@@mtdnelsonOh yeah at least in my area. I was listening mostly to Metal, folk, some industrial, and some indie but when this album came out I went through a years long trip hop phase. Massive Attack, Sneaker Pimps, Unkle etc... I probably would never have experienced any of that music without first hearing Portishead.
Dummy is a seminal album. I still play it regularly. The whole Bristol trip hop scene was amazing then…. Massive Attack, Tricky , Portishead. Roads is an absolute masterpiece
Is it considered early hipster music? I dug all that stuff as well. All do different but somehow under the same umbrella of throw back but modernized noise. Brilliant!
Pro tip, thanks! Roseland is in my top 10 all time. That version of Sour Times (album, not DVD) still haunts me. And the guitar tone on Glory Box is just unbelievable. Gonna go check out that remaster.
Oh dang, I listened to the CD over and over back in the 90s but never knew about this orchestral concert, I’ll have to check out the remaster! Thanks!!
Wait, what!?!? Any chance they expanded to include the entire performance of, 'Undenied', without the cut-away to the street scenes? I had always wanted to see the band's entire performance of that song and not just the beginning and end, as they had done for the original DVD release. @@SelenaSea
Portishead consumed a chunk my 90s and beyond... it was and is a vibe. as others have said, this DVD is a must experience for any musician or music fan.
this one is part of subconsciousness thought... it defines moments in time in my brain! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LIpv2VTwyJA.html @@nathanielreichert4638
Portishead is a vibe, I listened to this so many times, but will check out this DVD, they were so sporadic with their releases but their self titled is probably my favorite of their albums.
I'm ready for Trip-Hop/Down-Tempo to make a resurgence. Portishead, Morcheeba, Air, Sneaker Pimps - All that music was just soooo cool. I felt sophisticated listening to it. Definitely some of my favorite music.
I was ate up with Air for such a long time. Felt like I was a bit crazy for a while, like does this band exist?! No one I talked to knew what band I was talking about 🤪
I low key envy you for getting to DISCOVER Portishead now. They are such smart musicians, with deceptively simple melodies. Beth Gibbons will break your heart if you take the time to listen to that entire album, and just listen
You should envy me for living through the 90's during the prime of my life. I guarantee I had a much better time listening to this when it first came out then this guy did listening to it last week.
@@fat6674I think roseland is Portishead at their best, but anything they recorded is worth listening, i only saw them once, one of the best moment of my life Beth Gibbons may be the greatest singer ever recorded and those guys, well they rose up to the opportunity of playing with her, they were just unbelievable. I was into trip hop and there were à lot if great bands with insane singers but Portishead, they were in à league of their own
I still can’t believe Portishead wasn’t bigger than they were. Brilliant and incredible to witness live. Absolutely masterful instrumentalists and vocalist. Michael, I’m glad someone introduced you to them. Hope you explore…portishead is a beautiful and magical world! Enjoy.
They were connecting with a certain audience while the pop music genre at the time was Britpop and Indie. (The majority of it was really good). Oasis ruled for two albums but sold out to a record contract where they had to come up with albums in a time frame so that meant pressure to produce albums of "filler", no "killer" stuff. Less commercial main stream bands at that time got away with having to churn out Muzak. Radiohead are the best example of how to tell their record label to stay out of their musical creativity. That's Simply the record Biz.
Portishead were HUGE in the UK and were big in several other countries too. They never really broke through properly in the States but US sales are far from being the only measure of success. :)
@@Codex7777 I´m a bit confused too - Portishead/Massive Attack where everywhere back then here in Norway. But again - US sales are not necessarily *success*
The Bends I feel was slightly more influential than ok computer but yes, those two bands were my childhood along with Garbage, Massive attack, Sound Garden and RATM
When it was used in an episode of The Handmaids Tale it was perfection 😍 Tricky and Portishead together is something I never imagined. It's mesmerizing
Yessss! You found Portishead (thank you, Courtney)! They've always been fearless, uncompromising pioneers. And Beth's voice... ♥️ Enjoy the complex but vitalizing musical journey. It'll be like your Radiohead ride!
