# Portishead (album)

Portishead is the second studio album by the English electronic music group Portishead, released on 29 September 1997 by Go! Discs.

## Music

With Portishead, the band chose to eschew sampling other records, which had been a defining feature of their debut album Dummy. Instead, they created original pieces which they wove into the songs, resulting in a more textured sound. The only song to employ samples was "Only You", which incorporates elements of Ken Thorne's Inspector Clouseau score and The Pharcyde's "She Said". "Western Eyes" is listed as sampling "Hookers & Gin" by the Sean Atkins Experience in the album's liner notes. In reality, this song does not exist; like most of the samples on the album, it was created by the band.

## Artwork

The album cover is a still image from the music video of the song "All Mine".

## Release

Released in September 1997, the album reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 21 on the Billboard 200.
On 3 December 2008, Universal Music Japan re-released Dummy and Portishead as a limited SHM-CD version.

## Reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Entertainment Weekly | A |
| The Guardian | |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| NME | 8/10 |
| Pitchfork | 8.2/10 |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | 9/10 |
| The Village Voice | B− |
Portishead received critical acclaim upon its release. In a rave review for Q, Andrew Harrison said that the album showed Portishead sounding "less and less like a conflation of influences, and more and more like themselves", finding the music "almost cinematic" and the lyrics "more rounded" in perspective than on Dummy. Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian credited the band for rendering their debut album's sound "even more haunting" on Portishead. Commenting on the textures of the music, Barry Walters wrote in Spin that the group had created a "gothic", "deadly" and "trippy" atmosphere and gotten "darker, deeper, and more disturbing." AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated that while "on the surface, Portishead isn't all that dissimilar from Dummy", the "darker and more adventurous" quality of the music becomes apparent over repeated listens, adding that "the sonics ... would make it an impressive follow-up, but what seals its success is the remarkable songwriting."

### Year-end lists

| Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank |
| Melody Maker | Albums of the Year | 1997 | 18 |
| NME | 1997 Critics' Poll | 1997 | 32 |
| Q | 50 Best Albums of 1997 | 1997 | (*) |
| Spin | Top 20 Albums of the Year | 1997 | 6 |
| The Village Voice | 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll | 1997 | 14 |
(*) designates unordered lists.

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons and Adrian Utley, except where noted

## Credits

All songs produced by Geoff Barrow, Adrian Utley, Beth Gibbons and Dave McDonald.

### Portishead

* Beth Gibbons – vocals
* Adrian Utley – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7–10), bass (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 9), synthesizer (tracks 4, 6), Rhodes piano (track 9), piano (track 11)
* Geoff Barrow – drums (tracks 4, 5, 9), turntables, programming, samples

### Additional musicians

* Clive Deamer – drums (tracks 1, 6, 7, 11), additional drums (track 3)
* Shaun Atkins – additional vocals (tracks 1, 11)
* John Baggot – organ (track 9), piano (track 10)
* Andy Hague – horns (track 2)
* Ben Waghorn – horns (track 2)
* John Cornick – horns (track 2), trombone (track 7)
* S. Cooper – violin (track 4)

## Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Portishead :
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Australia (ARIA) | Gold | 35,000$^^$ |
| Belgium (BEA) | Gold | 25,000$^*$ |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Gold | 50,000$^^$ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Platinum | 15,000$^^$ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) | Gold | 25,000$^^$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Platinum | 300,000$^^$ |
| United States | — | 635,000 |
| Summaries |||
| Europe (IFPI) | Platinum | 1,000,000$^*$ |
| $^*$ Sales figures based on certification alone. $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||