Roseland NYC Live

by

Portishead

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Normally I wouldn't post a review for an album that has over twenty perfectly credible reviews already, but I'm afraid something must be clarified: the songs on the PNYC live album are not "as good as" the album versions, as so many reviewers have said, but are in fact 30-70% BETTER than their studio counterparts (percentage varies for specific tracks). This mainly has to do with the intensity of the vocals. Maybe it's a natural side-effect of the live performance, maybe it's only a difference in volume, but to put it bluntly, it's hard to believe Beth Gibbons isn't singing with a sock over her face on "Dummy" and "Portishead" after hearing the insane amount of overtone, undertone, and just plain tone that come through on this recording. Whatever was sacrificed of Portishead's usual spooky, distant atmosphere by removing the muffler from Gibbons' voice is more than made up for by the emotion and clarity here. If you buy only one Portishead album this year (though i'd recommend two or three), this *is* the one to get.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I own this DVD and it one of the most beautiful concerts I've ever heard. Since Portishead is probably done, at least we have this CD to document their live shows. However, the glaring omission is the outstanding version of Roads on the DVD. It is the only song that gets a standing ovation, and is just breathtaking. Instead we get a version with a bunch of idiots clapping. I almost compare it to Street Spirit from Radiohead, Thom Yorke once said he couldn't believe people sang along and were happy when the song was played live, because it is such a melancholy song. Same goes here, great concert, poor choice of CDs. Do yourself a favor and buy the DVD.