I hated this band with a passion, I thought they were the most overrated media supported band while genius bands like Super Furry Animals, Supergrass and Mansun were almost rejected. Portishead, Pulp, Elastica and many more bands were just utter shite and sadly the bands I liked were lumped in with shit Oasis and Blur. These bands could barely play their intrusments were as the top 3 that I menitoned had that genius thread going through their bands. Media whores who knew how to use the meida to sell recores is all Oasis and Blur were.
Sir, as you will undoubtedly know........THE BRIGHTEST FLAMES BURN FOR THE SHORTEST TIME Portishead were superb.......DUMMY is a unique record and stole the show of the 90's really i thank you for your investigation which shows the truth about raw talent........they never really wanted to be famous. Prior to PH they already had a heavy & healthy interest in music for many years i remember work friends listening to Dummy.........even my boss listened , who was senior...... it made me realise how cool Portishead were. They had a very very wide fan base. They really were superb. True Artists of musical talent. One for the books indeed. PORTISHEAD ps. Bristol is a lovely place.......i have visited it along the AVON river. It does not surprise me that it spurned a whole musical genre called trip hop........ i LOVE discovering what happened to HUGE TALENTS that just evaporated into thin air SMOKE CITY........for example.
@@breevwhyman2985 The were a James Bond tribute act and nothing more. Mansun, SFA, and Supergrass were by far the best bands around. They made brilliant music whereas the Portishead were nothing more than media darlings.
I don't understand how you didn't mention their live album in Roseland NYC. This was a massive success and they were probably one of the first electronic/trip-hop band to play live with an orchestra!
I generally felt indifferent about Portishead until I rented the video of the Roseland NYC concert. It brought out this whole latent energy that the first album only hinted at for me. Consider me converted.
Portishead completely reinvented and outdid themselves with Third. In my opinion it's a perfect record and a hell of an achievement. I don't think it's ever gotten the attention it deserves.
agree, while it's not my fav album it was the only decent next move they could make....put their vibes on other rythyms. For me, the first time in put op their second album in the store....i always relive that moment whenever or where-ever i am.
you didn't mention their live album in Roseland NYC, I remember someone saying that these kind of bands could never play live because they were trip hop or electronic, and they did it and with an orchestra, the world stopped and we have this masterpiece, thank you Beth for your amazing voice and the band for everything.
I was just in Portishead UK because of Portishead! They are one of my favorite groups and Live At Roseland is a great live album. I grew up in the 90’s and their songs helped me get through depression and my low self. 💐 love Portishead Portishead!
For me it was around 3am during summer break when I was in middle school. I loved staying up late watching MTV and Much Music when the video for Only You came on. It was like you said, the world stood still, and shivers ran through my body. I've been a fan since that night.
For me too. Rainy cold night as I'm driving and a cool DJ played them on the radio mid 90s. I was never the same music wise. Dummy was implanted in my brain then... always.
Dummy was my first intro to Portishead in my 40s mid 90s driving on a rainy cold night and listening to a cool alt station. Thank you Mr DJ bc it was a night I've always remembered. Portishead was magic. Awesome band!!
Dummy is an album that could’ve come out today, it did come out in the 90s and it also could’ve come out like back in the 40s….Beth’s smoky lounge jazz style of singing is timeless
It’s a brilliant album and band… there was nothing like them before or since.. yet they sound timeless and definitely have that 40s dark smoky jazz bar vibe.. but beyond that to a new sound ..
@@philosophie8744 couldn’t have said it better, I realize there have have been innovations and evolution in music since(like record scratching) that you wouldn’t hear back then, but you feel me….her vocal Melodies and a lot of the brass instrumentals would have fit the 40’s like a glove
@@jeremysiron9622 yes definitely. Jazz of the 40s was the best… free improvisation and hunting singers who used their voice like an instrument… I would love to have been in one of those dark Smokey bars listening to Billie Holiday or miles or coltraine or any of them from that era
@@wildersparks9161 her album with Rustin Man could have done, i guess its [mostly] meant to be the older jazz elements...although perhaps has some occasional modern fx, its mostly in keeping
I find myself liking Portishead more and more lately. That sort of jazzy downbeat thing that they do is definitely not typical of what I listen to, but there's just something so right about the way they do it.
@@h-dawg969 The Marias- Superclean vol1 and 2 Cannons Chromatics Hooverphonic- (Live 2012) Beth Gibbons And Rustin Man Lovage (Music To Make Love to Your Old Lady By) Album Emily Haines And The Soft Skeleton Mazzy Star/ Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions Cigarettes After Sex Johnathan Bree- In The Sunshine Puma Blue Lhasa- Rising Michelle Gurevich Zero 7
Portishead popularized (if not launched) a genre. Their problem wasn't that people copied them, it's that nobody could even come close. "Listening to trip-hop" is listening to Portishead and a few songs from Massive Attack, or Goldfrap. I wish more people could have contributed to the genre, but Portishead is basically it's own mood to me.
@@AK-74K they could have been a hundred years after Massive Attack. Massive attack didn't make very much good trip hop, imo. A few songs is a few songs, Portishead committed to the genre and their sound pretty completely. Massive attack was more upbeat, and often just sounded like other UK dance/electronica to me. Which is fine, but it means there wasnt enough good music made in the genre, imo.
@@CapnSnackbeard You said they 'popularized if not launched' a genre. Which they did neither, Blue Lines was a really big album, 3 years before Portishead. If you said, 'they took a genre to a new level' that's a matter of opinion and I wouldn't have debated that. You like Portishead more than Massive Attack - we can't all have the same music tastes, so that's totally cool. For me, I don't see your Massive Attack argument, I love many of their tracks especially from the first 3 albums. And what I do enjoy is how much they vary in mood from each other, whilst Portishead are always on that melancholic, sombre trip, every single track. I still like Portishead and enjoyed this video.
