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Stories from the City - Stories from the Sea

PJ Harvey

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iTunes Review

Drawing from her every strength, PJ Harvey's sixth album her sixth album, represents an artful culmination of all her influences and experience. The awkward young girl from the English farming town of Yeovil grabs hold of the big city from the first hyper-tranced notes of "Big Exit" that rush past with the impatience of a New York taxi. "Good Fortune" follows, wandering through Chinatown and Little Italy with vocal phrasings reminiscent of Patti Smith (who receives an artistic nod with "Horses in My Dreams." The album's vibrant, sometimes urban-slick, sometimes punk-rock primitive sound — provided by Harvey's small combo and production team, bassist Mick Harvey (no relation) and drummer Rob Ellis — never overwhelms Harvey's strong, central presence. Radiohead's Thom Yorke guests on several tracks, adding a ghostly aura to the afternoon daydream of "The Mess We're In." But this is Harvey's universe. She calls the shots, testing the highest ranges of her voice with the shrieking chorus of "Kamikaze" and taking it slow for the album's moody closer "WeFloat."

Customer Reviews

Forget the snobs...this is good Harvey!

PJ Harvey fans who go back to "Dry" or "Rid of Me" may reject the slick, mainstream sound of this production, but don't turn up your nose on the basis of snobbish opinion. Polly Jean has displayed some real maturity as a songwriter and vocalist on this set, and Steve Albini was the right man to keep her sound grounded in her roots as she tested new waters. Its a delicate line maintaining a career in music after 10 years without alienating old fans. Critics accuse artists of becoming stale and formulaic when they slavishly stick to their roots, fans scream "sell-out" when the sound borders on mainstream/radio-friendly. Damned if you do or don't. But the great ones, from the Beatles, to Led Zep, to The Police, to U2 all grew, matured, experimented, and yeah -- they sometimes bombed (Consider "Presence" or "Pop" by Led Zep/U2 respectively). Still PJ gets 5 stars for this one -- 4 for the content, and 1 for being brave enough to try something new. True fans won't regret adding this to the collection...I didn't.

P.S. This Is Not An ALBINI ALBUM.

The Itunes review for this record is wrong; actually, the review is a carbon copy of the one posted for Rid of Me. Some people said that this is an Albini album. It's not. First, he would never produce something this poppy or slick. It's produced by her former drummer Rob Ellis and Head. With that being said, there's nothing wrong with this album, but there's nothing absolutely amazing about it either. Her lyrics, which tend to be amazing pieces of poetry, were compromised for the more poppy sound and feel. They're just a complete downfall from her predecessor album Is This Desire? Other than that, the music is good, with standouts from Good Fortune, A Place Called Home (very heartfelt hopeful song, new for her), Beautiful Feeling, and The W***es Hustle and the Hustlers W***e. Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent album. However, I disagree with the people that say this is the place to start off with her. If you do this, than your expectations might be let down -she just isn't going to do another poppy album. The rest of her library is much darker, rock oriented and atmospheric. If you want the correct place to start with her, start from the beginning, with Dry. That's a good summary of all of her work.

Perfect Polly Jean!

This is by far my favorite PJ Harvey album. Incredibly melodic and captivating. An amazing blend of beautiful vocals, great lyrics and wonderful music. A must have for any PJ Harvey fan or for someone who's interested in checking out her music for the first time.

Biography

Born: October 9, 1969 in Yeovil, England

Genre: Rock

Years Active: '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

During the early-'90s alternative rock explosion, several female singer/songwriters rose to prominence, but few were as distinctive or as widely praised as Polly Jean Harvey. Over the course of three albums, Harvey established herself as one of the most individual and influential songwriters of the '90s, exploring themes of sex, love, and religion with unnerving honesty, dark humor, and a twisted theatricality. At the outset of her career, she led the trio PJ Harvey, which delivered her stark songs...
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