Portishead was huge in the expansion of my musical tastes in the 90s. It was like a combination of spy theme songs, smoky 30s/40s jazz, chilled out techno, and amazing scratching. Their first two LPs and this Live album are three of the greatest pieces of music recorded.
For me, Portishead's Dummy coloured a whole decade - in a very good way. It's so evocative and unique and low-fi. Apparently all samples dropped were originally recorded by Geoff Barrows (Portishead's tunesmith) onto vinyl and sampled in analogue, and Beth Gibbons wrote the lyrics and melodies on top of the finished instrumental tracks. Superb artistry. Make sure you check out Numb. Roads (perhaps the most perfect song of all), Sour times, and Glory Box. But it's all a masterpiece.
Ah... Glory Box... ! A week or two after first made aware of Portishead and Trip Hop in general, I had my first adventure into psychedelics (2C-I). And Glory Box was the first tune I fed my headphones. The experience was incredible and left an indelible mark on who I am; such outlandish feel, stylish, captivating, surrendering ... What a proper introduction!
It's kind-of amusing to call Dummy lo-fi because it's actually an absolutely phenomenal production/mix, in fact I'd call it one of the best-sounding albums I've ever heard. But it has this lo-fi component mixed in that makes it totally magical. The Soft Parade by The Flaming Lips is somewhat similar, though Dummy sounds much better overall.
Thanks for checking this out Mike. This band ruled my teenage years and there’s really nothing quite like them. They defy classification and always pushed the boundaries.
this band set the standard for generations of musical inspiration. Trip-hop today is now considered by many to be mainstream pop. But are the current top chart artists as great as the original masters?
@encyclopractica I can’t put Portishead next to anyone else. Massive Attack… maybe? I would categorize most trip hop groups alongside MA, but Portishead went in another direction, esp w Third.
@@gomezthechimp1116 Your right. Portishead was trip-hop. And had other bands like bishop Briggs or Lana Del ray started in the 90s bishop they might have fallen into trip-hop. But we seldom refer to any newer music as trip-hop these days.
That is the genius of Portishead for you, doesn't take the listener for granted, you don't know where the thing is going, but you know it's freaking amazing.
As someone else commented, their debut album is a masterpiece! Right when they first broke I was fortunate enough to see them live in a crowded and sweaty tent at Glastonbury, the anticipation and buzz about them was electric and they didn't disappoint! They were right at the front of the trip hop explosion alongside fellow Bristol based Massive Attack
They made their first album by recording themselves playing instruments, making vinyl records of the recordings, then sampling the records, to get the sound and feel they wanted... I think they did not go back to that production method after the first album, but they still kept their sound and feel, IMO.
I seem to remember they deliberately found aged instruments to create imperfect sounds and then added extra distortion on top through the analog process.
@@questionmarke They got better in early 00s too, if you have not heard Charango or their reunion Blood Like Lemonade, you should really check'em out. And one of the non-Skye albums, Antidote, was pretty awesome too.
@@nicholasmolen9662 That opener alone! Brand New You're Retro was a favorite too... Lumped him in under Massive Attack umbrella, especially with Karmacoma/Overcome overlap, but totally in that mix
Glad you discovered them really magical music. Her vocal on glory box is worth the watch not just shifting pitch and tone she changes texture in similar ways to guitar with effects. The contrast from style and attitude to big beautiful bright tones is awesome 👍. Hope you check it out some time roads too. There's some crossover from massive attack which is why along with brilliant session musicians they were able to nail such a sound on debut release. Talented artists fingerprints everywhere It's heavy digestion lots going on!!
A truly great band, Mr. Adrian Utley's guitar work had a huge impact on my approach to playing and to music in general. When I met him years later (in Johnny Roadhouse, Manchester) I found him to be as genuinely modest as he is highly-skilled; a true gent and a scholar.
He was a huge part of their sound, I know everyone focuses on Geoff and pretty rightly but Adrian was certainly a huge part of it, that whole Bond vibe they had going on Dummy.
Their "main sound" is the mix of electronics/sampling, some light instrumentation, and the vocals. But the arrangement they did for these live shows with the orchestra is amazing.
