Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #92132 in Music
• Released on: 2008-04-29
• Number of discs: 4
• Formats: Box set, Limited Edition

Album Description
USB features the album, and 5 films

Double vinyl album

Etched 12" vinyl of `Machine Gun'

Limited edition print from Nick Uff

USB Tracklisting:

1. Silence 2. Hunter 3. Nylon Smile 4. The Rip 5. Plastic 6. We Carry On 7. Deep Water 8. Machine Gun 9. Small 10. Magic Doors 11. Threads

`The Truly Spectacular Universal Conference Film' (film) `The Rip at Mr Wolfe's' (film) `Ade's House' (film) `Machine Gun' (film) `We Carry On' (film)

LP (Double Vinyl) Tracklisting:

A1. Silence A2. Hunter A3. Nylon Smile B1. The Rip B2. Plastic B3. We Carry On C1. Deep Water C2. Machine Gun C3. Small D1. Magic Doors D2. Threads

Amazon.co.uk
Portishead's Third has been a long time coming, the result of a lengthy creative torpor following 1997's dark, distinctly underrated album Portishead. Importantly, though, they've shaken it. While the core trio of Beth Gibbons, Geoff Barrow, and Adrian Utley remains, this is quite a different band to Portishead's 90s incarnation: gone is the slo-mo turntable scratching and smoky jazz feel, replaced by heavy, brooding rhythms, vintage-sounding electronics, and spindly guitar. Still present, though, is that sense of emotional fracture and deep gloom. "Silence" opens with a dense drum loop which suddenly falls away to reveal Gibbons' voice, cold but magnificent: "Wounded and afraid, inside my head/Falling through changes". "Nylon Smile", meanwhile, is a fine example of Third's occasional folksy edge, an acoustic song reminiscent of Leonard Cohen that, around its midpoint, lifts off on a propulsive electronic rhythm, Gibbons holding one clear, hard note as synthesisers bubble beneath. At times, it's a harsh and foreboding listen: the electronic drums of "Machine Gun" might put off the listener hoping for smooth dinner party fare. But Third is a brave and forward-thinking return, and one great enough to justify its lengthy gestation. --Louis Pattison

About the Artist
Portishead are a band from Bristol, England, named after the nearby town of the same name, 12 miles (19 km) west of Bristol.

History

The band was formed in Bristol, UK in 1991, by Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons and Adrian Utley. After releasing a short film (To Kill a Dead Man) and its accompanying music, Portishead signed a record deal with Go! Beat Records.

Dummy (1994)

Portishead's first album, Dummy, was released in 1994 and the first single was 'Numb'. In spite of the band's aversion to press coverage, the album was successful in both Europe and the United States (where it sold more than 150,000 copies even before the band toured there). Dummy spawned two hit singles, "Glory Box" and "Sour Times", and went on to win the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in 1995.

Portishead (1997)

After their initial success, Portishead withdrew from the spotlight for three years until their second album, Portishead, was released in 1997. The album's sound differed from Dummy, the main differences being that much of the music was composed and played by the band, not sampled from records, and had a grainy, harsher sound. Three singles, "Cowboys", "Over" and "All Mine" were released, the latter achieving a Top 10 placing in the UK.

Roseland NYC Live (1998)

In 1997, the band performed a one-off show with strings at the New York Philharmonic orchestra at Roseland Ballroom in New York. A live album primarily featuring these new orchestral arrangements of the group's songs was released in 1998. There was also a long-form VHS video of the performance, and a DVD followed in 2002, with substantial extra material including many early videos.

Hiatus (1999-2007)

For the next few years, the band members concentrated on solo and other pursuits, until in February 2005, the band appeared live for the first time in seven years at the Tsunami Benefit Concert in Bristol. Around that time Barrow revealed that the band was in the process of writing its third album. In August 2006, the band posted two new tracks on its MySpace page--described by Barrow as "doodles". Around the same time, Portishead covered Serge Gainsbourg's "Un Jour Comme un Autre (Requiem for Anna)" on the tribute album Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited.

Return

On October 2, 2007, Portishead stated that the new album, titled Third, had been mixed and was nearly complete, and was due for release in April 2008. On December 7-9, 2007, the band curated the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Minehead, England. The festival featured their first full live sets in nearly 10 years. They premiered five tracks from the new album, provisionally titled "Wicca", "Hunter", "Machine Gun", "Mystic" and "Peaches".

Third (2008)

Third is due for release on April 28, 2008. The band announced: "The album has 11 tracks and is 49 minutes 13 seconds long", and the track titles have been disclosed.On January 21, 2008, a European tour to support the album was announced, together with a headline spot at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 26, 2008. As well as their main recorded output, Portishead have been involved in a large amount of remixes and collaborations with other artists.

Customer Reviews

Be aware....the data files are copy protected
There are plenty of reviews about the music on this disc, so I'm not going to go there. Overall, this box is a great collector's item and a tresure trove for the Portishead fan. It's worth the outlay, just for the excellent quality of the pressing, on heavyweight, pristine vinyl.

BUT...if you're like me and enjoy the sound of vinyl but also require the convenience of a digital copy, be aware that the data files (on a nifty 1 GB P shaped rubber memory stick) are copy protected, meaning you can't even EDIT THE INFORMATIONAL DATA on the files if you import them into iTunes or any other digital library. You can't make a CD and import them back as non-protected files, either. THIS SUCKS....FOR THE AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU ARE SPENDING! Just so you know.

The rest of the goodies are nice....the etched 12" of Machine Gun, the films, and the art print suitable for framing. But come on...this copy protection crap is out of control. Newsflash....there are always ways to get around this stuff, record companies, you greedy, failing morons. Yeah, I can always rip the vinyl copies back into my PC, but at this cost, I shouldn't have to. Maybe I should just steal it next time.

One Awesome Package for Collectors!
This is one cool box set if you are a fan of Portishead. Even though I already owned the album on cd, for only $20 this limited edition was worth paying for just to have as a collectors item. The whole set it packaged really nicely, and the etched vynil looks great. This set is definitely worth showing off! I only wish I would have received one of the numbered ones, however those are really hard to come by...

Una larga espera...
Luego de la larga espera podemos disfrutar de Portishead nuevamente.
El disco se diferencia un poco de los dos anteriores (demasiado tiempo los separa) pero se logra ver una progresión en su trabaja.
La vos de Gibbons es mucho más madura se parece mucho al trabajo que hizo con Rustin Man, no tiene los gritos agudos que nos acostumbramos en Dummy y en Protishead, ni tampoco sus falsetes. Pero ahora presenta un vos voz más sólida.
Los arreglos de Barrow ya van al extremo en este disco, el uso excesivo de secuenciadotes y sintetizadotes e incluso las percusiones eléctricas saturan el álbum.

Como fan de Portishead por largos años, este disco sigue sorprendiéndome y esperando poder escucharlos en vivo en algún momento y que el próximo álbum no demore tanto. :)

Sobre esta edición: El LP esta bien pero lastima que mi reproductor de discos no es lo que era; los archivos extra del USB son geniales, son pocos pero muy entretenidos. Lo que más me gusto fue la impresión de Nick Uff, es exclusiva en cada paquete, son frames de la animación usada en el clip The Rip.
Por los demás es un gran paquete de colección. Lo lamentable que ya esta agotado y solo lo consigues por revendedores, 10000 copias son suficiente creo.. jeje.. yo tengo la copia 4288. Suerte si consigues el tuyo. :)

Lobrego