Customer Reviews

Out of Season

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The thing that I'm into is the philosophy of the music. I love the surprise of things, the accidents...just the sound of a word, to try to express them in the best way, so that the emotion is totally revealed." - Beth Gibbons

Out of Season, the new debut album from Portishead's Beth Gibbons and Talk Talk's Paul Webb, has practically left me speechless. These two have really made musical beatitude with this release. I struggle to find anything wrong with it. This album seeps into your psyche and warms your insides. It's achingly beautiful, hopeful, and melancholic from start to finish. Artists of this genre will be scratching their heads for quite some time trying to figure out how they'll top it. Conversely, one might think Out of Season is nothing new, but they'd be wrong. It's a near perfect album, which can't be said in too many cases these days.

Imagine yourself driving down a two-lane country road on a beautiful fall morning. The leaves are changing, and you feel like your grandparents when you find yourself saying, "Aren't the leaves just incredibly beautiful this time of year?" That is exactly what can be said for every single song on Out of Season. The lyrics, "Autumn leaves/beauty's got a hold on me," from the song "Sand River," basically summarize this similitude. Most of these songs in some way recall a Portishead song without any sign of a monumental drumbeat. "Spider Monkey," in fact, is a song that's almost like having sex without the ability to climax. If there were ever a song that needed the aid of drums, "Spider Monkey" would be first in line. The song begins with a Fender Rhodes that is slowly joined by an attacking acoustic guitar that will eventually inflate this song to orgasmic proportion. Unfortunately, you'll be left kicking and screaming on the floor for the song to come back and give you what you feel you deserve.

The song "Show" finds Gibbons exploring the vocal styling of the great Billie Holiday. I picture Webb and Gibbons alone together in the studio embracing loss through their music. Maybe even a guest appearance by Thom Yorke wouldn't be out of place here. "Romance," is backed by what I consider to be a renewed clan of Lawrence Welk's orchestra. I'm instantly taken back to 1976 when my grandparents used to take me out to eat after church at one of the many American Cafeterias. How Rustin and Gibbons pull this off with such style and grace is beyond me.

I have to be honest with you here. I ache with wonder at how an album this good could be made. Nothing, for even a spare moment, sounds as if it has been forced. If Gibbons is giving us a mere glimpse of what is to come on the new Portishead album (not that this album even has anything to do with Portishead), I think we'll see their best album yet. Furthermore, not all of the acclaim should go to Beth Gibbons. Much respect is also due to Paul Webb. If this is truly the album he has always wanted to record, he has certainly done it. So, without further ado, I give you Out of Season. It's my choice for album of the year in 2002.

With it's subtle nature sound effects, creepy little choral samples and achingly beautful melodies, "Out of Season" casts its shadow over your unsuspecting heart. These tender poems are saturated with bleakness by Gibbons' voice and the ghostly sparseness of the acoustic instruments.

The pain begins with "Mysteries" with the line "Nobody made this war of mine." "Romance" claims, "It's plain to see all the things we suffer/ at the hands of humanity."

When she sings "Summer skies are leaving me behind/like a circle, life is ever moving by" it's less an autumnal afterthought than a realisation of soul damned in "Resolve." The lyric is full of pathos; it's almost a suicide note set to the most romantic tune imaginable.

"Spyder" continues this treatise on suffering as Gibbons whispers, "Time is but a memory/a bitter note unsung/running, trying to find salvation/from the sorrow that is done."

And so it goes until it spends itself in tears and silence. By then, however, you have been transported to the island of the dispossessed.

Easily one of the 3 best CDs to come out in the last 5 years, along with fellow Bristolites Kosheen with their haunting "Resist" and Norway's Slowpho, whose debut "Hotel Sleep" prickles with icy woe.

You know her best as the ethereal voice of Portishead, but in "Out of Season" Beth Gibbons strays away from indie trip-hop into melancholy acoustic pop, jazz and folk, collaborated with Paul "Rustin Man" Webb of Talk Talk. This autumn-toned collection is melancholy and pensive, a bittersweet little gem.

