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Music : Live: Roseland NYCIn association with Amazon.comRating:  - Great!This CD was one of the best live albums I have ever purchased. The only thing that was bad was "7 months" was not on it even though it was performed. Rating:  - 5 stars if not for the "Roads" clap-alongI remember listening to this album when it first came out, and it's aged pretty well, but for the turn-table bits. Those are an acquired taste. Overall, the Roseland recording improves on almost every song in their catalog -- an exceedingly rare feat for any band. The best you can usually expect is a clean recording, but Portishead goes much further by "re-imagining" each song with orchestral backing. And the results are such that you might find yourself mesmerized by songs that never did much for you before. And they don't screw up the songs that were already good, except perhaps for "Sour Times." Unfortunately, the most beautiful song, "Roads," is marred by an enthusiastic audience clap-along. All throughout the album, you'll note that the audience is a surprisingly muted presence for a live album (muted in the mix phase, not in the raw audio, it sounds like). But they come out in cheerful force... to the aid of the most haunting and lonesome Portishead song I've ever heard. The incongruity doesn't recede with repeated listens, either. At least the band manages to drown these yahoos out during the peaks. It makes me wonder if they had the audience on separate mikes and could release a version that doesn't include that part. Wishful thinking, though. If there was a chance that Portishead was still around and putting out more stuff, it wouldn't irk me so much. But this is all we got -- three albums, one of which is this live "greatest hits" recording. In other words, not much. (I don't count Glory Times because it's a remix album, and barely one at that.) Rating: - Terrific concert!!This disc was the first one I heard from Portishead. After a couple of listenings I was kind of confused about the rhythms, voice tones, samplers and musical instruments. At the end you would love all this stuff and how they have conceptualized the idea of music without barriers, without all that common rhythms that have appeared in music history. I would strongly recommend this disc for every one who has never listened to Portishead, it is the starting point to enjoy all their creations. Rating: - Not the first to say it...this release is amazing.I love electronica, I like orchestral music. In this release they have the perfect union. Even my friends who have a hard time listening to electronic/ambient music really, really like this release. If you are a serious music aficionado you must own this. This is a stunning piece of work that will spin on and on in all types of players and in all kinds of places. Rating: - Truly amazedThis has to be one of the best live CDs I've ever had the pleasure of owning. Typically I wouldn't recommend a live CD to a new fan, but this is different. I listen to this disc much more than the studio albums. Something about working with a live orchestra brings out the nuances and subtleties of the music. The DVD is exceptional too and contains additional songs and some different versions of the songs on the CD. This is one of my favorite albums of the last couple of years. -James |
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