50 ft Queenie: The long overdue PJ Harvey thread

[Kaius]

Well, I started the PJ Harvey trek at my go-to safe place when hearing new music, the beginning.

Dry - What a way to shoot out of the gate. It's dark, dirty, and sexy. I love it. Its the kind of debut that makes it hard for the next record to not disappoint (which I'm about to listen to).
There's some very fine lines separating these songs, but I'm gonna rank em since I haven't ranked anything in awhile.

Happy and Bleeding
Dress
O Stella
Hair
Oh My Lover
Victory

Plants and Rags
Sheela Na Gig
Joe

Water
Fountain

Such a solid album.

[Lament]

I'm a but surprised to see Sheela Na Gig not in the first group for you. That was one of her early "classics." I really like Water & Fountain too. Though to be fair, I like the whole album.

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the Rid of Me. That's one of those records that there's really nothing else in the history of popular music to compare to. It's stunning, but it's not an easy album to listen to regularly.

[zeb]

Rid Of Me is top three PJ for me.

[Lament]

I listen to To Bring You My Love, Is This Desire, Stories from the City, and Let England Shake way more often than I do Rid of Me, but when I do listen to Rid of Me, I find myself thinking it could be her best if I'm in the right mood.

[Kaius]

I'm a but surprised to see Sheela Na Gig not in the first group for you. That was one of her early "classics." I really like Water & Fountain too. Though to be fair, I like the whole album.

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the Rid of Me. That's one of those records that there's really nothing else in the history of popular music to compare to. It's stunning, but it's not an easy album to listen to regularly.

Ya, Sheela Na Gig is fantastic, don't get me wrong. It just gets a little stale for me before the others. It probably carries my favorite lyric of the album though "Look at these my child-bearing hips" I just love the delivery on that line.

[Lament]

I'm a sucker for the way she sings "Gonna wash that man right out of my hair."

[Kaius]

I'm getting into my 2nd listen on Rid of Me and this is when an album usually either clicks or doesn't. This has been Kaius's none news report.

[Lament]

It helps if you're really emotionally tormented.

[Kaius]

Oh am I ever

[Lament]

The song "Missed" absolutely annihilates me every single time. Probably one of my three favorite songs of hers.

I wish the album was mastered louder. Fucking Albini. A lot of times I opt to listen to the 4-Track Demos instead of Rid of Me for that very reason.

[Kaius]

Have you seen the remastered versions on youtube by user "zararity"? I prefer their version of Dry (album) to the original. He/She did the same for Rid of Me. As a long time fan, feel free to let me know if this person actually ruined these songs. (Srsly)

I just found Dry to be somewhat muted, especially after hearing what this person was able to pull out of them. And Rid of Me sounds incredible.

[Lament]

Oh yeah? I have not. I am gonna have to look for those.

[Kaius]

Rid of Me(song) is so fucking sexy. Hot damn.

[stip]

I'm on my second listen of songs from the city. I'll be reporting back on Friday after 1-2 more.

[Kaius]

Ok, so I definitely prefer Dry to Rid Of Me, but I can also appreciate RoM for the unique expression that it is. It's not trying to do the same thing that Dry is, and thank god for artists like her for that.

I especially enjoy that first run of songs 1-5, though I originally wanted to end it with Rub Til It Bleeds and decided to include Hook since it gets pretty weird after that.

The Man-Size / Man-Size Sextet relationship is cool, though I'd rather listen to the former. I'm don't think I like the inclusion of Hwy '61 on the album (not a knock on her version(which is good), just a knock on artists' including covers on albums in general).

After that, tracks 8-14 are pretty consistently good, not too low or too high anywhere.
So for now:

Rid Of Me
Rub Til It Bleeds
Missed
Legs
Hook

Ecstasy
Dry

Yuri-G
50ft Queenie
Man-Size
Me-Jane

Snake
Man-Size Sextet

Highway '61 Revisited

[Lament]

Does this mean you're moving on to To Bring You My Love, Kaius? That album is a beast.

[Kaius]

It's in my possession, waiting on me to allot to it the time and attention it likely deserves.

[Lament]

I'm turned on just thinking about it. I think I might put it on right now myself...

[Mojopin]

Saw her at The Gorge back in the mid 90's. She was fantastic!

[stip]

Okay, so I've listened to songs from the city 4 times. It's made me want to be a fan of hers, but this album isn't going to do it. I'm impressed with her, but I just don't really care for most of the songs. It's hard to put my finger on what it is. It's a bit too loud, a bit too upfront and in some cases a bit too obvious. I wasn't really drawn into any of the stories. The album had a bit of a Liz Phair/Sleater Kinney vibe, and I wanted a bit more of the Liz Phair and a bit less of the Sleater kinney.

I'm not really expressing this well. It was an album I really wanted to like, but there aren't enough moments in it to draw me back in, despite the fact that she almost always sounds good. I think what I really want is something more ambitious. She felt bigger and more interesting than what she was working with her. I have to bring you my love, which I've never really listened to beyond Down by the Water (which I like a lot). I'm gonna give that shot. I feel like I could really get into her if I find the right set of songs.

My favorites were Big Exit, A Place Called Home and We Float

Wicked Tongue, Good Fortune, and You Said Something were also good. I'd like these songs more (I think) with some stronger tracks surrounding them.

Beautiful Feeling/One Line/Whores Hustle/This Mess We're In/Horses in My Dream were okay

I didn't like Kamikaze or This is Love.