PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love

After fumbling around with producer-from-hell Steve Albini on Rid of Me (1993) and signing with U2 manager Paul McGuinness, Polly Jean Harvey is ready to live up to her lethal early promise at last. With its growling bass tones, "Meet Ze Monsta" sets the stage early on as Harvey explores her feminine psyche with an intensity and raw power unheard since Patti Smith's heyday. Unlike the terminally inconsistent Smith, however, Harvey plots a brilliant course through slippery laments ("Working for the Man"), corrosive testifying ("Long Snake Moan"), and fuzz-toned menace ("Down by the Water"). Skeptics who think Harvey can't outgrow her art-punk base are advised to cue up the flamenco-inflected, string-caressed "Send His Love to Me." --Jeff Bateman Amazon.com essential recording

Big black monsoon, take me with you

Recorded during September and October of 1994 at Townhouse Three in Battersea, Polly Jean Harvey's second masterpiece "To Bring You My Love" is an everlasting piece of art. The record has garnered Polly a large cult following, a spot on end of the year lists, global recognition and it went platinum in 1995. It's no surprise--the material found on "To Bring You My Love" is brimming with potency and strength. Guitars, organ, vibes and E-Bow fuel the fire in "To Bring You My Love", the opener of all openers. It continues with the brilliant beat set by Jean-Marc Butty in the stomping "Meet Ze Monsta". Polly's demanding performance makes you understand that she means business--big time. "To Bring You My Love" marks the most confident vocal delivery of PJ's career.

The minimalism of her work is near perfect: "Working For The Man" bears but a small melody on a watery guitar and she barely sings the words; "I Think I'm A Mother" is a bluesy number that works as a homage to one of Polly's greatest heroes, Don Van Vliet (another direct homage on the album is "Teclo" which has a chorus melody taken straight from "Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles"). And although "Working For The Man" and "I Think I'm A Mother" leave something to be desired, the coherence of the record is one of its strongest points. The rest of the material on "To Bring You My Love" doesn't fail to astonish. Each song on the record--the excellent singles "C'Mon Billy" and "Down By The Water", the hard-rocker "Long Snake Moan", the guitar and strings driven "Send His Love To Me" and the elegant closer "The Dancer"--is filled with longing, lust and loneliness as the lyrics suggest. Polly plays many an instrument (chimes, organ, piano, bell, vibes, guitar) and she's a marvelous musician.

"Down By The Water", a pure '90s classic, sounds like a frizzy drink with its excellent guitar melody led by Joe Gore and a murderous whispering coda at the end. The material on "To Bring You My Love" is simple, but original and unique, the singing is powerful, the lyrics close to being best of her career. String arrangement by Pete Thomas adds a delicate touch to the album, as does percussion by John Parish, the second genius behind this work. The songwriting touches upon religious themes and remains inspiring. Polly tried on the mask of desperation for the second time and played it so well that she can deservedly be called an actress, among other things. The most surprising thing about "To Bring You My Love" is how nothing on it sounds dated, mostly due to the album not being contextualized in terms of time and space, music-wise.

It took her some time to recover from the overwhelming acclaim she received; it wasn't until 1998 that she released another album. Other than that, she stated in an interview that she was having the time of her life. "To Bring You My Love" seems cold and unwelcoming at first, but it demands active participation, as most of Polly's work. It is highly rewarding after more listens, and it showcases Polly as an album artist in the most strictest sense. She never repeated this move and it's no wonder--an artistic statement like this one happens only once in a lifetime. October 6, 2008

Not very "accessible" or musical -- lyrics based

It's cool that there are so many reviews (mine'll make 100) regarding this CD. Most are enthusiastic, and that's cool, too. But those recommending this work should be more up-front with themselves and others that what they love about the "raw emotion" et cetera is really in the vocals and lyrics. The music itself is substandard, and folks, I grew up as a punk guy (Dead Kennedies, et al) and musical proficiency is still NOT a priority for me.

Positive reviewers should realize that the negative reviewers are probably more "in tune" with the lack of hooks or other non-lyrical proficiency on this CD (with the exception of "Teclo"). Put another way, this CD is not "accessible" and it's probably why the enthusiasm level is so high amongst many reviewers. It's different, even from PJ Harvey's other works. So please continue to recommend it but try to put an "advisory" or give background on your musical preferences.

My take? The lyrics are very spiritual (PJ for or against God) so I'd listen to it in a car to think about it. But as background music, like now when I'm typing at a computer, I'd never play this CD. August 25, 2008

HOT & Mesmerizing.

Truly she is an amazing sensual Goddess!
PJ Harvey has unbelievable vocal talent.
I have bought almost all of her work and I am craving more.
Her music is a Haunting, Sweet, and brutally honest journey into the minds of us all, so humanly perverse yet innocent.
Surround yourself with her music and and feel it.
March 12, 2008

new PJ Harvey fan--I LOVE this album

I bought this somewhat on a whim, having only seen the video for "Down By The Water," along with PJ's other album Rid Of Me. Honestly, I expected to like the other better, but I have absolutely fallen in love with this record. It's so dark and haunting and beautiful--and not really what I was expecting based on just one song. But I suppose that's fitting of all of PJ's work.

If you're at all interested in PJ Harvey, or alternative music or female musicians, you must own this album! March 7, 2008

The one that started it for me.

This was the first PJ Harvey album I bought - I saw her that summer on tour with Live and Veruca Salt and a friend of mine had issues with the lack of great drumming (and the occasional use of a drum machine). In a recent interview, she said that there were 3 albums she was satisfied with at the time she made them - this one, Is This Desire? and White Chalk. Before this album, I'd never heard the guitars sound the way they do and some of the music was featured in movies as well (some movie with Leonardo DiCaprio where he plays... I forget). Long story short, if you like her, you probably already have it in your collection. If you don't have it in your collection (and you're a fan), you should =D January 27, 2008

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