Portishead - Dummy ALBUM REVIEW

Listen: • Mysterons
One of trip hop's foundational albums, Portishead's Dummy remains virtually unsurpassed in the genre.
More classic reviews: • Classics
===================================
Subscribe: bit.ly/1pBqGCN
Patreon: / theneedledrop
Official site: theneedledrop.com
Twitter: / theneedledrop
Instagram: / afantano
TND Twitch: / theneedledrop
===================================
PORTISHEAD - DUMMY / 1994 / GO! BEAT / TRIP HOP
CLASSIC/10
Y'all know this is just my opinion, right?

[@richardmartinez5040]

You're 25 years late, Melon. Ive already formed my own opinion on this album.

[@AmateurishAstronaut]

How does one ‘form an opinion’? Teach me?

[@noahtawil8793]

@@AmateurishAstronaut you watch a melon review an album for 10 minutes

[@KalaniAmosa]

Lmao

[@droiD392]

impossible

[@Fiefaen]

Lmfao this comment

[@dwnwrdishvnwrd]

One of the foundations of Portishead was that they played live instruments and pressed them to wax and then sampled their own playing. Fucking genius.

[@andu1854]

It’s a shame Beth is very private and doesn’t like nor want the spot light, despite having one of the best singing voices

[@noahtawil8793]

David Anderson that’s awesome

[@primateboogaloo]

Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky: The Bristolian Holy Trinity

[@kiri7678]

I feel so at home in this comment section

[@haiderriaz3547]

Straight facts

[@xouat]

The sheer amount of great music that has come out of Bristol is frankly unreasonable.

[@jackgray3190]

Moloko and lamb underrated

[@KabochaOu]

With Icelandic correspondent, Björk

[@jakobsanchez738]

"Glory Box" is one of the greatest fucking songs of the '90s

[@Maximuss1999]

The guitaaaar!

[@n0vi]

Biscuit.... ???? WANDERING,,,STAR.....,!?!?1

[@THApeanutMagician]

*Ever

[@madizzle90]

Excellent song

[@angelsegura7059]

reading this as Glory Box is a great song for fucking, yeah, it's great

[@unravellings1792]

Saw Portishead at Latitude a few years back, and was so high that it took until the end of the song for me to realise that they had brought Thom Yorke on stage for The Rip 😭

[@MotorikBit]

That’s amazing lol

[@anujbeatles]

Thom and Jonny have a very cute recording of them covering that song somewhere

[@silverbasscross]

so...drugs r bad?

[@danlet]

Too damn high

[@DrJimmy93]

Haha I was there too! He had long hair so it was quite hard to recognise him, did you go see his secret set after? It was too busy so I wasn't able to:(

[@CK2008able]

This and Mezzanine two absolutely timeless records. Still sound so fresh.

[@simonmayled7830]

Don't forget Maxinquaye

[@LH-eu8yf]

Trip Hop in force. Lemme add some more underground homies: Earthling's "Radar/Humandust" And Archive's "Londinium", one of my fav trip hop album ever

[@jasonkh4]

Just blew the dust off Mezzanine for the first time in about a decade, man this record has aged wonderfully 👍 @@LH-eu8yf thanks for the suggestions, will have to check those out ✌️

[@misterdiscipline580]

I recommend listening to the Mo'Wax label if you all like Portishead. It's the label that gave us Endtroducing, and lots of other trip hop beats. Highly recommended.

[@jasonkh4]

@@misterdiscipline580 I fucks with DJ Shadow, I fucks with Massive Attack, I fucks with Tricky, can't believe I hadn't heard about Archive until @L H mentioned it, but honestly, I don't fuck too hard with Portishead, and I'm not really sure why. Just doesn't scratch the itch for me 🤷

[@plasmaWisp]

"It Could Be Sweet" is so good! After the last chorus, you can hear Beth deliver a soft huff of breath into the mic and I swear it's the sexiest sound in all of music.

[@lorenzoiozzo6629]

I love that

[@jeremysiron9622]

Beth is amazing

[@dungeondragonrawrrawr7010]

My favorite song of the album!

[@zuffhy]

My favourite, its not talked about enough !

