1994 Dream Theater & Portishead: The Dummy Awakes

I imagine that DT's Awake will get the most votes, but this apples and oranges 1994 poll is not a contest. I chose to pit a favourite of mine not in PA from 1994, Portishead's Dummy, against the most popular album according to the charts in PA for 1994, which is Dream Theater's Awake (I did not know that that would be the top-ranked album at PA for 1994 until I checked). I was going to do this as tracks, but opted not to.

I'll post just the first two tracks off each album to give a taste of both (feel free to vote just based on these tracks without hearing the full albums).









There is purposefully no both or neither option.

Commentary is appreciated.

DT

Portishead.

More original and interesting than DT.

A Crimson Mellotron wrote: DT - Awake, I don't know the other band.

If one doesn't know both albums I'm fine with just comparing the tracks I posted to inform the vote (if those are available in your country, which they might not be). I would request that people don't vote without hearing something of both albums at the least.

It's an apples and oranges comparison, but still intended to be a comparison (which does require listening to music from both if one is not already familiar with both albums). Like I said "feel free to vote just based on these tracks without hearing the full albums".

Edited by Logan - March 02 2021 at 01:24

Hmmmmm...... this one wasn’t a no brainer! 🤔😉

Logan wrote: As a self-confirmed zombie, I dislike no-brainers. Mmmm, more brains. I could surely do with more brain, be I a zombie or not. I do expect that we will get a quite a few voters who unfortunately are not at all familiar with both albums. Anyway, I'm always much more interested in the commentary and discussion than the votes themselves. I hadn't listened to Awake (at least not in full) before making this poll, but then I hadn't known that Awake would be the number one album at PA (had my methodology down for the PA choice before searching, whereas I went with the Portishead just case I wanted to compare it to something). Had it been the number two ranked album (Epilog by Anglagard), then I would have already had both in my collection. It's good, this forced me to listen to a new album that is somewhat out of my comfort zone (I have enjoyed DT's debut the most).

Awake (number 3 in my top of Dream Theater). And I also like/have this CD of Portishead.

^ Gotta say I do like Morchheeba's album Big Calm a lot, and to me it does have Portishead similarities. Morcheeba came a little later than Portishead (I mean they overlap in 90s active years). It's first release was 1996 and was formed in 1995 while Portishead's Dummy was 1994 and Portishead was formed in 1991.
Portishead as I recall was one of those acts that was talked about so much in the 90s, and it surprised me that more albums weren't released due the impact I have thought it had (was also playing clubs of course ). I got into Portishead late even though I knew the name and had heard some music much earlier. Just those two 90s albums (1994 and the self-titled in 1997), which I think were both great in their way, and then that 2008 one which I haven't heard. Of course it released a lot of singles, got airplay.... Portishead was influential and innovative. Trip Hop is a wide net. I wish I knew more about the scenes at the time, although there's lot of music that I would loosely relate to Portishead. Dummy in particular I think was a really significant album that is quite seminal in its way. I went get into whether Awake or Portishead had the bigger musical impact, although I am quite confident that it would be the Portishead, and that that album would be more likely to make varied great albums of the 90s lists.

I'm just rambling. I wanted to post a little blast from the 90s past courtesy of Blue Jam:

"Hey, Portishead, when you play live, how about some strip-hop? Boozy girl naked, very pleasant."

DT