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Music CD - PJ Harvey: Rid of Me
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Music CD: Rid of Me
Artist: PJ Harvey
List Price: $14.98
Our Price: $4.73
Your Save: $ 10.25 ( 68% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Island
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Tracks:
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1. Rid Of Me
2. Missed
3. Legs
4. Rub 'Til It Bleeds
5. Hook
6. Man-Size Sextet
7. Highway 61 Revisited
8. 50ft Queenie
9. Yuri-G
10. Man-Size
11. Dry
12. Me-Jane
13. Snake
14. Ecstasy
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0731451469626
Label: Island
Manufacturer: Island
Number Of Discs: 1
Publication Date: 1993
Publisher: Island
Release Date: 1993-05-04
Studio: Island
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: A chilling masterpiece
Comment: I'll never forget hearing the lyric "You leave me dry" for the first time. The song practically raptured me with Polly Jean's raw singing and amazing guitar playing. The black & white album cover of a woman swinging her hair stuck in my mind and filled me with dare and curiosity, like a boy who just found out what it's like to be infatuated with something. Now, a year and a half later, I consider "Rid Of Me" to be one of my favorite recordings of the 90s.
The great misconception about Polly Jean Harvey is that she's a tortured artist, an aggressive female, a bitter little bird. She is, however, a female artist that sings like a little bird, albeit, not on this record. Her moaning is rough and raw, her lyrics confrontational and with a little more than a pinch of dark humor, her guitar playing - marvelous. PJ always payed homages to her own heroes and "Rid Of Me" is not an exception. The record kicks off with a chorus that quotes Captain Beefheart's "Dirty Blue Gene" ("Don't you wish you never met her"), but the hottest part is unarguably when she exclaims "Lick my legs/I'm on fire". "Missed" shows her abilities as a vocalist. "Legs" is the epitome of the record's raw style. The definite highlight "Rub 'til It Bleeds" shows what's so unique about Polly - she describes sex as an everyday thing, a violence staple if you might. "I'll rub it/Until it" she yells with rhythm guitar playing mercilessly and the drums kicking in a violent, monotone way. Nirvana's "In Utero" may have been Steve Albini's most popular music engineering job, but "Rid Of Me" is where it's at.
"Hook" sounds like a slow death filled with gore and disgust. "Man-Size" plays like a thriller, keeping you at the edge of your seat. She almost murders Bob Dylan's "Highway 61", refreshing the song's recital about God and Abraham with so much brutality, it's almost unbearable. One of the record's best riffs is handed to you in "50ft Queenie". "Yuri-G" and "Me-Jane" mark the best collaboration of two masterminds (Harvey and Albini), playing in such a sharp, rigid way, you can't believe how perfect it is. The aforementioned "Dry" is a pure evidence of how the best music comes from the guts, not the playing technique. "Snake" is a hell of a little epic talking about the first sin. She's playing it so tough, it's no wonder people mistakened her for an angry woman she never was. "Ecstasy" starts with my favorite riff on this record and ends things on a high note.
PJ Harvey owned the 90s like no woman did. She's a hell of a guitar player; not to mention, a magnificent songwriter. This album is not easily digestible, if I may put it that way. It will come to you if you're ready to suffer a tad for a masterpiece you have to fully explore and listen to. It will sink in when you see how demanding PJ's performance is and how brilliant her ideas are. If it scares you, it's because you approached it from a wrong angle. It's utterly rewarding after multiple listens and highly enjoyable. Buy it now and admire it from a distance. It's like a tiger kept in a cage, glaring at you fiercely and angrily. But the fun is, it never meant to hurt you in the first place.
Customer Rating:
Summary: You're Not Rid Of Me....
Comment: Rid Of Me 5/5, I heard a live version first. It was compelling, at first I was dissapointed with this, but after listening to it, I was very happy with it 'Lick My Legs, I'm On Fire, Lick My Legs, I'm Desire."
Missed 5+/5 This song is really good, nice mid-tempo song, different, but I love it.
Legs 5+/5 This song is frigging awesome. I really love as much as Missed.
Rub 'Till It Bleeds 5+/5 This is a really good song, sounds kind of dirty and mean (in a good way).
Hook 4.5/5 This song is nice, not quite up to par with the first four, but still a good song.
Man-Size Sextet 2/5 Ehhh...just doesn't do it for me.
Highway '61 Revisited 4.5/5 Nice song, like the music and words (note: Cover song, orginiated from Bob Dylan).
50ft Queenie 5/5 Fast-Paced Rocking Song!!! Love it (I believe it was also the first single).
Yuri-G 5/5 Another Fast Paced Rocker.
Man-Size 4/5 Now this is a much better version of the song. Screeching vilons in the other one just don't work.
Dry 5+/5 Possibly my favorite on this CD. Its a freaking awesome song with the lyric 'You leave me dry'.
Me-Jane 5/5 Yet another fast paced rocker...
Snake 5/5 It is a song that I assume is based from the bible (about Adam and Eve), short punky, in-your-face song.
Ecstacy 4/5 Nice song, a pretty good closer to a freaking awesome album.
This was my first PJ Harvey album, it is simply brilliant. Just a great heavy rocking album. When Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea is in the mail, I'll be very excited. Then I'm buying Dry next!!!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Quirky + Raw
Comment: A strange recording that brings out the Punk in the Blues of P.J..It's been said she hates it.I think its guilty pleasure.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Heavy Harvey
Comment: One of her angrier, more energetic albums. It has a lot of emotional resonance that is familiar to her work. However it is unlike 'Stories from the Sea' which is more melo/alternative rock. Overall, a good album.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sex and Anger = Love.
Comment: This, along with one of the other reviewers that have written on here, is my first, and my favorite (along with 4 Track Demos).
On this album Harvey worked with the producer Steve Albini (who tends to have a very clubbish, echo-ish sound). I read somewhere that they hooked the guitars up to amps, and then they shoved the mic down right infront of the amp to get a more live sound.
This album reminds me of a profile of a sex-crazed, crooked woman; however, despite these qualities, she's righteous. She criticizes and patronizes men to be wee little beings, and feels big and above them, which allows there to be a sort of empowerment from the lyrics. When I'm in some of my darkest moments, I always play this record, just to feel more empowered.
Her standout tracks are "Missed", which seems to be a story of a woman who lost her child (?), "Man-Sized Sextet" (which belongs to be on a soundtrack for a well done killer movie), "Hook", for it's amazing bluesy roots and great sound, "50 ft. Queenie" and "Yuri-G" because they're amazing rockers, the amazing, and empowering feminist "Man-Size" (guitar recording), and "Snake" for it's punk in-your-face style.
If you plan to buy this record, do yourself a favor, and save up a little more money to buy the 4 Track Demos album as well. It's the perfect counterpart of Rid of Me - it's even MORE stripped down, and much more raw.
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Editorial Reviews:
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PJ Harvey's second and most ferocious album finds her claiming images of sexuality, whether they're of a "hysterical" female (the obsessive title track and the indelible accusation "you leave me dry") or male "dominance" ("Man-Size," which also appears in an atonal arrangement with a string sextet, and the feral rockabilly size-brag of "50-Ft Queenie"). Recorded to play up the stark dynamic contrasts of Harvey's early trio, it's as harsh and abrasive as the gutter blues whose vocal style Harvey cops. And she demands a place for herself at the table of great songwriters--a hellfire take on Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" fits neatly alongside her own work. --Douglas Wolk
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