Roseland NYC Live

Portishead - Roseland NYC Live

Roseland NYC Live
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CD Details

Artist: Portishead
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Live
CD Release Date: 1998-11-10
Music Label: Go Beat/London
Product features:
  • PORTISHEAD ROSELAND NYC LIVE
Soundtracks:
  1. Humming - Portishead
  2. Cowboys
  3. All Mine
  4. Mysterons - Portishead
  5. Only You - Portishead
  6. Half Day Closing - Portishead
  7. Over
  8. Glory Box - Portishead
  9. Sour Times - Portishead
  10. Roads
  11. Strangers - Portishead

Music reviews of Roseland NYC Live

Music Review: Well, 4.5 stars, precisely
Rating: 4 Stars

Portishead, despite releasing only two studio albums, have been one of the most influential acts in modern music. Along with Massive Attack and notable others, they helped give birth to the nebulous non-genre of "trip hop," which, in the case of Portishead, can be described as "lazy hip-hop-esque beats spliced with a musical sensibility straight from the 1940's and a talented female vocalist." On their two studio albums, which are both worth picking up, Portishead relies heavily on studio trickery to help deliver their patented style of chilling, distant, brilliant composed and profoundly sad music. How would such an obviously studio-centric band handle the daunting leap to a live performance?

With surprising grace and aplomb, actually. With only a few dips, the quality level is superb here. The anal-retentive nature of the band really pays off, as Portishead, complete with backing orchestra, sound incredibly polished and rehearsed. To be blunt, this band is one of the tightest you will ever come across. Everything seems to be planned and meticulously executed, like a military strike, or brain surgery. This approach is to the benefit of the listener.

Tracks such as 'Humming,' 'Cowboys,' 'Mystyrons,' 'Strangers,' and 'Over' come alive with new, startling emotion. The same musicial brilliance as the studio cuts remains, but the sheer power of the songs in their live incarnations is an awesome thing to behold. The timpani on 'Over' thunders live, where it simply thudded in the studio. Mystyrons is a high-strung epic masterpiece building to a glorious climax. The ugly 50's sci-fi of the studio verison of 'Cowboys' is transmuted into raw rage by the live version. For the most part, the songs improve drastically live, (which is really saying something, as Portishead is an excellent studio band.)

There are a few mis-steps, however. While the rock-out at the end of 'Sour Times' is jaw-dropping and visceral, the first four minutes of the song I could easily trade in for the James Bond-esque studio version. Portishead was never meant to be a grunge or punk band, and the live incarnation of Sour Times shows this.

The other mistake would be 'Roads.' While an already sad and delicate song could become even more fragile and ethereal live, the audience sees fit to begin clapping along, as if the concert is a country hoe-down. This human drum loop is not appreciated, and detracts from a potential moment of beauty.

However, the moments of pure and amazing power - so surprising in such a formerly subdued band - make the mistakes more than forgiveable. If you are looking for a good entry into the world of Portishead, this is the cd for you.

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Description of Roseland NYC Live

Double 180gm vinyl LP of this 1998 live album recorded with a 35 piece orchestra at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC. 11 tracks. Music On Vinyl.
Usually, groups wait until they've released at least three or four records before putting out a live album, but PNYC was too good an idea for Portishead to turn down. Recorded with a full orchestra on a cold, rainy day shortly after the release of their second record, Portishead, the project doubled as a live album and the soundtrack for a BBC documentary. In addition to being economical and perhaps lucrative, the disc demonstrates how sampled and sequenced music can be re-created in concert without losing any of the charm or dynamics of the original recordings. All it takes is a 22-piece string section, some horns, and a band whose tightness is exceeded only by its creativity. At times the performances on PNYC sound even more breathtaking and cinematic than Portishead's original recordings, as humming theremin, skittery scratching, and gliding strings mingle with stealthy guitar lines and sultry vocals. For Portishead, sour times seem like a distant memory. --Jon Wiederhorn

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