[@victorr.aguiarr]

"Roads" hits me every time Must really be one of the saddest songs ever made

[@Paulito-ym4qc]

"we got a war to fight" *strings play me, every single time: :´)

[@Paulito-ym4qc]

@I golden hour by kacey musgrave

[@ThePsychoCzech]

I was stoned as fuck the first time I heard "Biscuit" and I'm pretty sure I started levitating

[@knivespines935]

Dude, i'm the same and i can't fucking believe that song isn't super famous.

[@WolfataDoor]

One of the best songs on the album.

[@silverbasscross]

@@knivespines935 why on earth would you want it to be famous in the first place

[@thegreatslothlord7796]

I don’t do drugs but as soon as I hear “biscuit” I swear I’m having an religious experience and coming face to face with God himself as my god, that track has some of the best sampling and instrumentals I’ve ever heard.

[@toodlesX14]

The production on that song legitimately makes me feel like the floor is falling out from under me, I've never heard anything else like it.

[@LocalCryptidGhostdoll]

What a fucking incredible album, Wandering Star and Roads are the standouts for me

[@coreywilliams6390]

Agreeeeeeed!!!!

[@waynegoodman135]

Literally my two faves from this perfect album!

[@493HZ]

Roads makes me cry

[@nemesiszer0708]

No one talks about “It Would Be Sweet” :(

[@harrisonhart8372]

Totally agree!! Love every song but those two are perfect

[@fin2448]

One of the the greatest albums of all time.

[@soapyguy6483]

You need to listen to the family guy soundtrack

[@soapyguy6483]

ok?

[@fin2448]

Soapyguy64 also a masterpiece

[@soapyguy6483]

It's really great

[@ttarkus]

Yet its Portishead's worst album. That should tell u how amazing they are

[@omerkucuk309]

The flannel matches the album cover Melon got the drip

[@IveGotToast]

He ain't no Dummy

[@peppereaterlivestream4357]

That does not mean what you think it means

[@tobietera]

Cringe

[@omerkucuk309]

@@tobietera im sorry it was 4 months ago

[@juandanielrodriguezvasquez1739]

Glory Box, one of the greatest closing tracks of all time, hands down!

[@tristanwalker1730]

Portishead makes music for men who wake up at five am and smoke a joint with their coffee

[@baddie4798]

yep thats me

[@kiberme]

Reported for doxxing

[@nochannel7349]

4 am but yea

[@tp407]

Cigarettes after sex

[@twood12301]

This was literally my dad lol

[@jadenthemusicfreak]

My mom is a big fan of Portishead and she's the reason this album was my childhood. I miss the days of hearing this playing in the car at night, it was very soothing, almost.

[@subliminalist7539]

Same here. My mom played this in the house when I was around 5 or 6 yrs old. It changed the way I heard sound in general.

[@jadenthemusicfreak]

@@subliminalist7539 Same, it had a very big influence on me

[@r.h.f.6073]

that was my dad, always played this album on tape and then later on CD. along with a bunch of Massive Attack, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, Thievery Corporation, The Herbaliser. a very early introduction to trip-hop has deeply affected my taste in music.

[@notaperson9831]

Same!! Listening to Portishead, Radiohead, Morphine, Depeche Mode, etc in the car as a kid basically exploded my musical tastebuds lol. I am so grateful to my parents for having such great music taste 🖤

[@jackedkerouac4414]

I'm an American hip hop head and Dummy completely opened my mind on what hip hop can be. Sadly not a lot of my friends share my enthusiasm for it. Even the ones who were into production like me go figure

[@akcalbumreviews3719]

I'm listening it it for the first time now and yo friends are sleeping

[@seancascone]

“it sounds like it belongs on a movie soundtrack” funny you say that because it was :^)

[@tyranidtrygon]

What movie

[@seancascone]

@@tyranidtrygon it’s a film the band created called “to kill a dead man”

[@0dious]

Yeah, also Nadja had strangers and roads featured.

[@GuyWithACamera23]

Little Criminals as well, a great Canadian tv movie.