"Out of Season" starts off strong with the gentle, plaintive "Mysteries," followed by the shimmery "Tom the Model," the piano ballads "Show" and "Resolve," jazzy "Sand River," and the brilliantly murky "Spider Monkey." It finally wraps up with the bizarrely enticing "Rustin Man," a wavering outflow of shimmery sonic currents and Gibbons' submerged vocals.

The opening lines of "Sand River" ("Autumn leaves/Beauty's got a hold on me/Autumn leaves/Pretty as can be") pretty much describe "Out of Season." The cool prettiness of Portishead carries over to the folkier, simpler tunes.

Beth Gibbons' vocals are outstanding, clear and sensual in just about every song. "Rustin Man" and "Romance" are the exceptions. In the former, her voice sounds seductively mechanical; in the latter, she almost sounds like she's parodying a torch singer sometimes. It's a little disconcerting, but her voice is almost uniformly beautiful.

The instrumentation is stripped-down to bare bones: piano and acoustic guitar, most of the time. Adding a bit of extra flavor are gentle string accompaniments, and a bit of subtle organ work. And the songwriting goes more towards being moodily evocative, with quiet lines like "And those water-coloured memories/Soft as a summer's breeze/You're as pretty as can be."

Though a little uneven at times, "Out of Season" is like a fall morning -- cool, pretty and faded. Beth Gibbons' foray into non-Portishead turf is a solid one, and this collection of autumnal ballads is definitely a keeper.

a near masterpiece of sullen meloncholia that evokes the spirit of great british folk. lovers of Scott Walker, Sandy Denny, and Nick Drake (there's even a song on here titled "Drake") would find themselves quite pleased with this album. the production on this album suits itself perfectly. it's very sparse and bare like a deserted beach in the winter time. it allows the fragile and thin vocals of Beth Gibbons to rest quietly on top of the musical frame. the songs creak along, telling tales of lost love and life's letdowns and occasionaly there's a faint spark of a pop song that finds it's way out of the blue...such as the single "Tom the Model." but it's the first song that breaks my heart everytime i hear it. there's just something about that melody absolutely crushes me and with it's lyrics of "when the timebell blows my heart and i have scored a better day" just sets my mind reeling of many memories. truly a touching and timeless song that i feel lucky to have heard. "Out Of Season" is an exquisite and delicate album that i find myself listening to late at night.

This is a great album--very subtle, it took a couple of listens for it to grow on me and for me to really enjoy it. To me this sounds very different from Portishead--yes, its mellow and somewhat melancholic, but Beth Gibbon's voice is great and some of the songs have a more 'folky' quality. Overall--5 stars.

Like David Lynch's Blue Velvet, this is a work of genius teetering on the edge of over-the-top strangeness. The dark, atmospheric instrumentation, the sparse orchestration, and above all Gibbons' haunting voice make for an aural expeience not unlike a nightmare of 50s Suburbia--perhaps the confessions of a Mid-America would-be prom queen in a dysfunctional family. (Or, I suppose, the British equivalent.) Even if it is a downer, one must admit that as far as unity of theme, musicality, and pure moodiness, it is an amazing achievement. At a time when pop music is becoming increasingly shallow and impertinent, this album is a must-listen if for no other reason than that it is truly expressive, well-thought-out, and provocative.

"The thing that I'm into is the philosophy of the music. I love the surprise of things, the accidents...just the sound of a word, to try to express them in the best way, so that the emotion is totally revealed." - Beth Gibbons

Out of Season, the new debut album from Portishead's Beth Gibbons and Talk Talk's Paul Webb, has practically left me speechless. These two have really made musical perfection with this release. I struggle to find anything wrong with it. This album seeps into your psyche and warms your insides. It's achingly beautiful, hopeful, and melancholic from start to finish. Artists of this genre will be scratching their heads for quite some time trying to figure out how they'll top it. Conversely, one might think Out of Season is nothing new, but they'd be wrong. It's a near perfect album, which can't be said in too many cases these days.

