Customer Reviews

Stories From the City Stories From the Sea

5 star:		(128)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

PJ Harvey's fifth album "Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea" is the singer/songwriter's finest album and should please fans of her older albums and new fans alike. "Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea" is somewhat slicker, less rough-around-the-edges than her other albums. I would recommend this album to start off with, as it is probably her most assessable work.

I personally feel that this album has her best collection of songs. From the opening rocker "Big Exit" to the beautiful "We Float," every song is a winner. There isn't any filler to be found. Each song is well written and memorable. It's a good mix of fast paced rockers, mid-tempo songs, and slower ones. The listener never gets bored. This CD deals with themes of love, relationships, etc, but never gets tedious or trite. Everything on this album is sincere and straight from the heart.

The album opens up strong with "Big Exit" an excellent rocker with a good, infectious hook. "Good Fortune" keeps up the momentum. "A Place Called Home" is a beautiful, somewhat morose, slower number whose enchanting background vocals stay with the listener long after the song has ended. The album slows down a bit for the next few songs. The mid-tempo "One Line" leads in perfectly to the dark, atmospheric "Beautiful Feeling." The pace is picked up with "The Whores Hustle, and the Hustlers Whore." "The Mess We're In" features a duet with Thom Yorke. Their overlapping vocals work nicely together. "You Said Something" is another softer number in the vein of "A Place Called Home," only slightly more upbeat. The pace picks up considerably with the excellent rockers "Kamikaze" and "This is Love." The album starts to wind down with the beautiful "Horses in my Dreams" The duel piano and guitar make "Horses in my Dreams" enchanting. The album ends with its' finest track, the majestic "We Float." The verse serves mostly to build up the song and it's mesmerizing chorus totally engulfs the listener.

If you don't own any PJ Harvey albums, this is a good place to start. It's a really good album and should please old and new fans alike.

Finally, we are blessed with someone talented enough to sum up the human experience with one shockingly universal cry, "I can't believe life's so complex/when I just want to sit here and watch you undress." Anyone who is not brought to the hight of joy by the comic truth of that statement is either gravely ill or just needs to get out more.

The tone of that remark pervades this album, the deliciously hyper follow-up to 1998's solemn "Is This Desire." Patti Smith must have licked her chops the first time she gave this record a listen, as she undoubtedly has by now. The punk rock freakout of an opener, "Big Exit" is as compelling as anything on her debut, Dry, or the brilliant To Bring You My Love of 1995. Honestly, after the dour collection PJ Harvey brought to us in 1998, I didn't think she still had it in her.

But, man, does she ever! It doesn't stop there, track after track is electrified with frenzied vocals and fizzing guitar work, courtesy of Mick Harvey of the Bad Seeds. From "Good Fortune" to the explosion of a riff opening "Beautiful Feeling" to the aforementioned "This is Love," it becomes violently obvious that PJ Harvey has every intention of sticking around for a long time to come.

But while the album rocks as a whole, the ballads, such as the oddly appealing acoustic song, "Horses in my Dreams," and "One Line" designate PJ Harvey as one of the most talented songwriters of her generation, and I do not pay her that compliment lightly.

To call this album a must buy is like saying Bob Dylan is a decent songwriter. Enough said.

PJ Harvey returns with yet another brilliant album. Moving away from the electronic/experimental tendencies found on Is This Desire?, this album features a return to a more guitar-based formula that at times recalls her work on Dry and Rid Of Me. The crunchy guitar of "Kamikaze" and "This Is Love" would fit in perfectly on either of those albums.

Several other tracks on the album are lighter songs that feature acoustic guitar and polished pop/rock production with beautiful layering of guitars, synths, pianos, etc. One of these tracks, the wonderful "This Mess We're In", features Radiohead's Thom Yorke on lead vocals dueting with Polly Jean.

From the album-opening rocker "Big Exit" to the album's lovely, somewhat minimalist, finale "We Float", this album shines. While most of PJ's albums since Rid Of Me have moved in a radically different direction from the last, this one retreads old ground to combine old and new. The result is a captivating rock album that ranks among her best.

although everyone's free to think and write whatever he(she) wants, i do hate to see in your reviews this mechanical and egoistical approach to recordings of any musician, who works in the way that polly jean harvey does. sound, names, commerce .... don't you feel that she just sings her life? you can either appreciate it, or simply listen to something else. perfect_album. if i only could explain it all in english.

