Stunning, and highly addictive; one of the best albums ever

In my opinion, Dummy is one of the best albums ever made; it's right up there with Radiohead's The Bends and Ok Computer, U2's Achtung Baby and Bjork's Post. I bought this cd in 1996 after hearing "Sour Times" for the first time since high school. It sounded like something from a 21th century James Bond movie - slick, seductive, dangerous. I bought the cd and soon became addicted to it. It was the only electronic music cd, beside Bjork's Post, that I owned at the time, so it was definitely a departure from my usual musical tastes.

From the opening of "Mysterons", I knew that I was listening to something completely unique - the eerie ghost sounds, the groove from the interacting bass and percussion, and of course Beth Gibbons' heartbreakingly beautiful voice. "Sour Times" follows with its infectious spy-themed sound, and is still one of the best songs on the cd. "Strangers" adds a hip-hop feel with it's grinding bass line. Next is "It Could be Sweet", which is another of my favorites on the album. Here, we are transported to a smoky, ultra-chic lounge where Beth Gibbons sings us a tale of heartbreak. This track is about as bluesy and jazzy as electronic music can get. "Wandering Star" picks up the pace with a throbbing bass line and a very catchy hook. "It's a Fire" is a bit more lush and sweeping and less bass-heavy. "Numb" brings back the hip-hop sound with some inspired record scratching, and features some a unique percussion, another of my favorites. "Roads" creates less of a groove, but is instead quite orchestral. "Pedestal" is another jazzy, bluesy song that infuses a lot of hip-hop elements, another favorite of mine. The groove continues with "Biscuit", which offers a lot of sampling. And there could not be a better ending than "Glory Box", mellow and soulful, featuring distorted guitar sounds as well as some of Beth Gibbons' best vocals.

To my friends and I, this cd has become the definition of cool, and although some would consider it too dark and depressing, I thing it's an inspiring and majestic piece of art. Dummy has become our after-party, chill-out, mellow-down music. This cd has also opened my eyes to other great trip-hop artists like Tricky and Massive Attack, and to electronic artists in general, like Chemical Brothers, Moby and Air. When Portishead's second album Portishead came out in 1997, I rushed to get it. Although it is also a very good album, I don't think it's as ground-breaking as this cd. Dummy is not over-rated as some people say; I think that it is worthy of every word of praise it has received. It is simply a marvelous, innovative, fully-realized, high-quality album.