This band is so seriously truly underrated, it's ridiculous. They really pushed themselves to the limit with an original sound. Also, I've never heard a DJ that mattered in a band until I heard this record. It's not just wiki wiki and speed, the parts are actually musical and emotional.
not really, they are the most famous band in the trip hop community, alongside with massive attack. And they definitely shot themselves in the foot when they stopped performing all together. When I discovered them (2011-ish) they already stopped making new albums and concerts, especially concerts, how would you get new fans if you don't even perform. At least massive attack is still in the business. Im not shit talking them, they are my favorite band! oh, and also, you need to understand that trip hop is not for everyone. Is easier to find a death metal fan in the wild than a trip hop one.
I have to agree. Beth's voice is angelic, but I do prefer Massive Attack if I'm chilling out, especially Mezzanine. That album can turn me into a happy zombie in 2½ songs.😌 Portishead is nice, but I've always seen it as suicidal ideation you can dance to.😔🕺💃
I dunno, as a Brit who was at college in 1998 Portishead, Massive Attack, and a few other bands and artists (Goldie, Roni Size) were pretty massive if you liked certain subcultures like BMX, skate culture, art, graffiti etc. Even now Dummy makes the essential album list along with Blue Lines of most top record lists. Perhaps not in the America's?
Not at all underrated. They were one of the biggest and most influential bands of the second half of the nineties. Maybe your just thirty years behind the times.
This is the first one of these reaction videos I've watched and I think I (or rather the RU-vid algorithm) has chosen well. I have watched it way too many times. Michael seems to be both knowledgeable and utterly lovely. He's also possibly eloquent but I love the fact he's not in this video, instead he's perfectly expressing what it's like to be blown away by a peice of music. I lived in Bristol in the 90s and the first time I saw Portishead live was at the free Ashton Court festival, all the local bands turned up and played with varying degrees of energy and talent, the sun shone and everyone was having a great time... and then Portishead went on stage... and we were hit by this tidal wave of wierd and wonderful sound. We didn't fully understand what we were hearing, all we knew was it was awesome. The thought of it still brings tear to my eyes.
Trip-Hop was my vibe in the 90s. I was broken, dark and twisty. Looking back I can see the 90s as a bit of a peak in UK life. I fully expect some more Trip-Hop vibes to emerge during this highly unsettled and dark period. Bring it on! ❤
I'm with you on that, people have lost the abiility to experience what they are fortunate to see and hear. Oh, the joy and intensity that we have lost for future generations.
One of my all time favorite bands. First few albums were all great. Beth’s sultry, smokey, haunting voice is amazing…Trip-hop, with nods to jazz, soul, classical, rock, pop. Just pure musical beauty.
Lucky enough to see them in the late 90's. Beth came out with a glass of whisky, apologised for her raspy voice. Then performed the most outstanding set, and Beth's voice sounded amazing.
@@Scanini our* lives. The crowd going wild after but a few short beats... The string section slowly building up from 2:34, across the chorus, ... before the whole orchestra swells to that sweet bass release into bliss... and the crowd cheers!! My heart still melts every time.
So psyched! Back in the day I would see Portishead much like Radiohead-the music on the recordings is amazing but it’s all “studio wizardry” and they could NEVER play that live. Being wrong (on both counts) never felt so good. Thanks Michael.
Killer choice to react to this song, thank you Courtney for suggesting it. This band, Portishead, defies genre even though the media tried to link them to the trip hop scene during the 90s (they do share some similarities, but Portishead differs quite a bit from that sound once you go deeper than surface level 'vibe'). There's so much to unpack in their music, and each little piece - guitar, beat, voice, samples, turntables, etc. - brings so much creativity for the whole to be greater than the sum of its parts. Live or studio, wherever it lies in their discography, it doesn't really matter - check out any song of theirs and I am sure you'll enjoy it.
think it's slightly disingenuous to suggest they weren't trip hop, they were one of the bands coming out of Bristol that literally defined the genre along with Massive Attack
I feel like their Third album is the one that makes the trip-hop classification a bit questionable, but in my opinion all of their 90's work is very much grounded in that particular genre. They do have a unique sound for sure.
