User Score
Universal acclaim- based on 198 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 166 out of 198
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Mixed: 18 out of 198
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Negative: 14 out of 198
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- Most helpful
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MitchellZ.May 1, 2008
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AlexA.Apr 30, 2008Their best and most emotional effort yet.
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ChrisS.May 22, 2008It's their best album so far. It's no easy-listening, and it takes some time, but it's definetely worth the effort. I LOVE IT!
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JeremyFApr 29, 2008Some really amazing tracks ("The Rip", "We Carry On", "Machine Gun", and "Small") but the rest just kind of don't impress much. While there isn't any BAD tracks here, I would much rather go listen to Dummy ten times over.
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JimmyH.Apr 30, 2008Has some of their best songs (The Rip, Plastic) and also their worst (nylon smile). But being the worst Portishead song is like being the slowest ferrari. A solid effort overall.
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TomH.May 24, 2008Too many shortcomings for the makings of a classic: radio edit tracks, not much of an album theme, 6 good tracks.
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DaveMay 3, 2008
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AlanO.May 8, 2008
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Apr 28, 2011
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vincentMay 1, 2008The music's ok, but beth gibbons is always off-key. its driving me crazy.
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PaulMMay 2, 2008The only thing that sounds like Portishead on this album is Beth's great voice. They have crossed the fine line from moving the band in a new direction to completely abandoning the unique sound that Portishead is capable of. There's no rhythm, no electronic tweaking, and no way this album comes close to dummy or self titled.
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MartinS.Jun 30, 2008King's clothes. I am tired of being sold tush by reviewers too scared to be counted. This is neither ground breaking nor compelling. A record that deserved to be made? By all means. A masterpiece? It most certainly is not. Infantile, deliberately dark lyrics become repetetive and predictable. Tuneless and lumpy. I want a refund.
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marcgApr 29, 2008Good but not great.
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JoolsH.Apr 30, 2008The Masterpiece of the century.
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EdWApr 30, 2008Wow. Difficult and unmelodic. Anyone named Ray is hardly worth paying attention to.
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PatrickK.May 2, 2008Dull, dull dull! The songs go nowhere. You get a sense they could only stand each other's presence enough to throw some beats together and leave it at that. Where is the songcraft?
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JacobL.May 7, 2008Wow, what a dull album. Is this all it takes to impress people nowadays? Just some lame, thrown together beats and beth gibbons doing her "IM SAD" shitck, over and over again? Nothing happens on this album, just one unfinished attempt at songwriting after another. Bleh
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AlecWMay 6, 2008
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CatQJun 1, 2008Im really dissapointed with this album, the songs often seem to get stuck in a rut and portishead have ditched the sexy film noir melancholy they were always so good at creating. Maybe thats due to age but if theyre looking for new paths i dont think theyve found the right one yet
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MargotC.Jul 20, 2008This is dreadful. i don't know how the band let this go out of the studio - didn't they listen to it and go red with embarrassment? I can't see what is innovative about out of tune caterwauling over 1980s German techno-style synths - appalling. Quality control was lost somewhere in the sycophancy of success.
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PatK.Jul 3, 2008I just don't get the high ratings this has received. I find this CD unbearably boring.
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DanApr 29, 2008Has the whole world gone mad! This album is a piece of shit. It's no way near the quality of Portishead's other albums.
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JakeF.Apr 30, 2008Wow...I cannot believe the praise for this completely lackluster album. We waited 10 years for this?? Are you kidding me? The only real standout here is "The Rip" - everything else reeks of unreleased b-side material. Really - what have they been doing for the last decade. I did hear Beth's solo album a few years back and it was terrible - almost as bad as "Third".
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thomasb.May 1, 2008Her voice makes me cringe, but without it I would say that the album would prove a very interesting instrumental. I like the music, just hate the singer.
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TheodoreRooseveltMay 1, 2008It's meh. definitely overrated and definitely a disappointment..
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DMoneyMay 6, 2008Fitfully brilliant music, iffy vocals. Not much hip-hop, no sex to speak of. A job well done by Mr. Barrow and Mr. Utley. Beth Gibbons, get over yourself.
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CraigKJul 25, 2008When so many bands and albums have covered this same sound and style so much better, Portishead's Third sounds like a mediocre imitation. I would rather listen to old albums than this one.
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BrianJul 28, 2008I just don't get it. I loved the first two Portishead albums but this.. this is just pointless noise. I really don't get it.
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VinnyPMay 12, 2008I've tried listening to it...several times...and I'm still incredibly disappointed. The musicality is simple to the point of being boring. The few musical highlights get overused to make them boring as well. I don't understand the high marks here, other than Portishead is one of those bands that could s**t (which they did here) and the critics will love it.
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SteveOMay 31, 2008Hmmm... its different, ill give it that, but it doesnt take me anywhere.
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Awards & Rankings
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It's groove-deprived and difficult, and not in a particularly inventive way. [May 2008, p.78]
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Both ancient and futuristic, a mildewed signal from a more advanced culture that failed to survive the ice age, Third doesn’t make you pay attention to its desolate contours, but rather stare out of the window, creeping panic causing your mind to dart in a million dark directions at once.
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Long awaited comeback from Bristol trip-hop outfit proves worth the wait.