Despite having a happy theme, this album still possesses an underlying sense of gloom and doom. Even among her more lovestruck songs like "This Mess We're In" and "This is Love," Harvey sings with cynicism and control rather than with abandon and carefreeness. There are certain songs where love even takes the backseat--i.e. "Big Exit," "Kamikaze," "Horses in my Dreams"--focusing instead on self-actualization and disillusionment. In fact, as the title implies, these songs are stories of isolation and alienation within metropolitans and seashores that all seem the same. The final song "We Float" sums the entire themes of the album--"take life as it comes."

....because it's not a review. All the people before me said enough about this record. I just want to cry out that I THINK THIS WHOLE ALBUM IS GENIUS!! I went to PJ's concert- her voice and skills live are just as masterful as they are on a record. She's a true sparkly diamond in a sea of music wannabes the music industry tries to sell to us lately...I want to give 100 stars....Also, I think there are a lot of people who disregard artists after listening their music only once. You'll discover more and more newer layers, new melodic complexities every time you listen to this album. There are albums that you don't like no matter how many times you give them a try; this one is NOT like them...it's a masterpiece!

This is definately the best PJ Harvey has yet to offer. The girl simply rocks! She writes some stunning lyrics, and her voice has increased in its reflection of longing, satisfaction, frustration, and visual meditation. The music has been beautifully constructed as well, providing a wonderful soundscape for PJ Harvey. The cd is riddled with raw emotion and never loses its grooving edge. "Big Exit" instantly gets the blood flowing! It feels as if Harvey is speaking from a high podium to entice the passing masses of the busy streets. Her voice reaches out to grab you, and the music kicks with pure rock-n-roll thump. "Good Fortune" continues the journey into Harvey's visual and random occurrences. If music were to have a hit-and-run aspect, this song would be a perfect example. Harvey enjoys fumbling around on this song, talking about love adventures. She sings, 'In Chinatown / hung-over / you showed me just what I could do.' Harvey gives the listener a view into her day and night activities. I call it hit and run because once she gives you one tale in this song, she leaves and then comes with another enveloping adventure, connecting it to a rousing chorus, before the feeling fades and the next song plays. "A Place Called Home" is an optimistic tune about keeping a relationship going strong. This song just makes you want to hug and hold your partner or friend real tight! Harvey expresses her sentiments in this song saying, 'With love comes the day / just hold on to me / ......one day there'll be a place for us.' I enjoy this peaceful and spiritual tune, each time that I hear it. It truly grows on you. "One Line" describes what it is like to find the 'one' that you seemingly cannot forget or ever let go of. It could even relate to that first love you had, or that first or last deep encounter of a relationship that you experienced. This is the kind of song that you wake up to, in the morning, thinking about that 'one' person. With this song, Harvey conjures up a haunting modern-day Romeo and Juliet vision. "Beautiful Feeling" is probably the most abstract song on the album because it is interesting to try and pin-down the significance of the words. You definately have to read these lyrics! I like this song because it feels like Harvey is in your room reciting heavenly poetry over a quiet guitar hum. To me, it appears that she is talking about three things: the Sun and embracing the warm epiphany in her England to America journeys, then she is talking about the adolescence and growth of a yearning child, and then she ends with an observation of her rustling lover. As Harvey sings, 'It's such a beautiful feeling,' so YOU cannot miss listening to this song! Also with the abstract theme in mind, see what you can come up with, as to what true meaning lies within. "The Whores Hustle and The Hustlers Whore" unravels like a mystic spell. PJ asks for her surrounding elements to 'speak' to her, as she filters through the possible responses. "This Mess We're In" is such a calming song. Thom Yorke, from Radiohead, does a great guest vocal spot with Harvey. I like the brushing rhythms on this song and the way that pulsing riff gets caught in my mind, as I feel that City imagery getting closer. Towards the end of the song, Yorke and Harvey take turns singing out to each other, making a kind of separated lover's collage of vocal messages. "You Said Something" is like a cafe up-tempo folksy song. Harvey sings about her realm of New York City and a relationship that she seemingly cannot forget. "Kamikaze" would have to be the late 60s throw-back tune. I just get the picture of a lot of colors floating around while heads knod and bodys shake to this song's soaring destination. "This Is Love" truly contains that raw emotion I spoke of earlier. Harvey starts it off singing: 'I can't believe life's so complex / when I just wanna sit here and watch you undress.' She blends simplicity with life frustration, and effectively finds a way to sing about the love stuck in her bones. She just wants to get past all of the preliminary mess and just get close-- something that a lot of us, in beginning relationships, eagerly wish to do. "Horses In My Dreams" is the essential late-night song for deep contemplation. It is a very stripped-down piece with subtle vocals and acoustic elements. If you feel the need to get away from the world, just go for a night-town drive with this song playing. Harvey is trying to sort things out as well, singing 'I have pulled myself clear.' I absolutely love this song! The album closes with another wonderful gem: "We Float." This song almost sounds like a bed-story for those who are trying to breakthrough the tribulations of society and life. It has a very quaint band trip-hop feel, allowing Harvey to reveal her longing rhyme structure and soothing voice. She says that we must just 'Take life as it comes....'

