,
minus some of their rhythmic structure,
added elements of the coldest of Bjork's post Nelee Hooper vocal arrangements,
Lo-fi analog synth, via Stereolab,
but run through filters to once again create a very cold,
& detached feel.
Elements of the signature Portishead scattered to & fro.

Like so many belated follow ups, the pioneering "trip hop" act's self-explanatory release feels partially out of touch, but perhaps that has benefits when the experimentation commences in earnest. The entire process can shift from sounding effortlessly fresh to hopelessly contrived a little too jarringly.

I have been a Portishead fan from the start and at first I was a little uneasy with the heavyness of the music on this Third disc. Now that I have listened to it over 200 times, I must say it is my #1 pick of 2008. Portishead continues to evolve and this is the future. They are the top of the "trip hop" food chain and as for the other reviews that dogged this "don't you evah," and you wouldn't know good music if it beat you toa pulp. This is a work of Art and deserves the highest of recognition. Buy it, listen to it and then listen again. If it doesn't blow your mind then save it for your future mind. It is way ahead of it's time.

What a comeback! Those who were expecting the same thing and are disappointed should be ashamed. This band took a ten year layoff and have come back with an extraordinary effort, advancing their sound beyond what anyone could expect.

Great effort.

This is a pretty solid record for a band that could have just been a one hit wonder 10 years ago - they stay true to themselves and dedicated to producing vibrations of aesthetically pleasing music.

if you want a compilation of non-mainstream artists and music,this is it
portishead's roads has to be my favorite numbr off of here along with girl you want by devo

the movie rocks!!

Loved the CD - lot's of great tunes, including L7's Shove, Joan Jett's version of Let's Do It (great running song) and Bjork's strange, but compelling Army of Me.

When I first got this CD after compulsively watching the movie several times over, I have to admit that I was a little bummed that not all of the songs I was expecting to hear were there. Over time it really grew on me and I have been quite please with the CD. I've picked up more of the music of the different bands featured on it. It's a great choice for someone who likes to keep a nice variety of sounds swimming in her ears. It has given me a taste of artists that I wouldn't normally have stumbled upon otherwise. See the movie if you want a fun & funky chick-flick. If it gets you revved you can expect to be dancing, hopping, bobbing & lipsynching to the soundtrack!

This is a great cd and although it doesnt have all the songs from the film i wanted it is well worth a listen

As far as I know, this is not an "official" release by this band, but, I couldn't love it more. If you're not one of those people that HAS to have everything they've ever done, just stick to their major releases, you'll be just fine. This set doesn't really have any new material so to speak, it's a ton of remixes. But, as I said, I love it. Each and every track gives a new representation of two of their classics. If you breathe Portishead, you'll love this album... if you listen to them only occasionally, don't even bother, you'll most likely be let down.

I love this band. Always have. Just wish there was more. I would give this another star, but, that is reserved for "Dummy". Oh, i'm sure the drummer is insane. Nobody can keep a beat like that, unless you are insane.

Portishead only has two (soon to be three) full-length albums to their name, as well as a live album. Not so easily accessible is "Glory Times," a two-disc collection of alternate takes on two of the best songs on their debut. After this, it's hard to hear "Dummy" quite the same way again.

The first disc is taken up by three "Sour Times" mixes and two instrumentals. It opens with the gently jazzy "Sour Sour Times," before veering to the poignantly funky "Lot More," and the scratchy, raw "Airbus Reconstruction." The instrumentals are even more impressive: the ominous, stately "Sheared Times," and "Theme from 'To Kill A Dead Man," which has piano and electronica building up to a soaring string solo.

The second disc, on the other hand, has four mixes of "Glory Box," plus another instrumental. It opens with a basic edit and goes on to the guitar-heavy, fuzzy "Glory Box (Mudflap Mix)," and the playfully wistful "Toy Box." The instrumental is "Sheared Box," a mess of murky electronica that slowly pulls itself into something resembling melody.

"Scorn" is perhaps the star of both discs here -- one of the remixes of "Glory Box," but not the relatively cheerful one on "Dummy." It has a slow, dark melody, with Beth Gibbons slowly intoning, "Gonna give my heart away,/Leave it to the other girls to play,/For I've been a temptress too long." She sounds pretty evil here.

"Glory Times" is not a place to start checking out Portishead. New potential fans: Try one of their full-length albums, or even their live album. Not this one.

Anyone who does will end up being frustrated by the limited material. Instead, this is for fans of Portishead who really, really enjoyed "Dummy" and want to check out anything Portishead has done. And, I might add, are willing to hear the same melodies over and over, albeit in different forms.

