Third | Portishead | Great for the fans

Third | Portishead | Excellent album

popular music:

Third

	Third Portishead Mercury, 2008 average customer review:based on 166 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Great for the fans

It's a short album, but it's okay. This is a compact album with a lot of familiar tones that are expected from Portishead, but they do branch off with new ideas and unchartered waters. For those who have not yet heard Portishead, then I strongly suggest holding off from this album until you hear their first two.

Excellent album

Portishead is back with an album that is well worth the wait. Truly unique music as I haven't heard in years. One listen to "The Rip" should convince you. Highly recommended.

4.5 stars

It's been almost 11 years since Portishead released their last self-titled album (I'm not counting Roseland NYC Live). The three member group of Adrian Utley, Geoff Barrow and more prominent Beth Gibbons have been often credited with making the trip hop genre more mainstream. Originating out of Bristol, UK, Portishead introduced their hometown sound to the commercial radio waves in 1994 with Dummy. With downtempo hip-hop beats, a touch of turntablism, and Gibbons' staple vocals, Portishead instantly created their own style and with that came a vast following. It's no wonder then, that when appropriately titled Third album hit the shelves, it was snatched with a hunger. Prior to the album's street date it was released on last-fm and attracted over 327,000 listeners within 24 hours. On Third, Portishead experiments in a darker territory, a bit brooding and at times almost industrial in nature, while rewarding the listener with a familiar voice. There are many unforgettable moments on the album when you find yourself go "what" and "nice". Perhaps there is not much revolutionary on Third for some, and they may not feel justified for the waiting period. Nevertheless you can't just let it slip by. Portishead remains a favorite and after consecutive rotations, Third climbs to the my list of "Best of 2008 so far..." I still love and play the first two albums. (Gibbons also released a solo album titled Candy Says in 2003).

for more information click here

Worthy of consideration

This recording is worthy of attention if for no other reason than the fact that it *is* pretty original. And that is getting harder and harder to find it seems.

Now, to contradict myself I will say that *musically* this recording reminds me of late 70s Wire a lot. The moody angularity and willingness to make some noise is impressive.

One thing I know, nobody "gets" music like this on the first or second listen. If you are not willing to give this a chance, get something more easy to aurally digest.

reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

products you might be interested in