I watched this whole thing to understand what happened to them after Third and why they haven't released anything since, and I learned absolutely nothing
Being from the US this is one of my favourite British artists of all time. The really got me into trip hop and other Bristol (UK) music from the likes of Massive Attack, Tricky, Smith and Mighty, Roni Size, Kosheen, Krust, Allflaws
"Some people have told me I'm a good singer, I don't think I am really, I suppose they are just being nice, I think I could possibly be a good singer but that would mean I would have to take lessons and quit smoking" Beth Gibbons. Thanks for doing this video, All Mine was the first song of theirs I heard and Beth Gibbons was a huge inspiration
Great synopsis, thank you! I spent my mid-twenties in Bristol from 1994-2000. I saw Portishead, Massive Attack, and Tricky etc many times. They were and still are amazing. Dummy is still one of my favorite albums of all time. It’s so unique and timeless. I really hope I get to see them again sometime, but that may just be a pipe dream. I saw Roni Size last year at a music festival I went to for my 50th. He still knows how to rock the crowd. Viva Bristol!!! 💕🔥
Third is a stunning album. Like, all 3 albums are great, but Third really needs a popular re-evaluation. It's one of my favourite records of the 2000s.
Thanx for tip , I love Dummy , not so much Portiehead which I feel is a pale imitation , but had it been some other band I’d like it . Not heard any of a third but that will change soon . PS. If it’s half as good as Soft Machines Third then should be excellent
I thought long and hard and I realized that there is one other mainstream band that got better with every album I'm aware off - Tool. But that's perhaps debatable and they never produced anything close to the brilliance of 3rd
I've seen them live in '98 on Pukkelpop (Belgium) main stage. Never have been closer to my self in a big crowd. Infinitely great performance on stage. What a live sound they produced. Mesmerizing it was.
I have the now defunct Borders store to thank my discovery of Portishead. The store had random headphones around the store that would feature an album. Dummy was one of them. Before that, radio was the only way to discover music before buying it and none of the radio stations near me would ever play music like this. I think I stood in that store just listening to that album for a few hours before my parents came and picked me up (oh the bygone times you could leave a 12 year old alone in a store as a form of babysitting haha). I ended up buying it before I left. While it wasn't the first CD I ever bought (that honor goes to Nirvana Unplugged), it was certainly one of the earliest and I still have it to this day. And much more recently on vinyl now that I've gotten into that form of music collection.
IMO all three are. I’ve listened to Dummy the most, but whenever I listen to the second album or Third, I always have the same thought: holy shit this is way better than I remembered.
I always listen to Dummy when it starts to get spooky outside and the leaves start to fall (I used to live in San Diego so listening to this was a way to really get in the spirit despite the weather almost never changing) Hearing that orchestra on a rainy day and her timeless voice in a place you 'can't vibe no matter what' is something these kids today will never understand.
That's when I heard Dummy for the first time. Rainy cold night in the Fall mid 90s I'm driving home and a DJ played Dummy. It was magic and I associate the season w them as well.
I've seen them twice here in Belgium, once at Rock Werchter during mid day in open air, they were so miscasted that day....they are better in the evening in a darker place, much more intimed, then Portishead is on there best. The second time was in a big festival tent in the evening and was a fantastic concert.....really love to see them once again....love the band.....
Now I understand better why the band, and especially Beth Gibbons where so positively overwhelmed when they performed at the Corona Capital festival in Mexico back in 2011 (their very fist presentation in the country). They had a whole stadium at their feet, they had no idea about the massive following they built in Mexico. As shy as Beth is, she came down the stage and spend minutes greeting the fans in the front lines. They opened their set with "Silence", and everyone went nuts when she started her vocals with that amazing tension and anguish she delivers. It was unreal. Portishead is one of those few bands that sounds even better live. To be honest, getting them to play live in Mexico for such a high profile festival (at least here in the country) was quite the feat. Fun fact: The Strokes (very popular at the time) played after Portishead as the closing act. As soon as Portishead finished, many people left the venue leaving The Strokes with a small audience!
Extremely talented group of people with a unique sound, I love the Dummy album but can't listen too long as I find it too depressing but quite often come back for a listen and am always blown away.
Dummy was one of the most important (probably top-5) albums for me personally, in my musical development. I was a grunge/britpop kid in the early/mid 90s, aged 14 or so. Portishead's Dummy was my access-point into 'dance' music. It was soon followed up with the likes of Chemical Brothers (Exit Planet Dust) Orbital (Snivilisation), Prodigy (Jilted), Aphex Twin (Ambient Works 2 & RDJ album) and DJ Shadow (Endtroducing). And I never looked back from there. This video was a nostalgic trip for me! Really enjoyed it, thanks for sharing. 👍
I'm a big metalhead and know next to nothing about trip hop and what not, but I know what I like. Portishead and Massive Attack are pretty much the only ones I know, but damn, they sound fantastic! Hookers and Gin, lol.
i agree with all of the sentiments here - they are still completely amazing and those records sound as fresh and hauntingly beautiful as anything.. i mean - they covered SOS and it's so unbelievably amazing.
Portishead is a band that changed my world musically, I would like to share lists of this good music on Spotify: got trip hop? vol 1 and vol 2 coming soon vol 3 I hope you enjoy them and like it
What happened to Portishead? they broke through the 3rd wall and became one of the most iconic bands of the 90s with absolutely mind blowing originality and beauty... Portishead will forever be in my top 5 bands of all time... Everything they touched turned to gold...
Let’s not forget Geoff Barrow’s scoring career with Ben Salisbury. Their work on DEVS, Annihilation and Ex Machina was profound, stirring, scary. I love it. Why don’t you do a piece on them?
Does no one here know Beth Gibbon's Solo Album? It's pure beauty and magic. To me it is a true GOAT album. Like, it just does not get any better than this, seriously listen to it! ❤
I bought Third completely on a whim without even knowing who the band were (it was part of a 3 for £15 HMV deal haha). It was like nothing I'd heard before, soothing and haunting but also with a lot of memorable riffs/melodies. Even when I listen to it now it sounds timeless + the music video for The Rip is still incredible.
Their music is timeless. I desperately want them to tour so I can see them live just once. I had a cocktail hour during photos at my wedding last year and the music was Portishead and other triphop artists, but pretty much Portishead every other song.
