Dummy (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dummy | ||
 |
||
| Studio album by Portishead | ||
| Released | October 1994 | |
| Recorded | 1993 & 1994 | |
| Genre | Trip Hop | |
| Length | 48:45 (U.S, C.A and A.U) 45:29 (U.K) |
|
| Label | Go! Discs/London | |
| Producer(s) | Portishead, Adrian Utley |
|
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Portishead chronology | ||
| Dummy (1994) |
Glory Times (1995) |
|
Dummy, released in 1994, was the debut album of the Bristol-based group Portishead. Building on the promise of their earlier EP, "Numb", it helped to cement the reputation of Bristol as the capital of "trip hop", a nascent genre which was then often referred to simply as "the Bristol sound". Fellow travellers along this experimental path included Massive Attack, Tricky and the record label, A Cup of Tea, who were exploring the margins of hip-hop, soundtracks and jazz just as their fellow Bristolians Smith & Mighty, Rip, Rig and Panic (featuring Neneh Cherry) and The Pop Group had pushed the boundaries of dub, funk and punk before them.
Now considered to be something of a classic, and regarded by many critics as one of the most influential albums of the 1990s, Dummy is arguably darker in tone than much of the music it later inspired.
In addition to the already released "Numb", the album spawned two further singles: "Sour Times" and "Glory Box".
It won the 1995 Mercury Music Prize, beating stiff competition which included PJ Harvey's To Bring You My Love, Oasis' Definitely Maybe, and Tricky's Maxinquaye.
In 1998 Q magazine readers voted Dummy the 16th greatest album of all time, while in 2000 the same magazine placed it at number 61 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 419 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The jangly sample in "Sour Times" is a cimbalom, a form of hammered dulcimer from Central and Eastern Europe. The sample comes from Lalo Schifrin's score for the American TV series Mission: Impossible (1966-73). The theme, called "Danube Incident," appears in its original form on Schifrin's Mission: Impossible CD.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Mysterons" – 5:02
- "Sour Times" – 4:11
- "Strangers" – 3:55
- "It Could Be Sweet" – 4:16
- "Wandering Star" – 4:51
- "It's a Fire" – 3:48
- Does not appear on the U.K. edition
- "Numb" – 3:54
- "Roads" – 5:02
- "Pedestal" – 3:39
- "Biscuit" – 5:01
- "Glory Box" – 5:06
[edit] Miscellanea
- The track "Glory Box" appears on the soundtrack to the Bernardo Bertolucci film Stealing Beauty and on the Andrew Niccol film Lord of War. It also appears in the Levi's ad celebrating the watch pocket.
- The track "Roads" appears on the soundtrack to the Lori Petty film Tank Girl. It is also used in the movies Cheaters and Little Criminals.
- In the UK the track "Numb" was used in a commercial for the TV series Lost and featured in a commercial for the Nissan Primera.
- "Roads" was covered by My Dying Bride on their Meisterwerk 2 album.
- "Roads" was also covered by Bristol artist mr_hopkinson's computer.
- In the UK the track "Sour Times" was used as the theme tune for the ITV series The Vice (TV series) (1999-2003), starring Scottish actor Ken Stott.
[edit] Samples
- "Sour Times" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- "Sour Times" by Portishead
- Problems playing the files? See media help.
