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Dummy
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0042282855329
Label: Polygram Records
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
MPN: 828553
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Polygram Records
Release Date: October 17, 1994
Studio: Polygram Records
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Editorial Review: The collaboration of studio whiz Geoff Barrow and singer Beth Gibbons, Dummy was made at the same time as a short film noir called "To Kill a Dead Man," and the same approach--gloomy, tormented, and wildly melodramatic--permeates the album. "Sour Times" (the hit in which Gibbons cries, again and again, "Nobody loves me, it's true") and the more cryptic "Glory Box" are the linchpins of the album, defining its sound: dark flashes of old soul and film music, dehumanized electronic bleeps, Gibbons emoting like she's consumed by shame, and a bass-and-beat pulse derived from the slow bump and grind of the Bristol scene that spawned Barrow's old collaborators, Massive Attack. --Douglas Wolk
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - This album will consume you.
The beats on this album are awesome, it's like they came through a rip in reality from an alter-universe. The lyrics are alright, they are too unhappy for my taste, Beth's voice is wonderful though.
Rating: - Essential electronic album.
What can be said that already hasn't been said? I don't think there's much. This must have REALLY seemed ground-breaking at the time: Backbeats that sometimes recall hip-hop elements and some real soaring, soulful vocals from Beth Gibbons. There's not a single bad song on here, and it's most famous for the awesome "Sour Times," which sounds at times like a James Bond theme with certain elements. Then there's "Numb" which is probably my favorite song on the album, real soulful vocals there. You get ... Read More
Rating: - The Towering Classic From the 90's
What can I say that hasn't been said in other reviews? Well, for me this is the one essential trip-hop album. But it goes way beyond being a very successful pop or trip-hop disc. What Portishead established with Dummy was the recognition of the diverse musical roots of the trip-hop movement, filtered through an intensely modernistic lens. Out in 1994, it sounds like it was released yesterday.
Let's briefly analyze "Glory Box," likely the most well-known track from this pervasively known ... Read More
Rating: - Incredible Range
This is almost the perfect album. I bought this recently having listened to it years ago and it was like finding an old classical watch or something. It moved me. The hits are great of course- 'Sour Times' and 'Glory Box'. Songs like this just want you to run out and open a lounge with a blue light or something! Then there is the absolute gem in "It's a Fire' with that wonderful bass running through as her voice weaves between the notes. This album is a beautiful moment in time.
Rating: - Very strong album, but I prefer PNYC
First, this is a phenomenal album, it creates an amazing atmosphere that feels both new and familiar. However, I gotta say that I prefer the live album PNYC(the dvd is even better.) Aside from the wonder of seeing the band and orchestra deliver an amazingly on-point performance, the interplay between the musicians (as opposed to the loops on the album) makes the songs really come alive. Anyway, Dummy is a great album nonetheless, and if you are coming at Portishead from an electronic, hip-hop or dance ... Read More
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