I always meant to get some of her records after I saw her live a few years ago and really liked her, but just never got around to it. With the release of her new album (which I haven't heard) I've decided it's about time I started listening to her, so what album would you recommend I get first?
2007-10-28 01:22:26 · 11 answers · asked by rukrym 4 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Music ➔ Rock and Pop
Laura:
No way, Thom Yorke! Amazing.
2007-10-28 03:47:25 · update #1
Yeah, she was pretty great live, definitely worth seeing if you get a chance.
2007-10-28 03:48:46 · update #2
Buzzkill:
Looks like I've got a few tough buying decisions. First Pavement and now this. I guess that's the one bad thing about great bands, everyone's got a different favourite album.
2007-10-29 04:01:13 · update #3
Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea is my favorite PJ Harvey album. And it features collaborations with Thom Yorke, who is another one of my favorite musicians. Dry is great too. It's one of her rawest albums. And I really think that it displays some of her most intriguing and interesting lyrics and melodies. And yeah, make sure to check out her new album, White Chalk. You'll see that it's quite different than most of her other stuff, but just as brilliant. Oh, and you got to see her live? That's fantastic. I've never seen her, but I'd really really love to.
2007-10-28 03:38:58 · answer #1 · answered by laura 4 · 7⤊ 0⤋
I kind of inexplicably jumped off the PJ Harvey train for no good reason (I still like really everything I've heard) so I can't really can't speak to the newer stuff. I think Rid of Me is my favorite record, but I really enjoy the first three in general. They're all just great records, you're right too. They have real different vibes which I appreciate a lot. Top 5 Songs: Long Snake Moan Plants and Rags Rub Til It Bleeds Me Jane Ecstacy *************** I'm in the middle on Rid of Me's production. I agree with you in the sense that it is nice in it's modest state (though I agree with Deke that they could have made it a little better, but still kept a low-fi charm), but I hate the fact that it's so poorly mastered. The overall volume of the album is just too low. Even if it had just been equalized it would have really positively impacted the record. Even if it is a matter of just having to turn it up and down it actually matters a surprising amount to me after many years of volume adjusting.
2016-03-13 11:29:45 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Best Pj Harvey Album
2016-10-15 12:39:53 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I always liked "Is this Desire?" best, maybe because it was my first. I think it's her turning point where she steps away a little from her first very raw and sometimes quite difficult musical approaches without becoming to much mainstream.
AMG's review:
"Retreating from the limelight after the tour for To Bring You My Love, PJ Harvey returned to her small hometown of Yeovil and isolated herself from most pop trends, eventually writing the material that would come to comprise her fourth album, Is This Desire? Released over three and a half years after To Bring You My Love, Is This Desire? has all the hallmarks of a record written in isolation; subtle, cerebral, insular, difficult to assimilate, it's the album where Polly Harvey enters the ranks of craftsmen, sacrificing confession for fiction. It's an inevitable transition for any artist, especially one as lyrically gifted as Harvey, and though her words are more obtuse and not as brutal, painful, or clever, she still draws some effective character sketches. Similarly, the music on Is This Desire? is hardly the immediate, blunt force that characterized her first albums, nor is it the grand theater of To Bring You My Love — it takes its time, slowly working its way into the subconsciousness. There are a few guitar explosions scattered throughout the record, but it's primarily a series of layered keyboards, electronic rhythms, and acoustic guitars; it's so quiet that at times it barely rises above a murmur, and occasionally floats away without leaving a lasting impression. It seems to challenge the listener to accept it on its own grounds, but once you dig deeper, it winds up offering diminishing rewards. It is more concerned with texture than any of her previous records, but it doesn't push forward enough — it's either standard hard rockers or mournful ballads underpinned by lite electronica beats, which would have more impact if they were more pronounced. Since Harvey is an extraordinarily gifted songwriter, the album is hardly devoid of merit, but it's her least focused or successful record to date."
Funny as always the least succesfull is my favourite, tststs.
2007-10-28 06:21:00 · answer #4 · answered by darkwood67 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with so many people here... Stories From The City, Stories From the Sea was amazing. Some of her best songs are on there. Alot of PJ's music can get pretty erratic, but Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea was alot more tamed, and not in a bad way. It was simply beautiful. And it doesn't hurt at all that Thom Yorke sand with her on This Mess We're in and background vocals in Beautiful Feelings and One Line. If you want her extremely erratic, pure emotion stuff, try Rid of Me or Dry. I also highly suggest To Bring You My Love, it's more, might I say... trippy?
2007-10-28 05:45:18 · answer #5 · answered by meep meep 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
That is an exceptionally difficult question because PJ has always impressed me with each release...well, she has me pondering over 'White Chalk' but I'm ever hopeful she will return to her guitar playing rock roots for her next release.
Sounds like everyone here is recommending some of her finer work and as much as I adore her first releases (Dry and Rid of Me) I can't say enough good things about 'Uh Huh Her' - PJ's 2004 release.
It's honestly a perfect combination of her best efforts musically - the raw unbridled energy of 'Rid of Me', the soft melodic whispers of 'Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea', and a dash of the glossy over-the-top beauty of 'To Bring You My Love'.
No matter which release you choose, be prepared for the addiction that will ensue. You will be forever fixated on the one they call PJ Harvey...but you won't be sorry.
2007-10-28 17:40:27 · answer #6 · answered by Buzzkill 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If it weren't for shoddy production, I'd go with 'Rid of Me'. It's a fantastic album that should be on every "Best Albums of the 1990s" list.
'Stories From The City, Stories By The Sea', however, probably trumps 'Rid' in just about every way.
2007-10-28 02:09:13 · answer #7 · answered by Deke 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Her first, "Dry", is superb("Plant and Rags" is the best track on the album for me), "Rid of Me" is the rawest(Steve Albini producing), and for great songs I'd go for "Stories from the city.."- Thom Yorke's backing vocals are brilliant throughout and "This mess we're in" is fabulous. Haven't heard the new one yet, though...
2007-10-28 08:58:39 · answer #8 · answered by mcandy74 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Start with either one of the first two albums Dry or Rid of Me. These are still considered to be her best albums far and away, production quality not a factor.
2007-10-28 03:24:36 · answer #9 · answered by Rckets 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Songs from the City, Stories from the Sea.
2007-10-28 01:29:08 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 9⤊ 0⤋