I Met Geoff in a record shop once and we got chatting about funk and soul. I didn't realise it was him when we were chatting, even though I've loved Portishead since the first album released. The guy behind the counter told me it was Geoff Barrow and then I twigged. He's a nice fella. I've met him a few times over the years. He runs his Invader label in Bristol.
Hope to still see them live one day. All of their 3 albums are unique and beautiful. Less is more I think. There are so many other artists whose much wider discographies I don't find nearly as interesting. But what comes to Portishead, I've loved every album they've produced so far.
Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky are not only the standards of “Trip Hop” but 3 of the most original and creative artists of the entire 90’s. And yes, Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack is Banksy. He is the leader and creator of the collective that works under that name. Prove me wrong.
@@ranica47 They are from the same crew "the wild bunch" but it's not him, Rob did an interview in the local paper the Bristol post just a few days ago like he said he's a mature visual artist now any common threads between him and banksy's work would be obvious.
There was a trip hop band that I liked even more than Portishead: Sunday Munich. One of the founding member would later form Saltillo, which is just as good, but Sunday Munich remains the best of he best in the style. More people need to know about it.
The "first" time I heard Portishead was at work when a colleague put the second album in the box. My first response to Beth's voice was to start in with "Go-o-odfi-i-inger!" and I liked what I heard. Bought the CD. After buying Dummy I realized I'd heard them on college radio, having heard Sour Times a few times but never connecting it to the band. Great stuff!
They had the sense to not release further material. Leave 'em wanting more ! If a horse dies, there's no point in flogging it any more. Leftfield did the same, rather than cave into demand, they didn't have any more good stuff so they stopped. I admire that.
I don't tend to listen to many female artists, just a preference. But Beth Gibbons voice is sexy, intelligent, morose and sublime all at the same time. She has such a unique sound. Love it.
I remember being a freshman in high school in the mid 90s and discovering Portishead. It's one of those rare albums where every song is great. Their biggest radio hits were actually my least favorite songs. The good ones I never heard on the radio. I still listen to that album ❤️
Who says they aren't around anymore? They just take long stretches between albums. The members also take part in other projects. Beth is active on Instagram. There will probably be another album when they get around to it. Dummy came out in 1994. Portishead came out in 1997, and Third came out in 2008. None of them seem the types to rush into the studio just to do it.
My first time hearing Portishead was as a young teenager around 1994/1995, while watching a random BBC documentary (about which, I cannot now remember), wherein, they used a sound clip from "Mysterons" in the background of certain scenes. The music used was the theramin-esque synth part of the track. My ears pricked up and I was instantly intrigued by what I heard and knew I had to find out where that unique sound mixture of hiphop beats and old sci-fi movie soundscape was from. How I managed to discover it was Portishead (who at the time were virtually unknown), I can't remember. But I'm glad I did. I bought their debut album shortly after this and have never looked back. I think their follow album was even better, imho and I have grown to love and appreciate their third album over the years. Great (and one of my all time favourite) bands.
Thank you for this vid. Dummy is still best album to me. And i loved beth's out of season album too. I had waited their new album so long time, but now i know they won't. I just want they produce one single song someday.
I was super lucky to be visiting Bristol for Astral Festival in 2022 and the War Child show was announced right after I booked my trip. It was my extra free night in Bristol, with the venue just 2 blocks (and Banksy’s Well Hung Lover) away from my hotel. Best music weekend of my life. The Portishead set had everyone in tears, just astonishing, amazing experience. Everyone in the venue knew how special that night was both for the music and the charitable cause that spurred it.
Fans of Portishead should check out Geoff Barrow's other band Beak for some fantastic stuff. Also the soundtrack to the film Annihilation. Thanks for covering this amazing band.
Portishead has been one of my favorites for years. Listened to since I was 16 or 17 in 97, but when I got older is when I really understood the songs and appreciated their music even more. Recently bought each album on vinyl to listen to at the house. They aren't every day albums, but when I'm in a burned out mood and I want to relax, those albums are superb!! Their music is such an exquisite example of the definition of timeless..... Just beautiful.
Awesome video! I absolutely love Portishead and everything Beth and Geoff do. Her album Out of Season with Rustin Man is absolutely beautiful. And Geoff’s Beak is sick! The last time they toured in LA I went to both of their shows back to back because they’re that good and it’s rare that they tour. Had to take advantage.
Portishead put out three amazing albums and 1 live album. To me that's SOOO much better than releasing a bunch of horrible releases that other trip hop artist did.
Beth Gibbons is without a doubt my absolute favorite female performer and singer. 😊This video definitely fills a gap, thank you! If you could possibly ask for it, then anything else related to Portishead please let me know. I also don't understand why Beth is so aloof. While that's fine, I can understand it. But you know it's a double situation in my eyes, cause I don't condemn it cuz of it, (i'm also reclusive) but on the other hand, she's the only one of my total favorites who doesn't give a single interview, even though her personality makes me unconscious! She's an incredible talent and, nevertheless, she gives the impression of a very exciting and interesting, intelligent person. But that's certainly not going to change. I'm sorry this unattainability on her part, but that leaves her as the one and only. However, she could at least publish one book. I'm sure I wouldn't be alone in reading it! Peace, Love BETH and PORTISHEAD✌💜
...Sour Times and the Dummy album definitely messed my world up for a minute...the beats were so thick, banging, heavy and dark...total contrast to Beth's haunting and sensitive vocals...great music!👍🏼😎
Thank you so much for this video. Portishead is one of those bands that I've meant to check-out over the years but just haven't yet. I did look them up on Wikipedia at least a few years ago but I really do need to check out their videos. They're obviously a very interesting and unique band.