Beth Gibbons does it all here, ranging from scratchy garage-rock vocals to the eerie she-devil voice of "Scorn." She gets a bit buried in "Airbus Construction," where it sounds like a scratchy-voiced man is trying to sing over her. But most of the time, she just adds the necessary note of wistfulness to the songs, whatever the mix is.

"Glory Times" is a good accompaniment to "Dummy," but only if the listener is already a fan. An excellent listen for fans of Portishead.

I've burned a hole through my "Dummy" and "Portishead" cd's, so it was nice to hear several alternative takes of two of my favorite tracks. However, the list price is rather steep for the amount of music (less than one regular cd, despite the fact that they put it on two), and you really have to be in the right mood to listen to the same lyrics and chord progressions over and over. Overall, the live album is much more satisfying.

"Glory Box" and "Sour Times" are classic songs and if you can't get enough of them, then you would love Portishead's different interpretations of them. "Airbus Reconstruction" is a grungy rock version of "Sour Times" and I wasn't surprised because Portishead member and producer, Geoff Barrow, has stated that he admired Nirvana. "Lot More" is a grimier urban "Sour Times" while "Sour Sour Times" has an acid jazz feel. "Scorn" takes the Isaac Hayes sample and the dark beat from the part at the end where Beth sings "This is the beginning of forever and ever" and reverses them in the song, so that the Isaac Hayes sample is the break and the dark beat is the main music (You'll understand if you hear it). "Toy Box", "Sheared Box" and Theme from "To Kill A Dead Man" are instrumentals that don't sound anything like "Glory Box" and "Sour Times" but they are good nevertheless. Also, if you don't have Portishead's "Dummy", you're music collection is missing out. "Dummy" is a classic.

With Dummy, Portishead cemented their niche in the world of trip hop, and honestly had no obligations to carry out afterwards. Dummy was a fantastic album, good enough that even if the group had stopped there and made it a one time deal, the album would not have faded into obscurity. In any case, Portishead's early end has always felt slightly unrealized. Portishead only made two studio albums, one live album, and a few stray singles, b-sides, and rarities. It takes a very special band to be this appreciated with so little for fans to go on.

The self titled album has always been the overlooked one. Dummy was clearly the better album, and considering the band only really had two albums, that makes Portishead the bands worst album. This curse of relativity is unfortunate. The truth is, it's a great record that appeals to fans way more than direct connection with the masses through the radio.

In comparison to Dummy, Portishead is darker and more adventurous. It is more elaborately produced, detailed, and complex. While Dummy had some more tender moments (the sublime It Could Be Sweet and the jazzy Sour Times), Portishead is a blistering, difficult album that pulls no punches. In that way it is a logical step forward from Dummy, but it lacks some of it's simplistic charm. Then again, listening to a follow up to an album as iconic and popular as Dummy entails some unfair expectations. This album was never supposed to be a direct sequel. It has it's own identity. While it may be lacking in comparison, it stands pretty strong on it's own.

Or at the very least it expands on Portishead's repertoire in a way that gives the short lived group more form. The opening song, Cowboys, pins the albums style, to a certain extent. Beth Gibbon's voice is now more jazzy, regal, and brave. The music that accompanies it is significantly darker and more big sounding. What accompanies the signature heavy beats and well placed scratching are more disjointed and disturbing melodies. Even when Gibbons is belting out some of her more positive lyrics, the music is disturbing and perverse enough to warp the end result.

This switch from melancholy to disturbing is interesting, even compelling. Being partial to the fact that this really isn't supposed to be Dummy 2 doesn't hide the fact that the albums most interesting and compelling moments occur when the music gets vulnerable. Mourning Air makes use of cold, chilling cymbals and subtle horns. This is surely almost as breaking as Roads, which is a pretty great accomplishment. Undenied is also a slower, more touching venture, which somehow manages to feel somewhat warm with it's loneliness. That meaty bass thumping always does the trick. The closing Western Eyes is a really shockingly vulnerable way to end Portishead's last album. After gently introducing a piano melody and one of Gibbon's most beautiful performances, a jazzed little piano roll is the quaint, subtly biting end to the album. These songs make a little more sense, and give the album clarity.

But no less important are the muscular, more big sounding songs that are distinct to the album. Cowboys is a fantastic opener, and is only complemented by the skilled use of strings and horns on All Mine. Seven Months is actually a fit of anger, in a sexy sort of way, and is about as liberating as Portishead gets.

While Dummy might be the focal point of Portishead's short lived career, it is really a shame to stop there when such a good album is up for grabs for further listening. On one hand, the bands self titled sophomore album has some uninspired moments, specifically Half Day Closing and Only You, two easy picks for worst Portishead songs. The flipside is that there are many songs here that stand very tall and give the band more depth. It is a little more difficult, but it yields great rewards upon further exploration. Despite the fact that it is miles behind it's predecessor, this is an album that is worth attention for reasons other than the fact that Portishead had very little material for people to feast on.

