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*** Portishead, “Roseland NYC Live,” London. If the cold claustrophobia of the British group’s last album marked a step backward, this live set recorded in New York with a symphony orchestra confirms Portishead as one of the most enigmatic figures in pop today--daring enough to release a live album after only two studio releases, and creative enough to pull it off. Portishead’s new sound, mixing the usual trip-hop gimmicks with majestic live strings, is hypnotic and cinematic.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.