Third

Portishead is taking some flak for this one. And I understand why: they had the audacity to veer from their previous creative path. People HATE that. But if you are one of those who, like me, believes that an artist should do more than just re-create new versions of their previous work, then this CD is going to excite you as it has me.

It is a brilliant, inspired, outside-the-box funhouse of sounds, beats, noises and moods unlike anything you have heard, either from Portishead or anyone else. This is what makes art art; what separates the creative adults from the wannabe children. It is a fine CD, and if your taste in music is bold, you will get hours of enjoyment from it. On the other hand, if you prefer pretty, shallow, hummable tunes, stick with your Backstreet Boys CDs and leave this one for the stout of heart.

Love the album. Portishead has taken new sounds and twisted them to their very specific mood again. It has great compositions. No doubt.

Only one thing bothers me. The final cut doesn't sound final at all. You sometimes hear instruments missing notes, playing through cracks. Even Beth's perrenially flawless vocals seem a bit rushed in places. Basically, the final mix is not all that sharp. At times, it may seem as if the band wanted it that way, but overall it feels rushed.

I have no idea how I came across the name of this group but one day I heard their new work was coming out,so I decided to read some reviews of their previous work. In seeing the old reviews I made up my mind to purchase Third. I have listened to the CD about 5 times and I'm impressed, my current rotation includes: EMC (The Show), N.E.R.D. (Seeing Sounds), Erykah Badu (New Amerykah), The Roots (Rising Down), Sean Price (Jesus Price Superstar), Murs/9th Wonder (Murray's Revenge), Little Brother (Get Back), DJ Shadow (Endtroducing),an occassional J-Dilla(RIP) produced album and now Portishead. With the Hip-Hop I listen to, I can only compare the production on Third too El-P,RZA or RJD2, not only in instrumentation and song structure but also in their dark moods. Upon my first listen to Third I was like, what the heck is this, 2nd spin was like oh okay I can see where their going. Third listen and thereafter, I was sold. I can only think of two tracks, actually maybe only one track, that I would consider fast forward material, cant remember the name(s), though. Seeing the mixed reviews of this CD reminds me of the criticisms of Wu-Tang Forever, especially in regards to the song structure. The female vocalist,Beth Gibbons(?) is NICE,she's used like Blue Rasberry, for those of you who own Only Built for Cuban Linx, listen to Rainy Dayz, that's the first comparison that comes to mind, Blue's vibe on that song is Beth's vibe for all of Third.
I dont wanna get too long winded, so let me wrap up by saying that if you are into anyone that I mentioned, I would recommend Third, if you've never heard of anyone I mentioned above, give 'em a try. Lastly, I WILL be buying previous releases, by Portishead, nuff said.

Ya mucho se ha hablado acerca del regreso de Portishead, de su larga ausencia, de su expectativa, así que me limitaré a opinar sobre lo que les escucho. Un exceso de oscuridad (como debe ser), exceso de posproducción (como debe ser), un exceso de miel en la voz (como debe ser) para que cuando te engañe y la pruebes descubras que es hiel (como debe ser), guitarras muy limitadas a lo que deben tocar, ni un rasgueo de más, instrumentos invitados sólo cuando son precisos.
The Rip solita paga la inversión en el album; no se si todavía no le agarro la onda pero la revista R&R dijo que si se tardaron 11 años para componer Machine Gun QUE SE TOME OTROS 11 y hagan otro rolón de ese tamaño (a mi no me impactó tanto); Deep Water con esa tonada y esas voces adicionales es de las que no olvidas al terminar el disco. En resumen y en conjunto, funciona, pero si no conocías el Trip Hop a lo mejor no te entra

Reseña en "Yo Soy Aquel..."
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Este álbum es un redescubrimirnto de la banda, tan eclectico, tan contemporaneo... no parece que hubiera pasado tanto tiempo desde el ultimo album. Portishead se renueva, se reinventa y GANA.