[@bolo2265]

Fantastic four reboot lmao

[@felipeamiranda]

*PLEAAAAAAAAAAASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GAWD, REVIEW MEZZANINE BY MASSIVE ATTACK MELONNNNNNNNN*

[@derfgerps4016]

This has to happen

[@dustmite5887]

its classics week. chill.

[@rollingcoasters2311]

I want a Fat Of The Land review

[@morganwong9787]

@@dustmite5887 but mezzanine is a classic tho 👀

[@WolfataDoor]

Sour Times is so goddamn good.

[@hoovy1163]

@Luke numb was the lead single

[@bloodyiris3]

Favourite track on this album. Amazing.

[@marvamaxwell4124]

Funny you mentioned Beth's vocals sounded like it was lifted from another record what Portishead did in their production is they would record the songs press them up on vinyl and then sample them to get that sampled Effect Geoff Barrow & Adrian Utley are geniuses

[@jackedkerouac4414]

DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill did that on their debut. Wonder if he got inspired by them

[@marvamaxwell4124]

@@jackedkerouac4414 cypress Hill came out in 1991 this album came out in 1994 so Cypress Hil inspired them as much as they call this style of music Trip-Hop it's really just slowed down Hip-hop beats at it's core

[@andu1854]

One way to avoid having to pay other artists, I wish more artists would do this

[@marvamaxwell4124]

@@andu1854 David Anderson the Good thing about now which i don't understand why everything sounds the same nowadays when there's virtual instrument software from Native Instruments.

[@reecedeyoung6595]

@@marvamaxwell4124 because you can't get that sweetness out of vsts. You can't hear the mechanical energy of the instrument when every note is a sample played at different volumes with an envelope. I had the same thought when I first got into music and after years of using vsts, while they are useful, they aren't as sweet.

[@Jacorpes]

This is the album that made me realise I really like music and that it's more than just an aesthetic. It completely changed my music taste. Favourite album of all time for sure.

[@XmadbeastX]

Anthony makes me feel like a woman 😍

[@tylerhackner9731]

Literally same

[@SchopenhauerVsCamus]

Are you guys gonna come out?

[@cabarcas7000]

x2 🤤🤤🤤

[@bossbabyhyeju5774]

this comment made me think the video was a review of Carole King - Tapestry

[@mohmedbadr5690]

are you ?

[@benw3029]

Masterpiece, a perfect album. Fucking incredible

[@Assafk]

This is a classic, but all three Portishead albums are masterpieces.

[@stormmarc5706]

You think their third album is a masterpiece??

[@darraghclarke2884]

@@stormmarc5706 Third is *by far* their best

[@CK2008able]

@@stormmarc5706 Third is fucking amazing. A complete reinvention. So dark and sinister

[@broskievan609]

@@stormmarc5706 third is fucking insane

[@andrewsfa4420]

third is boring im sorry

[@flubtinsdale233]

If melon reviewed this album in 94, he woulda gave it a light decent 8

[@ff-qf1th]

well, fantano himself has said that it can take time, sometimes years to truly appreciate some records. It's impossible to know whether an album will become a classic until years, sometimes decades later, when it is appreciated as one. Fantano could well have given it an 8 when it came out.

[@nickthegun]

I think a lot of people did at the time, certainly in the UK. It got a lot of tentative 'good but a bit of a miserable art school experience' reactions

[@zackzallie8735]

If he reviews Dark Side of the Moon in 73, he would give it a 6.

[@Old_Man_Medina_Gaming]

FLATBUSH ZOMBIES “INTRO” is the pinnacle of Portishead sampling

[@daniiel]

HOW DARE YOU JUST BRUSH OFF "ROADS" LIKE THAT 😤

[@anguishingquark]

😤😤😤

[@vesperflute9030]

Unacceptable! We've got a war to fight here!

[@AngelBeeps]

We've got nobody on our side and surely that ain't right.

[@xenonium07]

bruh its just his opinion

[@alexmathewmendoza]

I'll never forget when my dad introduced me to Portishead. At the time I was a few years into listening to hip hop, but hearing Portishead's music for the first time was a very sublime experience. They're one of those groups whose debut record you ought to gift to your friends and family if you want them to hear something just completely melancholic and irresistible.