I'm not sure what impact Portishead has for someone listening to it today, especially the Dummy album. But at the time, for someone who likes to discover new music, it was outstanding. At the time, I think we were all a bit tired of the saturation of grunge. The movement of British rock bands towards a more dance atmosphere, such as Happy Mondays or Primal Scream, influenced by the House music boom a few years earlier, was also fading. The first album from the influential Massive Attack still didn't seem to be adding any effect on the music scene. Drum'n'bass was taking shape, but it wasn't a thing yet... When I first heard Dummy it was like a revelation. It was a trip to my subconscious mind. I had everything that had been getting at me for the past few decades. The scratch of the DJs, the beats of the dance music, the cinematographic atmosphere and samples of the music and movies that I was already on my way to discover. Also with an original and engaging song construction. A precise and careful sampling work. Some recognizable but at the same time original instrumentals. And a unique, mysterious and fascinating voice. After this, alternative music has grown a lot and the influence of that album was enormous. Although the impact will never be the same, I imagine listening to it today can still be an eye-opening experience. Certainly the musical influences and the tastes of each one will influence on how it sounds. Give it a try and leave us your opinion on how it sounds to you today...
I’m in the same boat as you. I’m old enough to have been around in the era Portishead’s debut had dropped (I turned 18 in ‘94). I’ve heard their name a good bit back then as well as over the decades but for some reason I’ve never taken the time to listen to their albums. I’ve always felt that I will someday do that once I remember to do so.
Have you done a video on Teenage Fanclub and the Scottish music scene from the 90s? There was Creation records, band such as TFC, BMX Bandits, Vaselines, Soup Dragons, to name a few. There's plenty to go off. Cheers! 👍
Beth’s voice gives me the chills. I loved it in the 90s. I used to love to drive around the country side smoking pot in the morning when it was dark and rainy listening to the “dummy” album.
Hello from the UK, love your videos. Maybe I have an idea for one. There is a Spinal Tap song called "Break Like the Wind" (title track)and features guitar solos by SLASH,JEFF BECK,STEVE LUTHEKER,JOE SANTRIANI and Nigel Tufnell all on one song and I've always wanted to know the story of how and when it was recorded and anything else a man of your talents could find out. I've never heard anyone talk about it. Anyone that likes guitar music should hear it.
Earl Sweatshirt credits them as a big influence, a teacher he had used to play Portishead during class and he loved how dark it sounded. Probably why I like his stuff too.
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
For those who missed it. Here’s our look at The Verve’s Volatile history th-cam.com/video/SPPhAFKVDnY/w-d-xo.html
@@sstaners1234 please use the request form in the description box as it’s easier to track suggestions that way
That's a great video.
I hated this band with a passion, I thought they were the most overrated media supported band while genius bands like Super Furry Animals, Supergrass and Mansun were almost rejected. Portishead, Pulp, Elastica and many more bands were just utter shite and sadly the bands I liked were lumped in with shit Oasis and Blur. These bands could barely play their intrusments were as the top 3 that I menitoned had that genius thread going through their bands. Media whores who knew how to use the meida to sell recores is all Oasis and Blur were.
Sir, as you will undoubtedly know........THE BRIGHTEST FLAMES BURN FOR THE SHORTEST TIME
Portishead were superb.......DUMMY is a unique record and stole the show of the 90's really
i thank you for your investigation which shows the truth about raw talent........they never really wanted
to be famous.
Prior to PH they already had a heavy & healthy interest in music for many years
i remember work friends listening to Dummy.........even my boss listened , who was senior......
it made me realise how cool Portishead were. They had a very very wide fan base.
They really were superb. True Artists of musical talent.
One for the books indeed.
PORTISHEAD
ps. Bristol is a lovely place.......i have visited it along the AVON river.
It does not surprise me that it spurned a whole musical genre called trip hop........
i LOVE discovering what happened to HUGE TALENTS that just evaporated into thin air
SMOKE CITY........for example.
@@breevwhyman2985 The were a James Bond tribute act and nothing more. Mansun, SFA, and Supergrass were by far the best bands around. They made brilliant music whereas the Portishead were nothing more than media darlings.
I don't understand how you didn't mention their live album in Roseland NYC. This was a massive success and they were probably one of the first electronic/trip-hop band to play live with an orchestra!
Yep I was surprised that wasn’t mentioned, it was an amazing performance.
Agree. I have the DVD of this, and it's brilliant.
Easily my favorite live album of all time!
I generally felt indifferent about Portishead until I rented the video of the Roseland NYC concert. It brought out this whole latent energy that the first album only hinted at for me. Consider me converted.
Great live album
Portishead completely reinvented and outdid themselves with Third. In my opinion it's a perfect record and a hell of an achievement. I don't think it's ever gotten the attention it deserves.
I completely agree. Fantastic and underrated album.
Best Portishead album . A lot of experimentation/ variation
It’s a good record but the first two are masterpieces
Thanks for reminding me to download that.
agree, while it's not my fav album it was the only decent next move they could make....put their vibes on other rythyms. For me, the first time in put op their second album in the store....i always relive that moment whenever or where-ever i am.
you didn't mention their live album in Roseland NYC,
I remember someone saying that these kind of bands could never play live because they were trip hop or electronic,
and they did it and with an orchestra,
the world stopped and we have this masterpiece, thank you Beth for your amazing voice and the band for everything.
Man what an incredible band. Just beautiful melancholy.
Dummy is a great album!!
one of the greatest albums of all time
@@RafitoOoO It's solid
Third is even better in my opinion.
Live in new Yorks good
In my all-time top 10
Dummy had such a huge impact on my teenage self. Still one of my favourite albums, never get tired of it.
Beth Gibbons' album with Rustin Man (Out of Season) is also terrific, and totally worth checking out if you've never heard it❤
so terrific. Drake is one of saddest most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard
ha, listened to it yesterday again after listening to Beth's new single. Funny time of year is one of the best songs ever
I was just in Portishead UK because of Portishead! They are one of my favorite groups and Live At Roseland is a great live album. I grew up in the 90’s and their songs helped me get through depression and my low self. 💐 love Portishead Portishead!
How is it there? Is it really a place that in passing generally you can say 'it's a place to die?' Or things have changed after a few years?
@@marllram it's pretty soulless, try Clevedon just down the coast, loads nicer with a brilliant swimming lake and no stupid yachts 👍
@@marllram England is a cesspool full stop.
dont think they ever played in Portishead --- they are are a Bristol based band.
Portishead is now a Surrey slurry outlet. Overpriced and soulless
Check and album called “Out of Season”. Is Beth singing with Rustin Man (Talk Talk bass player).
I remember exactly where I was when I first heard Portishead. The world stood still.
