So, Bitchork has some news of an anthology, I always see these guys name checked...I have not really liked what I have heard, but admittedly have not given it a chance like I should.

Start with Blue Lines or what?

Oh, throw some Portishead recs in here as well,so I don't have to start a new thread.

I thought this thread was gonna be about a pending heart attack.

All I have in my collection is Mezzanine, and it's pretty damn amazing.

I'm a minor fan, so i would yield to any obsessive out there, but I would go with Blue Lines first. I own that one and Mezzanine, the latter of which i enjoy the most. I have Portishead's second disc, I think. I thought it was kind of boring. Have you heard Tricky? I find him much more enjoyable, at least the first couple of albums.

First three albums (Blue Lines and Mezzanine, especially) are great and definitely worth owning and loving.
I don't normally dig on downtempo stuff but these guys are different - just a great sense of mystery and (sometimes) doom running through everything.

Can't really help on Portishead. I've got Dummy and s/t, but listen to neither with any regularity or excitement.

A lot people go on about Blue Lines and how good it is. It is good, but I think a lot of the hype surrounding it had to do with timing; when the album came out it was really doing something different for its time. When I first heard it (around 1996) I already thought it sounded a little dated. ("Unfinished Sympathy" still kills me though)

I'd recommend Protection. It's great. It's got Tracy Thorn (Everything But the Girl) and Horace Andy doing guest vocals. Very nice record, very dubby, great songs.

Mezzanine is beautiful as well, but I'd start with Protection. It was really the record that got them recognition. Mezzanine brought them to the "even Joe-six-pack has heard it and thinks it alright" level.


As for Portishead, there really are only two full-lengths (as far as I know). The rest are remixes, a live record and side projects.

The first one is most definitely the one to go with (Dummy). The second is interesting but IMO it felt a bit like a reaction to the pressures that came with world stardom. It felt like they were trying a bit too hard to throw us a curve ball. That said it is a great album, but I'd say listen to the blueprint before you listen to the variation.

Polly "Chatty Cathy" Six


EDIT: OOOpsss.... I called the first record "self-titled".... I meant "Dummy"... Sorry

I echo polly... Protection and Mezzanine. I really love Mezzanine.

Yeah. I never actually bought it because everywhere I went bakc then I would hear it: work, people's cars, clubs. After about 2 years of this I pretty much knew the record inside out & didn't feel I needed to own it.

Now I totally miss it and want to buy it. Unlike Blue Lines I don't think it will sound that dated.

AWESOME. And correctify me if I'm wrong, but this is good, um, mood music n'est-ce pas?

Bien oui.

Tracklist (don't know if this is on PFork, can't read it at work):

Disc 1:

"Safe From Harm"
"Karmacoma"
"Angel"
"Teardrop"
"Intertia Creeps"
"Protection"
"Butterfly Caught"
"Unfinished Sympathy"
"Risingson"
"Future Proof"
"Five Man Army"
"What Your Soul Sings"
"Sly"
"Live With Me"

Disc 2:

"False Flags"
"Incantations"
"Silent Spring"
"Bullet Boy"
"Black Melt"
"Joy Luck Club"
"Small Time Shoot Em Up"
"I Against I"
"I Want You"
"Danny the Dog"

DVD:

"Daydreaming"
"Unfinished Sympathy"
"Safe From Harm"
"Be Thankful for What You've Got"
"Sly"
"Protection"
"Karmacoma"
"Risingson"
"Teardrop"
"Angel"
"Inertia Creeps"
"Special Cases"
"Butterfly Caught"
"Live With Me"
"Live With Me" (version 2)
"False Flags"

C'est bon. Je vai purchaser au jour d'hui...

I was just IMing with Yail about being so high in French class I couldn't remember English, but I'm totally gonna pick these up.

Mezzanine and Portishead's Dummy and Portishead's Live at Roseland are must owns.

then Protection, Portishead's s/t, must own's for me, maybe second tier for you, as is Blue Lines...

M.A.'s 100th Window is solid, but a departure

M.A. vs. Mad Professor is for die hards.

All the singles are amazing. This genre is near and dear to me, and these are the two best groups in it.

Mezzanine is a more cohesive album than protection, although the title track off that is genius.

I can hook you up with Mezz if you want.

Blue Lines is sublime, don't let anyone dissuade you of getting that -- I agree with swiateck -- all first three albums are must owns. But then again, I also really like the singles box set, so who am I?

And yes, both Portishead studio albums and the live album are mandatory if one is at all interested in the genre.You want to purchase an hour with Hewey? No, no, I always forget, Jour means day...You want to purchase a whole day?

I agree - except that the first one was called Dummy.

Just realized my DUMB mistake & fixed it. Wacka wacka wacka.

Yeah, I meant "Dummy".

Blue Lines is good, it pretty much started trip hop though that's become a dirty word as of late. However it is extremely dated but if you like the Pharcyde and lo fi hip hop it's pretty amazing.

Protection is often considered their weakest album. It mainstreams a lot of the ideas set forth in Blue Lines.

No Protection with the Mad Professor is very highly regarded. If you're into bass and dub it's highly enjoyable but it doesn't really do much else.

Mezzanine is where its at. The album is flawless and goes in an entirely new direction. The album features MA's best and most varied songs. Angel is a highlight having been featured in Snatch and the West Wing (when Bartlet's daughter was kidnapped at the club).

100th Window has the distinction of being a dissapointment but I rather enjoy it. The songs are more electronica flavored and remind me of Leftfield's dark Rhythm and Stealth. There is a lack of energy and it doesn't sit well next to Mezzanine but it is a very good chill out album.

Portishead

Dummy is the quintessential Bristol album. It escapes definition and trend. It's my all time favorite record hands down. The mixture of emmaculate torch songs, James Bond undertones and driviing rhythm sets it apart from anything before or after.

Portishead is a more dark and unsettleing album. Gibbons goes places not witnessed before and the refined beats and soundscapes offer her even more edge. The songs are immediate and well written but other than Gibbons downward spiral of emotion not much has really changed. A solid effort nonetheless.

Tricky (forgive me I've only heard two of his albums)

Maxinquaye stands as the most versitile and sensual of all the Bristol albums. He does so much within the album that's good that one wonders why he did so little afterward that could be considered up to par. There are so many ideas floating around and smashing together that one has barely time to breath between songs. Martina Topely Bird is his songstrees and Goldfrapp offers some compelling numbers as well. A masterpeice of an album.

Angels with Dirty Faces is forgetable.

Dumpjack, if you wanna hook it up, I'll take it (beggar, not chooser)

Going out fer dinner right now, I'll ysi it to you later.

So yeah, buy some albums, and ply Femgar with her favorite poison, and get a motel 6 room, an asian "masseuse", definitely some wheat thins cause you'll need to replenish the salt and they taste good, shit, just order some sushi, and gatorade, you'll definetely need it, and jolly ranchers, and if you've got a beard trimmer bring that with, and make sure you've got some aqua velvet. The rest you can play by ear, or order from the front desk, or the phone book.

[pato'brien]GET SOME COKE, A HOOKER, SHIT[/that's the plan]

their best album (mezzanine) does not feature their best member (tricky)

I never considered Tricky a member, any more than say, Tracey Thorn or Liz Frasier.

They're all just guest vocalists.

Mushroom, Daddy G and 3D are Massive Attack, you can make an argument for Nellee Hooper, but that's like saying Billy Preston is a Beatle, or Sugar Blue is one of The Stones.

But whatever, Tricky's a damn good vocalist.

Good job Phil. Now the Feds are onto us...why don't you throw out BLONDIE CHAPLIN while your at it.

(vomit)