Portishead – Roseland NYC Live [2× Red Vinyl LP]

Portishead – Roseland NYC Live [2× Red Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: 2× Vinyl LP, Album, 25th Anniversary Edition, Gatefold, Stereo, Reissue
• Catalogue Number: 5568931
• Barcode: 602455689313
• Genre: Trip-Hop / Electronic / Alternative
• Label: Go! Beat / Universal Music
• Originally Released: November 1998
• Reissue Released: 26 April 2024
• Vinyl Colour: Solid Red
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Roseland NYC Live is one of the most celebrated live albums ever made — a record that transcends the conventions of the format and stands, as many listeners have observed, as something close to a studio album in its own right. Recorded and filmed at New York's Roseland Ballroom on 24 July 1997, it captured Bristol trio Portishead — Beth Gibbons, Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley — performing with a 28-piece orchestra in what was conceived as both a concert event and the launch vehicle for their second album Portishead. The performance was the first time any audience had heard the new material live, and the orchestral arrangements — devised specifically for the show — transformed the existing catalogue into something cinematic and emotionally overwhelming. Originally released in November 1998 on Go! Beat Records, the live album and accompanying concert film have together sold over one million copies worldwide.

The original album release had a significant omission that Portishead themselves acknowledged: two tracks on the original vinyl — "Sour Times" and "Roads" (Side C) — were substituted with recordings from other performances rather than the actual Roseland show. This 25th Anniversary Edition corrects that, replacing them with the original Roseland versions of both tracks and expanding the tracklist from 11 to 14 tracks with three additions previously unreleased in any format: "Undenied" and "Numb" (drawn from the concert film footage), and the full-length performance of "Western Eyes", which previously appeared only in truncated form over the film's closing credits. All five new-to-vinyl tracks are presented here for the first time. The entire album has been newly remastered by Adrian Utley, who personally oversaw the production of this edition.

The remastered sound has been widely praised by collectors and audiophiles as a significant step forward from all previous pressings — pressed at Optimal Media GmbH in Germany, with reviewers consistently describing it as among the finest-sounding records in their collections. The tracklist encompasses the most celebrated moments from both Dummy (1994) and Portishead (1997): "Glory Box", "Sour Times", "Roads", "Mysterons", "Cowboys", and "All Mine" all appear transformed by the orchestral context into something simultaneously familiar and entirely new.

This limited edition pressing is presented on 2× solid red vinyl in a deluxe gatefold sleeve, and includes a double-sided fold-out poster and a faithful reproduction of the backstage VIP pass used at the original 1997 Roseland concert — a genuinely collectable physical package that does justice to one of the most important live recordings in British music history.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Humming
2. Cowboys
3. All Mine

Side B

1. Mysterons
2. Only You
3. Half Day Closing
4. Over

Side C

1. Glory Box
2. Sour Times (original Roseland version — vinyl debut)
3. Roads (original Roseland version — vinyl debut)

Side D

1. Strangers
2. Undenied (previously unreleased on vinyl)
3. Numb (previously unreleased on vinyl)
4. Western Eyes (full-length version — vinyl debut)

Credits

• Beth Gibbons – Vocals
• Geoff Barrow – Programming, Turntables
• Adrian Utley – Guitar, Remastering, Production (25th Anniversary Edition)
• Wil Malone – Orchestral Arrangements
• Dave McDonald – Original Recording, Mix
• Label – Go! Beat / Universal Music