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Portishead

PortisheadAudio CD
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (179 customer reviews)

Price: $9.99 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
MP3 Music, 11 Songs, 1997 $9.49  
Audio CD, 1997 $9.99  
Vinyl, 1997 $14.93  
Audio Cassette, 1997 --  

Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song Title Time Price
listen  1. Cowboys 4:39$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  2. All Mine 4:00$1.29  Buy MP3 
listen  3. Undenied 4:20$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  4. Half Day Closing 3:47$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  5. Over 3:55$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  6. Humming 6:02$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  7. Mourning Air 4:12$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  8. Seven Months 4:16$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  9. Only You 4:59$1.29  Buy MP3 
listen10. Elysium 5:54$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen11. Western Eyes 3:59$0.99  Buy MP3 


Amazon's Portishead Store

Music

Image of album by Portishead

Photos

Image of Portishead

Biography

Portishead are a band from Bristol, England, named after the nearby town of the same name, 12 miles (19 km) west of Bristol.
History
The band was formed in Bristol, UK in 1991, by Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons and Adrian Utley. After releasing a short film (To Kill a Dead Man) and its accompanying music, Portishead signed a record deal with Go! Beat Records.
Dummy ... Read more in Amazon's Portishead Store

Visit Amazon's Portishead Store
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  • Buy a CD or a vinyl record, get a $1 Amazon MP3 Credit. Limit one promotional credit per customer. Here's how (restrictions apply)
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Frequently Bought Together

Portishead + Dummy + Third [Vinyl]
Price for all three: $29.97

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Buy the selected items together
  • Dummy $9.99
  • Third [Vinyl] $9.99

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Product Details

  • Audio CD (September 30, 1997)
  • Original Release Date: September 30, 1997
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Go! Beat / London
  • ASIN: B000003TSP
  • Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (179 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,472 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The bad news is that there is no "Sour Times" to equal the first album's greatness. Lead single "Cowboys" doesn't do the trick, not with its '50s sci-fi dub vibe and the Yma Sumac stylings of Beth Gibbons. The upside is that this bold sophomore release is, even at this late date in trip-hop's evolution, still startling, thanks to the mix of Geoff Barrow's soundscapes and Gibbons's haunting wail. --Jeff Bateman

Product Description

PORTISHEAD PORTISHEAD

Customer Reviews

The whole album is just tight but, the best song to me is Only You. The Tech Wizard  |  14 reviewers made a similar statement
I love eerie, dark, unique trip-hop music and I can't imagine somebody NOT liking Portishead. J. Cotton  |  21 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Trip-hop noir February 15, 2005
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Portishead created a unique sound in their debut "Dummy," combining smoky jazz and trip-hop. So an equally good follow-up was a pretty tall order. Enter the self-titled "Portishead," which ups the eerie noir feel while not abandoning the cool electronic edge. In the months before their return, it seems appropriate to revisit their older material.

"Did you feed us tales of deceit,/Conceal the tongues who need to speak?/Subtle lies and a soiled coin,/The truth is sold, the deal is done," Beth Gibbons intones, sounding like a slightly gleeful robot. That sets the tone for "Portishead," giving it a darker tone than its predecessor -- darker songs, darker vocals, darker music.

The jazz overtones are still there, bubbling up in songs like the distant "Over" and "Seven Months," which sounds strangely like fellow trip-hop artist Emiliana Torrini. Only the downtempo "Over" and softly poppy "Western Eyes" break from this cooler sound, sounding warm and unaltered. The rest of the album is a different story.

Somehow it adds to the noir atmosphere to have darker, colder sounds woven in with the jazzy trip-hop. "Humming" includes a strange background beat that sounds exactly as you would imagine a UFO. This dark, experimental edge makes it a bit harder to get into than their debut album, but when you do get into it, it's almost frighteningly intense.

The jazzy percussion is one of the first things you notice about this, paired with horns and thick synth. It's surprisingly heady to listen to. Also cold and distant -- which seems appropriate, since the simple lyrics focus on loneliness, melancholy, sadness and loss ("Why should I forgive you,/After all that I've seen,/Quietly whisper,/When my heart wants to scream?").

Beth Gibbons plays around with her vocals this time around -- while Gibbons's voice is normally very pretty, in a few songs she twists it into creepy monotones. It's a bit jarring at first, compared to her usual melodic singing, but it suits the darker songs here. The filtered, eerie intonations in "Cowboys" are downright spine-chilling.

Portishead, presently working on their long-awaited third album, made a triumphant second album. While not as easily accessible as their debut, it's definitely an entrancing experience.
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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Window Into Another World September 6, 2005
Format:Audio CD
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.
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars I feel so cold... April 12, 2006
Format:Audio CD
There's nothing like Portishead and nothing like their 2nd album. Its darker, creepier, and more haunting than the first. The entire album has an overal similar sound which makes for a more themed and theatrical sonic experience. I like this better than the first album which had the obvious singles and dabblings in various spectrums of trip-hop which now resembles everyone from tricky to morcheeba. However on this 2nd release, Portishead holds their own, establishing their own trademarked sound: an eerie, slow-paced death-orchestra led by a sultry singer with a heart of black-gold. This music will get into your brain and eat away like bad acid. Exquisite production and smart use of turntables. From the intro of eerie high pitched twinklings over a heartbeat that lead into twangy strums of electric guitar and record scratching, to the last song which ends with the sampled vocals of an old bluesman pining about hookers and gin, this is a masterpiece recording. Goes well with a late-night martini and captures the dreary mood of a cool, misty morning in Autumn just after it has rained and the fog is still hanging in the air...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars The [P] Horror Picture Show
It would be wise to read to read my review of Dummy here prior to reading this review:... Read more
Published 1 month ago by beatlenik49
5.0 out of 5 stars Poertishead
Gotta love portishead. This has always been one of my favorite albums to dim the lights, roll a j, and just chill to
Published 2 months ago by Cody Parnell
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic
Classic album from a timeless band. The basslines, vocals and samples make this album a great piece to ones collection.
Published 3 months ago by Reed M
5.0 out of 5 stars Deliciously dark
This is one awesome album, and on vinyl it's so much cooler! I just love every single track on here, and as a whole, it flows gorgeously. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Daniel Espinoza
4.0 out of 5 stars Portishead (Vinyl)
I love this album. I won't try to convince you to love it. If you also love it, buy the vinyl version. I paid $7. Read more
Published 4 months ago by sonny
5.0 out of 5 stars Portishead is MADE for Vinyl.
This album is one of my top 10 of all time, so I allow myself to "double dip" and this is one of the few vinyl's that I actually own to listen to on a record player. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Brian Lange.
5.0 out of 5 stars Favorite Portishead album
This is my favorite portishead album for this particular album has some of portishead's darkest more desperate tracks. Totally recommended.
Published 5 months ago by cassandra tu
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Classic!
Yet another album to put on your Must Have list...

Portishead gives us more of what we love them for in this album. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Hamza
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Work
Portishead is not my favorite but for them, I think this is their best album. I like trip hop chill and this album fits it perfectly. Decent singing in an eerie setting.
Published 5 months ago by MIO
5.0 out of 5 stars The golden days, when everybody knew what they wanted. It ain't here...
'Portishead,' the 1997 eponymous sophomore effort from Bristol trip-hop pioneers, doesn't quite get the same praise as its predecessor, the sultry noir of 1994's 'Dummy. Read more
Published 7 months ago by D.W. Williams
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