You absolutely have to get this cd. It is perfect for any listening situation simply because PJ rocks on this album! Definately her best work to date. PeAcE :-)

PJ Harvey has gone through more incarnations than pretty much any other artist around: vitriolic punk goddess (Dry and Rid of Me); husky, sensual chanteuse (TBYML); techno-flavored diva; and now, all-out rocker.

The April issue of Spin (which featured PJ, among others, on the cover) called her one of the 40 best artists working today, and I have to agree. This album showcases a more "at peace" PJ; there's distinctly less anger--although her wit, power, and mastery of emotion have not decreased at all.

The same Spin article said the Stories album was PJ's most accomplished work to date, although some fans might prefer "the old, open wounds." I personally do. The early albums speak to me more than this one does, but that doesn't detract from this album's mastery. Songs like Kamikaze, Big Exit, We Float, and This Is Love transcend easy categorization. Really, there are no bad songs on this disc, although I think the energy decreases some after the first three songs until you hit Kamikaze.

Regardless, Stories is one of the better albums released in the last year or two (possibly since Is This Desire? *g*) and it's definitely worth a listen. It'll probably bring more people in on our "dirty little secret" of PJ, which can never be a bad thing.

I was very, very happy with this new release by PJ Harvey. I actually liked "Is This Desire" but was kind of put off by some of the album's more experimental songs. It's not that I don't think PJ can pull it off, but she's so much more talented at writing rock songs or ballads, without sounding conventional or cliche, which is not easy these days.

"Big Exit" is one of the best songs I've heard by anyone, with a jangly guitar riff that makes you wanna put on your boots and hit the bars, clubs, whatever -- which is great considering the title of the song. "Horses" successfully shows PJ's more delicate side, while her "duet" with Thom Yorke is absolutely splendid and will definitely please Radiohead fans. I also liked the way the music, more often than not, makes room for her voice, which is one of the best in the business. She can do the near-whisper to the howl better than most.

I'm telling you, this is one of those albums that people are going to look back on in 20 years, and be like, "Jeez, that album never got the attention it really deserved." This is just as solid as Rock gets.

There's also something about this album that is very 70s-like to me -- maybe it's just the cover. :-)

In 1974, rock legend Joni Mitchell released "Court And Spark," a timeless masterwork of love and life that silenced every critic that doubted her before that point. With enough soul and stamina to be a rock record but at times catchy enough to be pop, the lush execution and ambitious drive of the record was undeniable. That's how I've always seen PJ Harvey's "Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea."

This really is an amazing album. The theme is executed flawlessly and the instruments are effortlessly perfect. The tones vary greatly, from the rock and roll panic of "Kamikaze" to the dreary and subdued "Horses In My Dreams." There is something for everyone. Some say this is her best album, and that is arguable I guess, but it certainly is the album that showed she no longer had anything to prove. Brilliant.