[@nathanjudy7705]

This ablum is perfect, yet my favorite of theirs is the Self-Titled. I don't know why, but man Portishead just fleshes their sound out pefectly.

[@FlaggedMail]

Same

[@milquetoast_tony]

I'd have to flip a coin between Dummy and self-titled for which Portishead album joins me on the desert island, but one of them has to be there. Absolutely legendary.

[@elesbru8525]

The great inspiration for the Silent Hil OST

[@TheFasiLover]

love that you are doing classic reviews of albums. helps me learn my music history.

[@TheRealBlueSwan]

One of the greatest albums of all time. I'm not even a big trip hop fan, but this album is a pure masterpiece.

[@CSGOSeries]

One of the only albums where every track is practically perfect. Especially on the original tracklist

[@AngelBeeps]

Dummy is my all-time favourite album, was super excited when I got the notification that Anthony reviewed it. 💜

[@jpalbuquerq]

the color palette of this review is so pleasant

[@Bandstand]

YAAAAAS!!!!!!

[@Bandstand]

I have to make a video on this. This rocked my head in 97’ seeds were planted

[@jesusgrande1881]

You was quick

[@TomasZombieDogGame]

LL Cool J's Mama Said Knock You Out >>>>>

[@MyBeautifulDarkTwistedFantasy6]

This literally is a masterpiece of an album.

[@LeBeautiful]

dummmmyyyyy

[@LOLsaudi]

I keep listening to Roads. Gosh that song is haunting

[@GEORGETHOMAS2001]

Damn he barely talked about Roads, which is literally the best song on the album smh

[@xbenci]

@@carloslopes5322 there's no need to be this serious all the time lmao

[@Paulito-ym4qc]

@@carloslopes5322 It does have some of the strongest songwriting on the entire record, which is pretty undeniable.

[@Bonesoda]

I dunno, maybe he was into new kids on the block back then.

[@GEORGETHOMAS2001]

@@carloslopes5322 Lol I wasn't taking his opinion as an ULTIMATE thing or anything, I really do not care what Anthony thinks, he is his own person. I was pretty much joking, that's why I said smh at the end.

[@michaelgartly3753]

They're all the best song on the album.

[@onlysmallbites]

What a classic, truly! Blue shirt never disappoints. The albums OK too..

[@tangiblestarlight]

This album changed my music taste forever, in a good way. Rad review as always 🧡

[@IVUSER]

When I first listened to the album, I had no idea what to expect. I played Mysterons, my jaw was on the damn floor, and I instantly fell in love with Portishead and trip-hop in general. Such a phenomenal album and introduction to the genre!

[@andrewfroese1067]

Dummy is easily one of the most well-crafted, fully-realized debut albums ever.

[@getthoseskills4451]

Part of Bristol's amazing music and art scene. Also home to Banksy, Massive Attack, Tricky, Smith and Mighty, Kosheen, Roni Size, DJ Krust, Allflaws

[@calebrains7795]

‘It Could Be Sweet’ is an absolute BANGER

[@ellie-ys3qz]

I never realized how large the green screen album cover was compared to the actual ones until now

[@WalrusFPGA]

The "Live at the Rosemont" DVD is essential viewing for any fans of this.

[@JimPea]

This album is the sound of nostalgia for me, my dad played it a bunch when it came out, I have no idea what kind of effect it had on my tiny child brain, but I'm sure it made me cooler.

[@r.h.f.6073]

100%, my dad used to play this all the time as well. i think trip-hop has deeply influenced how i think good music sounds like.

[@notaperson9831]

Same with my mom. It totally made us cooler lol

[@KevinStudent]

This album holds up so well!

[@bugbear89]

Didn't expect to see a review for one of my fav albums. I like coming here to check out new stuff but I also definitely like to hear thoughts on classics.

[@menswear2112]

I’ve been listening to this record for 26 years and I STILL find it fresh ans sophisticated

[@BudBonkerson]

If you haven’t seen it, before this album Portishead actually made their own short spy film called 'To Kill a Dead Man', the soundtrack of which is a precursor to the palette of this album. Also, it’s where the photo on the album art comes from. It’s on KZbin, if you wanna check it out.

[@Tomanna]

Do you know what it's called?

