Portishead (album)
Portishead is the second studio album by English electronic band Portishead, released on 16 September 1997 by Go! Discs.
Portishead | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 16 September 1997 | |||
Recorded | 1996–1997 | |||
Studio | State of Art Studios (Bristol), Ridge Farm (Capel), Moles Studio (Bath) | |||
Genre | Trip hop | |||
Length | 50:30 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Portishead | |||
Portishead chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Portishead | ||||
Music
"Only You" samples Ken Thorne's "Inspector Clouseau" and The Pharcyde's "She Said".[1] "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.[2]
Release
Released in September 1997, the album reached No. 2 on the UK Album Chart[3] and No. 21 on the Billboard 200 chart.[4]
On 3 December 2008, Universal Music Japan re-released Dummy and Portishead as a limited SHM-CD version.
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Entertainment Weekly | A[6] |
The Guardian | [7] |
Los Angeles Times | [8] |
NME | 8/10[9] |
Pitchfork | 8.2/10[10] |
Rolling Stone | [11] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [12] |
Spin | 9/10[13] |
The Village Voice | B−[14] |
Portishead received critical acclaim upon its release. Spin praised the record and noted that the band created a "gothic", "deadly" and "trippy" atmosphere.[13] 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.[13]
Accolades
Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|
Melody Maker | Albums of the Year | 1997 | 18[15] |
NME | 1997 Critics' Poll | 1997 | 32[15] |
Q | 50 Best Albums of 1997 | 1997 | (*)[15] |
Spin | Top 20 Albums of the Year | 1997 | 6[15] |
Village Voice | 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll | 1997 | 14[15] |
(*) designates unordered lists.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons and Adrian Utley, except where noted.
No. | Title | 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" (Barrow, Gibbons, Utley, Ken Thorne, Trevant Hardson & Derrick Stewart) | 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, bass, synthesizer, Rhodes piano
- Geoff Barrow – drums, turntables, programming, samples
Additional musicians
- Clive Deamer – drums
- Sean Atkins – additional vocals
- John Baggot – organ, piano
- Andy Hague, Ben Waghorn, John Cornick – horns
- S. Cooper – violin
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified 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] | 1× Platinum | 1,000,000* |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
See also
References
- "Portishead at coverinfo.de". Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- Facts about Western Eyes Archived 13 June 2002 at the Wayback Machine
- "Portishead at OfficialCharts.com". Retrieved 26 July 2009.
- "Portishead | Chart history - Billboard". Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Portishead – Portishead". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- Lanham, Tom (3 October 1997). "Portishead". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- Sullivan, Caroline (3 October 1997). "Dread again". The Guardian.
- 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.
- Williams, Simon (27 September 1997). "Portishead – Portishead". NME. Archived from the original on 6 October 2000. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- Schreiber, Ryan (October 1997). "Portishead: Portishead". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2 November 2005. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- Vincentelli, Elisabeth (14 October 1997). "Portishead". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- Berger, Arion (2004). "Portishead". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 646. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Walters, Barry (November 1997). "Portishead: Portishead". Spin. 13 (8): 142. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- Christgau, Robert (27 January 1998). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Australiancharts.com – Portishead – Portishead". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Austriancharts.at – Portishead – Portishead" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Ultratop.be – Portishead – Portishead" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Ultratop.be – Portishead – Portishead" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Portishead Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14 no. 43. 25 October 1997. p. 14. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 6 March 2020 – via American Radio History.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Portishead – Portishead" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14 no. 42. 18 October 1997. p. 14. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 6 March 2020 – via American Radio History.
- "Portishead: Portishead" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Lescharts.com – Portishead – Portishead". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Portishead – Portishead" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14 no. 46. 15 November 1997. p. 27. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 6 March 2020 – via American Radio History.
- "Charts.nz – Portishead – Portishead". Hung Medien.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Portishead – Portishead". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Portishead – Portishead". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Swisscharts.com – Portishead – Portishead". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Portishead Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Year in Focus – European Top 100 Albums 1997" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14 no. 52. 27 December 1997. p. 7. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 6 March 2020 – via American Radio History.
- "Top Selling Albums of 1997". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1997". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations - 1997 Albums". ARIA. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1997". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
- "Canadian album certifications – Portishead – Portishead". Music Canada.
- "New Zealand album certifications – Portishead – Portishead". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Portishead; 'Portishead')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
- "BPI > Certified Awards > Search results for 'Portishead' (from bpi.co.uk)". Imgur.com (original source published by British Phonographic Industry). Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- Pareles, Jon (13 April 2008). "After a Decade Away, Portishead Returns". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2007". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 July 2015.