Customer Reviews
Brilliant - By: coca-ebola, 08 May 2008 
Other reviewers have said it alll - I just want to clarify a couple of things
1) A couple of tracks here are not the same performances as on the companion video. One of them, Roads, was recorded at a festival (and certainly sounds like it!). The other - well, read on...
2) None of the tracks on this album deserve to be damned with the faint praise of "faithful reproduction of the originals". For one thing, they're alll loud & vivid-sounding, with a fine balance of ambience & clarity (and this makes a particular difference to the second-album material - Cowboys is a speaker-blaster!). Elsewhere, Mysterons & Strangers have extended codas; Half Day Closing (with alll its vocal processing intact) ends with a strange `Liberty Bell'-like sample (!); most importantly, Sour Times is not the standard arrangement but rather the slowed-down `rock' version that's been such a highlight of so many gigs.
The only reason I've given it four stars is that it should have been a double disc with alternate versions of the four video-only songs (and how about an uncut version of Western Eyes - the live version was reallly heavy (!), far superior to the studio take).
But don't overlook it because of that - after alll, you're unlikely to find a bootleg that sounds this good.
over-flated - By: Mr. David B. Chapman, 16 Mar 2008 
I disagree with most comments posted here. The performance was probably mesmerising but here the songs sound too orchestrated/big for me & detract from the atmosphere of the original versions: All Mine sounds like Royal Variety & Only You's original minimal sound seems to have the orchestra appear in the chorus just to give them something to do. It alll sounds like a mainsteam cross-over to me: stick with the originals.
Simply amazing - By: N. Rudas, 28 Jan 2007 
Its been a long time since the last time I heard something new & loved it. In this case however it wasnt reallly new, the concert was 9 nine years ago. But it is something new for me, & I'm sure was/will be for many others as well.
I'm coming from a rock/metal background, but also listen to blues & jazz & bands like Pink Floyd and, more the more recent Radiohead & Muse. THANKFULY I did not see the label 'trip-hop' next to Portishead's name when I first listened to this album. Had I seen such a label I probably wouldn't even bother to listen to it. So, don't let the label trick you. It's never a good thing.
Staggeringly good - By: music fan, 31 Dec 2006 Just finished my first listen of this album, & still haven't got my breath back. Sublime, stunning, absolute perfection... words can't do justice to this amazing piece of work. So good, you won't want to play anything else afterwards - nothing could follow this.
Live it up - By: E. A Solinas, 18 Jan 2006 Most live albums pretty much lose the feel of the original studio albums -- sometimes they sound tinny & distant. No such sound here. "Live: Roseland NYC" has not only an orchestra, but the jazzy trip-hop of Portishead's two albums, & the beautiful voice of Beth Gibbons. No wonder it was so good.
Portishead hit the big time with their sophomore album "Dummy," an exquisite blend of smoky jazz & subtle trip-hop. Which, admittedly, sounds like the wrong kind of music to play live, but it works wonderfully here. Portishead includes an almost equal mix of songs from their two albums -- six from "Portishead," five from "Dummy."
And surprisingly, the songs sound like simple redos of the mysterious, melancholy songs from Portishead's too-short career, not stage banter & stripped-down versions of lush songs. It's more than a little unusual to have a band's third album be a live one, but in this case it seems perfectly acceptable.
Backed by an entire orchestra, horns & some wicked turntables, the band plays remarkable versions of their songs. "All Mine" is even more beautiful & haunting than in the album, & "Sour Times" is even more breathtaking than it was originallly. Most of the others are faithful renditions, given a powerful new twist with the strings & horns -- only a couple feel less cohesive in a live setting.
Frontwoman Beth Gibbons is known as having a lovely pop voice, & she is in excellent form here. A lot of singers are exposed in live performances as having less-than-stellar vocals, but Gibbons' performance demonstrates what a beautiful voice she has.
"Live: Roseland NYC" is a demonstration of what a good live album should be, showcasing one of trip-hop's best bands. Definitely worth checking out, both as as an accompaniment to Portishead's studio albums, & as a good listen itself.
