745. P.J. Harvey - Rid Of Me (1993)

Track Listing

1. Rid Of Me
2. Missed
3. Legs
4. Rub 'Till It Bleeds
5. Hook
6. Man-Size [Sextet]
7. Highway '61 Revisited
8. 50 Ft Queenie
9. Yuri-G
10. Man-Size
11. Dry
12. Me-Jane
13. Snake
14. Ecstasy

Review

Another great album by Ms. Harvey. If on Dry I talked a lot about her restrained energy in the music, the same is not as true of this album. A lot is still restrained and that is clearly her style, but Steve Albini at the production controls makes the whole thing scream louder when necessary.

In fact if I have a problem with the album it is that the quiet/loud dynamics are really pronounced. When the album is quiet it is really quiet and you put your stereo up, when it turns loud it turns really loud and you turn your stereo down. It is hard to find the middle term.

Now, this would not be a problem if my upstairs neighbours were not assholes who like to come down here and complain about the noise in the rudest terms possible. Of course I hear noise from upstairs as well, but I understand what living in an apartment building entails. I was not brought up in a farm, they probably were. At least my wife doesn't sound like a fucking horse clop-clopping around the house in heels all fucking day. So fuck you upstairs neighbours. They probably only like to listen to Dido anyway (yes that's the kind of neighbourhood I live in, they must cross themselves when Public Enemy comes on). They probably live in fear of the foreign man below them who doesn't listen to acceptably middle class "young professional" dinner party music... shit I never heard them hear anything except the fucking TV. I hate my upstairs neighbours on principle. Downstairs neighbours are cool, they complained once that the music was too loud, but it was 4 in the morning and I was blasting something like "Best Brass Bands Marching Hits" (VERY drunk), so they had reason to complain.

Anyway fucking great album this is. I recommend it, give it to your mother for Xmas. She'll love sentences like "lick my legs I'm on fire".


Track Highlights

1. 50 Ft Queenie
2. Rid Of Me
3. Man-Size [Sextet]
4. Hook

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Harvey explained to Filter magazine in 2004 that:

Rid of Me was when I'd first signed to a major label and I felt that I wanted to—more than ever—demonstrate that I was not going to be the kind of usually expected major artist material [laughs]. So, I chose to work with Steve Albini, who is definitely not a particularly commercial engineer and I made a very difficult record. And I'm glad I did because I think it really did set the tone... I just wanted the people involved to know that I can only do things that follow my heart, that I cannot make music to suit other people. It has to be the way it has to be and if you don't like it, then leave me alone. So, that was part of that, but having said that, I've been with the same label for 12 years and I think they know me very well and just let me get on with it now.

50 Ft Queenie, live: