Peel Sessions 1991-2004

PJ Harvey | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 7, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fontana Island
• ASIN: B000J3DEII
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,292 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

PJ Harvey does her best work naked. For all the tantalizing changes in direction over the past 15 years, it was the British songwriter's barebones disc, Rid of Me (and its raw companion piece, 4-Track Demos), that made the greatest impression. These recordings from the late John Peel's celebrated BBC Radio show see her returning time and again to her basic blues roots, offering delightfully bruised takes on both early classics like "Sheela-Na-Gig," from her first performance on the show, through "You Come Through," a track that was recorded at a tribute shortly after Peel's passing. Along the way, there are plenty of rarities, stylistic diversions, and traces of dark humor to make Harvey fans wish the package could have been twice as long. --Aidin Vaziri

Product Description

HARVEY PJ THE PEEL SESSIONS 1991-2004

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite good, November 12, 2006

By 

Lovblad (Geneva, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Peel Sessions 1991-2004 (Audio CD)

If you like PJ Harvey, this is quite an essential collection of sessions she did with the late John Peel between 1991 and 2004.The Cd is very simlpy packaged with a hand-written note by PJ Harvey on the inside that is quite nice as a tribute to the man Peel.Musically it is also quite exceptional. The spound quality is of course very good with that slightly rough quality that all these radio session records have. There is also that typical live-in the studio feel that has a little bit of everything to it and PJ Harvey' s style is quite suited to it.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In All Her Glory, January 1, 2007

By 

Peter Baklava (Charles City, Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peel Sessions 1991-2004 (Audio CD)

The waif with the mouth that roars, P.J. Harvey is both the thinking person's feminist, and a smash-mouth rock and roller. In my book, that makes her one of the most exhilarating performers on the planet.

This cd nicely recaps P.J.'s career, with tracks from her debut, "Dry"and most of her projects since then, with the exception of "To Bring You My Love" and "Is This Desire?". All songs were drawn from performances produced by John Peel for the BBC, which gives them a slightly different luster, and a rock solid punch.

P.J.'s songs can be described as little expressionist dramas writ large in black and white, and wonderful balancing acts of dynamics and minimalist sound. She sometimes combines huge shards of grunge rock with absurdist lyrics. Check out "Naked Cousin" , an off-the-wall ditty that paints a picture of a Bacchanalian madman running through the fields in abandon. Sounds weird? Well, it ROCKS like crazy. Her Rainer Ptacek cover, "Losing Ground" is another delight, matching switchblade edginess with Captain Beefheart dissonance. The best track from "Dance Hall at Louse Point"--"That Was My Veil" , is here, along with the prettiest song from "Stories From the City..."("Beautiful Feeling") . The album closes with "You Come Through" done beautifully and sincerely as a tribute to the late John Peel.

This cd is sure to please longtime P.J. fans, and it's a good sampler for the uninitiated.

Five stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars simply a wonderful collaboration, December 7, 2007

By 

Frederick E. Hawkins (allentown pa usa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Peel Sessions 1991-2004 (Audio CD)

Among my Polly Jean CD's this one stands out as a quintessential expression of her long collaboration with drummer Rob Ellis. The key for me, is to listen to his terrific timing and how pj's guitar and voice fits against his framework. Ellis has over the years become my favorite drummer; here's why.

As for the collection, and songs therein, these are as terse and honest as her live performances. As you listen, you can place the songs in the context of her major releases -- here's Rid of Me, here's Is This Desire? and so on.

I like this one a lot.