[@FrancoLaSpina]

@@Tomanna i think its called "To Kill a Dead Man"

[@BudBonkerson]

@@FrancoLaSpina yeah this is it, edited my original comment

[@InsignificantNick]

Portishead introduced me to trip hop and I'm forever thankful!

[@N1ght_walk]

“I’ve become so numb.....!” Whoops! Wrong song.

[@dylanlevey9847]

I LITERALLY listened to this last night. Melon, should we get married?

[@giladrosenfeld7025]

You shouldn't

[@Cesxr._]

Melon is contemplating

[@patrice1388]

You can't he's already married Unless 😝

[@zackzallie8735]

I listened to this a week before the review. So, it's a threesome, then?

[@wk4max]

LoVE Blue lines,and Tricky BuT DUMMY is on another level

[@joshlaclair2569]

Strangers has my favorite beat evarrr.

[@TheCamSays]

I just finished listening to the album. Beautifully done album.

[@theHouseOfPsychoticHealing]

Beth and i share the same Birthday! (January 4) I remember discovering this band waaay back in 1999 when i was 11 and it was the early days of napster!! Along with massive attack, tricky, and a couple others. These bands definitely opened the door to a plethora of ther music genres and bands that i still love to this day. Portishead will always be one of my absolute favourite bands!! The Roseland NYC love album/show is definitely my favourite album(?) or show(?). Anyhow, thanks for reviewing this!

[@frmindchaser8600]

There's this before and after I listened to Dummy for the first time in my life that I will never forget, thanks for this review Melon!

[@ZachGWatterson]

This is why Bristol is an important milestone in the music industry.

[@lelabotoxique]

One of my all-time fav LPs. Still sounds amazing 27 years later.

[@WrenWilliamWerner]

Oh man - this album still holds up 27 years later - so happy you did a review on this. So many artists influenced by this seminal album.

[@liambrocious9496]

Couple years ago I started a landscaping job that allowed me to listen to music for pretty much 10/11 hours straight. Obviously, after a couple hours you get really sick of the things you normally listen to, so I started listening to artists and albums that I had only really ever heard of maybe one song or just heard the name before. I knew Glory Box so this album became one to start playing. Literally from the first listen all the way through this become one of my favorite albums and still is, and really helped me through that shitty, shitty job. Nice review Melon 👌

[@jamesburky]

Third is also a 10, though not nearly as influential

[@ConsecDesign]

Let's be honest... The self titled album is also a 10

[@DrJimmy93]

I prefer third but I think I'm on my own

[@jamesburky]

@@DrJimmy93 nope! I’m with you on that one

[@charliberry8893]

‘Sad, eerie slappers’ is the nastiest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. Great review, though.

[@BigDaddyZakk420]

Brings a god damn tear to my eye, to see my baby Melon review one of the most seminal albums of the past four decades. Christmas came late, but come it did.

[@Descro382]

About freaking time man, you've had Dummy just sitting on the shelf in so many reviews lol

[@Paulito-ym4qc]

One of my favorite albums of all time. My favorite track is probably "It's a fire", and when i first bought the vinyl and realized it's not on there, i got sad :(

[@AmateurishAstronaut]

I feel like this record, Tricky’s first album and Bristol trip hop in general were the precursor to Billie Eilish and that modern moody/cinematic sound.

[@tatorusia6057]

I visited Bristol 3 years ago. My band had a gig there, we flew to Bristol all the way from Republic of Georgia, our first gig abroad. It was a dream like experience, to play in city that gave a birth to a true Giants of music humanity has ever witnessed. To walk Roads they walked to drink with Strangers in random bars, to Wander in the streets that gave birth to such an overwhelming emotion that shaped these pivotal artists. This experience ignited a Fire in my heart a fire that after all this years still helps me to get over these Sour Times. Long Live to Bristol, Glory to Portishead. They are on the Top of my Pedestal and will be till Im dead and Numb.

[@PatrickTK21]

Was waiting for Fantano's Beth Gibbons impersonation and he totally delivered less than 3 minutes in

[@imaginekudryavka9485]

This album has been quite influental on my own music style, mostly subconsciously. When I was showing my brothers a few of my songs, he immediately said it sounds like triphop and I was like, holy crap, it kind of does. Glory Box and Wandering Star are outstanding... oh and Roads and Sour Times are good, too. What an album!

