Portishead
Studio album by
Portishead
Released29 September 1997
Recorded1996–1997
Studio
GenreTrip hop
Length50:30
Label
Producer
  • Portishead
  • Dave McDonald
Portishead chronology
Glory Times
(1995)		 Portishead
(1997)		 Roseland NYC Live
(1998)
Singles from Portishead
  1. "All Mine"
    Released: 8 September 1997
  2. "Over"
    Released: 10 November 1997
  3. "Only You"
    Released: 2 March 1998

Portishead is the self-titled second studio album by the English electronic music group Portishead, released on 29 September 1997 by Go! Discs.[1] The album cover is a still image from the music video of the song "All Mine".

Music

With Portishead, the band chose to eschew sampling other records, which had been a defining feature of their debut album Dummy. Instead, they created original pieces which they weaved into the songs, resulting in a more textured sound. The only song to employ samples was "Only You", which incorporates elements of Ken Thorne's "Inspector Clouseau" and The Pharcyde's "She Said".[2] "Western Eyes" is listed as sampling "Hookers & Gin" by the Sean Atkins Experience in the album's liner notes. In reality, this song does not exist; like most of the samples on the album, it was created by the band.[3]

Release

Released in September 1997, the album reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 21 on the Billboard 200.[4][5]

On 3 December 2008, Universal Music Japan re-released Dummy and Portishead as a limited SHM-CD version.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA[7]
The Guardian[8]
Los Angeles Times[9]
Music Week[10]
NME8/10[11]
Pitchfork8.2/10[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[14]
Spin9/10[15]
The Village VoiceB−[16]

Portishead received critical acclaim upon its release. Spin praised the record and noted that the band created a "gothic", "deadly" and "trippy" atmosphere.[15] Commenting on the textures of the music, music journalist Barry Walters observed that the group got "darker, deeper and more disturbing" in comparison to their previous effort Dummy.[15]

Year-end lists

Publication Accolade Year Rank
Melody Maker Albums of the Year 1997 18
NME 1997 Critics' Poll 1997 32
Q 50 Best Albums of 1997 1997 (*)
Spin Top 20 Albums of the Year 1997 6
Village Voice 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll 1997 14

(*) designates unordered lists.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons and Adrian Utley, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Cowboys"
  • Barrow
  • Gibbons
4:38
2."All Mine" 3:59
3."Undenied"
  • Barrow
  • Gibbons
4:18
4."Half Day Closing" 3:49
5."Over" 4:00
6."Humming" 6:02
7."Mourning Air" 4:11
8."Seven Months" 4:15
9."Only You"
4:59
10."Elysium" 5:54
11."Western Eyes" 3:57

Credits

All songs produced by Geoff Barrow, Adrian Utley, Beth Gibbons and Dave McDonald.

Portishead

  • Beth Gibbons – vocals
  • Adrian Utley – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-10), bass (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 9), synthesizer (tracks 4, 6), Rhodes piano (track 9), piano (track 11)
  • Geoff Barrow – drums (tracks 4, 5, 9), turntables, programming, samples

Additional musicians

  • Clive Deamer – drums (tracks 1, 6, 7, 11), addidional drums (track 3)
  • Shaun Atkins – additional vocals (tracks 1, 11)
  • John Baggot – organ (track 9), piano (track 10)
  • Andy Hague – horns (track 2)
  • Ben Waghorn – horns (track 2)
  • John Cornick – horns (track 2), trombone (track 7)
  • S. Cooper – violin (track 4)

Charts

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Portishead
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[38] Gold 35,000^
Belgium (BEA)[39] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[40] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[41] Platinum 15,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[42] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] Platinum 300,000^
United States — 635,000[44]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[45] Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "BPI".
  2. ↑ "Portishead at coverinfo.de". Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  3. ↑ Facts about Western Eyes Archived 13 June 2002 at the Wayback Machine
  4. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Portishead Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  6. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Portishead – Portishead". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  7. ↑ Lanham, Tom (3 October 1997). "Portishead". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (3 October 1997). "Dread again". The Guardian.
  9. ↑ Hochman, Steve (20 November 1997). "From Elton to Boyz to Celine to Dylan, It's an Album Bull Market". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "Reviews: Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 20 September 1997. p. 31. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  11. ↑ Williams, Simon (27 September 1997). "Portishead – Portishead". NME. Archived from the original on 6 October 2000. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  12. ↑ Schreiber, Ryan (October 1997). "Portishead: Portishead". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2 November 2005. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  13. ↑ Vincentelli, Elisabeth (14 October 1997). "Portishead". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  14. ↑ Berger, Arion (2004). "Portishead". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 646. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  15. 1 2 3 Walters, Barry (November 1997). "Portishead: Portishead". Spin. Vol. 13, no. 8. p. 142. ISSN 0886-3032 – via Google Books.
  16. ↑ Christgau, Robert (27 January 1998). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  17. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Portishead – Portishead". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  18. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Portishead – Portishead" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  19. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Portishead – Portishead" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  20. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Portishead – Portishead" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  21. ↑ "Portishead Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  22. 1 2 3 "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 43. 25 October 1997. p. 14. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  23. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Portishead – Portishead" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  24. ↑ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 42. 18 October 1997. p. 14. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  25. ↑ "Portishead: Portishead" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  26. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Portishead – Portishead". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  27. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Portishead – Portishead" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  28. ↑ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 46. 15 November 1997. p. 27. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  29. ↑ "Charts.nz – Portishead – Portishead". Hung Medien.
  30. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Portishead – Portishead". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  31. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  32. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Portishead – Portishead". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  33. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Portishead – Portishead". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  34. ↑ "Year in Focus – European Top 100 Albums 1997" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 52. 27 December 1997. p. 7. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  35. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1997". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  36. ↑ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1997". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  37. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1998". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  38. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  39. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1997". Ultratop. Hung Medien. 24 October 1997.
  40. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Portishead – Portishead". Music Canada. 14 October 1997.
  41. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Portishead – Portishead". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  42. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Portishead')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  43. ↑ "British album certifications – Portishead – Portishead". British Phonographic Industry. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  44. ↑ Pareles, Jon (13 April 2008). "After a Decade Away, Portishead Returns". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  45. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2007". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
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