Hello
For me it was around 3am during summer break when I was in middle school. I loved staying up late watching MTV and Much Music when the video for Only You came on. It was like you said, the world stood still, and shivers ran through my body. I've been a fan since that night.
Same. 1994 and I heard “Roads” on the Tank Girl soundtrack. Immediately captivated
For me too. Rainy cold night as I'm driving and a cool DJ played them on the radio mid 90s. I was never the same music wise. Dummy was implanted in my brain then...
always.
same
Dummy was my first intro to Portishead in my 40s mid 90s driving on a rainy cold night and listening to a cool alt station. Thank you Mr DJ bc it was a night I've always remembered. Portishead was magic. Awesome band!!
Dummy is one of the greatest albums ever. One of the albums that made the 90’s the best decade in music.
I cannot stop listening to them. Roads....man
Dummy is an album that could’ve come out today, it did come out in the 90s and it also could’ve come out like back in the 40s….Beth’s smoky lounge jazz style of singing is timeless
It couldn’t have come out in the 40s.
It’s a brilliant album and band… there was nothing like them before or since.. yet they sound timeless and definitely have that 40s dark smoky jazz bar vibe.. but beyond that to a new sound ..
@@philosophie8744 couldn’t have said it better, I realize there have have been innovations and evolution in music since(like record scratching) that you wouldn’t hear back then, but you feel me….her vocal Melodies and a lot of the brass instrumentals would have fit the 40’s like a glove
@@jeremysiron9622 yes definitely. Jazz of the 40s was the best… free improvisation and hunting singers who used their voice like an instrument… I would love to have been in one of those dark Smokey bars listening to Billie Holiday or miles or coltraine or any of them from that era
@@wildersparks9161 her album with Rustin Man could have done, i guess its [mostly] meant to be the older jazz elements...although perhaps has some occasional modern fx, its mostly in keeping
I find myself liking Portishead more and more lately. That sort of jazzy downbeat thing that they do is definitely not typical of what I listen to, but there's just something so right about the way they do it.
Check out the band men I trust
Yeah I’ve been loving that kind of sound recently also.
Anyone have additional artists they would recommend?
@@h-dawg969 still corners are a great band for a long road trip drive
@@billchief397 I’ll check them out.
My dog & I spend about half the time as van lifers so plenty of long drives. Cheers
@@h-dawg969 The Marias- Superclean vol1 and 2
Cannons
Chromatics
Hooverphonic- (Live 2012)
Beth Gibbons And Rustin Man
Lovage (Music To Make Love to Your Old Lady By) Album
Emily Haines And The Soft Skeleton
Mazzy Star/ Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions
Cigarettes After Sex
Johnathan Bree- In The Sunshine
Puma Blue
Lhasa- Rising
Michelle Gurevich
Zero 7
This band got me through some sour times.
I see what you did there :)
Hey man love your channel!
mad that you're here
I would like this comment but it's at 69 so I'll leave this reply instead. XD
I hope you didn't need to carry a Machine Gun with you to enter the Roads into Elysium.
Portishead popularized (if not launched) a genre. Their problem wasn't that people copied them, it's that nobody could even come close. "Listening to trip-hop" is listening to Portishead and a few songs from Massive Attack, or Goldfrap. I wish more people could have contributed to the genre, but Portishead is basically it's own mood to me.
Nop, Portishead were after Massive Attack. They added lots of their own elements, but Massive Attack are the ones that created the sound.
@@AK-74K they could have been a hundred years after Massive Attack. Massive attack didn't make very much good trip hop, imo. A few songs is a few songs, Portishead committed to the genre and their sound pretty completely. Massive attack was more upbeat, and often just sounded like other UK dance/electronica to me. Which is fine, but it means there wasnt enough good music made in the genre, imo.
@@CapnSnackbeard You said they 'popularized if not launched' a genre. Which they did neither, Blue Lines was a really big album, 3 years before Portishead. If you said, 'they took a genre to a new level' that's a matter of opinion and I wouldn't have debated that. You like Portishead more than Massive Attack - we can't all have the same music tastes, so that's totally cool. For me, I don't see your Massive Attack argument, I love many of their tracks especially from the first 3 albums. And what I do enjoy is how much they vary in mood from each other, whilst Portishead are always on that melancholic, sombre trip, every single track. I still like Portishead and enjoyed this video.
@@CapnSnackbeardI bet you think Sneaker Pimps are original too, "imo"... LOL.
@@Backpackfiles I bet you don't think much at all.
Beth Gibbons - Fiona Apple - Rachem Yamagata = My
I know I know, Roads is one of their popular hits but it never gets old.
What a great band, Beth was the perfect voice for Trip Hop, that debut album was unbelievable ❤
Hello
I've always been madly in love with Beth Gibbons. Her voice hooked me right away.
I watched this whole thing to understand what happened to them after Third and why they haven't released anything since, and I learned absolutely nothing
same 😂
Yep, it's kind of poor really. Dude rattles through the script like he's trying to set a record and tells you nothing
@@SnoodyMcFludeand the subtitles at one point go much faster than the words that are spoken
Being from the US this is one of my favourite British artists of all time.
The really got me into trip hop and other Bristol (UK) music from the likes of
Massive Attack, Tricky, Smith and Mighty, Roni Size, Kosheen, Krust, Allflaws
Check out Bowery Electric, their album "Beat" should be right up your alley.
You have great tastes!
"Some people have told me I'm a good singer, I don't think I am really, I suppose they are just being nice, I think I could possibly be a good singer but that would mean I would have to take lessons and quit smoking" Beth Gibbons. Thanks for doing this video, All Mine was the first song of theirs I heard and Beth Gibbons was a huge inspiration
Listening to her singing Gorecki symphony no.3 you can hear the contradiction, the rawness of her voice is beautiful but not conventionally good.
Beth is a WONDERFUL singer.
@ericcoleman288
that quote is amazing, so much to admire, i can really see how you are a fan
3rd is a goddamn masterpiece and criminally underrated album, my favorite PH album for sure.
Accurate
Third is such a good album. Underrated.
