I saw the 24 bit vinyl rip of this perfect album and I had to post it immediately. More to follow, but I've been drinking.
From Andrew McGuire at Modern Music:
With Dummy, their 1994 debut, Portishead not only created a classic of turntable-derived soul, but defined their sound so exhaustively as to spawn a host of imitators. So what to do for a follow-up? As it happened, the answer was simple--refine the template. This self-titled album simply ups the ante on everything that made their debut so special: the brooding sense of menace, that deep streak of romantic fatalism. Much is made of the cinematic quality of Portishead's music--and indeed, many of these tracks sound like they should be accompanying some existentialist spy flick from the mid-1960s. But ultimately, it's singer Beth Gibbons that's their greatest asset: her vocals gliding effortlessly from the furious ("Cowboys") to the forlorn ("Mourning Air"); from the exuberant ("All Mine") to the exhausted ("Only You")--and all set to the group's most ambitious and expansive arrangements to date. A majestic, damaged and frequently terrifying masterpiece.
Technical Information:
Artist: Portishead
Album: Portishead
Year: 1997
Audio Codec(s): FLAC
Encoding: Lossless
Rip: Vinyl Rip
Avg. bitrate: 2888 kb/s
Sample rate: 96000 Hz
Bits per sample: 24
Channels: 2
File size: 1 GB
Length: 0:49:58
Tracklisting:
Side A:
01. Cowboys (4:38)
02. All Mine (4:00)
Side B:
03. Undenied (4:19)
04. Closing (3:48)
05. Over (3:56)
Side C:
06. Humming (6:01)
07. Mourning Air (4:11)
08. Seven Months (4:15)
Side D:
09. Only You (4:59)
10. Elysium (5:55)
11. Western Eyes (3:58)
Portishead Megaupload Link