Portishead - 1994 - Dummy [TQMP]

____________________________________________________________________________ | | | Portishead - 1994 - Dummy |:: | |:: | Ripped w/EAC v1.0b2 (Secure) :: Encoded w/FLAC v1.2.1 -8 |:: |____________________________________________________________________________|:: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: +--------------+ +------+ Pack / Files +--------------------------------------------------------+ | +--------------+ | | No. of Files / Size _____ 21 files / 252.03MB (264,269,633 bytes) | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +--------------+ +------+ Audio Source +--------------------------------------------------------+ | +--------------+ | | Type / Quantity _________ CD (Compact Disc) (* 1) | | Date Released ___________ 18th of October, 1994 | | User Rating _____________ 4.3/5 (664 ratings) | | Genre(s) ________________ Trip-Hop | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +--------+ +------+ Review +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | +--------+ | | Trip-hop? Some of you may be wondering, so here's a little history. In | | 1991, a group of people from Bristol, some previously members of a group | | called The Wild Bunch, came together to form a band called Massive | | Attack. The group was led by Robert Del Naja, known also as 3D. They | | recorded and released an album called Blue Lines, which proved itself to | | be a benchmark album of the 90s, and one of the greatest hip-hop albums | | ever. But hip-hop was almost too narrow a definition for it - while it | | was based in the hip-hop style of making music, it also incorporated | | chillout, and a little psychedelica. The critics soon labelled it 'trip | | -hop' - a term referring to chill-out hip-hop that - sterotypically - is | | listened to by stoners. With Massive Attack, Tricky, Sneaker Pimps, | | Portishead, and DJ Shadow as its leading lights, it has proved itself to | | be an incredibly fertile genre, with these acts and other, lesser-known | | ones releasing many great albums. Crucially, there's been very little | | rubbish released in the name of trip-hop, which is the precise reason | | I'd say it's my favourite genre of music. | | | | This album, released in 1994, has proven itself to be one of the pillars | | of the genre. The band, essentially, is multi-instrumentalist Geoff | | Barrow (the tape-op for Massive Attack when Blue Lines was made), and | | singer Beth Gibbons. Yes, singer. This is an album steeped in hip-hop | | that features NO rapping whatsoever. All the instruments are recorded | | live, too, with the exception of the drums on It Could Be Sweet. So | | leave the prejudice at home. | | | | At least, most people THINK it's just Beth Gibbons and Geoff Barrow. | | Adrian Utley certianly deserves a mention though. Guitarist recently ran | | a style file on him, and he once played with Art Blakey And The Jazz | | Messengers, which should tell you something about his ability. The | | guitar parts on this album (although he is not on every track) are | | great. Subtle, and not exactly technically taxing, but great. There's | | some great use of chord inversions throughout, too, which I understand | | was partly down to his input. But I may be wrong there. He also plays | | bass on Pedastel, possibly the best bassline on the album. And his | | guitar work on Glory Box constitutes the album's high point. | | | | That's not to talk down Beth Gibbons or Geoff Barrow. Beth was the star | | turn when this album was released; her voice was soon being called 'the | | most beautiful ever', and was drawing comparisons with Nina Simone, | | Billie Holiday, Dusty Springfield, and just about any female soul singer | | you'd care to mention. I think that's a little too superlative, but | | she's certainly got some voice on her - fragile, tender, and soulful. | | Dusty Springfield is a fairly good comparison, as is - with hindsight - | | Eva Cassidy. Her lyrics are a plus point, too. Geoff Barrow? Well, it's | | hard to tell where his input starts or stops, to be honest, but the band | | was his idea, and he has writer credits on every song, so he's not | | exactly dispensable. | | | | The quality of this album, and its ability to crossover to fans of any | | genre, is demonstrated by the fact that a live version of Glory Box, | | from a later album, is played on Classic FM, and on their TV channel. In | | fairness, Glory Box is the song that displays the least hip-hop | | influences, but I heard them play an orchestral version of Mysterons | | once, too, with the scratching left in. | | | | The album only has one flaw - it dips in the middle. Mysterons and Glory | | Box are both amazing. Sour Times and It Could Be Sweet, also. But, while | | there's nothing wrong with tracks 5 through 9, they don't stand up to | | what's around them. That's not to say that they're bad, though. It may | | be because Glory Box casts such a long shadow. Although, you'll find | | these tracks sound great either in your headphones just as you're going | | to sleep, or when you've just had 2 or 3 glasses of red wine and are | | feeling in a very laid back, poetic kind of mood. (Incidentally, I find | | red wine always makes trip-hop better. :) ) | | | | This album comes thoroughly recommended to any fans of hip-hop (that's | | hip-hop music, not rap vocals), female soul vocalists, or anybody | | unfamiliar with trip-hop and who wants to experiment. It's not the best | | trip-hop album ever, but it's as good an introduction as any. | | | | 4/5. [nick butler, sputnikmusic] | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------+ +------+ Track List +----------------------------------------------------------+ | +------------+ | | No. | Title | Duration | | ----+--------------------------------------------------------+---------- | | 001 | Mysterons ............................................ | 00h05m07s | | 002 | Sour Times ........................................... | 00h04m14s | | 003 | Strangers ............................................ | 00h03m58s | | 004 | It Could Be Sweet .................................... | 00h04m20s | | 005 | Wandering Star ....................................... | 00h04m56s | | 006 | It's a Fire .......................................... | 00h03m48s | | 007 | Numb ................................................. | 00h03m58s | | 008 | Roads ................................................ | 00h05m10s | | 009 | Pedestal ............................................. | 00h03m41s | | 010 | Biscuit .............................................. | 00h05m04s | | 011 | Glory Box ............................................ | 00h05m09s | | ----+--------------------------------------------------------+---------- | | | | Total Length ____________ 00h49m25s | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +-----------+ +------+ Audio Rip +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | +-----------+ | | Ripped with _____________ EAC v1.0b2 [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de] | | Encoded with ____________ FLAC v1.2.1 [http://flac.sourceforge.net] | | Encoding Stats __________ 1411kbps / 44.1kHz / CBR / 16-bit / Stereo | | Tag(s) __________________ Vorbis | | Includes Artwork? _______ Yes | | Includes Rip .LOG? ______ Yes | | Includes Rip .CUE? ______ Yes | | Includes Playlist? ______ Yes | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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