Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I feel so cold..., April 12, 2006
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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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Window Into Another World , September 6, 2005
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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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cool Jazzy Musique-Noir , February 9, 2005
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
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by Portishead 