Live in NYC is amazing. Beth has the most haunting voice ever 👻
Great synopsis, thank you! I spent my mid-twenties in Bristol from 1994-2000. I saw Portishead, Massive Attack, and Tricky etc many times. They were and still are amazing. Dummy is still one of my favorite albums of all time. It’s so unique and timeless. I really hope I get to see them again sometime, but that may just be a pipe dream. I saw Roni Size last year at a music festival I went to for my 50th. He still knows how to rock the crowd. Viva Bristol!!! 💕🔥
Third is a stunning album.
Like, all 3 albums are great, but Third really needs a popular re-evaluation. It's one of my favourite records of the 2000s.
Imo, it's the best of three solid albums.
My first exposure to Portishead was from Thom and Jonny's cover of The Rip here on YT, which led me to Third. That album is terrific.
It is , that year when it came out was my fav as well
I Agree. I've probably listend to Third and Portishead the most although Dummy was great too.
Thanx for tip , I love Dummy , not so much Portiehead which I feel is a pale imitation , but had it been some other band I’d like it . Not heard any of a third but that will change soon . PS. If it’s half as good as Soft Machines Third then should be excellent
Maybe the only band that got better with each new album. Third is just on another level. So inspiring!
I think it goes to opposite direction. Probably why they folded
@@christopherpederson1021 You gunning for the stupidest youtube comment ever award or something, dude???
I thought long and hard and I realized that there is one other mainstream band that got better with every album I'm aware off - Tool. But that's perhaps debatable and they never produced anything close to the brilliance of 3rd
I think the first two and the live album was just amazing, however beyond they didn't really have the same passion as the early stuff
I've seen them live in '98 on Pukkelpop (Belgium) main stage. Never have been closer to my self in a big crowd. Infinitely great performance on stage. What a live sound they produced. Mesmerizing it was.
I have the now defunct Borders store to thank my discovery of Portishead. The store had random headphones around the store that would feature an album. Dummy was one of them. Before that, radio was the only way to discover music before buying it and none of the radio stations near me would ever play music like this. I think I stood in that store just listening to that album for a few hours before my parents came and picked me up (oh the bygone times you could leave a 12 year old alone in a store as a form of babysitting haha). I ended up buying it before I left. While it wasn't the first CD I ever bought (that honor goes to Nirvana Unplugged), it was certainly one of the earliest and I still have it to this day. And much more recently on vinyl now that I've gotten into that form of music collection.
The first Portishead album was definitely a monumental masterpiece
IMO all three are.
I’ve listened to Dummy the most, but whenever I listen to the second album or Third, I always have the same thought: holy shit this is way better than I remembered.
Beth is what we call in the UK......A. CLASSIC TORCH SINGER.......LOVE UR CONTENT 😊
I always listen to Dummy when it starts to get spooky outside and the leaves start to fall (I used to live in San Diego so listening to this was a way to really get in the spirit despite the weather almost never changing) Hearing that orchestra on a rainy day and her timeless voice in a place you 'can't vibe no matter what' is something these kids today will never understand.
That's when I heard Dummy for the first time. Rainy cold night in the Fall mid 90s I'm driving home and a DJ played Dummy. It was magic and I associate the season w them as well.
I've seen them twice here in Belgium, once at Rock Werchter during mid day in open air, they were so miscasted that day....they are better in the evening in a darker place, much more intimed, then Portishead is on there best. The second time was in a big festival tent in the evening and was a fantastic concert.....really love to see them once again....love the band.....
Hello
everyone’s mentioning dummy and third but my favorite has always been the 2nd album
Same here bro
Dummy changed my life when I first heard it. I was mesmerized and enchanted. It swallowed me whole.
Now I understand better why the band, and especially Beth Gibbons where so positively overwhelmed when they performed at the Corona Capital festival in Mexico back in 2011 (their very fist presentation in the country). They had a whole stadium at their feet, they had no idea about the massive following they built in Mexico. As shy as Beth is, she came down the stage and spend minutes greeting the fans in the front lines. They opened their set with "Silence", and everyone went nuts when she started her vocals with that amazing tension and anguish she delivers. It was unreal. Portishead is one of those few bands that sounds even better live. To be honest, getting them to play live in Mexico for such a high profile festival (at least here in the country) was quite the feat.
Fun fact: The Strokes (very popular at the time) played after Portishead as the closing act. As soon as Portishead finished, many people left the venue leaving The Strokes with a small audience!
Extremely talented group of people with a unique sound, I love the Dummy album but can't listen too long as I find it too depressing but quite often come back for a listen and am always blown away.
Dummy was one of the most important (probably top-5) albums for me personally, in my musical development.
I was a grunge/britpop kid in the early/mid 90s, aged 14 or so. Portishead's Dummy was my access-point into 'dance' music.
It was soon followed up with the likes of Chemical Brothers (Exit Planet Dust) Orbital (Snivilisation), Prodigy (Jilted), Aphex Twin (Ambient Works 2 & RDJ album) and DJ Shadow (Endtroducing). And I never looked back from there.
This video was a nostalgic trip for me! Really enjoyed it, thanks for sharing. 👍
Nice choice of music there👍
I'm a big metalhead and know next to nothing about trip hop and what not, but I know what I like. Portishead and Massive Attack are pretty much the only ones I know, but damn, they sound fantastic! Hookers and Gin, lol.
@@catjudo1 and Tricky too
@@catjudo1 the ex drummer for the band unearth Derek Kerswell put me on to Portishead
@@kkrsnn5632 Tricky was part of Massive Attack before going solo. Love his music.
i agree with all of the sentiments here - they are still completely amazing and those records sound as fresh and hauntingly beautiful as anything.. i mean - they covered SOS and it's so unbelievably amazing.
Really cool that this bands been covered on this channel!
Several people requested them
@@rnrtruestories Way to go for covering something outside of what is considered Rock
Agreed. Well played Rock N' Roll True Stories.
@@sophiafortyfourhello
Portishead is a band that changed my world musically, I would like to share lists of this good music on Spotify:
got trip hop? vol 1 and vol 2 coming soon vol 3
I hope you enjoy them and like it
What happened to Portishead? they broke through the 3rd wall and became one of the most iconic bands of the 90s with absolutely mind blowing originality and beauty... Portishead will forever be in my top 5 bands of all time... Everything they touched turned to gold...
