Roseland NYC Live by Portishead (1998)
A Random CD Review from the Stutzman Memorial LibraryRoseland NYC Live by Portishead (1998)
Well now, here’s another fortunate pick by my electric randomizer. I can’t say I know a whole lot about Portishead or about trip-hop in general but I really like the blending of source materials in their music. This is a very dark, moody band. They create mesmerizing, groove-based music using all manner of instruments: real drums, samples from records, guitar, bass, upright bass, vintage synths…And on top of all of this is Beth Gibbons’ smoky voice-at turns fragile, other times sounding like a European she-dictator from a 50s noir movie.
But what’s so great about this album in particular is that it is live. Their music sounds to me like it is largely studio-created, never really based on an actual “performance” that ever happened in time. But they manage to pull off the resultant complexity by marshalling a huge force of additional live musicians on stage- a horn section and medium-sized string section. It’s really quite impressive when rock musicians bring in classical instrumentalists and not have it turn into schmaltzy easy listening. The “classical” has a way of overtaking the “rock.” (Listen to any of those The _______Symphony Orchestra Plays the Music of _________records to hear what I mean.)
Now, one gray area in rock musical aesthetics for me is the question of consistency. This Portishead record can start to sound a little “samey.’ They have a particular set of sounds they like-turntables, atmospheric harmony, plodding tempos and melodies that span a very short total range. For most rock critics, (and more importantly, for marketing teams), this is a good thing. They call it having “a sound,” or “an artistic vision.” And I suppose there’s some value in that assessment. But the side of me that gets bored easily without musical stimulation just stops listening after awhile. Variety is the spice of life, after all. So, though I really like what Portishead does, a little of it goes a long way for me.
posted by Mike @ 4:02 PM
2 Comments:
I like to call Portishead's music "witch-rock"... I can picture the singer standing over a boiling cauldron as she cackles out the lyrics. This makes description makes it sound terrible, but it's really not.
Also, I get flashbacks of Tolkien's The Hobbit every time I think of this album. I listened to it through the entire reading.
If I were to make a soundtrack to some of my more erotic dreams, I imagine it would sound a lot like "All Mine" and Glory Box."
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