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PORTISHEAD

R.J. Wheaton

Portishead's Dummy - 33 1/3

    This is a thoroughly researched exploration of one of the most original, unexpected, and durable British albums of the 1990s. An album which distilled a genre from the musical, cultural, and social ether, Portishead's "Dummy" was such a complete artistic achievement that its ubiquitous successes threatened to exhaust its own potential. RJ Wheaton offers an impressionistic investigation of "Dummy" that imitates the cumulative structure of the album itself, piecing together portraits and interviews, impressions of time and place, cultural criticism, and a thorough exploration of the music itself.

    The approach focuses as much on the reception and response that "Dummy" engendered as it does on the original production of the album. How is it that so many people have, collectively, made a quintessential headphone album into a nightclub album? How have they made the product of a niche local scene into an international success? This is the story of how an innovative, experimental album became the iconic sound for the better part of a decade - and an aesthetic template for the experience of music in the digital age.

    Portishead

    Third

      Hot on the heels of 1997's "Portishead" album, "Third" has a lot to prove in order to reclaim fans of "Dummy" 14 years down the line. The last 10 years seems to have been well spent amassing a whole new trove of influences to draw upon, making sense of their choice of acts at the All Tomorrow's Parties weekend. Boris, Ladytron, Kling Klang and Om have replaced valium-slow Isaac Hayes samples and vinyl scratching as reference points this time around, while primitive synthesizers and Adrian Utleys' take on the US drone rock movement dominate on many tracks. Lead single, "Machine Gun" is something of a curveball, taking no prisoners with its' juddering avant-electro update of "Blue Monday"'s drum pattern before the mood settles with the introduction of chanteuse Beth Gibbons. For those who enjoyed the Beth Gibbons "Out Of Season" album from 2002, there are similar forays into chilly nu-folk. While there's little point in wondering whether this will have the same impact as either of its predecessors, one thing is for certain, they haven't let the grass grow under their feet.

      TRACK LISTING

      Silence 5:01
      Hunter 3:59
      Nylon Smile 3:20
      The Rip 4:31
      Plastic 3:31
      We Carry On 6:28
      Deep Water 1:33
      Machine Gun 4:46
      Small 6:47
      Magic Doors 3:32
      Threads 5:48

      Portishead

      Portishead

      Like Soul II Soul a few years before them, Portishead spearheaded a revolution in both pop and dance music by introducing a distinctive new groove. Portishead was at the vanguard of the 90s 'trip hop' onslaught, and after a three-year respite, they returned with a self-titled second album to reclaim the trip hop crown. Beth Gibbons is on her way to becoming the Billie Holiday of electronica, retaining a stoic, laconic tone while recounting tales of despair and emotional upheaval. The lazy, spacious beats that are the band's trademark provide just the right combination of urgency and tranquility to underscore the emotional contradictions at the core of Portishead's music. Adrian Utley's delightfully creepy guitar and keyboard work adorns the proceedings tastefully and effectively. On tunes like "Cowboys" and "All Mine" Portishead makes it plain that when it comes to arresting, unsettling electronic downbeat pop, nobody does it better.

      TRACK LISTING

      1. Cowboys 4:41
      2. All Mine 4:02
      3. Undenied 4:18
      4. Half Day Closing 3:48
      5. Over 3:55
      6. Humming 6:04
      7. Mourning Air 4:11
      8. Seven Months 4:15
      9. Only You 4:59
      10. Elysium 5:57
      11. Western Eyes 3:42

      Hip hop enthusiast and obsessive break hunter Geoff Barrow, jazz musician Adrian Utley and singer-songwriter Beth Gibbons created Portishead's genre defining 'trip hop' album "Dummy" in 1994. The set's combination of head-nod beats and cinematic atmospherics (including Theremin, Rhodes, and Hammond) both sampled and played live, was given an extra twist by Barrow, who pressed the recordings up on vinyl and scratch-mixed them together, passing the resulting tapes on to Gibbons to add lyrics and a tune to. And it's Gibbon's who lifts the album into Mercury Music prize-winning territory, adding a heart-rending melancholia with her fragile folk-soul vocals. Featuring the singles "Sour Times" and "Glory Box", "Dummy" is just one of those must-have albums.

      TRACK LISTING

      1. Mysterons (5:02)
      2. Sour Times (4:11)
      3. Strangers (3:55)
      4. It Could Be Sweet (4:16)
      5. Wandering Star (4:51)
      6. Numb (3:54)
      7. Roads (5:02)
      8. Pedestal (3:39)
      9. Biscuit (5:01)
      10. Glory Box (5:06)


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