Third is amazing. They went in a new direction and just blew my mind with that album. Hoping and wait8ng for 4th.
Let’s not forget Geoff Barrow’s scoring career with Ben Salisbury. Their work on DEVS, Annihilation and Ex Machina was profound, stirring, scary. I love it. Why don’t you do a piece on them?
I didn't know he was involved in the Devs soundtrack, loved that
Great band. Since I discovered them back in 2008 with Third I have been completely obsessed with the nostalgic feel of their songs.
Does no one here know Beth Gibbon's Solo Album?
It's pure beauty and magic.
To me it is a true GOAT album.
Like, it just does not get any better than this, seriously listen to it! ❤
I bought Third completely on a whim without even knowing who the band were (it was part of a 3 for £15 HMV deal haha). It was like nothing I'd heard before, soothing and haunting but also with a lot of memorable riffs/melodies. Even when I listen to it now it sounds timeless + the music video for The Rip is still incredible.
Saw Portishead play in Glastonbury, probably the most powerful live experience of my life
Hello
Everything they’ve done is incredible. Their live album Roseland NYC is really special though.
Thanks for this report. Portishead is one of my favourite bands since their beginnings. Greetings from Austria
Thanks
Their music is timeless. I desperately want them to tour so I can see them live just once. I had a cocktail hour during photos at my wedding last year and the music was Portishead and other triphop artists, but pretty much Portishead every other song.
Beth's voice really suffered, probably because she was a smoker and it didn't help as time went on
Such a wonderful band . Way above the average band. Smart and delicious sounding.
I Met Geoff in a record shop once and we got chatting about funk and soul. I didn't realise it was him when we were chatting, even though I've loved Portishead since the first album released. The guy behind the counter told me it was Geoff Barrow and then I twigged.
He's a nice fella. I've met him a few times over the years. He runs his Invader label in Bristol.
By far, one of the greatest, underrated bands of all time.
One if the most creative bands ever😎 Live in NYC is epic.
Hope to still see them live one day. All of their 3 albums are unique and beautiful. Less is more I think. There are so many other artists whose much wider discographies I don't find nearly as interesting. But what comes to Portishead, I've loved every album they've produced so far.
I got to see the tour for self-titled album in SF, and it was just amazing. Everyone walked out almost slack-jawed. Still one of my top 5 shows ever.
I love all their albums, but the third album is outstanding and my favorite.
Thank you for this.
Ah i miss those days, Portishead, Tricky, Massive Attack, etc. Still listen to them and it takes me back.
Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky are not only the standards of “Trip Hop” but 3 of the most original and creative artists of the entire 90’s. And yes, Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack is Banksy. He is the leader and creator of the collective that works under that name. Prove me wrong.
Just spoke to someone from Bristol a few days ago and he said he's definitely NOT Banksy.
@@ranica47 They are from the same crew "the wild bunch" but it's not him, Rob did an interview in the local paper the Bristol post just a few days ago like he said he's a mature visual artist now any common threads between him and banksy's work would be obvious.
Portishead was a fantastic band..
We had the Doctors play them during our sons delivery.
The docs and nurses loved it.
There was a trip hop band that I liked even more than Portishead: Sunday Munich. One of the founding member would later form Saltillo, which is just as good, but Sunday Munich remains the best of he best in the style. More people need to know about it.
The "first" time I heard Portishead was at work when a colleague put the second album in the box. My first response to Beth's voice was to start in with "Go-o-odfi-i-inger!" and I liked what I heard. Bought the CD. After buying Dummy I realized I'd heard them on college radio, having heard Sour Times a few times but never connecting it to the band. Great stuff!
They had the sense to not release further material. Leave 'em wanting more ! If a horse dies, there's no point in flogging it any more. Leftfield did the same, rather than cave into demand, they didn't have any more good stuff so they stopped.
I admire that.
I don't tend to listen to many female artists, just a preference. But Beth Gibbons voice is sexy, intelligent, morose and sublime all at the same time. She has such a unique sound. Love it.
Portishead's Sour Times was the inspiration for the iconic Silent Hill theme from 1999.
I remember being a freshman in high school in the mid 90s and discovering Portishead. It's one of those rare albums where every song is great. Their biggest radio hits were actually my least favorite songs. The good ones I never heard on the radio. I still listen to that album ❤️
Wandering star... great lyrics
Hello
Glory Hole...sour times...
...wandering star...evthing
So cool that Dummy was reissued on vinyl! Essential 90's release!
First and Third are absolutely brilliant. Too bad they're not around anymore.
Who says they aren't around anymore? They just take long stretches between albums. The members also take part in other projects. Beth is active on Instagram. There will probably be another album when they get around to it. Dummy came out in 1994. Portishead came out in 1997, and Third came out in 2008. None of them seem the types to rush into the studio just to do it.
Sour Times samples 'The Danube Incident' - it's a track from the Mission Impossible soundtrack LP but it's not the main theme song.
My first time hearing Portishead was as a young teenager around 1994/1995, while watching a random BBC documentary (about which, I cannot now remember), wherein, they used a sound clip from "Mysterons" in the background of certain scenes. The music used was the theramin-esque synth part of the track. My ears pricked up and I was instantly intrigued by what I heard and knew I had to find out where that unique sound mixture of hiphop beats and old sci-fi movie soundscape was from.
How I managed to discover it was Portishead (who at the time were virtually unknown), I can't remember. But I'm glad I did. I bought their debut album shortly after this and have never looked back. I think their follow album was even better, imho and I have grown to love and appreciate their third album over the years. Great (and one of my all time favourite) bands.
Portishead are one of the most important groups in uk history, along with Massive attack and Goldfrapp in my opinion
Sour Times samples Danube Incident, a piece of music from the television series Mission Impossible, it does not sample the Mission Impossible Theme.
Thank you for this vid. Dummy is still best album to me. And i loved beth's out of season album too. I had waited their new album so long time, but now i know they won't. I just want they produce one single song someday.