In the three years following Portishead's first album about 1 billion trillion bands ripped off the portishead sound... Or tried to.

Postishead reponded with this lame effort. I barely remember it. I think it had one mediocre song and a bunch of really bad ish. The singer decided to rip off Barbara Streisand instead of billy holiday. wtf?

I have yet to check the third album. even though it was released six months ago. this sophmore record is THAT BAD

1.5 stars.

(the best band to deliver that "portishead" sound was LAMB who mixed a beefy style of creative DnB with the style. Locust also had a dope mix by Boom Boom satalites that did a grunge rock take on the sound. you can also go back in time and peek Skinhead Oconner, Suzi Sioux and Cocteau Twins first album if you like P-head roots muzak)

I can't think of an instance since Elvis Costello's brilliant This Year's Model that an artist or group so thoroughly obliterated the sophomore jinx in the face of high expectations as Portishead did on this one. And Portishead did so in the same way: by ratcheting up the intensity to a severe level just hinted at in their excellent, but comparatively tame debut.

By taking their distinctive, eerie sound to a new level, Portishead created a nightmarish, heart-wrenchingly emotional, yet catchy groove quite unlike anything before or since.

Portishead has yet to put out a bad CD and in my opinion this is their best.

Following their success with Dummy (1994), Bristol band Portishead released their second electronic Trip Hop self-titled album in 1997. With a mesmerizing sound similar to two other Bristol bands, Tricky and Massive Attack, Portishead (instrumentalist Geoff Barrow, guitarist Adrian Utley, and vocalist Beth Gibbons) blends dark, melancholic, down-tempo electronica with hip-hop, jazz and dub to create a unique sound. Stand out tracks include "Half Day Closing," and three UK singles, "Cowboys," "Over," and "All Mine."Complete album tracks include:

1. Cowboys (4:39)
2. All Mine (4:00)
3. Undenied (4:20)
4. Half Day Closing (3:47)
5. Over (3:55)
6. Humming (6:02)
7. Mourning Air (4:12)
8. Seven Months (4:16)
9. Only You (4:59)
10. Elysium (5:54)
11. Western Eyes (3:59)

G. Merritt

No collection will ever be perfect, but this does a decent job. The first disc is what's supposed to be hot (in 98). The second is supposed to be some old school classics. Some well known artists are on here like "Prodigy", "Moby", and "Portishead". My favorite thing by far is some of who's sampled on different tracks. Samples from "Bad Brains", "Kate Bush", "The Verve", and the theme from "Twin Peaks". Overall a good comp. The 1st "Urbal Beats" is good too. Pretty much electronica's greatest hits.

First thing about this album that i must mention right off is that the track slection is horrid. If it wasn't trying to be a "definitive guide to electronic music" it probably wouldn't have been so annoying. Really this "urbal beats" series works well if view together, but the track selection seems wrong in the individual sets. This time around the balance is thrown off by adding too much big beats,jungle, and trip hop. Three styles that do come from the same influences. Giving the whole album a lack of diversity. Digital empire 2 does diversity so much better. Another issue is the repetition of the same groups and groups that are seen together all the time.. I mean we have an original prodigy song, a remix of a prodigy song and a song prodigy remixed? is this the "definitve guide to prodigy?" We have a fatboy slim song, and a fat boy slim remix. And the whole first disk breaks down to basically 3 different types of related electronica. giving a very bad "definition" of electronica.

The second disk is a half way decent attempt at mixing alot of classic together, but I am getting somewhat sick of hearing old school electronica thats just doesn't hodl up well over time.

I give the album 4 stars since it does have some decent gems on it. But I highy recomend "digital empire 2" over this compilation if your looking to get schooled on the so called "electronica genre"

This CD was a big letdown.. it was recommended by the person at the record store, looked good, etc. Basically disc 1 was too jungle for me. There are some tunes that are pretty good, but there are some downright angry-feeling ones as well. Temper-temper gave me a headache and "release YO' Delf"--well, you can figure it.

Disc 2 was much better, but still not enough to compell me to repeat the purchase.

Summary: Disc1 1-2 stars, Disc2 3-4 stars

There's another review that sums my sentiments exactly. Disc 1 gets 2-3 stars (kind of like a rap with faster beat) But disc 2 is really good; 5 stars)

This set is more uneven than the first Urbal Beats, but it still contains more than a few classics of the genre. The two discs contain a lot of music for a good price--I recommend it as a next step if you like the first volume.