[@atrainradio929]

Absolute classic album. This is one hell of a listening experience

[@henrypollock874]

Growing up in the town of Portishead as a child my neighbour was the mother of the lead singer. Her name was Sue and she was a sweetheart...

[@Jardonius]

I found Wandering Star as a cover by a beatboxer named Kid Beyond... Spent years just enjoying his cover until I finally looked up the original. Spent a very long time after just enjoying Wandering Star, afraid that the rest of their music would not have the same vibe. How absolutely wrong I was. I get chills just writing this message, for these songs have been with me through so much now, and will be with me through so much more to come~

[@CelestialGalaxy7]

Portishead is still in my top 5 of all time.

[@drexmexler]

One of the best albums ever.

[@benwayman2478]

I’ve been really groovin on this album all week thanks to your livestream last weekend. Great record thanks for putting me on to it melon

[@gabejohnson97]

If you blast Roads while driving upwards of 55mph, the tremulating Rhodes organ part goes in and out of cancelling the white noise from the road and creates this surreal anti-beat that gives your ears that two-tab comeup feeling. 11/10 would recommend.

[@r.h.f.6073]

this is may favorite album of all time. trip-hop is such an insanely under-appreciated genre. hard to come by these kinds of vibes in any other style of music.

[@taljdwr9527]

trip hop! let's go! Mezzanine next!

[@MShectman]

Great review for a great album. That’s all you have to say about Roads though!?!? It’s one of the most haunting, beautiful, and vulnerable tracks on the whole album. I get it though. With an album like this, where it carries such a heavy and consistent vibe, you run the risk of repeating yourself.

[@nickmillo8367]

The amount of times Cosmogramma has been in the background of melon's videos I'm certain it's going to end up in a classics review of its own one day

[@joselyn6303]

This is one of my favorite albums, it’s good to see others appreciate it too.

[@SurferRosa]

THE BEST ALBUM EVER

[@thebitchisback8910]

Hands down the best album I’ve ever listened to, I love music and I have heard many albums fully through and man many songs, Every song on here just touches the soul of loneliness, Pain, Self caring, innocence, maturity, So smooth like honey, Yet goes down in a rough way as you relate more and more, This album was waaaay ahead of its time, It never got the credit it truly deserved. 🔮🖤🔥

[@nagichampa9866]

one of my favorite records of all time!

[@IsaacEternal]

This albums insane.

[@andreswmontoyamusic]

this is one of my favorite albums of all time.

[@seaweedproductions1116]

The first time I heard this album was about 3 and a half years ago, and the setting I was in made my listening experience extremely memorable, and atmospheric. 7th grade math class, in the library working so the only sound was keys clacking on keyboard, it was slightly cold in there, so I was in a big sweater, and it was grey and rainy outside. I still remember hearing this album, and being blow away by the vocal performance in particular. It's such a great, and moody LP. Thanks for reviewing it Melon.

[@AGrrrlsTwoSoundCents]

That groove on 'Pedestal' just HITS every time. Timeless classic

[@lewislastname7338]

WOOOP I GREW UP WITH THIS BAND IM DIDNT EXPECT YOU TO REVIEW IT

[@carianoff]

This album changed my life in 1995. Like, I just sat there in quiet awe, and then listened to it again.

[@Wstarlights]

Fantastical musicality is what drives the Portishead experience for me - and keeps me alive throughout all the feels..

[@rlynch1980]

Keep rolling out the classics good sir! It’s like 1994 all over again...

[@stabyourcat]

Portishead have never made a bad song. Fight me.

[@CondoYT]

He’s delaying the WLR review just like Carti delayed the drop

[@Colossian316]

It’s classic week

[@tomasb6623]

WLR is a 4

[@markov_process]

This record I found right as I was turning 18 and started me on a journey to discovering some amazing music later on.

[@schwany6703]

like what

[@InspirationalAmoeba]

Mr. Fantano, I love this album and I’m glad you’re reviewing it, but you’ve had the Cosmogramma record in the background since the gorrilaz review two months ago.