rid of me

PJ Harvey trampled the competition with the raw and ragged stripped down psychotic stalkings of this dynamic and difficult dispatch.  Polly Jean Harvey had signed to Island Records just before the release of her debut 'Dry' on the independent label Too Pure.  The whirlwind of activity surrounding the tour combined with exhaustion, malnutrition, and a breakup to cause a nervous breakdown for her.  She left London and went back to her home in Dorset, where she began writing songs for her next album.   

'Rid of Me' was recorded at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota with sound engineer Steve Albini.  The sessions featured the PJ Harvey Trio of PJ Harvey on vocals, guitar, organ, cello, violin, and production; Steve Vaughan on bass; and Rob Ellis on drums, percussion, backing vocals, arrangement, and production. Steve Albini did production, engineering, and mixing; with Head assisting on production and engineering; and John Loder on mastering.  Harvey described the process with Albini:   "He’s the only person I know that can record a drum kit and it sounds like you’re standing in front of a drum kit. It doesn’t sound like it’s gone through a recording process or it’s coming out of speakers. You can feel the sound he records, and that is why I wanted to work with him, 'cause all I ever wanted is for us to be recorded and to sound like we do when we’re playing together in a room...The way that some people think of producing is to sort of help you to arrange or contributing or playing instruments, he does none of that. He just sets up his microphones in a completely different way from which I’ve ever seen anyone set up mikes before, and that was astonishing. He’d have them on the floor, on the walls, on the windows, on the ceiling, twenty feet away from where you were sitting… He’s very good at getting the right atmosphere to get the best take."

The aggressive sound of 'Rid of Me' drew considerable praise from music critics and clawed its way to number one hundred and fifty-eight on the US Billboard 200, ten on the US heatseekers album chart, and number three in the UK.   Harvey confessed:   "I do everything for myself primarily, and I was happy with it.  I don't really listen when people say good things about my work because I tend not to give myself praise about anything. But I was really pleased with 'Rid Of Me'. For that period of my life, it was perfect. Well, it wasn't perfect but as near to as I could get at that time.  I think it got rid of my need for that kind of abrasive sound. I loved Steve's production and engineering work because of that sound. I think I've moved through that now. I find I'm a lot more interested in a very much more subtle approach. And I'll probably head in an ever more subtle direction next time. That's how I feel at the moment. I'm in my calming down phase."











http://pjharvey.net/

"Rid of Me"

"Missed" 

"Legs"

"Hook" 

"Highway '61 Revisited" 

"50ft Queenie"

"Yuri-G" 

"Man-Size" 

"Dry" 

"Me-Jane" 

"Snake"

"Ecstasy" 

'Rid of Me' 

full album:



All tracks written by Polly Jean Harvey

Side one
1. "Rid of Me" 4:28
2. "Missed" 4:25
3. "Legs" 3:40
4. "Rub 'til It Bleeds" 5:03
5. "Hook" 3:57
6. "Man-Size Sextet" 2:18
Side two
7. "Highway 61 Revisited" Bob Dylan  2:57
8. "50ft Queenie" 2:23
9. "Yuri-G" 3:28
10. "Man-Size" 3:16
11. "Dry" 3:23
12. "Me-Jane" 2:42
13. "Snake" 1:36

14. "Ecstasy" 4:26