PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me (1993)

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PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me (1993)

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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.

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PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me (1993)

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Twenty years ago, I raced back home from Manchester's Piccadilly Records with an eagerly-awaited album in my sweaty paws. I loaded the CD (sorry for the lack of romance, vinyl fans) and pressed 'play'. A couple of minutes later I stopped what I was doing, sat down and turned up the volume. I thought I'd just heard Polly Jean Harvey sing "I'll make you lick my injuries" on the opening title track of her second album, Rid Of Me. I was correct – the song had harpooned me with shock and awe and when Harvey proclaimed "I'm gonna twist your head off, see" I, for one, believed her. As the album unfolded, it was clear that the opening slug of rage wasn't out of place. Rid Of Me was an anger-fuelled fireball and utterly thrilling.

In 1993 I was a huge PJ Harvey fan. I'd loved Polly's music from the instant I'd heard the 1991 debut single 'Dress'. Initially launched as a trio, with Rob Ellis on drums and Ian Olliver on bass, PJ Harvey appeared to arrive fully formed and teeming with emotional power. At the time Nirvana dominated the new 'alternative mainstream' but, for me, the mighty Nevermind seemed global and distant – sullied by MTV. PJ Harvey, however, seemed accessible and more visceral – they were a band who demanded a piece of my soul and I gobbled up their debut album, Dry. As my beloved Pixies lurched to a bitter end, I'd found myself a new favourite band.

My love affair intensified with the news that Steve Albini would be engineering a second album. A lead single didn't disappoint. '50ft Queenie' was a barreling riot; Albini's trademark guttural set-up providing the perfect environ for Harvey's snarling blast of post punk. "Hey, I'm the king of the world / You ought to hear my song," she shrieked, as if to set out her new world order. It was a breathlessly exciting listen – raw and vitriolic and chest-beatingly brazen. And when the album followed, on May 4, 1993, all sonic hell broke loose amid a maelstrom of gothic blues and garage punk.
At the core of Rid Of Me lay two intriguing oddities – a ballsy but slightly pointless version of Dylan's 'Highway '61 Revisited', and 'Man-Size Sextet', a reinterpretation of 'Man-Size' recorded with longtime friend Rob Ellis, containing a spectral string arrangement and Harvey singing through gritted teeth in the manner of a ventriloquist.

Rid Of Me was released to huge critical acclaim and garnered some pretty respectable sales. The album earned Harvey her first Mercury Prize nomination (she'd lose out to Suede's debut album, but has since become the first artist to win the award twice). However, as Rid Of Me gained success in America, all was not well within the band as frictions began to spark during an extended Stateside tour. The trio split in late 1993 with Polly continuing as a solo artist. Over the next 18 months she would work with various musicians including her longstanding collaborator John Parrish, Bad Seed Mick Harvey and a Belgian drummer called Jean-Marc Butty. Her next album, 1995's To Bring You My Love, unveiled a wider sonic palette as Harvey flexed her creative wings. It was if Rid Of Me had purged her of a basal angst, allowing the artist to explore and bloom.

Today, PJ Harvey stands as one of the greatest British musicians of the last 20 years. Her most recent album, 2011's Let England Shake, is perhaps the finest record of the current decade and as an artist she towers above her peers. In 1993, Rid Of Me, was a blast of fury and naked hurt. It was as raw as Polly Jean Harvey would ever get; a slate-cleaner for future incarnations. Twenty years later, Rid Of Me still has the ability to shock and awe.

John Freeman

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PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me (1993)

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PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me (1993)

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