PJ Harvey - Dry

Dry is the cornerstone of the 1990s "women in rock" movement. To paraphrase what Lou Reed said about the Velvet Underground: Not many people bought the album, but those who did formed a band. The attraction is unmistakable: bluesy riffs played with punk-rock energy suddenly crash to a hush, while Harvey's desperate wails become fatigued moans. What is she so hung up about? Well, in the spirit of the Stones, love and hope and dirty dreams and sex and sex and sex. Through the raucous "Oh My Lover" and "Joe," Harvey airs her laundry quite loudly but never loses her wit, as "Sheela-Na-Gig," which features the mantra "I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair / I'm gonna take my hips to a man who cares," attest. --Bill Crandall Amazon.com essential recording

Not Very Good...

I really wanted to like this album. I really did, I'd heard about how great this album was supposed to be, I had bought Rid of Me and Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea and they're brilliant. Absloutely brilliant. But I bought this one (which was quite a bit more than either of those). I was shocked. Complete and utterly shocked this was a PJ Harvey CD! The lyrics were fine, but the music was TERRIBLE. There were no hooks, it was just kind of there. I didn't like this CD at all, and would prefer if it didn't exist, but to my sadness it does. One star because its PJ Harvey, the other because the lyrics are good. November 8, 2007

PJ Harvey's "Dry"

This is an amazing record. PJ is my favorite female vocalist. Every word and every note that comes out of her mouth is so sincere. She pulls you into an emotion that you're not quite sure what it is, but you feel it. Buy this record. Buy all of her records. :) August 14, 2007

Exceeds the 5 star rating!

I bought this cassette when it came out in 1992. I had long ago worn out the cassette. I just recently purchased the CD's to all her music, man I have missed it.
PJ Harvey is a powerful singer, song writer and musician. This CD is not for someone expecting happy, sappy love songs or a tame beat.
She exudes a raw, feminine, tough, and sometime comical outlook in her songs. She holds nothing back.
Each song is an experience.

Oh My Lover: she sings to her lover "You can love her and you can love me at the same time, much to discover." Not only is this song sexual, it's also pretty emotional to me. She asks him to "take at your leisure, take whatever you can find." Then she almost pleads with him to say her name and offers to take on his troubles. To me this song always represented a woman willing to go to the extreme to please her man, to keep him.

Dress: this is a really fast, upbeat song. But the lyrics are kind of sad. She's lonely and gets all dressed up and tries to get male attention. It reminds me of all the uncomfortable stuff we do trying to attract the opposite sex. At the end of the song, she's still alone.

Happy and Bleeding: I always took this song to be a celebration of a woman's amazing body and its capabilities. Whether or not that is the correct interpretation, I have no idea. "...fruit flower myself inside out, I'm happy and bleeding for you."

Sheela-Na-Gig: if you have never seen a Sheela-Na-Gig, you need to look one up in order to fully appreciate this song. This is one of the songs I feel she takes a more 'comical' approach. She is showing off her child bearing hips and other assorted 'assets' while her 'partner' is accusing her of exhibitionism. All the while she professes to find a new man. At one point he asks her to clean her "dirty pillows" because he doesn't want to be unclean.

Fountain: I always thought this song was beautiful. She starts it off by standing under a fountain and washing away a man. Then another man comes and saves her, only to leave her like the other one did. The beat starts off slow and then builds.

That's just a few of the songs on this CD and each one is remarkable in its own right. I will never tire of this CD, its music or its lyrics. PJ Harvey is in a class by herself.
December 30, 2006

One of the best debut albums, ever!

DRY was PJ HARVEY's debut and in my humble opinion, one of the best debut albums from any artist, ever. Words cannot explain what an amazing album this really is. One would have to hear it to believe it. Over a decade later I still find myself going back again and again to this CD whenever I feel a need and it does the trick each and every time. I honestly love all her albums and while RID OF ME is still my favorite, I think DRY is her most creative, and an easier listen, making this album my top contender for that trip to LostIsland. All the songs are good, each raw with emotion yet still passionate, with a wide topic range, and all contain an interesting, melodic use of instruments and lushly beautiful lyrics. I won't go through each song because I feel my fellow reviewers have done a great job of that but I would like to share some thoughts on why I love this album so much.

From the beginning riffs of "Oh My Lover" I was hooked. What a great opening song, I can hear (and relate to!) the yearning and hurt in Polly's voice as she sings her heart out to an unfaithful lover. "Oh, my lover! Don't you know it's alright? You can love her, you can love me at the same time.."

"Dress" is a great song. What a classic rock song. I remember hearing it for the first time nearly knocked me off my chair! It's fast with lots of guitar and a hint of salsa, I think. I swear you can't help but tap your foot to this song! I'm warning you, it's infectious! "Put on that dress, I'm going out dancing. Starting off red, clean and sparkling then he'll see me.." I think this song is about a disillusioned woman who learns that sometimes in life being dressed for success doesn't necessarily guarantee it.

One of my favorite PJ Harvey songs ever is "Sheela-Na-Gig." To me this is such an empowering song and I love to shout along with the lines, "Gonna wash that man right outta my hair!.. Gonna take my hips to a man who cares!.." The title (I hear) refers to a Celtic statue of a nude pagan girl amusing herself you know, down south. Hence the chorus, "Sheela-Na-Gig, You exhibitionist!" Starts off with excellent guitar and then we hear Polly's voice and this poetry:

I've been trying to show you over and over..
Look at these, my child bearing hips
Look at these, my ruby red ruby lips
Look at these, my work strong arms and
You've got to see my bottle full of charm...

"Plants and Rags" leaves me breathless. I cannot get enough of this song! I got goosebumps the first time I heard it. To me this is the best song of the album but I'm a bit bias because I feel this song has a very RID OF ME vibe to it and ROM is, ultimately, my favorite of all PJ recordings. Don't be fooled as this song is quite sinister. It starts off rather slow, with a bit of guitar and PJ's nonchalant vocals, "Plants and rags. Ease myself into a body bag..." The song gets even eerier soon enough, with heavy weird strings and the building drama of a creepy violin. You really start to get a sense for the song, especially as PJ's voice grows more urgent as she sings, "White and black. You looking for the sun, boy? The sun doesn't shine down here, no, no..." O Goodness, this song is so good, I wanna name a star after it!

And this album is so awesome that when I am King I shall declare everyday, PJ Harvey Day.

God bless Polly Jean. May 18, 2006

"Gonna take my hips to a man who cares..."

PJ Harvey's debut album is raw, quiet, and gutsy. I guess you would call this an indie album, very subtle and low-key in production quality. Some great songs here, some of my all-time favorites are Happy and Bleeding, "Hour of season, happy and bleeding, long over-due too early and it's late too." Sheena-la-gig (hope I spelled it right!) is one catchy and fun song, "Look at these my childbearing hips, look at these my ruby red ruby lips..." Oh My Lover is a classic, "You can love her and you can love me at the same time." Plants and Rags, a gorgeous ballad, "Dreamt of man, he fed me fine food he gave me shiny things." Fountain is another standout, "On my hill I wait for wind..." The rest of the tracks are fabulous as well. Dry is the perfect album if you want a strong female singer and talented songwriter all in one, buy this hidden masterpiece! May 3, 2006

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