Bristol, England’s Portishead are trip hop pioneers who have the unique ability to synthesize numerous musical styles into an evocative mood and feeling that defines their sound. The finest example of this is on 1997’s sultry “Only You.” This is Portishead’s signature song, and with good reason.
The breakdown of the soul in attempting to open one’s heart to the love of another is at play here. The hopelessness and depression of living a life without love is eloquently discussed in the lyrics. “We suffer everyday/what is it for/These crimes of illusion, are fooling us all/And now I am weary and I feel like I do/It’s only you, who can tell me apart/And it’s only you, who can turn my wooden heart.” Though minimal, as the production and rest of this song is as well, the power of the expression in lead singer Beth Gibbons’ voice carries the entirety of the gravity of that emotion. To be able to tell someone apart from their emotional shield is the key defining factor of making love true, honest and real.
The production here including a scratch sampled from The Pharcyde’s “She Said,” as well as a snippet of a movement from an orchestral piece of a Pink Panther film is so emotional that it levitates the track to the level of moving from love song to exotic love expression. Having a broken heart, or being crippled by concern for your soul’s well being are two of the hallmark concessions one must make to letting love back into their lives. “Only You”‘s most defining eloquence is in intensely and wholly divesting itself into discovering the root of that pain, exposing it, and denying it’s future existence.
There’s something in the co-mingling of voice and production here that is absolutely undeniable. DO take a listen, and if a fan already, reacquaint yourself with the delirious beauty contained therein.
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