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Usually, groups wait until they've released at least three or four records before putting out a live album, but PNYC was too good an idea for Portishead to turn down. Recorded with a full orchestra on a cold, rainy day shortly after the release of their second record, Portishead, the project doubled as a live album and the soundtrack for a BBC documentary. In addition to being economical and perhaps lucrative, the disc demonstrates how sampled and sequenced music can be re-created in concert without losing any of the charm or dynamics of the original recordings. All it takes is a 22-piece string section, some horns, and a band whose tightness is exceeded only by its creativity. 

At times the performances on PNYC sound even more breathtaking and cinematic than Portishead's original recordings, as humming theremin, skittery scratching, and gliding strings mingle with stealthy guitar lines and sultry vocals. For Portishead, sour times seem like a distant memory. — (via Jon Wiederhorn)
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Newly remastered, the tracklist has been expanded to include ‘Undenied’ and ‘Numb’ from the concert film, as well as the full length performance of ‘Western Eyes’, which played in part over the credits of the film. ‘Sour Times’ and ‘Roads’ are also now the original Roseland versions (previously substituted on the album release with recordings from other performances). All five of these tracks will be on vinyl for the first time.

Portishead’s Adrian Utley, who oversaw the full production of the reissue, said: “I’ve always held the memory of this show which we played before our second album was released. This was the first time an audience had heard the new tunes and it was put together to launch that album. “Great care was taken over the orchestrations and look of the filming. It preceded a year long World tour for us. Recorded and Filmed in the legendary Roseland Ballroom in New York which unfortunately doesn’t exist any more. This reissue has 3 tracks that were not released before and we’ve re-mastered all of them.”

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Label: Universal Music Recordings
Format: 2x Vinyl, LP, Album, Deluxe Edition, Reissue, Remastered, 25th Anniversary Edition, Gatefold, Red
Country: Europe
Released: Apr 26, 2024 / Original Release: Nov 2, 1998
Genre: Electronic
Style: Downtempo, Acid Jazz, Trip Hop
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File under: Downtempo