Rid of Me

Rocking stuff. Loads of energy. Steve Albini's production is perfect for these songs. Raw and direct.

was prepared to love this but it mostly just stressed me out

Really good production but I don't think the songs themselves are composed particularly memorably. Keeping things within the same key and style (loud soft interplay) often yields a bland sameness that is unfortunately the case here.

Qobuz selects a review for many albums and foregrounds that review on the album’s page. The review for this album made it sound like Steve Albini’s production was borderline unlistenable and an endurance test for listeners. Then I clicked play and it’s just a regular ol’ Albini album. Sounds like In Utero. Perfect.

Maybe this album would be good with someone else mixing it. Unless it's meant to be a showcase for a crunchy guitar with a neighbour woman complaining about the noise next apartment over.

What is the point of this? It's an awful lot of not great noise.

tipično pidžejharvinski. ne mogu reći da je loše jer nipošto nije, ali nekako mi je isuviše generično i distorzijski stopljeno te zacijelo slabije od dva njezina albuma koja sam prije ovoga slušao. zbog toga albumu ne gine solidna trojka

This is my 3rd PJ Harvey album in as many months, and I understand there are 4? No matter how good, I don't think any artist should get more than two (in very rare cases, at that).

That said, I liked one of the former, and was pretty aggressively meh about the other. This one, I quite like. 8 appreciate the dynamics, and since that's something nobody does anymore, I was thinking there was something wrong with my headphones. No, it's just the way music is supposed to be recorded.

I can't exactly pinpoint why I like this, really. It's got a very "recorded in a garage by a garage band" feel to it, which I normally don't like. Actually, there is a lot about this I wouldn't like in another album, but it works for me here.

Me-Jane is probably the highlight of the album for me. Adding this to my personal collection

⭐⭐⭐.75

This was my entry to Harvey's catalog when I bought the CD of this on initial release. Although I think there are other albums of hers I like more, this is still powerful stuff. The cover of Highway 61 is brilliant. 50ft Queenie is another standout.

The raw energy and cynicism of Gen Xers in their youth, distilled into album form.

Definitely preferable to the other two records of hers that I've heard from the generator. The production is better and songcraft is better on this one. Like a hand and glove.

Favorite track(s): Missed, Legs, Rub 'Til It Bleeds, Hook, 50ft Queenie

meh

I wish PJ Harvey made more albums like this one. I really like the heavy, almost Grunge like sound going on here. I think it fits her well and makes for a good sounding album. The entire loud / soft dynamic that was popular is on here as well, after the first songs build up it just barrels ahead.

I loved this album already. Such raw emotion and rocking sound.

Back in the CD era (and I suppose in the vinyl era too) you might end up with one album by an artist and never come across another. That happened to me with PJ Harvey and Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. I don’t think I was aware that she was part of the alternative scene, I just thought of her as a cool songwriter that was also friends with Thom Yorke.

Between those days and listening to this album now, I learned a bit more, and I had heard a number of the tracks here. And my experience was sort of the opposite of Stories, because my attention was drawn to Steve Albini’s production and the sound over the songwriting. This really is how I want “alternative” to sound, sludgy and live, and the sound almost made it a 5 for me.

In the end though I think I missed some of that clarity of focus that is there with Stories… like why a cover of Highway 61? I liked both versions of “Man-Sized” but found the repetition distracting. And there were a few other moments that made me think “What is going on here?” Perhaps if I had picked up Rid of Me instead of Stores in the 90s this would be a five for me now, but I think I’ll save it for my old friend.

Strong album. Excellent guitar sound.

What is this voice that she is doing cuz it's kinda throwing me off

I feel like this could grow on me but at the same time there is not a lot drawing me back to listen again? It is quite samey all the way through Maybe I need to give it a proper relisten and actually give it my full attention rather than listening whilst working 3

Якийсь такий альбом, що мені нема що сказати. Просто ок.