Portishead - Third (THE POLL)

I love this album, didn't really appreciate it completely when it was released.

Deep Water btw is a ripoff (actually a hommage since they admit it) of Tonight You Belong to Me (made famous by Steve Martin in The Jerk)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI8NuFAETMQ

Tricky covered the "If you lika me" song from Man With Two Brains. Bristolian trip hoppers love Steve Martin.

This album totally holds up, and I kinda had that feeling from the day that I bought it. God, I remember somewhere on ilm someone slagging this because it ripped off Silver Apples or The United States of America or some similarly obscure band, all "yawn, this is nothing that hasn't done before". Fuck that post, imo.

like sometimes "album of the year" buzz albums seem kind a diminished after the excitement wears off and stuff but i think this sounds even better now

OTM! I've been pulling it out a lot too.

There should be a thread somewhere for talking about BEAK> even though that album came out like 18 months ago, but whatever.. It's been in my rotation for a while and hasn't left yet, and I'm pretty sure I like it better than "Third."

It's good, but I'm not sure about "better than Third"

Yeah I'm not expecting anyone to agree, but I listen to it way more often than Third.

how does it compare to the Anika album?

these days I would vote "Small" without any regret; it's the song I've played the most off the album

I didn't expect this to be my favorite album of the past 15 years

If anything I think more recent history has made it sound even MORE appropriately unsettled and fucked up.

I listened to it again after placing it in my PFM ballot and the vocals still annoy me but holy fuck on the guitars, sound effects, and well wrought doom.

the vocals still annoy me

Out.

I mean, you are, but.

aiming "Machine Gun" effects at you

I can't imagine the vocals being done any other way. The way Beth switches from fragile to cute to strained desperation to fury, all within a piano to mezzo-piano dynamic range, is breathtaking to me as a singer; the fact that she finds so many different shades, colors and emotions in her voice without ever really getting loud is mad impressive.

you know far more about range than I do, and I don't disagree with that. It's me: I have less patience for croakings of despair these days.

YOU ARE SO NOT GOTH wait you never were one never mind

I love this album, Beth is a champ. Prefer the Beak> record.

The only time anyone has ever asked me to turn down my headphones was when Third came out and I listening to it on the bus in to work. No one seemed to be bothered until Machine Gun came on. Then I got a tap on my shoulder from a little old lady.

I dug out the nice Big Box edition of this, the other day.

How great this is.

I forgot to mention, I still ride that bus, but I'm at the end of the line now, so after a sufficient number of people had cleared out this morning, I blasted Machine Gun again.

http://devonrecordclub.com/2013/11/11/portishead-third-round-57-nicks-choice/

Small 0

this is still an incredible travesty

yeah i don't understand that at all

that's madness

like, it might be their best song, give or take a strangers or a cowboys

or in certain (cheerful, uplifting) moods a half-day closing

god it seems like this came out YESTERDAY

I never bothered with this after being so disappointed by the second album (that I was so looking forward to, dummy was soooo much my album of 95). I did not trust my friend when he was raving about 3rd when it came out (he shared many stoned listens of dummy with me in our bedrooms and morocco among other places- that was the glastonbury year) but after reading this thread, I will investigate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-mc7D6hs5U&feature=youtu.be

With Beth on vox as you may gather from the title. Pretty stunning.

overly polite

What happened to that second Beth Gibbons albums? Sure it was supposed to be coming out late last year.

that video is the shit

Is that Black Sabbath the movie?

according to jjj it is

Small 0

this is still an incredible travesty

― imago, Monday, November 11, 2013 3:56 PM (1 year ago)

otmest lj's ever been

I need to revisit this album
Boringly, the Rip, all the way.
Just love the way it moves

this album is still so amazing, heard it last week.

i had an mri done today and parts of it sounded exactly like my memory of 'machine gun'

the only song i care at all abt on this is nylon smile fwiw

Hated this album when it came out. I should give it another try.

Afert all these years it falls into the admire rather than love camp for me.

I still think this album probably works better for people who didn't give much of a shit about Portishead before this album. Because if you'd settled into a comfortable relationship with the band prior to this one, this album is either a welcome progression or a slap in a face.

anyone who thinks this album is a slap in the face should listen to the s/t again and stop being silly

I don't care for the first two albums but Third is great. The Rip is a worthy, if obvious winner though. I kind of wish there was more like that on this album.

The Rip is a worthy, if obvious winner though. I kind of wish there was more like that on this album.

You should probably check out the Beth Gibbons and Rusting Man record if you haven't already.

I haven't! It never occurred to me to listen to Beth Gibbons solo. I'll give it a listen, thanks

this album is unreal

it sure is. when it was released i was hoping it would signal the beginning of the second epoch of portishead since they came back stronger than ever. alas

This, Slowdive and Double Negative are quite the "comeback" records. All three nearly flawless and career defining.

I was blindsided when it came out; I didn't believe it could be as good as Dummy.