Portishead (album) explained

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 wove 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 score 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 2 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 21 on the Billboard 200.

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

Reception

Portishead received critical acclaim upon its release. In a rave review for Q, Andrew Harrison said that the album showed Portishead sounding "less and less like a conflation of influences, and more and more like themselves", finding the music "almost cinematic" and the lyrics "more rounded" in perspective than on Dummy. Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian credited the band for rendering their debut album's sound "even more haunting" on Portishead. Commenting on the textures of the music, Barry Walters wrote in Spin that the group had created a "gothic", "deadly" and "trippy" atmosphere and gotten "darker, deeper, and more disturbing." AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated that while "on the surface, Portishead isn't all that dissimilar from Dummy", the "darker and more adventurous" quality of the music becomes apparent over repeated listens, adding that "the sonics... would make it an impressive follow-up, but what seals its success is the remarkable songwriting."

Year-end lists

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank
Melody Maker	Albums of the Year	1997	18[4]
NME	1997 Critics' Poll	1997	32[5]
Q	50 Best Albums of 1997	1997	(*)[6]
Spin	Top 20 Albums of the Year	1997	6[7]
The Village Voice	1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll	1997	14[8]

(*) designates unordered lists.

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

Weekly charts

Chart (1997)! scope="col"

Peak position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[9]	6
European Albums (Music & Media)[10]	4
Greek Albums (IFPI)[11]	5
Irish Albums (IFPI)	3
Portuguese Albums (AFP)	7

Year-end charts

Chart (1997)! scope="col"

Position
European Albums (Music & Media)[12]	45
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13]	43
UK Albums (OCC)[14]	69

Chart (1998)! scope="col"

Position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15]	32

External links

• Portishead Info

Notes and References

1. Web site: BPI.
2. Web site: Portishead at coverinfo.de . 17 September 2014.
3. http://kotinetti.suomi.net/heikki.hietala/westerneyes.htm Facts about Western Eyes
4. MM Albums of the Year 1997 . . 20–27 December 1997 . 66–67.
5. Ladies and Gentlemen... We Have a Winner . . 20–27 December 1997 . 78–79.
6. The 50 Best Albums of 1997 . . 136 . January 1998 . 114.
7. Top 20 Albums of the Year . . 14 . 1 . January 1998 . 23 July 2024 . 86–87.
8. News: The 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll . . 24 February 1998 . 23 July 2024.
9. Top National Sellers . . 14 . 43 . 25 October 1997 . 14 . 29800226 . World Radio History.
10. European Top 100 Albums . Music & Media . 14 . 42 . 18 October 1997 . 14 . 29800226 . World Radio History.
11. Top National Sellers . Music & Media . 14 . 46 . 15 November 1997 . 27 . 29800226 . World Radio History.
12. Year in Focus – European Top 100 Albums 1997 . Music & Media . 14 . 52 . 27 December 1997 . 7 . 29800226 . World Radio History.
13. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 1997 . . 6 March 2020.
14. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1997 . Official Charts Company . 6 March 2020.
15. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 1998 . Recorded Music NZ . 30 January 2022.