@@CommuneofBees I think they differ quite a bit, musically, from what I consider more solidly trip hop artists - e.g., Massive Attack, Sneaker Pimps, DJ Shadow, all the Ninja Tune stuff I was hearing (and loving) in the late 90s, etc.. But yeah, despite their protestations that they weren't trip hop, Portishead got attached to the term and thus popularized it and spawned a bunch of imitators. I am obviously not a genre authority, I just personally don't put them in the trip hop bucket. Many people do, however, and they aren't necessarily wrong to do so since the 'definition' of the genre is rather blurry.
Dummy is a seminal album for me. I still have visceral flashbacks to Oxford '95: hearing that bass rip through, from the college cellar bar up to the periodicals room (where I was usually facing an all-nighter to chunk through a week's work before a tutorial the next morning!). As such, everytime I hear Roads or Glory Box, it elicits conflicting feelings of warm nostalgia and panic-tinged guilt. Fantastic musicians.
Wow. Ice cold with Portishead! When this album came out it blew me away. So cool to see your reaction to this. I'm not musical in any way, but do appreciate the effort you put in.
Saw Portishead play a Glastonbury warm up show in Cardiff not a few yrs after Third came out. I’ve been to a lot of gigs and this was top 3 - utterly utterly mesmerising, groovy AF and each member is a virtuoso. Some tracks were epically layered - others you could hear a pin drop. They are treasures.
Bristol sounds! Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky, Smith & Mighty, Roni Size & Reprazent, Seppa, The Blue Aeroplanes, just to name a few, Airbus? the memory is a little fuzzy possibly something to do with all the scrumpy, weed, shrooms and other things around that time, for some reason I only remember their quirky song 'Apple trees'. Then just down the road you've also had Bath bands like Tears for Fears, Propellerheads, and The Heavy. Lots of collaborations and collectives so you'll see musicians contributing on each others songs and albums, also artists/producers like Neneh Cherry and her husband. I've been lucky enough to see most of them live. There were/are some awesome small-medium size live venues in Bristol and a really active live music scene - The Fleece, Thekla, Bierkeller, Lakota, Trinity Centre, Fiddlers, soo many good times :-)
Such a huge band for my Uni years. Beth ... oh Beth. It always seems weird to me that people haven't heard of them... but I get it. For me, Live at Roseland is one of the best live albums ever - every song is insane but there's always love in my heart for Mysterons (shout out Captain Scarlet!).
When you said that you were going to break down Portishead, I chuckled and was like, "Have fun with that!" Love their use of unconventional discordant tones and how they can bring you in one direction, stop, pivot, and take you in an entirely different direction.
It's funny because it's KINDA guitar-music, but at the same time ... REALLY not. I do love this guy though, I guarantee he could figure it all out no problem, but not in the space of this vid lol. This was a total blindsiding.
this whole show is a banger. excellent all the way through. spent a lot of time listening to Portishead. love them so much. one thing is for sure, they have the craziest combo of sounds. it's hard to reproduce what they're doing. one of the most wonderful rabbit holes to go down, tbs
Absolutely one of my favourite bands ever. Can specifically remember a friend bringing this out at his house when it was released and a bunch of us absolutely losing it. Incredible stuff.
Electronica really developed and broadened in the 90’s from the synth pop (which was also great) in the 80’s . Triphop had its own very recognisable down beat dark musical language and Portishead were one of its finest exponents. Thankyou Bristol. Must be something in the water down there?
This is such a wonderful video because it really shows just what it's like for so many the first time they hear Portishead. It's like nothing else! Beautiful, spooky, emotive, all sitting in a pocket that is something beautiful to behold!
I remember hearing Glory Box off a compilation CD from Q Magazine, or someone like that, in advance of Dummy coming out. From that first "I'm so tired..." I was hooked. I think Sour Times and Roads were always my favourites of theirs. Amazing to think this is 30 years old next year, 94 was a great year for albums!
First heard glory box on the q music station on sky as part of a countdown of the greatest songs of the 90s. I think it's the only song I can remember when and where I heard it. It totally blew me away.
Ok - I can't believe you haven't heard them before! So amazing. I can't say I'd have given you this first - it's a little challenging - my #1 pick would be "Roads" (also live at Roseland) - but "Dummy" also amazing - honestly the entire live at Roseland performance is a tour de force More Portishead please!