Imagine yourself driving down a two-lane country road on a beautiful fall morning. The leaves are changing, and you feel like your grandparents when you find yourself saying, "Aren't the leaves just incredibly beautiful this time of year?" That is exactly what can be said for every single song on Out of Season. The lyrics, "Autumn leaves/beauty's got a hold on me," from the song "Sand River," basically summarize this similitude. Most of these songs in some way recall a Portishead song without any sign of a monumental drumbeat. "Spider Monkey," in fact, is a song that's almost like having sex without the ability to climax. If there were ever a song that needed the aid of drums, "Spider Monkey" would be first in line. The song begins with a Fender Rhodes that is slowly joined by an attacking acoustic guitar that will eventually inflate this song to orgasmic proportion. Unfortunately, you'll be left kicking and screaming on the floor for the song to come back and give you what you feel you deserve.

The song "Show" finds Gibbons exploring the vocal styling of the great Billie Holiday. I picture Webb and Gibbons alone together in the studio embracing loss through their music. Maybe even a guest appearance by Thom Yorke wouldn't be out of place here. "Romance," is backed by what I consider to be a renewed clan of Lawrence Welk's orchestra. I'm instantly taken back to 1976 when my grandparents used to take me out to eat after church at one of the many American Cafeterias. How Rustin and Gibbons pull this off with such style and grace is beyond me.

I have to be honest with you here. I ache with wonder at how an album this good could be made. Nothing, for even a spare moment, sounds as if it has been forced. If Gibbons is giving us a mere glimpse of what is to come on the new Portishead album (not that this album even has anything to do with Portishead), I think we'll see their best album yet. Furthermore, not all of the acclaim should go to Beth Gibbons. Much respect is also due to Paul Webb. If this is truly the album he has always wanted to record, he has certainly done it. So, without further ado, I give you Out of Season. It was my choice for album of the year in 2002.

Before Beth Gibbons joined Portishead she tried out for another band headed by Paul Webb of Talk Talk. They never did anything but stayed in touch. When Portishead went into hiatus a few years ago, they decided to hook up again and record Out of Season. They enlisted some of the people from Portishead and Talk Talk. One thing that is gone is the hiphop beats. Some other influences come through, like Leonard Cohen and Nina Simone. Much of the music is minimal like Nick Drake. They even have a song called "Drake" for some reason. They even do a live version of "Candy Says" by Velvet Underground. The result is a beautiful and haunting record. Mostly composed of vocals and acoustic guitar or piano. She sing "And the moments that I enjoy/a place of love and mystery/I'll be there anytime" in the opening track "Mysteries." Much of this album was recorded in the English countryside, and has an autumn feel. They have created a record that seems timeless and against fashion.

A strong member of Portishead, on her first solo outing, OUT OF SEASON, we find Beth Gibbons even stronger on her own in terms of songwriting and vocals. On her work with Porishead, her distinct vocals were used as an instrument and backed by rich melodies. This album takes away all the fanfare and gives her a more jazzy flair. Replaced by electronica are instruments including organs, reeds, strings, acoustic guitars, and more, which compliment Gibbons instead of overpowering her. My favorite track is "Romance". The song has a very interesting arrangement with the background vocals coming in and out, giving the song a spooky sound. Once again, an album that seeps in a little more with each listen. It's well worth the time to discover this album and all of it's glory!

Beth Gibbons brings us a truly unique and enlightening debut album. The music is distinctly different than her work with Portishead. The electronic feel is gone and replaced with an almost jazzy feel. But what remains is Gibbons' haunting and soulful voice. Her talent to convey her emotion to us and feel her every whisper. Very mellow and a great album to set any casual mood.