They might return. They’re still on good terms and enjoy working together. Much less pressure on them now too.
Portishead was & are, excellence...
I was super lucky to be visiting Bristol for Astral Festival in 2022 and the War Child show was announced right after I booked my trip. It was my extra free night in Bristol, with the venue just 2 blocks (and Banksy’s Well Hung Lover) away from my hotel. Best music weekend of my life. The Portishead set had everyone in tears, just astonishing, amazing experience. Everyone in the venue knew how special that night was both for the music and the charitable cause that spurred it.
How lucky and magical for you
Very unique sound and her voice, just wow.
If Dummy is a pilar for 90s alternative music, 3 did the same thing for the 2000s. Just an incredible band, very underrated nowadays
One of the greatest bands of the 90s... I still listen to Third pretty much every month
i dont get how you didnt explain what happened to them despite title of the video
Fans of Portishead should check out Geoff Barrow's other band Beak for some fantastic stuff. Also the soundtrack to the film Annihilation. Thanks for covering this amazing band.
Portishead has been one of my favorites for years. Listened to since I was 16 or 17 in 97, but when I got older is when I really understood the songs and appreciated their music even more. Recently bought each album on vinyl to listen to at the house. They aren't every day albums, but when I'm in a burned out mood and I want to relax, those albums are superb!! Their music is such an exquisite example of the definition of timeless..... Just beautiful.
Beth Gibbons released a great album with ex Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb under the name Beth Gibbons and Rustin' Man.
One of the few bands that I like everything they've created. ❤️
The same. Bands and artists like that are rare.
Awesome video! I absolutely love Portishead and everything Beth and Geoff do. Her album Out of Season with Rustin Man is absolutely beautiful. And Geoff’s Beak is sick! The last time they toured in LA I went to both of their shows back to back because they’re that good and it’s rare that they tour. Had to take advantage.
Portishead put out three amazing albums and 1 live album. To me that's SOOO much better than releasing a bunch of horrible releases that other trip hop artist did.
Beth Gibbons is without a doubt my absolute favorite female performer and singer. 😊This video definitely fills a gap, thank you! If you could possibly ask for it, then anything else related to Portishead please let me know. I also don't understand why Beth is so aloof. While that's fine, I can understand it. But you know it's a double situation in my eyes, cause I don't condemn it cuz of it, (i'm also reclusive) but on the other hand, she's the only one of my total favorites who doesn't give a single interview, even though her personality makes me unconscious! She's an incredible talent and, nevertheless, she gives the impression of a very exciting and interesting, intelligent person. But that's certainly not going to change. I'm sorry this unattainability on her part, but that leaves her as the one and only. However, she could at least publish one book. I'm sure I wouldn't be alone in reading it! Peace, Love BETH and PORTISHEAD✌💜
Love all three albums to death, Third is definitely my favorite though. I think Beth Gibbons has one of my favorite voices ever.
...Sour Times and the Dummy album definitely messed my world up for a minute...the beats were so thick, banging, heavy and dark...total contrast to Beth's haunting and sensitive vocals...great music!👍🏼😎
Hello
I've got all their albums on vinyl. Phenomenal band!
Geoff's film soundtrack work is sublime.
Thank you so much for this video. Portishead is one of those bands that I've meant to check-out over the years but just haven't yet. I did look them up on Wikipedia at least a few years ago but I really do need to check out their videos. They're obviously a very interesting and unique band.
I'm not sure what impact Portishead has for someone listening to it today, especially the Dummy album.
But at the time, for someone who likes to discover new music, it was outstanding.
At the time, I think we were all a bit tired of the saturation of grunge.
The movement of British rock bands towards a more dance atmosphere, such as Happy Mondays or Primal Scream, influenced by the House music boom a few years earlier, was also fading.
The first album from the influential Massive Attack still didn't seem to be adding any effect on the music scene.
Drum'n'bass was taking shape, but it wasn't a thing yet...
When I first heard Dummy it was like a revelation.
It was a trip to my subconscious mind.
I had everything that had been getting at me for the past few decades.
The scratch of the DJs, the beats of the dance music, the cinematographic atmosphere and samples of the music and movies that I was already on my way to discover.
Also with an original and engaging song construction. A precise and careful sampling work. Some recognizable but at the same time original instrumentals. And a unique, mysterious and fascinating voice.
After this, alternative music has grown a lot and the influence of that album was enormous.
Although the impact will never be the same, I imagine listening to it today can still be an eye-opening experience.
Certainly the musical influences and the tastes of each one will influence on how it sounds.
Give it a try and leave us your opinion on how it sounds to you today...
I’m in the same boat as you. I’m old enough to have been around in the era Portishead’s debut had dropped (I turned 18 in ‘94). I’ve heard their name a good bit back then as well as over the decades but for some reason I’ve never taken the time to listen to their albums. I’ve always felt that I will someday do that once I remember to do so.
Have you done a video on Teenage Fanclub and the Scottish music scene from the 90s? There was Creation records, band such as TFC, BMX Bandits, Vaselines, Soup Dragons, to name a few. There's plenty to go off. Cheers! 👍
Teenage Fanclub definitely deserves a vid.
If you haven’t done do we have a request form in the description box so i can track requests more easily
@@rnrtruestories sure thing, will do! Thanks for responding. 👍
@@5amH45lam thanks
Check out the Bandsplain podcast, they have a long episode on Teenage Fanclub.
Beth’s voice gives me the chills. I loved it in the 90s. I used to love to drive around the country side smoking pot in the morning when it was dark and rainy listening to the “dummy” album.
Hello from the UK, love your videos. Maybe I have an idea for one. There is a Spinal Tap song called "Break Like the Wind" (title track)and features guitar solos by SLASH,JEFF BECK,STEVE LUTHEKER,JOE SANTRIANI and Nigel Tufnell all on one song and I've always wanted to know the story of how and when it was recorded and anything else a man of your talents could find out. I've never heard anyone talk about it. Anyone that likes guitar music should hear it.
Earl Sweatshirt credits them as a big influence, a teacher he had used to play Portishead during class and he loved how dark it sounded. Probably why I like his stuff too.