RID OF ME
Rid of Me is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter and musician PJ Harvey. It was released by Island Records in May 1993, approximately one year after the release of her critically acclaimed debut album Dry. It marked a departure from Harvey’s previous songwriting, being more raw and aggressive than its predecessor. The songs on Rid of Me were performed by Harvey’s eponymous trio, consisting of Harvey on guitar and vocals, Rob Ellis on drums and background vocals, and Steve Vaughan on bass. It was the last album they recorded as a group before disbanding in late 1993. Most of the songs on the album were recorded by Steve Albini. Rid of Me was met with acclaim by critics. It has been ranked at number 406 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. (More from Wikipedia)
Polly Jean Harvey formed a trio in 1991 called PJ Harvey with Steve Vaughan (bass guitar) and Robert Ellis (drums). They became a sensation on the indie-rock circuit, with their debut album Dry (1992) and particularly Rid of Me (1993) being released to wide acclaim.
I don’t have Harvey’s early albums yet, though I do have 4 Track Demos that show the material on Rid of Me in a different format. While the intention was to present the PJ Harvey songs in a less abrasive form than the original CD, it is hard to conceive of demos being noisier and at the same time more complete than on 4 Track Demos; normally, a demo is laid down in an unadorned, often acoustic manner in order to establish the copyright and to provide a backbone for the finished track.
By this time, the original trio had broken up, and Harvey was now on her own; but she continued to release her albums under the name PJ Harvey with her full name Polly Jean Harvey given in the credits.
(January 2014)
