Customer Reviews

Dummy

5 star:		(187)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This album stands out as a rollicking psychonesque oddity, a Nabakovian linguistic obsession, and a Borgesian unreality. We would like to thank Amazon for publishing this review.

Trip-hop was never so dark and magnificently despairing as it is here. Portishead draws listeners into a velvety abyss in debut album "Dummy," a glorious blend of jazzy instrumentation, subtle electronica, and Beth Gibbons' sweet moaning vocals.

"Mysterons" opens with an chilly, ghostly air, followed by the exotic despair of "Sour Times" and the jazzy, eerie "Strangers" and "Wandering Star." Portishead delves into pure trip-hop in the pulsing "It Could Be Sweet" and "Numb," then synthesizes strings and stately organ in "It's A Fire," before wrapping things up with the steady lament "Glory Box," with its undulating riffs.

A noir feel permeates "Dummy," giving a grounded feel to the spacier edges of the music. It's easy to imagine trenchcoats, smoky offices, rainy days and femme fatales set to this music. It's soaked in melancholy and dreamy depression, set to music.

The blend of lounge music and trip-hop could have been awkward, but it blends seamlessly. The Rhodes and magnificent Hammond organ are the core of the silky unearthly sound, adding an epic feel to many of the songs. At the same time, the flexible guitar riffs and jazzy percussion bring it down to earth. And the Hammond does double-time as a jazz instrument as well, even when paired with strings.

Beth Gibbons's vocals are outstanding: high and clear and sweet, except in "Strangers," where she sounds like her voice is being filtered through an old radio. She pours plenty of emotion into the despairing lyrics. The songs themselves are simple and evocative, with loneliness and regret dripping from them. ("The salvation I desire/Keeps getting me down")

Jazz and trip-hop blend seamlessly into the beautiful haunting whole that is "Dummy." A beautiful experience, and one of the best albums of the 1990s.

It is always astounding when an album shows so much originality and a distinct sound that somehow feels fresh a decade after being released. The one song that I cannot get enough is Wandering Star. It is deliciously dark, with a driving, thumping beat that propels the song forward as if being sucked down a vortex of grief. I love it! Each song is different though and each song is a trip onto itself. You must experience this album! You must!

The sublime, noir beauty of Portishead's debut hasn't been replicated since its '94 release. No other British trip-hop act comes close, save maybe Massive Attack (and I find their work to be somewhat uneven over the course of their four albums--Mezzanine is genius, Blue Lines is good but dated, and Protection and 100th Window are merely so-so). Vocalist Beth Gibbons and studio artist Geoff Barrow really tapped into something brilliant here.

While most trip-hop strives to sound dark and downtempo, Dummy is the only trip-hop album that feels like it could be incorporated seamlessly into a '40s noir flick while sounding perfectly distinctive on its own. There are traces of jazz, hip-hop scratches and beats, acoustic guitar flourishes, chiming percussion, and some clever, low-key sampling. Sometimes the crackly sounds and pops of an old 45 can be heard. It establishes a perfect atmosphere, one in which smoking a filterless cigarette and wearing a trenchcoat would not be out of place; and I haven't even begun to describe the vocals yet.

Beth Gibbons' melancholic wail just oozes soul out of every pore; on the hit single, the James Bond-esque Sour Times her sorrowful voice runs a chill up my spine. In other songs like Glory Box, she recalls the stylings of Billy Holiday, and on It Could Be Sweet her smoky, low-key singing is downright sexy. Overall, Gibbons is one of the finest voices in trip-hop, up there with contemporaries Elizabeth Fraser and Tracy Thorn.

There's not a single out-of-place track here, just an excellent unified sense of moodiness and sorrow, not feeling too bleak but not insincere either. If you've come looking for the perfect music for rolling down the sparsely populated city streets in the rain at 3 am--you've just found it. Dummy is absolutely essential.

There are few albums in this world that I have ever regretted selling, one of them is Portishead's amazing debut album "Dummy". I sold my copy a couple of years ago because I was short on cash but since then I had come to regret selling my copy of this stellar masterpiece in downtempo music. I was fortunate to find a used copy at my favorite record store today so I bought it. Along with Massive Attack, Portishead has helped to forge a new sub-genre of music in the dance genre most people know as 'trip hop' music. "Dummy" personifies the laid back grooves that fuses hip hop beats, jazz melodies, and sensual female vocals that helped influenced later trip hop acts like Olive, Zero 7, and Supreme Beings of Leisure. "Dummy" definitely was ahead of its time when it came out ten years ago. Beth Gibbons' plaintive wail and the laid back grooves was nothing that I heard of at the time. It was the break through single "Sour Times" that attracted me to Portishead. I could imagine hearing it play in the background in a James Bond film. It had that sensuous, mysterious sound that would have been ideal for a James Bond film. One of my favorite songs on the album is the ballad "Roads". It is one of the most beautiful songs that Portishead had ever created. I also love the opening track "Mysterons". I am so glad that I bought "Dummy" again. Next time I will know better than to sell it. It is one of those albums that should not be sold. One more thing, contrary to what a reviewer wrote, Beth Gibbons has only released one solo album as herself. The artist known as "Poe" is a completely different artist and is not Beth Gibbons herself. Poe is an American artist while Beth is from England.

Wow! This cd...wow...amazing, just bloody amazing!!! the first time i heard Portishead was on Saturday night live, performing "Sour Times (Nobody loves me)" and i fell in love with Beth Gibbons' haunting and graceful voice. I purchased this album 2day (5/31) and am simply in love. With trip-hop sounds drenched in strings, vocals from Beth Gibbons (who has also gone solo under the name "Poe" [2 albums]), and jazz elements, one will be amazed at the beauty it all creates. Somewhat minimalist, "Dummy" achieves what most artists' albums never do: timeless continuity.

also recomended: Esthero/"Breath from another"&"Wikked lil grrrls"(release: TBA) - Bjork/all of her albums - Res/"How i do" - Aya/"Strange flower" - Aquanote/"The Pearl" - Miguel "Migs"/"Colorful You"&"Nude tempo 1" - every album from the Naked Music record lable - Gemma Hayes/"Night on my side" - Sondre Lerche/all three of his albums

Wow! Is the first thing that jumps to mind when I first heard this CD. The first release from Portishead set the benchmark that all Trip-Hop should be measured against. There is so much to take in when listening to this CD, that it requires several differnt sittings to capture all that is going on.

If you had to pick one Trip-Hop CD to have in you collection, this would be it.

This is my first ceedee in the trip-hop genre. It wuz recommended to me by a friend who likes this kind of stuff. At first it wuz a little scary to listen to. But wen it got to track #2, it wuz so haunting. "nobody loves meee...its truu"
Haha that stayed in my mind for a long time so i kept on listening to the ceedee. The vocal is great and the songs sound mysterious. I like to listen to it when i'm doing art and also when it rains. haha i dont knoe why. I know i grew to like this ceedee tho :D. Its great.

Portishead's album debut is a brilliant album that combines dark breakbeats, and Beth Gibbons haunting vocals. Beginning with the excellent "Mysterons," DUMMY hits gold with "Sour Times". The album has a very unique atmosphere, the relationship between the music and Gibbons' vocals which go from one emotional extreme to another, makes for an endearing listen. The production is top notch. One of the best albums from the 90s.

and puts you to sleep really good.

Beautiful blue colors on CD. Blue is good for you.