You are a super talented guy, love your site. ... Love your comeback from your struggle with the same thing I had . You are an inspiration, to so many. of even 72 year old guitar players like me. Thank you .
Best song on the best album of the best band. The last two minutes where they build up the suspense then just all drop in and kill it is nothing short of musical perfection.
Absolutely! It's one of my favourite tracks of all time. You might like Morrissey - Speedway the closing song from Vauxhall and I or Emmanuel Top - Acid Phase from Monika Kruse's Boiler Room Berlin 2016 for similar "WOW! What an ending! How to follow that??" Chills!
Portishead is really pretty dope. I dig the variety you share with us. Their album Dummy is phenomenal. That this is even being recreated live is insane as the original is sample based. I guess they call the genre Trip Hop. Do yourself a favor listen to Dummy is a great album. Listen with your wife and some wine.
FINALLY!! always wondered if i‘ll see Portishead on this beaufiful channel. never clicked so fast. and it was over way too quick!! Dear Michael, „Roads“ from the same performance / concert is the realest deal there is. i would pay to see people react to this piece.
This is an absolute delight! My musical skills are waaaaay down the scale but it's always so profound seeing someone else's joy when introduced to music you love
This guy might not have added much (as he said) but he nailed it. He is great! The way he jumps to the song and hits that electronic note in the guitar (as a warm-up). He is the best! And this one was tough. Roseland's was very rich indeed, and it seems I must have another listen 😊
One of my most memorable concerts ... And I've seen a lot of bands. These guys on a cold fall night in old Montreal at the port and the fog coming in off the St. Lawrence River was magical. To say it was haunting and etherial is an understatement. Everyone was vibing to the same groove
I wore that Dummy CD out, The contrast in textures, and cool guitar, I be an old guy but Man I rocked that Roseland Vid. Half Day Closing gives me shivers STILL. As A guitar kid from the eighties, "The Marlboro Men" "Who says you can't get high at 95 MPH" Has I best guitar Jams I have heard in years,
First I heard Portishead was from the 1995 movie 'Little Criminals'. Watching it as a kid I didn't know it was them but always loved the song at the end of the movie. Watching it again later in life I then knew it as 'Roads'. Should definitely check it out :)
What a beautiful journey you have ahead, if you're about to go listen to more Portishead. I have a recommendation for a guitar track that I think you will find very intriguing. Thin Thing, by The Smile. Its truly incredible. Two of radioheads members are in the band. They are really very good
The guitar work on Thin Thing is so creative! Such a brilliant song from an innovative album. Can't wait for album two - they have enough new material for it now.
Portishead is so rad! I first heard them in 1998 and haven't stopped listening to them since. Never gave much thought to the orchestration, dissonance, or musical theory until just now as I watched you try to wrap your head around what they're doing. Love it! I enjoyed watching you hear them for the first time almost as much as I enjoyed watching you discover Tori Amos a few months ago. Really glad you did this one!
More Portishead please, they have some great tunes in their collection. Also she had a collab album with the bassist from Talk Talk (Rustin Man - Paul Webb) which is worth checking out.
Find it hard to believe you've never heard Portishead. They are like ...THE foundation of alternative rock, going back to the beginning of the 90s. The song you're listening to is over 30 years old. Wild to think about
As soon as I saw this in my feed I bookmarked it for an evening I could really enjoy it. Portishead were astonishing and seeing you enjoy them like this was fuuuucccking aaaaweeesome. I love you, Michael, it's always such a pleasure when you get a track that gets you excited.
My favorite song from this entire show although the whole show is awesome. When Radiohead needed another drummer for the King Of Limbs Tour and basement session they chose Clive Deamer from Portishead and they did some amazing stuff with two drummers I have never seen.
This took me back to an incredibly powerful time in life. Witnessing someone be impacted by this for the first time and feeling so strongly amazed and in awe by this masterpiece was truly welcomed and worthy.
The happiness that I have when you are discovering a song that is hitting me for years and years! Just like when you did Radiohead twice in a row! Great job Michael
