Portishead Album: “Portishead”

It is pretty widely said that Portishead's self-titled second album is okay but not as good as Dummy. Let me say that my point of view tends not to be so wide.

If you were a lover of Dummy tracks like "Sour Times" and "Roads", you will be disappointed with this album. But if you dug the styles of tunes like "Wandering Star" and "Pedestal", then you should do yourself a big favor and buy this album if you haven't yet. There's absolutely no way you'll regret it. Because, for me, Portishead's Portishead is one of the greatest albums ever released.

Dummy was filled with creative "songs". You know, song-like structures and things you can listen to out of context of the rest of the album. But what separates this from Dummy is that you won't find "songs". What you'll find is about an hour of beautiful, haunting, mind-altering MUSIC. There's no better fuel for meditation, creativity, conversation or even tripping than "Portishead". This music puts you into another world against your will to have you chewed up and spit out. Listening to this album in its entirity is more of an experience than you'll be able to find in most places. And those who have not had this experience are sad, sad people who stare at the floor when they walk and pass you with an aura of uncoolness.

The eclectic beat (changing from pure trip-hop in Undenied to an indie garage flavor in Half Day Closing) keeps you moving through its swaying motion into its abyss of uniquely layered melodies and sounds (oddly distorted guitars, a heart-rumbling bass, morbid pianos, and effects lifted straight from old noir flicks and 50's sci-fi vibes) with the great icing of Beth Gibbons vocals that you'll swear is a ghost living inside of your head.

Now, that being said, this album is definitely not for everyone. Impatient people and shallow listeners will not be able to properly absorb all of the textures and oddities of this masterpiece. Some who listen at face value may find it to be repetitive (although it isn't in the least bit repetitive, definitely less repetitive than the often compared Tricky). It is imperative to listen to this album with both a relaxed and open mind.

Also, as a little side-note, if you're a fan of the filmmaker David Lynch, you'll probably dig this album a lot. I don't know why. It's just one of those truths.

Portishead is classic musique-noir album that is beyond description. Its hauntingly fractured beats with "loungey" inspiration and Gibbon's emotive vocals which range from despair to mocking to exhilaration form into one of the most unique sounds. Though arguably theatrical at times, this is an album that has and will continue to amaze. I was a casual listener to "Dummy", Portishead's first, but upon buying this album in 1998 I was in rapture: this music is moving. Sounding like a 1940's nightclub or 1960's lounge at times and then quickly moving to sounds that sound like a SoHo art club and then switching to a mood like that 4 AM telephone call with some girl who is just too close to the edge, the sheer range and feel of this album is fantastic.

One thing that is terrific about this album is that it can be played the whole way through making it a great soundtrack to a cool party or a long drive to nowhere. Its jazzy smooth yet jarring sound is good morning noon and night. If you don't own this album yet you are years late but don't worry, its not dated and it will provide great enjoyment for years to come.

-- Ted Murena

I know that it might sound sacrilegious but it's true. Portishead's 1997 sophomore is in my opinion a much greater experience than the debut Dummy. Whereas Dummy was a delicate, subtle & stable effort with all of the tracks pretty much sounding in the same vein (Not that it's a bad thing) Portishead is more industrial & heavy, id est much more fascinating to listen to. The lyrics are far superior to the debut lyrics (On several occasions @ least, like in the social grievance that is "Half Day Closing") & Beth Gibbons' vocals sound much more sinister & spiteful- In point of fact she sounds like an entirely different singer which is a great achievement a very selected few artists could achieve. Some songs are too strident for their own good (Like the grating opener "Cowboys") but that's one of the things that make the album far more interesting to listen to than Dummy, along with the more vast usage of "live" instruments such as guitars, pianos & organs. Favourite songs so far- "All Mine" (Very much reminiscent of "Glory Box"), "Undenied" (Beautiful, simple piano), "Over" (Ah, the acoustic guitar!) & of course, the song that made me buy both Portishead's studioalbums, "Only You" (Topnotch video also). You'll be surprised to hear the male vocals in the end of "Western Eyes"!

This entire album reminds me of a dark, foggy street with a single man standing under a streetlight far away. You know he's watching you, but you don't know why....

It's a fantastic, dark, and surreal musical landscape, and although its nowhere near as good as their first album (Dummy) its still amazing.

Buy Dummy first, and if it hits you the same way it has me, then go for this album too.

This is a masterpiece of haunting, cinematic, ghostly, sexy 007-horn blasts and theremins. Beth Gibbons sings as if she's on the cusp of expiration, all sounding so perfect.