#405: Rid Of Me- PJ Harvey

Listened to: MP3

I believe in my last review I made it abundantly clear what admiration and adoration I have for Ms. Polly Jean Harvey. Rid Of Me is her second album, which was recorded by Steve Albini, who is responsible for the sound of such albums as The Pixies’ Surfer Rosa and Nirvana‘s In Utero. The album starts off with the title track, and is an example of the habit PJ has that I’m not so much a fan of, which is keeping that fantastically jarring, emotive voice hidden behind all the other instruments. Thankfully, the track picks up volume, if only for moments, on the midpoint of the song, on the “Don’t you don’t you wish you never never met her?”s. Lyrically, the song is dark, violent, erotic, just like PJ Harvey songs should be. What it’s about, beyond bondage and leg licking, well, I leave that up to interpretation. But god damn if it isn’t a great start. The second track, “Missed”, keeps the ethereal feel of the first track, and of the music that would come on To Bring You My Love, and PJ’s voice is easier to hear, thankfully, so you can more appreciate that lilting agony she carries in each lyric. Lines like “Show yourself to me/And I'd believe/I'd moan and I'd weep/Fall silent at your speak/I'd burst in/Full to the brim” are so serenely, painfully beautiful that you need only read them and feel the emotion wash over you. Matched with Harvey’s vocals, and you have a tremendous musical moment.

“Legs” has a bizarre guitar track and Harvey taking on an odd vocal tone, yet it all works in this thinly heavy track that, well, I really don’t know the meaning of. But listen to those wails. The power in this woman’s voice is astounding. “Rub It ‘Til It Bleeds” is lyrically, by far, one of Harvey’s creepiest songs. “I lie steady/Rest your head on me/I'll smooth it nicely/Rub it better 'till it bleeds” is song so sensually as to almost be sexy, were one not paying attention to the words being sung. The song switches from that smoky feel into heavy guitars and pounding drums, and if for nothing else but the sheer musical dynamics of this track, it’s worth a listen.
“Hook” moves into the story-telling type songs you find a lot on To Bring You My Love, this time the story of a woman in love, abandoned by her lover, an reduced to nothing. The medieval, tragic feel of the lyrics is contrasted by the buried vocals, the industrial feel of the production, and the sound of what seems like a trash can being pounded. Harvey is like the anti-Jim Morrison, in the sense that she composes fantastic lyrical poetry, but hides them in instrumentation and melody, rather than try to bring them to the forefront as Morrison often did. “Man-Size Sextet” is inexplicably sexy in it’s lyrical imagery musical composition, and is one of the best tracks on the album, without a doubt. I could describe it further, but I’d rather leave it vague and encourage you to seek it out yourself.

The next two tracks are the best on the album, without a doubt. Harvey’s interpretation of “Highway ‘61 Revisited” by Bob Dylan is refreshingly and blessedly unique, shattering the mold of Dylan covers being, well, anything like the original. Even if you don’t enjoy what she did with the song, you have to admire the originality. “50ft Queenie” is the first Harvey track I’ve ever heard (played on WFUV junior year, if I remember correctly) and so began my fascination with Miss Polly Jean. This is probably the most commercially accessible song from this album, which is why they released it as a single. This track fits in the Jane‘s Addiction, RHCP world of the 90’s music industry, but the song is made unique by Harvey’s voice, and her typically perplexing, violently sexual lyrics. For anyone looking to dip their toe into the water of PJ Harvey, this is a great track to start with.

The album continues with “Yuri-G”, “Dry”, “Me-Jane”, “Snake”, and “Ecstasy”, but if I haven’t convinced you to listen to this album yet, praising four more tracks won’t help (plus, I’m trying to give as good a review as possible while saving time to catch up on all of these reviews that are well over-due).

So, in conclusion, Rid Of Me is another great album by PJ Harvey that I recommend, however, I would choose To Bring You My Love or Stores From The City, Stories From The Sea over it. Just saying. It deserves a place on this list, and for those interested, I would say it’s worth a listen, but listen to just “50ft Queenie”, then the other two albums, first. Come to this later. You’ll appreciate it much more then.

-Mike

See you next for #69: Superfly by Curtis Mayfield.