It was her breakthrough longplayer, heavily promoted by her major label Island
Records. In my book one of her best achievements. All killers, no fillers. Intense,
sensual, compelling high-quality songwriting. The album reached #12 in the UK
and #40 in the US.
Rolling Stone wrote at the time: “Harvey has ambitions to remake rock & roll and
its myths in her own guise. So what’s this young, white, bluesdrenched woman doing?
In attempting to create a sexual landscape as charged as the Midnight Rambler’s,
Harvey envisions a teeming underworld where she is victim, aggressor and accomplice,
song by song.” Full review here – Score: 4/5
Singles: Down By The Water / C’mon Billy / Send His Love To Me
AllMusic: “XTRMNTR is a nasty, fierce realization of an entire
world that has also lost the plot. It’s simply a protest, sonically
as well as lyrically, and maybe this would be a fine time to once
again rally behind something worthwhile.”
NME: “Ashcroft’s newly discovered stability has done nothing
to blunt his powers of communication or reduce his belief in
the apocalyptic potential of music.”
AllMusic: “True to Shellac form, the record is a sound purchase.
Within the domain of atonal, anti-commercial rock & roll, very
few are on their level.”
Album: Rated R
Second one. #16 in the US,
#54 in the UK.
AllMusic: “R is mellower, trippier, and more arranged than its predecessor, making
its point through warm fuzz-guitar tones, ethereal harmonies, vibraphones, horns,
and even the odd steel drum.”
Rolling Stone said: “What’s the Story is more than a natural progression, it’s
a bold leap forward that displays significant musical and personal growth.”
The Independent (British newspaper): “Harvey’s performance makes the record stand out from its peers. A threatening, nightmarish creature. Imagine Siouxsie and the Bad Seeds”
Album: Maxinquaye
The debut of former Massive Attack member.
Q (British music monthly): “A highly inventive and intoxicating collection.
With this debut, Tricky proves himself to be more challenging and eclectic
than his peers”.
Album: Different Class
The 5th one of the Sheffield, led by Jarvis Cocker.
No. 1 in the UK, No. 44 in the USA.
Melody Maker (former British weekly): “Bloody essential. The album’s title
alone announces that Cocker’s broadened his scope, has another axe to grind:
social
antagonism.”
NME said: “There’s a scope and spirit, an energy and a madness to ‘Leftism’ which’ll
make it one of the few dance derived that’ll stay up there, bouncing around in the great
echo chamber of futurity for years.
Album: Garbage
The Scottish/American team’s 1st one.
No. 1 in the UK, No. 20 in the US.
AllMusic: “Garbage’s self-titled debut has all the trappings of alternative rock, off-kilter arrangements, occasional bursts of noise, a female singer with a thin, airy voice but it
comes off as pop, thanks to the glossy production courtesy of drummer Butch Vig.”
Time USA said: “The group’s most ambitious and accomplished work yet. One gets the feeling that the band charged ahead on gut instincts; the sheer scope of the album (28 songs) didn’t allow for second-guessing or contrivance.”
NME wrote: “It feels unequivocally like a statement of intent. With the various
influences, the band was capable of absorbing the sensibility wholesale, while
leaving the incriminating specifics alone.”
POLY JEAN HARVEY, known to us all as PJ Harvey, was
born in Bridport, Dorset, England on 9 October 1969.
Happy 55 to a remarkable singer-songwriter with a remarkable career
scoring several masterly albums. So far she recorded/released 10 LPs
with I Inside The Old Year Dying (2023) as the most recent one.
. PJ always followed her own capricious path, exploring herself and her art from
different angels. With every album she surprised and she triumphed. Not many
can claim the same. One of the most compelling artists of her generation. Hands
down.
Well, another year has come to an end. A year stuffed with a tsunami of striking tunes
and stunning albums, as TUTV already displayed on its 2023 best-tracks and best-albums lists.
But that was just a fraction of this past year’s superb music extravaganza. Let’s go out with
a big bang. 20 Top Tunes from 20 Top Albums that made our ears go bonkers in 2023.
Tiny Desk Concerts is a video series of live concerts organised by NPR Music at the work desk of host, musician and media personality Bob Boilen in Washington, D.C. The series started in 2008.
All sorts of music genres was/is featured, starting artists and a series
of big names such as Sharon Van Etten, Yo La Tengo, The National, Jake Bugg,
Wilco, Coldplay, and The Flamings Lips (full list here) did their acoustic thing
in a small, yes, very tiny little place.
Today singer-songwriter legend PJ HARVEY (10 albums since 1988, aged 54) was
the guest. She did a 6-song set, 5 pieces from her new album I Inside the Old Year
Dying and one oldie.
“I Inside the Old I Dying”
“A Noiseless Noise”
“A Child’s Question, August”
“I Inside the Old Year Dying”
“White Chalk”
Her performance is nothing less than wonderful, gripping and masterly.
Down to earth, genuine, and wholehearted.
